Unleash Your Creativity: Discover Runway's AI Video Generation Power!

Let's dive into Runway, a versatile AI video generation tool.

Like other generative AI platforms, Runway allows you to create new video content from existing footage or generate videos from text prompts. What sets it apart is its rich feature set, including standard video editing capabilities.

This article provides a general overview of Runway. For detailed instructions and a comprehensive look at its features, check out this article.

What is Runway?

Runway is an AI service that generates videos from video or text data.

The company behind Runway is also called Runway. They were involved in the development of Stable Diffusion, a well-known image generation AI, making them a prominent player in the generative AI space.

While there are several video generation AI platforms, Runway distinguishes itself with a broad range of features beyond video generation, including editing tools. This versatility is one of Runway's key strengths.

Let's explore some of the other features that make Runway a hot topic.

Key Features of Runway

Easy Access on PC and Mobile (iOS Only)

One of Runway's appealing features is its accessibility on both PC and mobile devices.

The PC version is web-based, so there's no need to install any special software. Simply search for "Runway AI" in your browser, access the service page, and log in to get started.

For mobile, you can find the "RunwayML" app in the App Store (iOS).

Note 1: As of December 2023, a Google Play Store version is not yet available.

Note 2: The mobile app has some feature limitations compared to the PC version. For example, you can't generate videos from text prompts on the mobile app.

Free Video Generation

Another highlight is that you can generate videos even with the free version of Runway.

The free license limits the number of videos you can generate, but it's more than enough to get a feel for the platform and its capabilities.

With the rising demand for generative AI, many services gatekeep core features behind paid subscriptions. So, the ability to experiment with Runway for free is a welcome perk.

More Features Than Other Video Generation AI Platforms

Runway stands out from other video generation platforms with its comprehensive feature set.

As mentioned earlier, it includes video editing capabilities. Additionally, it offers image generation features. You could potentially complete entire creative projects within Runway.

What You Can Do With Runway

Gen-1: Generate New Videos from Existing Footage

"Gen-1" is a Runway feature that allows you to generate new videos based on existing video data.

By uploading a video and providing an image or text prompt, you can create a modified video.

For example, using the video capture above, I entered "Near the sun" in the prompt field and generated a video.

The resulting video clearly incorporates the prompt and image data while maintaining elements of the original video.

Gen-2: Generate Videos from Scratch Using Text or Images

While Gen-1 creates new videos based on existing footage, Gen-2 lets you generate videos from scratch using text prompts or images.

I tested Gen-2 with two scenarios:

Scenario 1: I entered "View from the mountaintop" in the prompt field and generated a video.

Scenario 2: I entered the same prompt ("View from the mountaintop") and also uploaded an image of a person on a mountain peak.

Uploading an image produced a result that closely matched my vision. The ability to combine text and images to achieve desired results is incredibly useful.

I've only included a few examples here. This article provides more detailed usage instructions. Check it out for further information.

Image Generation: Text to Image and More

Runway is not just for video generation; it also supports image generation.

This article focuses on Runway as a video generation AI, so I'll skip the details here. If you're interested, you can find information about image generation in the article linked in the Gen-1 section.

Runway is a versatile tool that can generate both videos and images. Getting started is easy.

The next section provides a quick guide to setting up and using Runway.

How to Use Runway

This section provides a basic overview of how to use Runway.

Let's start with the steps to get started.

Steps to Get Started

[STEP 1] Search for "Runway AI" in your search engine.

[STEP 2] Access the website shown in the image below.

[STEP 3] On the top right corner of the homepage, click "Login" to sign in with your Google account or other SSO, or click "Sign-up" to register with your email address.

That's it! You can start using Runway in just three steps.

Next, let's take a look at the interface and basic operations.

Interface and Basic Operations

The image below shows the main interface.

The left side is the menu bar, and the right side displays the available functions within each menu. Clicking on "Generate Videos" allows you to choose features like Gen-1 and Gen-2 for video generation.

After selecting a feature, you can easily generate videos by uploading your prompts and image data to the designated spaces.

This article provides only a general overview. For more detailed instructions and information about the interface, please refer to this article.

You're now ready to start using Runway!

Experiment and have fun! Now, let's explore some potential use cases for Runway.

Potential Use Cases for Runway

Creating Promotional Videos for Web Ads

One potential use case is creating promotional videos for online advertising.

Currently, Runway allows you to create videos up to 4 seconds long on the free plan and 15 seconds on the paid plan. While this may not be suitable for long-form content, it's sufficient for creating web ads and other promotional videos.

You can use Gen-1 to create new videos based on existing footage, preserving the message and visuals you want to convey. Alternatively, you can use Gen-2 to create videos from scratch based on text prompts.

Runway has the potential to significantly reduce the time and effort required to create videos, making it a promising tool for marketers and advertisers.

Supporting Video Creators

Another potential use case is supporting video creators.

As mentioned earlier, video creation can be a demanding process that requires a great deal of effort.

From fine-tuning colors to spending countless hours on editing, video creation can be both physically and mentally taxing. Many creators would welcome the opportunity to offload some of these tasks to AI.

Supporting New Idea Generation

Runway can also be used to support new idea generation.

Creating new ideas or generating something from scratch often requires specific skills and a creative flair, making it a challenging endeavor.

However, tools like Runway, which allow anyone to visualize their ideas by simply entering a text prompt, are making it easier to overcome these hurdles.

Runway has the potential to replace AI with what many people struggle with, and is a great use case.

By now, you should have a good understanding of the usefulness and convenience of Runway. Finally, let's discuss some important considerations when using Runway.

Important Considerations When Using Runway

This article will cover two key points:

Limited Free Video Generation

The first point is the limited number of free video generations.

As of December 2023, you can generate around 26 videos for free, which is more than enough for experimentation. However, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan for serious use.

When upgrading to a paid plan, be sure to carefully review the different plans and choose the one that best suits your needs.

No Japanese UI

The second point is the lack of a Japanese UI.

As you saw in the screenshots, all buttons and items are displayed in English. Be careful not to select the wrong function or choose the wrong paid plan. If you're unsure, consider using Google Translate or another translation tool.

Conclusion

This article provided an overview of Runway, a video generation AI tool, including its key features, potential use cases, and important considerations.

We hope this article has been helpful in understanding Runway and its capabilities.

If you're interested in learning more about specific usage instructions and operations, be sure to check out this article.