How to make AI video
How to make an AI video
Pick a video model, write what happens in the shot, choose the length, size and sound, check the price, and run it. Then keep the best take and cut your shots together. Below, step by step in Root, with a three-shot video priced from start to finish: $10.39 for 20 seconds, drafts included.
Updated
First month free on the Beginner plan, with 650 credits to try any model.
AI video made in Root
Make your first AI video, step by step
- Start a project. Create an account, then open a project. Every clip and every take you make is saved there.
- Pick a model. Add a Video Gen node and choose a model. Each one is good at something different: long takes, sound, 4K, a low price. Our guide to the best AI video generator compares the main ones.
- Write the prompt. One shot, one action. Say what the camera sees, what moves, how the camera moves, the light, and what we hear.
- Start from an image, or not. A prompt alone is quickest. Start from an image when the shot has to open on a frame you choose, or a character has to look the same in every shot.
- Set the length, size and sound. Pick from what the model offers. Short and small while you test; longer and larger for the final take.
- Check the price and run. The price shows before you run it. Make a few takes and keep the best one.
- Finish it. Put the shots on the timeline, trim them, add a voice-over or music if you want, and export.
A worked example: three shots, priced
A 20-second video of a lighthouse keeper, in three shots, all with sound. Draft each shot cheaply until it works, then make the final take on a bigger model. One take each, in dollars:
| Shot | Prompt | Length | Draft: Seedance 2.0 Mini, 480p | Final: Seedance 2.5, 720p | Or: Kling 3.0, 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Wide | A lighthouse on a cliff at dusk, waves breaking below, slow push in. Wind and surf. | 10 s | $0.61 | $3.95 | $1.94 |
| 2. Medium | The keeper climbs the spiral stairs with an oil lamp, handheld from below. Boots on iron steps. | 5 s | $0.31 | $1.99 | $0.97 |
| 3. Close-up | The keeper's face as the great lamp turns on and sweeps past. A low hum, then the beam. | 5 s | $0.31 | $1.99 | $0.97 |
| All three | 20 s | $1.23 | $7.93 | $3.88 |
With two drafts of every shot before the final take, the whole video is $10.39 on Seedance 2.5, or $6.34 on Kling 3.0.
After the shots: edit and finish
- Change a finished clip with an Edit Video node, in the Root app: restyle it, relight it or change something in the shot, and keep the rest.
- Make a clip longer with Seedance 2.5's extend, in the Root app.
- Upscale the final takes before you export, if the video is going somewhere big.
- Add a voice-over or a music track, made in the same project.
- Cut it together on the timeline and export.
Related guides
AI video questions
How do I make an AI video?
Open a project in Root, add a Video Gen node, choose a model and write what happens in the shot. Set the length, size and sound, check the price and run it. Keep the best take, then cut your shots together on the timeline and export.
How much does it cost to make an AI video?
It depends on the length, the size and the model. The 20-second, three-shot example above is $7.93 on Seedance 2.5 at 720p with sound, one take each, or $10.39 with two cheap drafts of every shot first. The price of every clip shows before you run it.
How long can one AI clip be?
Seedance 2.5 makes up to 30 seconds in one run, the longest of the main video models on Root. A longer video is several clips cut together on Root's timeline, which holds up to 10 minutes.
Can I make an AI video with sound?
Yes. Many of the video models on Root make the sound with the picture, from the same prompt: write the dialogue and the sounds into it. Our guide to the best AI video generator lists which ones. You can also add a voice-over or a music track in the same project.
Can I make AI videos from ChatGPT or Claude?
Yes. Connect Root to ChatGPT or Claude and ask for a clip in the chat. It's priced and saved to your project the same way as in the app. MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) runs in the Root app only.
Can I try making AI video for free?
For a month, yes. The first month of Root's Beginner plan is free and comes with 650 credits, enough for 20 Seedance 2.0 Mini clips of five seconds at 480p with sound. After that the plan is $9 a month, and you can cancel whenever you like.
Try Root free for a month
The first month of the Beginner plan is free and comes with 650 credits to spend on any model. After that it's $9 a month, and you can cancel whenever you like.