Help with Free AI video

[SH73]

Greetings everyone, I would like to create a short 1.5 mins music videos song is done. I'm looking for a free AI app where I can upload photos that then converts it onto a video. Any suggestions please, something that works and is decent (ISH)? Thank you

Edited 7 hours ago by SH73
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[binky_bass]

I don't think there are any... most 'free' ones are limited to 6-10 seconds due to how ridiculously compute intensive it is to create an AI video from images. I'd also raise the question (my personal opinion) of the point of doing so? Why have your original music that YOU created superceded in people's memory by a video AI created? Don't diminish your work by tarnishing it with AI. 

[SH73]

Hello binky_bass,

Time constraints, simple..it's a short video I need to create from photos , and add my written  sing to it.

[Woodinblack]

You can get a service where you would only pay a few quid for a video, but it would take probably a few iterations to get it how you want, so it might be better getting a subscription.

This is assumign you wanted to animate the  photos and make an AI video, unless you just meant one of those videos where you just have the pictures fading into each other that any photo service should be able to do free

 

[Wombat]

I looked into this recently and I couldn’t find anything ‘free’. Any with a free trial still needed a credit card number and I’m too sceptical to do that.

I ended up using copilot to make some images (typed in the lyrics and went through a lot of questions as to ‘what I wanted it to look like’) and used a vid edit program to stitch them together… Happy with the results, especially as none of the people involved had time to be in it 😂.

 

 

[Woodinblack]

48 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I ended up using copilot to make some images (typed in the lyrics and went through a lot of questions as to ‘what I wanted it to look like’) and used a vid edit program to stitch them together… Happy with the results, especially as none of the people involved had time to be in it 😂.

 

ok, thats why I asked the question of whether people meant AI or just standard video effects - your one there, any normal video editor can do that quite simply, but if someone asks for AI I assume they mean a generative AI video, where you have virtual people doing things etc, like the hyper realistic videos of people who aren't real.

[Wombat]

Yes, if you want ‘that’ as far as I can see you have to pay. ChatGPT was asking for a subscription of £30 a month and I couldn’t find any way to ’test’ how good it might be. It took three days to get the images out of copilot. It mostly produced ’even crapper and very unrelated images’ apologising profusely, then told me I’d run out of credits and had to wait 24 hrs to do more!

I’d be very interested if there is tool that can do what you say for a reasonable cost. As far as my (modest) research took me you have to be Disney to do hyper realistic vids of people who aren’t real…

When we released the last album, using Distrokid, they did a few promotional vids as part of the ‘service’ but they were basically actual video (one had Wednesday Adam’s in it) cut & changed to work to the bpm of the track. No ‘people who aren’t real’ involved.

[binky_bass]

As I say, AI video creation uses huge amount of compute and therefore energy. 

 

To put it in perspective, to create a 2 minute video using generative AI, with only a number of photos being used as a prompt, uses approximately 200kWh of energy. The average UK household uses 7.4kWh of energy per day, so to do what you want would take the equivalent of nearly a month's worth of energy consumption for the average household. 

 

200kWh will also do my Ford Capri 3 full charges, that'd power me for over 900 miles. 

 

So, what you are asking is hugely energy intensive and will never be free.

 

People really don't realise how incredibly energy intensive and damaging the use of AI is, many just assume its this new magic thing with no downside. The carbon emissions produced in just the exercise you're wanting to do is huge. 

 

 

[Dad3353]

1 minute ago, binky_bass said:

As I say, AI video creation uses huge amount of compute and therefore energy. 

 

To put it in perspective, to create a 2 minute video using generative AI, with only a number of photos being used as a prompt, uses approximately 200kWh of energy. The average UK household uses 7.4kWh of energy per day, so to do what you want would take the equivalent of nearly a month's worth of energy consumption for the average household. 

 

200kWh will also do my Ford Capri 3 full charges, that'd power me for over 900 miles. 

 

So, what you are asking is hugely energy intensive and will never be free.

 

People really don't realise how incredibly energy intensive and damaging the use of AI is, many just assume its this new magic thing with no downside. The carbon emissions produced in just the exercise you're wanting to do is huge. 

 

Can we see the sources of the figures given..? That's an awful lot of energy (approximately...). Please..? 

[binky_bass]

@Dad3353 - Some stats from... AI...

 

Creating a 2-minute realistic video using AI with photos as a guide requires significant energy, but exact figures are hard to pinpoint. However, here's a rough estimate:

- A 5-second AI video generation consumes around 2.9 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy, equivalent to running a microwave for over an hour.

- For a 2-minute video, energy consumption would be substantially higher, likely in the range of 100-200 kWh, considering the complexity and processing power required.

- To put this into perspective, training a large language model like GPT-3 uses around 1,300 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, equivalent to the annual power consumption of 130 homes in the US ¹ ².

 

The energy consumption varies greatly depending on factors like:

- *Model Complexity*: More advanced models like Google's Veo 2 or OpenAI's Sora require more energy.

- *Video Resolution*: Higher resolutions (e.g., 4K) demand more processing power.

 

The average UK household uses around 2,700 kWh of electricity per year. To break it down to a weekly estimate:

 

- Average weekly energy consumption: 2,700 kWh/year ÷ 52 weeks/year ≈ 52 kWh/week

- Average daily energy consumption: 2,700 kWh/year ÷ 365 days/year ≈ 7.4 kWh/day

 

Keep in mind that energy usage varies greatly depending on factors like:

- House size and insulation

- Number of occupants

- Appliance efficiency

- Heating and cooling systems

- Lifestyle and habits

 

For a more accurate estimate, consider tracking your own energy usage or checking your energy bills.

[Burns-bass]

You can use Fiverr (an online marketplace). I’ve used it for some cheap branded animations for a charity and it was fine. The prices are low, but many of the people there are fantastically well qualified. Use reviews as a guide and offer a generous tip if they do good work. You’ll likely be surprised at what you can get for your cash!

[BigRedX]

Your best approach really depends on what sorts of video you want. The OP's description of "photos that then converts it onto a video" is in terms of video output rather vague. I they simply want something that will pan and zoom the static photos then it can probably be done in Powerpoint (Windows) or Keynote (MacOS) which almost everyone with a computer will have. They could even add text for the lyrics. However if you've never done any animation in these programs before there will be a bit of a learning curve, and having never done it myself there may be issues with synchronising the images to the audio.

 

If they want something more as has already been said using a service like Fiverr is by far the most effective way to go in terms of speed and price. My band has used this method for several of our lyric videos which IIRC cost around £20-£30 each. This one uses simple animation:

 

And this one was done completely using stock footage, no AI at all:

 

If the OP definitely wants something that can only be done with AI then be prepared for a steep learning curve. Using AI may seem like simply uploading some images, typing some prompts and sitting back and enjoying the results, but the reality is that it will take time and effort to get something really worthwhile. You'll need to pick your prompts carefully, which is a skill in itself, and as other have already said most AI video is limited to short clips which will then need to be edited together to form a coherent whole. Also if you don't want to spend money you'll need multiple email addresses to benefit from the free trial of each address. And when you come to edit it all together you'll need to grade the clips to make sure that they are have the correct feel to make the complete video look like a whole.

 

If you think you have the time and skills then this is what can be done with AI:

 

This video was completely AI generated, but it took a couple of months worth of work creating all the relevant prompts to achieve the required results, and there are still a few instances where the main character has more fingers than a typical human being. On top of that it uses additional programs to do things like keep the faces of the main characters consistent through the video and the whole thing was put together in a professional video editing application, by someone who has experience with editing music videos. 

 

Good luck!

[SimonK]

21 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Your best approach really depends on what sorts of video you want. The OP's description of "photos that then converts it onto a video" is in terms of video output rather vague. I they simply want something that will pan and zoom the static photos then it can probably be done in Powerpoint (Windows) or Keynote (MacOS) which almost everyone with a computer will have. They could even add text for the lyrics. However if you've never done any animation in these programs before there will be a bit of a learning curve, and having never done it myself there may be issues with synchronising the images to the audio.

 

If they want something more as has already been said using a service like Fiverr is by far the most effective way to go in terms of speed and price. My band has used this method for several of our lyric videos which IIRC cost around £20-£30 each. This one uses simple animation:

 

And this one was done completely using stock footage, no AI at all:

 

If the OP definitely wants something that can only be done with AI then be prepared for a steep learning curve. Using AI may seem like simply uploading some images, typing some prompts and sitting back and enjoying the results, but the reality is that it will take time and effort to get something really worthwhile. You'll need to pick your prompts carefully, which is a skill in itself, and as other have already said most AI video is limited to short clips which will then need to be edited together to form a coherent whole. Also if you don't want to spend money you'll need multiple email addresses to benefit from the free trial of each address. And when you come to edit it all together you'll need to grade the clips to make sure that they are have the correct feel to make the complete video look like a whole.

 

If you think you have the time and skills then this is what can be done with AI:

 

This video was completely AI generated, but it took a couple of months worth of work creating all the relevant prompts to achieve the required results, and there are still a few instances where the main character has more fingers than a typical human being. On top of that it uses additional programs to do things like keep the faces of the main characters consistent through the video and the whole thing was put together in a professional video editing application, by someone who has experience with editing music videos. 

 

Good luck!

 

What software did you use for that last one (Middle Child Millicent)? I'm happy with the learning curve but can't decide on the software to invest in!!

[BigRedX]

9 minutes ago, SimonK said:

What software did you use for that last one (Middle Child Millicent)? I'm happy with the learning curve but can't decide on the software to invest in!!

 

According to our singer who created the video, it uses the following:

 

Kling (including lip synch), Vidu, Hailuo and Genmo;

Voice for the vocal stripping,

AI Face Swap for character consistency. The main character uses the face of one of our fans IIRC.

The video was made a year ago so the abilities of the various AI video applications will have moved on since then, and these may not be the best options any more.

 

The resulting clips were edited together in the full version DaVinci Resolve.

 

It took a long time to create, much of it was spent learning how to get the best out of the text prompts, and from what I recall very little of the footage generated at the beginning of the process made it through to the final edit. Also had the time been available he could have spent another month or so fine tuning the edits and getting rid of glitches like the additional fingers, but it had to be finished to coincide with the release of the EP which includes this song.

[Woodinblack]

I think I would still prefer to try talking to the video class of an art college to get something like that done, then everyone gets something out of it!

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I think I would still prefer to try talking to the video class of an art college to get something like that done, then everyone gets something out of it!

 

Nobody should work for free, not even students. You’re effectively telling them they’re not deserving of being paid.

 

I have this argument with charities all the time. If someone is using their time and skill to help you, then they should be paid.

 

If they sometimes choose to work for free (as I often do), that’s fine -  but it shouldn’t be an expectation.

[Woodinblack]

5 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

 

Nobody should work for free, not even students. You’re effectively telling them they’re not deserving of being paid.

 

I never said anything about not paying them - I think artists should support artists.

I mean you could quite easily get a group of art students making a video for an AI song to show off their work, and that would be the same thing.