AI ANIMATION PRODUCTION
Best AI Video Generator?
*Generation speed / availability varies based on demand.
**No tools are perfect & multiple generations may be needed.
***For real control and consistency, a range of tools + traditional animation processes are still required.
COST OF AI VIDEO GENERATIONS
AI VIDEO GENERATION PLATFORMS
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For inaccuracies, contact me via the site.
**Speed of generations can vary pretty wildly depending on the demand the platforms are currently seeing.
AI Video Generators
Generation Comparison
• Same image animated via all the platforms.
• Best of 3 generation attempts on each platform shown below.
• Where camera controls are available 'Zoom in' was enabled.
Prompt used:
Yellow robot does a robotic dance and sings. Boy looks at him and watches him dance, blinks and then sits back in his chair unimpressed. Camera slowly zooms in.
Upcoming platforms:
We've had some great looking teasers of some big AI Video generation platforms which are yet to be released. Namely, Sora from Open AI, Seaweed from ByteDance, Meta Video Gen and Adobe Firefly Video. Given the size of these companies, their access to compute power, and huge audiences, these could all make great waves in the AI video generation market.
Plus MidJourney, who are arguably the leader in AI image generation have heavily hinted at their own video generation platform which, based on the quality of AI image generation could be superb as well. The same is true for Black Forest Labs, whose Flux.1 (semi-open source) image generation model is very popular and they're also working on an AI video generator model offering.
Runway (Gen-3):
- Text/Image/Video-to-Video: Transform various inputs into videos.
- High Speed: Fast generation with Turbo mode (~20 seconds).
- Customizable Settings: Adjust resolution, aspect ratio, and extend clips.
- Comprehensive: Includes camera controls, lip syncing, and more.
Krea - All in one
- Image and Text-to-Video: Simple interface for generating video and images.
- Features: Allows you to select image gen models (Luma, Kling, Runway, Minimax and Pika). With first/last frame ability depending on the platform.
- Free Tier Available: Offers affordable and free options for beginners.
Kling
- Text-to-Image/Video: Generate videos or images from text prompts and image references.
- Advanced AI: Utilizes 3D spatiotemporal attention and Diffusion Transformers for lifelike movements.
- Free with Premium Options: Offers free credits with limitations, and paid plans for higher-quality videos and longer lengths.
Minimax/Hailuo
- Text/Image-to-Video: Generate short videos from text/image prompts.
- Affordable Plans: Low-cost tiers starting at $9.99.
- Basic Features: Lacks higher-end controls like camera and motion brush.
Luma Labs Dream Machine
- Cinematic Quality: Generates high-quality, creative videos.
- Creative Tools: Includes canvas expansion and looping features.
- Higher Price Tier: Starts at $29.99 for advanced features.
Pika
- Video and Animation: AI powered Image and text to video generations.
- High-End Features: Offers lip sync (v1), pre-made VFX options (v1.5), and video canvas expansion (v1).
- Affordable: Commericial usage starts at $28
Haiper AI
- Large Platform: A wide range of services with many video gen controls, image genration and extra apps.
- Creative Flexibility: Focus on artistic and visually engaging content control.
- Affordable Plans: Offers competitive pricing for various tiers.
- Quality: At the time of writing, the quality is not yet matching others.
LTX Studio
- AI-Assisted Editing: Provides tools for editing and enhancing videos post-generation. Plus AI assisted writing, storyboarding and image tools.
- High-Resolution Output: Generates high-quality videos with advanced customization options.
- Feature-Rich: Includes camera controls, animation features, and the best full narrative design tools.
Topaz Video AI • $299 Video Upscaler
- High-Quality Upscaling: Enhances video resolution up to 8K with impressive clarity and detail.
- AI-Powered Denoising: Removes noise and grain from footage, improving video quality.
- Frame Interpolation: Smooths out motion by increasing frame rates, ideal for creating slow-motion effects.
- User-Friendly Interface: Easy-to-use with customizable settings for quick, professional results.
Best Value AI Video Generation Platform
After analyzing the top AI video generation platforms, despite MiniMax's superb results and price and Runways vast array of Pro tools. In our opinion, Kling emerges as the best value option. With its highly competitive pricing tiers, Kling offers a robust set of features such as text-to-video and video-to-video capabilities, alongside high-resolution outputs and frame-setting options. It strikes the perfect balance between affordability and functionality, making it an ideal choice for creators looking to maximize their budget without sacrificing quality. The only potential consideration is ensuring that its model training and security protocols align with your specific project needs, but for most users, Kling provides an excellent overall solution.
Best AI Video Gen Prompt Adherence
Currently, the AI video generator which shows the best adherence to text prompts is either Runway or Minimax.
This video example which shows the same chracter protrait (generated via MidJourney) brought to life through simple text prompts using Minimax. i.e. with the prompt "old animator feeling intense rage, static camera".
As with all these tools, you will find that it's worth running a generation multiple times, or tweaking the text prompts to try to arrive at a clip that is 'good enough' for your requirements.
Best Quality AI Video Generator
In the competitive landscape of AI video generation, despite being a realtive new comer, Minimax stands out as one of the leaders for delivering the highest quality results with arguably the best most and aherence to a given prompt. Though Runway ML seems ot main tain the best visual quality/fidelity.
Minimax excels in producing detailed, lifelike video content and motion applied to both characters and vehicles.
However, Minimax currently lacks the control seen from other platforms like Runway, Kling and others. So there is more of a pull the lever and see if you like the result approach.. at the moment. Though it's prompt adherence is one of the best.
With potentially best in class visual clarity, Runway can be highly useful for more abstract and VFX shots as well as character/cinematic visuals.
Whether you’re working on high-end production or artistic video projects, Minimax offers some fantastic results and motion with Runway offering the current best visual fidelity that professionals demand.
Kling can produce competitive results, though the platform can be less reliable, and like most all the places can struggle at time. Whether this is due to demand or other factors remains to be seen.
Conclusion: Best AI Video Generator
In conclusion, after lots of testing and trying to arrive at a a balanced view, weighing up the current useability of the generations, their adherence to prompts, the overall quality of output and the experience on each of the AI vidoe generator platforms.
Kling, (*over looking some poor experience when its servers are overloaded with demand) stands out for its balance of affordability and features like high-resolution video generation and control tools such as motion brush, making it ideal for creators needing precision. However, Minimax offers the best text prompt adherence and some very impressive motion, making it a top choice for lifelike, high-quality videos. However Runway ML, on the other hand, provides the most versatility with its broad toolset, fast generation speeds, crisp visual quality and advanced features like video-to-video generation which opens up many unique use cases.
Ultimately, while Kling excels in control and pricing, Runway ML remains the go-to for professionals needing flexible, high-end results across a wide range of creative tasks. Minimax is perfect for those prioritizing visual fidelity, but its limited control options does mean it still feels like you're pulling a lever and seeing if you like the result (*but that does till remain true for all the platforms compared to more traditional digital animation approach, even those with extra controls). LumaLabs output from its DreamMachine are still very good with some useable results very achievable.
Lastly, Krea and its unique apporach, allowing users to access 4 of the leading AI models (Kling, Runway, Luma, Minimax) enable users to pay a single subscripton and select the models at the point of generation. This is a fantastic approach that could arguably make them the best as they offer up mor abilities. The only slight disadvantage here is that you don't have access to the latest features from each platform specifically, i.e. Motion Brush is not currently supported for the Kling integration, and they're yet to give options on the Runway model (i.e. turbo) or last frame selection. But these features may be added soon, as Krea integrate more tools via each platforms API into their own UI.
These platforms all have strengths that cater to different creative workflows, and future entrants, like Adobe Firefly, OpenAI's Sora, ByteDance's SeaWeed, Metas Video Gen and MidJourney’s video generation tools, could shake up the competition further.
Hopefully this breakdown has proved useful, and perhaps helped streamline the number of subcriptions you signup to, and select the best ai video generator for your use case and budget.
Please let me know in the comments about your own experience on any of the platforms, plus share any others you come across that you think may be worth including on the page.
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Can you recommend any other AI Video Gen tools?
A site showcasing creatives using the latest AI tools and techniques for hobbyist and pro animation.
Share your own experiences of any platforms. Pros/Cons etc.
Right now, I’d say I find Minimax to produce the best clips in terms of quality of motion and prompt adherence, however the lack of control over the clips other than an image reference and prompt limits the abiliy to control the output (for now).
Runway offers the most value via it’s broader suite of AI powered tools on the site and the ever improving Gen 3 options. Plus leads the way with its video to video capabilities.
Kling offers the best video gen control of clips with its motion brush, highest resolution output and other video controls.
Where as LTX offers the best solution for deveoping full narrative video concepts, with superb storyboard generation, only let down by the current quality/adherence of the video generations.
Kreas unique ability to allow creatives to select from some of the leading video gen models all from one handy UI and one subscription can also prove useful, and help stem the $$$’s flowing to multiple subscriptoons.
HaiperAI, offers a very good and broad range of well developed tools and again just needs to improve the quality/adherence of the generated clips.
Thank you for this incredibly informative round up of what is available, at what price and what is to come.
I personally have enjoyed Runway, Kling and MiniMax. Kling is very good for creating image to video of people and then adding voice sync to the generated video.
Runway is getting better at producing what you ask for but as you said MiniMax is the best at following prompts accurately.