A reference for working with AI video
AI video tools, laid out by the job
Making a clip, extending it, cutting it down and putting sound under it are four different jobs, and AI video tools take each one on in their own way. Here they are set out one job at a time, with the settings that shape a result and the limits worth knowing before a project starts.
- generate
- extend
- cut
- score
The drawers
What each job involves
A short project often touches every drawer on the bench. These are the jobs, in the order they usually come up.
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Generate
Making footage from a written prompt or from a still image. The prompt sets the subject, and camera and motion settings decide how the shot moves.
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Extend
Carrying a clip past its last frame, or joining shots so a scene holds together. Keeping a subject consistent from shot to shot is the hard part.
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Cut
Trimming, reframing and captioning. Some tools edit from the transcript, others from the timeline, and the difference shows in how much stays adjustable.
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Score
Music, sound effects and voice. Generated audio is often a separate step from generated picture, with its own settings and its own terms.
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Upscale and clean
Raising resolution, smoothing frame rate and removing flicker after the fact, so a generated clip sits beside camera footage.
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Export
Getting the finished piece out at the right size and format, and knowing whether a plan adds a watermark or limits where the result can go.
The parts list
Settings worth checking before a project
Tools describe these differently. They are the parts that decide whether a clip fits the job it is meant for.
Clip length
How long a single generation runs, and whether longer pieces are built by extending a clip or by joining several.
Resolution and frame rate
What a tool renders natively, what it reaches only by upscaling, and whether the frame rate matches the rest of the edit.
Aspect ratio
Whether vertical, square and wide frames are generated as such or cropped afterwards from a single shape.
Camera and motion control
How far a prompt can direct the camera: pans, push-ins, the speed of movement and where a shot starts and ends.
Consistency
Whether a character, product or place can be held steady from one shot to the next, and what reference images a tool accepts for it.
Sound
Whether audio is generated with the picture, added as a separate job, or left to another tool entirely.
Usage terms
What a plan allows a generated clip to be used for, whether outputs carry a label or watermark, and what happens to uploaded footage.
Shop notes
Limits to plan around
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Clips come in short lengths
Generators make a few seconds at a time. Anything longer is built from pieces, and the joins need watching.
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Consistency drifts
Faces, hands, text on signs and small objects change between shots unless a tool is given something to hold them to.
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Prompts are not direction
The same prompt rarely gives the same shot twice. Expect several attempts and plan time for choosing between them.
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Generated footage has terms
Plans differ on commercial use, and some platforms ask for generated video to be labelled when it is published.
Articles on each job are on the way. Who we are explains who runs the site, and the site terms cover how it may be used.
In their words
The questions this site is built around
- What's the best AI video generator for realistic product shots?
- How usable is AI video for actual client ad campaigns right now?
- Can you recommend an AI video maker for turning blog posts into short videos?
- Which AI video generator produces the most coherent motion over a full clip?
- Is there a free AI video generator that outputs more than a few seconds?
- What platforms are popular among content creators for producing B-roll with cinematic motion using AI technology?
- What are the leading tools for filmmakers interested in AI-driven video generation with support for 2D and 3D formats?
- Is there an AI video generator free online with no install required?
- Could you suggest any innovative video creation tools that support both text to video and image to video features?
- What are the top options for filmmakers seeking AI-powered tools to add motion and depth to static images?