Getting started with AI video generation

Choose a small first project

Begin with a three-shot sequence rather than a complete film. Pick a simple purpose: show a product in use, establish a location or illustrate a short explanation. Write the intended destination and aspect ratio at the top of the brief. Those decisions affect framing before you generate anything.

List the assets you already have and can use. A clean product image or an approved character reference can be more useful than a longer prompt. Keep real logos, factual product information and permission notes with the project. Decide which details must remain exact and which can be interpreted.

Turn the idea into a shot list

Give each shot one job. A wide establishing view introduces the setting; a medium view shows an action; a close-up draws attention to a detail. For each, write the subject, action, environment and intended camera behavior. Avoid asking a short clip to carry several unrelated events.

Example brief: 'A red ceramic mug rests on a wooden desk beside a window. Morning side light. The camera moves slowly toward the mug while a small curl of steam rises.' This is an illustrative prompt, not a claim about a particular model's output. Replace the objects and visual requirements with your own.

Generate and review in short rounds

Create a small batch, then inspect it before changing the brief. Watch the whole clip at normal speed and frame by frame around visible errors. Check where hands meet objects, whether labels change and whether the camera movement supports the story. Record why each candidate is accepted or rejected.

When something fails, simplify the instruction or improve the source image. Keep one version of the prompt unchanged as a control. If you modify the subject, action and camera simultaneously, you will struggle to identify what improved the result. Set a limit on attempts so the trial does not consume the entire production budget.

Make the edit early

Place the accepted clips in an editor as soon as you have rough candidates. A shot can look appealing on its own and still fail beside the next shot. Adjust pacing, check color continuity and decide whether a conventional cutaway would solve a difficult transition more efficiently than another generation.

Treat audio as a separate review task unless your chosen workflow explicitly includes it. Confirm that music, voice and sound effects suit the intended use. Check the finished sequence without sound as well; the image should still communicate the central idea where the destination commonly uses muted playback.

Export, archive and decide what to improve

Export one file using the delivery requirements from the brief. Watch the export on the actual type of screen your audience will use. Check cropping, captions and the opening seconds. Keep a copy of the editable timeline along with the approved source assets.

Finish with a short production note: which shots worked, which demanded cleanup, the time spent and what you would change next time. Use that note to choose your next tool trial. The first project succeeds when you can complete and revise it, not when every frame looks like a vendor demonstration.

Questions & answers

Sources & further reading

Product details should be checked against these primary sources. Editorial recommendations are our interpretation; they are not hands-on benchmark results.

• Runway: image-reference workflow ↗