Gen-2 by Runway
An AI tool that creates videos from text, images, or clips, blending creativity with technology.. [Free Trial]
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What is Gen-2 by Runway?
Gen-2 by Runway is a multimodal AI system that generates novel videos from text prompts, images, or video clips. It allows users to create videos without traditional filming equipment - no lights, no camera, just AI-powered synthesis. The tool supports multiple generation modes including Text to Video, Text + Image to Video, Image to Video, Stylization, Storyboard animation, Masking, Render conversion, and Customization for higher fidelity results.
Key features include the ability to transfer artistic styles to every frame of a video, turn mockups into fully stylized animated renders, isolate and modify subjects within videos using text prompts, and convert untextured renders into realistic outputs. The system realistically and consistently synthesizes new videos by applying the composition and style of images or text prompts to source video structures in video-to-video mode, or generates entirely from words in text-to-video mode.
Gen-2 is designed for filmmakers, marketing content creators, educators, social media managers, and video game developers. It enables filmmakers to realize complex scenes without physical constraints, allows brands to generate promotional videos quickly from text descriptions or concept images, helps educators produce illustrative videos for teaching, empowers social media creators to produce unique content effortlessly, and facilitates creation of cutscenes and trailers from game concept art.
The tool represents a new standard for video generation, with user studies showing Gen-2 results preferred 73.53% over Stable Diffusion 1.5 and 88.24% over Text2Live for image-to-image and video-to-video translation. It brings the magic back to making movies by turning any image, video clip, or text prompt into a compelling piece of film.
Gen-2 by Runway pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Basic Plan: Free Forever with 125 one-time credits, limited to 3 video projects, 5GB assets, and 720p video exports. Standard Plan: $12 per user per month (billed annually) with 625 credits/month, up to 5 users per workspace, unlimited video editor projects, 100GB assets, 4K video exports, and 2K image exports. Pro Plan: $28 per user per month (billed annually) with 2250 credits/month, up to 10 users per workspace, all Standard features plus PNG & ProRes exports, and 500GB assets. Unlimited Plan: $76 per user per month (billed annually) with unlimited video generations and all Pro Plan features plus flexibility for unlimited video generations in Explore Mode.
Gen-2 by Runway pros
- Generates videos from text, images, or video clips
- No camera or lights needed for video creation
- Text to Video mode creates videos from just words
- Image to Video brings static images to life with motion
- Text + Image to Video combines driving image with prompt
- Stylization transfers artistic style to every frame
- Storyboard mode turns mockups into animated renders
- Mask feature isolates subjects for text-based modification
- Render mode converts untextured renders to realistic outputs
- Customization option for higher fidelity results
- Consistent and realistic video synthesis
- Works on web and iOS mobile app
- Upscaling and interpolation settings available
- Seed value adjustment for reproduction control
- Inspiration feed with remixable existing prompts
- PNG and ProRes export on Pro plan and above
- 4K video export on Standard plan and above
- Watermark control settings included
Gen-2 by Runway cons
- Low framerate making videos look slideshow-like
- Only 4-second video clips per generation
- Grainy or fuzzy output quality with old-filter appearance
- Pixelation artifacting around objects during camera movement
- Inconsistent physics and anatomy in generated content
- Faces can appear doll-like with glossy emotionless eyes
- Objects may melt into floor or disappear unexpectedly
- Struggles with prompt nuance and ignores descriptors randomly
- Overzealous content filter blocking legitimate requests
- 720p export limit on free Basic plan
- Credits deplete quickly requiring multiple attempts
- Only 2 out of 20 videos typically offer good material
- Not ready for professional primetime use
- More post-production work often needed than shooting footage
Frequently asked questions about Gen-2 by Runway
What is Gen-2 by Runway?
Gen-2 is a multimodal AI system that generates novel videos using text, images, or video clips. It can synthesize videos realistically and consistently either by applying the composition and style of an image or text prompt to a source video structure (Video to Video) or using nothing but words (Text to Video).
How do I create a Gen-2 account?
Visit the sign-up page on research.runwayml.com, enter your email for registration, choose a username (cannot be changed later), create a password with at least 6 characters, confirm the password, enter first and last name for invoices, and enter the verification code sent to your email. Alternatively, sign up using Apple accounts for automatic account creation.
What are the different generation modes in Gen-2?
Gen-2 has 8 modes: Text to Video (synthesize videos from text prompts), Text + Image to Video (combine driving image with text prompt), Image to Video (generate from just a driving image), Stylization (transfer style to every frame), Storyboard (turn mockups into animated renders), Mask (isolate and modify subjects), Render (convert untextured renders to realistic outputs), and Customization (customize model for higher fidelity).
How long are Gen-2 video generations?
Gen-2 generates 4-second-long videos per generation. Users often need multiple attempts to achieve satisfactory results, and typically only about 2 out of 20 videos offer good material. Videos are usually about 10 seconds or sometimes up to 40 seconds when strung together.
What is the credit system for Gen-2?
The Basic free plan includes 125 one-time credits. Standard plan gets 625 credits/month, Pro plan gets 2250 credits/month, and Unlimited plan has unlimited video generations. Each video generation uses credits, and it often requires numerous attempts to achieve satisfactory results, so credits deplete quickly.
What video resolution does Gen-2 support?
The Basic Free plan is limited to 720p video exports. The Standard plan and above supports 4K video exports. The Standard plan also includes 2K image exports. Pro plan and above adds PNG and ProRes export options.
What is Runway's refund policy for Gen-2?
Runway offers a 30-day refund policy for subscription payments. Users can request a full refund within 30 days of subscription initiation or renewal, provided the plan is unused or close to unused. Refunds are also available for credit purchases within 30 days as long as credits have not been used. Third-party service fees are not refundable.
How should I structure prompts for Gen-2?
Structure prompts as: base prompt followed by 'in the style of' and then description. A recommended formula is: style - genre - frame - object - action - environment - lighting. For example: 'Cinematic action, cyberpunk film, car driving, city, night lighting' gives a cyberpunk car driving at a generic night city.
What settings can I adjust in Gen-2?
You can adjust seed value, enable upscaling, enable interpolation, and control watermark settings. Navigate to Gen-2, type what you want to generate, adjust these settings, click Generate, and rate your generation to help the Runway team improve Gen-2. Generations automatically save to your Runway assets folder.
What payment methods does Runway accept for Gen-2?
Runway uses Stripe as its third-party billing provider and accepts credit or debit cards, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Alipay, Cash App Pay, and WeChat Pay. Plans are billed annually for the listed per-user-per-month prices.