What is an AI video generator
Nowadays, if you look through your social media feed, you can see more and more strange videos pop up, looking as if they require a lot of creative work. However, often, it's just people using AI video generators. These tools use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create video content with minimal human intervention. They can do it from scratch, transform text into video, or edit and stylize existing clips with the help of AI features.
AI video generation began to develop with the improvement of image processing and machine learning technologies. The basis was research in computer vision and generative modeling – the first steps in automatic graphics processing took place in the 70s and 80s.
The algorithms of that time were the precursors of modern AI. In 2014, Ian Goodfellow developed generative adversarial networks, which allowed for the generation of visual media. Since then, development has continued, and AI videos are now integrated into marketing, educational, and entertainment purposes.
How to use AI video generators
AI-generated videos have many applications. For example, in work settings, they are wonderful for advertising and marketing by generating promotional content. They can also be used for educational video tutorials and generating graphics and animations for movies and video games.
AI video generators can produce a wide variety of video types, ranging from short clips to more extended formats. The quality of these videos can vary significantly based on the technology and algorithms used by the specific generator.
Generally, free AI video generators create very short videos (a few seconds). For longer projects, you'll need to break down the content into manageable scenes or segments, as this allows the AI to generate each part effectively while maintaining a consistent quality throughout the entire video. Additionally, it might be necessary to use some video editor to refine transitions, add soundscapes, or integrate graphics, enhancing the overall production value of the longer video.
Now, how to actually make short AI videos? The most critical thing you have to do to get a good result when using an AI video maker is to formulate your request, aka prompt, correctly. The quality of the content and how it meets your expectations depends on how accurately and clearly the prompt is formulated.
To write a good prompt, you should clearly state what you want to see. This may require specifying the style, color, format, mood, and other parameters. At the same time, avoid ambiguity: the more precise the phrase, the less likely is the possibility of making an error. Sometimes, you will have to test several options to find the ideal approach.
Top free AI video generators
Want to try making an AI video yourself? We have tested out some tools that will help you start this journey for free! Our prompt for the video was "A cat plays with a fish in a pond amidst the sunlit forest". Let's take a look at the outcomes.
Genmo
Genmo is an AI video generator that quickly transforms text prompts into quite realistic short videos. However, it can produce variable quality, and you may need multiple attempts to refine the output. The main plus of this tool is it being very beginner-friendly and suitable for those who previously had zero experience with an AI generation.
Fliki
Fliki is good for making story-based shorts, as it creates an elaborate script out of the prompt and generates a series of scenes with voice-over using it.
In it, you can set the tone and specify the intended audience to influence how the video will play out.
Haiper.ai
Haiper.ai is another simple tool. It lacks excessive fine-tuning, so your prompt should be very precise and include stylistic or mood-related keywords.
However, you can also add the video you already have and add some prompt, so that the generator can elaborate on it further.
Giz.ai
Giz.ai is based strictly on the prompt. It requires more fine-tuning for the text to get a decent result. Plus, sometimes it may take longer to generate a video compared to the previous tools due to the queue system.
Otherwise, it's a decent tool with some pretty cool results.
While there are other generators that offer more variables to customize, they can often be a bit complex and might require a deeper understanding of how things work, or involve some upfront costs. The tools mentioned above, on the other hand, are quite user-friendly, making it easy for anyone to dive in and create small projects without any cost.
AI video limitations and other considerations
In addition to the positives of using AI, there are also challenges. The most noticeable one is the quality; in some cases, the video can look obviously artificially made or have visual artifacts. This happens because, without quality training data, AI cannot create realistic content.
Another problem is that you will almost certainly have to refine the prompt several times before you get something as close to your idea as possible. The AI may misread the accents, providing results missing some requested features.
Furthermore, the ethics of using AI is always up in the air. Most do it for themselves or for regulated work purposes, but some do it to spread misinformation (e.g., deepfakes). In addition, there are AI generators that use materials that are copyrighted by other people, which can lead to legal problems.
And, of course, we shouldn't forget about the impact on creativity. The relative ease of use is appealing, but AI can't create anything "new", because it always relies on what has already been created, and therefore loses its "human touch". Plus, it often won't be able to recreate the result exactly as a person imagined.
FAQs
What is an AI video generator?
These are the tools that can make videos without the need to film anything, using text prompts, or do that based on images or visuals from other videos. Nowadays, they are commonly used for entertainment purposes, as well as for work-related ones.
How does AI generate videos?
AI generates videos using complex algorithms that process data and synthesize visual content. Based on the model and data, AI generates a sequence of frames, combining visual elements, animation, and object movements.
Who owns the rights to AI-generated videos?
If an AI creates a video entirely on its own, without significant human input, such works may not be protected by copyright. However, if the AI used copyrighted materials to learn or create the video, the resulting work may infringe the copyright of the original data owners, so you should learn more about the particular generator before using it.
Conclusion
AI is becoming an integral part of modern video production, opening up new horizons for creative projects as well as business. However, its use has its pitfalls, and it's important to be mindful of them.