- Okay, so text-to-video AI is going to play a large part
in the future of content creation,
but right, now its biggest strengths kinda look like this.
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As a content creator, this terrifies me,
but as a tech nerd, I'm fascinated,
and I wanted to know more.
So here are five video AI tools
that you should know about right now.
I'm Becca.
Welcome back to "Full Frame."
The goal of text-to-video AI is to be able to type a prompt
into a text field,
and within seconds or more likely minutes,
a video will be created using an AI model.
Some of the biggest companies in tech are researching this.
Meta announced Make-A-Video.
Google has announced Imagine Video and Phenaki,
and NVIDIA says it's getting involved, too.
None of those programs are currently available
for public use, but they all share the common goal
of creating video via text prompts, and at this point,
the output of these systems is far from photorealistic.
Figures warp and morph,
and there are obvious changes between frames,
but the demos are public statements
of research and development
in the text-to-video field
from large and powerful companies,
and seeing that our world is increasingly filled
with video content, it makes a lot of sense
that the next step in AI research is creating moving images.
If you wanna try one of these out right now
and start practicing prompting AI to make video,
well, the best one I've found is Runway's Gen-2.
Gen-2 attempts to create four-second video clips
from text prompts using a diffusion model,
and in its current state,
the program creates dystopian worlds filled
with objects blurring together
and oddly moving humans whose limbs morph and change,
but to Gen-2's credit,
the program is attempting to create
more realistic video from scratch
instead of just applying a filter to existing content.
This is only the first of Runway's text-to-video tools
that are available to the public.
So we can expect to see a lot
of growth in later generations.
After a free 125-credit trial, Gen-2 costs $15 to $35,
depending on the plan you choose,
and it's based on a credit system.
It's easy to see how someday you'll be able to create
really visually stunning stories using just text prompts,
but currently, most of the AI tools that are available,
they do stuff more like this.
This is Kaiber.
So while Gen-2 is creating video completely from scratch,
Kaiber typically relies on photos or videos being uploaded
and then a sort of filter
or artistic look being then applied to it.
Upload a photo or video alongside a text prompt,
which the program can walk you through making.
Then set some video parameters.
After that, the program will spit out four different looks
to base a larger animation off of.
If you're not so happy with it,
you can go back and tune your prompt,
but once you decide on a final look,
the program will spit out an animation that spirals
and funnels into ever-changing art styles
based on the input.
When manipulating a photo with these changing styles,
create a sense of motion, but when used on a video,
it feels more like an applied filter.
You can also use the program
with outsourced footage relying completely on text,
but in my use, the program still spits out still images
that cycle through artistic looks,
rather than actual motion of objects.
For example, I wasn't able to prompt the system
using text to make a man walk.
Instead, it creates motion
by changing the style of objects or people.
With this, you can piece a story together anime style,
but I hope later versions will allow
for more movements of subjects through the frame.
Kaiber offers a seven-day free trial with 60 credits
but then charges anywhere from $5 to $30 a month,
depending on how many features you wanna have access to
or however many credits you want.
The company claims the system has been created for artists
by artists and is not meant to replace creativity.
I take that claim with a grain of salt
because there is no doubt in my mind
that programs like this and all of the other ones
in this video are going to take jobs away
from creators or animators.
What I will give Kaiber credit for, though,
is that their look is incredibly unique
and very hard to look away from.
Let's take a moment to talk about the terms
and conditions you have to sign
to use most of these programs.
In many of these agreements,
you are giving a service the rights
to whatever you upload and create with its tools,
not to mention all of the data
that you are giving the program by using it.
You might be just editing a fun photo,
but you don't know what that program could be used for
in the future.
There's also a lot of questions
around where these models got their data in the first place.
Recently, Reddit raised its API pricing
in an attempt to fight back
against AI companies freely using its content,
and Getty is suing Stability AI
after its image generators were caught outputting images
with Getty like watermarks,
and then there's the whole big question
about what AI tools are being asked to create.
In the US, very little has been done to regulate AI,
whereas in China and in the EU,
steps are already being taken to regulate who can use AI
and what they can use it for.
I had trouble justifying making this video
because it gives a platform to companies and programs
that we don't know what they're fully capable of,
but I do believe it's really important as a creator
and as a human to understand what tools are out there
to educate ourselves
on these things that will inevitably be woven
into almost everything we do.
So with that, here are some more tools
that can be used to manipulate video.
MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform,
but it recently added this neat trick.
It's called Deep Nostalgia,
and it's licensed by an AI company called D-ID.
A program like this is typically trained using
prerecorded videos of facial movements,
and then the algorithm analyzes an uploaded face
and applies a movement that best matches that face.
Subjects smile or tilt their head slightly
to create this illusion of video.
In its current state,
Deep Nostalgia does not allow text prompts to be put in,
but I could see a future generation adding those things.
I could also see this being used
in documentaries instead of that Ken Burns effect,
where photos kind of move all over the frame.
Instead, they'll just be coming to life. (chuckling)
There's a free 14-day trial,
or it's $129 annually after that,
which reminds me I have to cancel my subscription.
The next video AI tool is having computer-generated avatars
say prompted text.
There's a site called Synthesia that is really aimed
towards more of the corporate marketplace,
making those IT videos where they tell you like,
"Don't click the doc,"
but I wanted to include it because,
although in its current state
the avatars are obviously computer generated...
- Hello, sales team.
Today, I am excited to introduce our latest product,
the Max Pro Industrial Machine."
- There is a future where we see this type of video often.
Unfortunately, every time I submitted text to this program,
it never sent me the video file
into my email like it had promised.
So I don't recommend you use Synthesia for yourself,
but it is important to know that these programs exist
and someday will be available for public use.
(soft music)
Lastly there, there's Unboring by the AI company Reface.
Unboring allows users to apply artistic filters
and animate photos,
much like all of the programs I've already spoken about,
but then also offers face swapping.
Simply upload a photo, video or GIF of one face
and then the same of the face you wanna swap it with,
and well, within seconds, you have a swapped video.
Without upgrading, the video is a bit grainy,
but I don't know.
My boss Verin was able to tell that I put Tom Warren's face,
who's another senior reporter here at The Verge, on mine,
and well, the whole process, man, it is really easy,
and it is really accessible, which just shows you how crazy
and honestly spooky this technology has gotten.
Unboarding has a free five token for two days trial
and then costs 50 cents per token if you pay as you go
or about 10 cents per token
with a monthly subscription plan.
AI will create new art forms,
and it will definitely (chuckling) burn others
to the ground.
So where do you stand on it?
Let me know down below.
Personally, I started this piece because I'm working
on a larger piece about content creators in the AI era,
and I wanted to know what tools were out there.
I wanted to know how to use them,
what capabilities anybody with internet access has.
I mean, the tools that we have available allow a lot
of people to make really wonderful things
and allow other folks to make incredibly damaging things.
So it's important to educate yourself on this.
It's important to use these tools,
and let me know down below where do you stand?
Thanks, buds. I'll see you in the next one.
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