What is AI Video?
AI video generation uses neural networks — mostly Diffusion Transformers (DiT) — to create new moving images from text descriptions, images, or videos. Instead of camera, lights, and actors, you only need a well-formulated prompt. The AI "paints" 24 frames per second that together form a fluid video.
Text-to-Video
You describe a scene in words — e.g. "A cat jumps over a fence at sunset" — and the AI generates a 5–10 second video from it. The more precise the prompt, the better the result.
Image-to-Video
You upload a photo and the AI animates it: A portrait becomes a speaking face, a landscape becomes a time-lapse with clouds. More control than Text-to-Video since the starting image is predetermined.
Video-to-Video
You upload an existing video and the AI transforms it: Style transfer (anime, oil painting), object replacement, background change, or removal of elements. Ideal entry point for filmmakers.
Video Extension
The AI seamlessly continues a video: You have 5 seconds, the AI generates the next 5. Through repeated extending, longer sequences emerge. The biggest challenge: Consistency of characters and environment.
Open Source — On Your Machine
The most powerful AI models are open source today. With a reasonably current graphics card (8+ GB VRAM), you can generate professional videos completely locally — without cloud, without subscription, without privacy concerns. The easiest entry is through ComfyUI.
Wan 2.1
Alibaba | Apache 2.0
Currently one of the best open-source models. Available as 1.3B (runs on 8 GB VRAM) and 14B version. Excellent motion representation, physical plausibility, and fast inference. Supports Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video.
Currently one of the best open-source models. Available as 1.3B (runs on 8 GB VRAM) and 14B version. Excellent motion representation, physical plausibility, and fast inference. Supports Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video.
HunyuanVideo 1.5
Tencent | Open Source
8.3 billion parameters, optimized for consumer GPUs. High visual quality, strong text understanding, and consistent motion. The sweet spot between quality and hardware requirements. Also available as Image-to-Video.
8.3 billion parameters, optimized for consumer GPUs. High visual quality, strong text understanding, and consistent motion. The sweet spot between quality and hardware requirements. Also available as Image-to-Video.
LTX-Video / LTX-2
Lightricks | Open Source
Especially fast: Generates 6-second clips in 5 seconds on consumer hardware. LTX-2 supports 4K, 50 FPS, and synchronized audio generation. Keyframe control and LoRA support for individual styles.
Especially fast: Generates 6-second clips in 5 seconds on consumer hardware. LTX-2 supports 4K, 50 FPS, and synchronized audio generation. Keyframe control and LoRA support for individual styles.
CogVideoX
Tsinghua / Zhipu AI | Apache 2.0
Transformer-based with 3D VAE and 3D RoPE. Strong text-image alignment and temporal coherence. The 5B version is a good compromise between quality and speed. Also available as Image-to-Video.
Transformer-based with 3D VAE and 3D RoPE. Strong text-image alignment and temporal coherence. The 5B version is a good compromise between quality and speed. Also available as Image-to-Video.
ComfyUI
Node-based open-source interface
The standard tool for local AI image and video generation. Connect nodes for models, prompts, samplers, and export visually like a flowchart. Supports all common models and hundreds of community extensions.
The standard tool for local AI image and video generation. Connect nodes for models, prompts, samplers, and export visually like a flowchart. Supports all common models and hundreds of community extensions.
Hardware Requirements: For the smaller models (Wan 1.3B, HunyuanVideo 1.5), 8 GB VRAM is enough — an RTX 3060/4060 or comparable cards. 16 GB VRAM (RTX 4080/4090) enables higher resolutions and faster generation. Without a GPU, use the web tools in the next section.
Freemium Web Tools — No Hardware Needed
No powerful GPU? No problem. These tools run in the cloud and offer free quotas for getting started. Ideal for schools, on the go, or for first experiments.
Runway
Free: 125 Credits (one-time)
The industry standard. Gen-4.5, Gen-4 Turbo, Motion Brush, Video-to-Video, 4K upscaler. The best control tools in the industry. Free tier is limited (watermark) but perfect for testing.
The industry standard. Gen-4.5, Gen-4 Turbo, Motion Brush, Video-to-Video, 4K upscaler. The best control tools in the industry. Free tier is limited (watermark) but perfect for testing.
Pika Labs
Freemium
Especially strong at Image-to-Video and style transfer. Simple interface, fast generation. The Pika 1.5 version delivers impressive results for character consistency and motion fluidity.
Especially strong at Image-to-Video and style transfer. Simple interface, fast generation. The Pika 1.5 version delivers impressive results for character consistency and motion fluidity.
Kling AI
Freemium
From Kuaishou (Chinese TikTok competitor). Excellent physical plausibility and camera movements. Especially good for realistic scenes and complex actions. Versions 1.6/2.0/3.0 available.
From Kuaishou (Chinese TikTok competitor). Excellent physical plausibility and camera movements. Especially good for realistic scenes and complex actions. Versions 1.6/2.0/3.0 available.
Haiper
Freemium
From Minimax. Strong general performance with native audio support. 720p standard resolution, simple operation. Good price-performance ratio for beginners.
From Minimax. Strong general performance with native audio support. 720p standard resolution, simple operation. Good price-performance ratio for beginners.
PixVerse
Freemium
Versatile with many style presets (anime, realistic, 3D). Supports Character-to-Video for consistent figures across multiple clips. Good community and many tutorials.
Versatile with many style presets (anime, realistic, 3D). Supports Character-to-Video for consistent figures across multiple clips. Good community and many tutorials.
Luma Dream Machine
Freemium
From Luma Labs. Especially natural movements and realistic physics. Image-to-Video is excellent here. The free tier is generously sized for first experiments.
From Luma Labs. Especially natural movements and realistic physics. Image-to-Video is excellent here. The free tier is generously sized for first experiments.
AI-Assisted Video Editing
Not just pure generation — post-production is also being revolutionized by AI. These tools integrate AI features directly into the editing workflow and save enormous amounts of time.
CapCut
Freemium | Bytedance
AI Auto-Captions (automatically generate subtitles), AI Background-Removal (remove background without green screen), AI Music (adapt music to video length), AI Denoise. The desktop version is free and powerful.
AI Auto-Captions (automatically generate subtitles), AI Background-Removal (remove background without green screen), AI Music (adapt music to video length), AI Denoise. The desktop version is free and powerful.
Descript
Freemium
Text-based video editing: You edit the transcript and the video follows. AI voice cloning (Overdub), automatic filler word removal ("um", "uh"), screen recording with AI enhancement. Revolutionary for podcasts and tutorials.
Text-based video editing: You edit the transcript and the video follows. AI voice cloning (Overdub), automatic filler word removal ("um", "uh"), screen recording with AI enhancement. Revolutionary for podcasts and tutorials.
OpusClip
Freemium
Long-to-Short AI: Upload a long video (e.g. 1 hour podcast) and OpusClip automatically extracts the most viral 60-second clips with AI B-roll, dynamic subtitles, and intelligent cut sequences.
Long-to-Short AI: Upload a long video (e.g. 1 hour podcast) and OpusClip automatically extracts the most viral 60-second clips with AI B-roll, dynamic subtitles, and intelligent cut sequences.
Quickstart: Your First AI Video
The fastest way into AI video: A freemium web tool. No installation, no hardware requirements, ready to use immediately. Here's the workflow with Runway as an example — the steps are similar with other tools.
1
Choose a Tool & Create Account
Go to runwayml.com and create a free account. You'll receive 125 credits (one-time) — enough for about 25 seconds of Gen-4 Turbo video. Alternatively: Pika, Kling, or Haiper for larger free tiers.
2
Formulate Your Prompt
A good prompt is precise and visual: "Aerial drone shot, slow pan over a misty mountain lake at sunrise, golden light reflecting on calm water, cinematic, 4K, shallow depth of field." The more specific, the better.
3
Generate & Compare
Select the model (e.g. Gen-4 Turbo for fast iteration), set the duration (5–10 seconds), and generate 2–4 variants with slightly different prompts. Compare the results and pick the best clip.
4
Upscale & Extend
Use the 4K upscaler for higher resolution. Want longer? Use "Extend" or generate a second clip with an overlapping ending and combine them in DaVinci Resolve or Shotcut.
5
Integrate into Your Project
Download the generated video and import it into your edit (Resolve, Shotcut, Premiere). Combine AI-generated scenes with real footage for a hybrid look — that's the sweet spot.
Prompt Engineering Tip: Structure your prompts using: [Camera] + [Scene] + [Action] + [Light/Mood] + [Style/Quality]. Example: "Close-up, an elderly carpenter carving wood in a dusty workshop, warm afternoon light through a window, documentary style, film grain."
AI Video for Our Modules
Every module in the Video Lab benefits from AI tools. Here's the map of where AI video accelerates or complements your workflow.
Module 04 — Editing
CapCut AI + Descript: Auto-captions in seconds, AI-powered voice enhancement, automatic cut suggestions based on pauses and filler words. OpusClip for Long-to-Short extraction.
Module 05 — Color & Grading
Runway / LTX Video-to-Video: Transform the complete color grading of a video with a single prompt: "convert to noir film style with high contrast". Or use AI-based color matching between clips.
Module 06 — Audio & Sound
Hunyuan-Foley + ElevenLabs: Automatically generate matching sound effects for your video. AI speech synthesis for voiceover. Descript Overdub for speech corrections without re-recording.
Module 07 — Motion Graphics
AI Generation + Compositing: Generate animated backgrounds, particle effects, or abstract visuals with Wan 2.1 or Runway. Composite as layers in Resolve Fusion or After Effects.
Module 08 — AI Workflows
ComfyUI + API Integration: Build automated pipelines: Text → Video → Audio → Edit. Use Runway API or local models in ComfyUI for batch generation. This is AI workflow in pure form.
Module 10 — Storytelling
AI Visualization: Generate storyboards and mood videos from your script. Test different visual styles before shooting. Runway and Pika are ideal prototyping tools here.
Ethics, Rights & Legal Notes
AI video is powerful — and with great power comes great responsibility. Before publishing AI-generated videos, you should know these fundamental rules.
Deepfakes & Person Protection
Never create videos depicting real people without their consent. Creating "deepfakes" is illegal in many countries. Even for satire and parody, there are limits — inform yourself about the laws in your country.
Copyright & Training
AI models were trained on millions of copyrighted videos. The legal situation regarding generated outputs is unclear worldwide. Use AI video for private projects and educational purposes. For commercial use: Use open-source models with clear licenses (Apache 2.0).
Transparency & Labeling
Be transparent: Label AI-generated content as such. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have mandatory labeling requirements for AI content. Honesty builds trust — and protects you legally.
Facticity & Disinformation
AI video can create realistic-looking but entirely fabricated scenes. Misuse for disinformation, political manipulation, or fraud is not only unethical but often illegal. Responsible use is mandatory.
Important: The legal situation for AI-generated videos is changing rapidly. In the EU, the AI Act applies with specific requirements for generative AI. In Austria and Germany, additional copyright and personality rights provisions apply. For commercial projects, consult a lawyer.
Resources & Links
The AI video landscape evolves daily. Here are the best sources to stay up to date.
Wan 2.1 on GitHub
The complete open-source repository with model weights, inference code, and documentation. Apache 2.0 licensed — free for commercial use.
HunyuanVideo 1.5 on GitHub
Tencent's open-source video model with 8.3B parameters. Includes installation guide for local use and pretrained checkpoints.
ComfyUI on GitHub
The leading node-based open-source interface for AI image and video generation. Supports all common models via custom nodes.
Runway — AI Video Platform
The professional cloud solution for AI video. Free tier with 125 credits, Standard from $12/month. Gen-4.5, Motion Brush, Video-to-Video, and more.
r/StableDiffusion — Community
The largest AI image and video community on Reddit. Daily new models, workflows, tutorials, and troubleshooting help. The best place to stay current.