AI-generated art is big news at the moment. There are an increasing number of online sites where you can input simple text to create AI-generated stories, scripts and images. However, there have been limited options for AI-generated video – until now thanks to Runway Gen-2.
Runway
Runway Research is a New York-based AI development company that currently offers a suite of more than 30 online AI-powered tools. These allow you to generate images or remix the style and composition of an existing image. The company also has tools to remove objects from video, turn any video into slow motion or make still images into video. In addition, Runway is about to launch Gen-2, an AI system that can generate new video from text prompts, images or video clips.
Gen-2
Runway’s Gen-2 is an update to the company’s previous Gen-1 AI-powered video generator. Gen-1 was only released in February this year, which shows just how fast the pace of development is in the AI world. In addition, Gen-1 was more centered around transforming existing video footage. However, Gen-2 is promising to generate videos based simply on the prompts you give the system.
Sample videos
With Gen-1, Runway shared samples showing how you could change existing videos using other images. One sample shows a man walking on a snowy mountain. By combining this with an image of the moon landing, the Gen-1 AI styled the video, so it looked like an astronaut walking on the moon. However, Runway says that Gen-2 gives you text-to-video without the need for a video to drive the AI. The sample videos show the output created from prompts such as “a lion in a living room” or “walking in a rainstorm.”
What we think
Runway’s Gen-2 AI-powered video generator offers amazing potential for creators to visualize their ideas. However, it is important to remember that this is brand-new, cutting-edge technology. The sample videos shared by the company are quite short and more cartoonlike than looking like real-world footage. Despite this, it’s a hugely exciting release. Given the speed of progress from Gen-1 to Gen-2, it’s clear how quickly the AI behind it is being developed. As such, it will only get better and better.
How do you access Gen-2?
Runway says that access to Gen-2 will be made available “in the coming weeks.” It has been reported that users will have to sign up to join a waiting list via Runway’s Discord.
