AI video generation transforms static images into videos with realistic motion. The AI analyzes the scene and adds natural movement based on your prompt. A beach scene might show waves crashing and palm trees swaying. A product shot might show fabric texture moving or light reflecting.
This feature is part of the 4-phase video production pipeline:
When creating videos in Video Production, you choose between two animation modes:
Ken Burns Mode
AI Video Mode
To use AI Video Mode:
The system automatically generates animated clips for each scene and composites them into your final video.
ILLIXIS supports multiple AI video generation tiers to balance quality, speed, and budget:
Standard Tier
Premium Tier
Mid Tier
Budget Tier
| Output Format | Recommended | Why |
|---------------|-------------|-----|
| YouTube only | Standard | Native 16:9, lowest cost for horizontal |
| TikTok/Reels only | Premium | Native 9:16, precise timing |
| Multi-platform | Premium | Generates all formats natively |
| Budget-conscious | Budget | Good quality, significantly cheaper |
| Lip-sync required | Premium or Mid | Native audio with speech sync |
Each scene in your script gets its own video clip. Duration is determined by the voiceover text length:
Automatic Duration Calculation:
Example:
Longer durations ensure voiceover doesn't feel rushed. Shorter durations reduce cost but may require faster speech.
AI video models animate based on a motion prompt. ILLIXIS generates these automatically, but understanding them helps you choose the right animation mode.
Motion prompt strategy:
Automatic motion styles:
Subtle "Gentle natural movements. Soft ambient motion like gentle breeze, light shimmer, subtle sway. High quality, smooth motion."
Dynamic "Flowing movement throughout the scene. Wind, water ripples, fabric movement. Vibrant lighting with energy."
Cinematic "Smooth camera movement with professional lighting. Gentle motion blur, natural shadows, depth."
Most video scripts use subtle or dynamic automatically based on content type. Educational content gets subtle motion. Promotional content gets dynamic.
AI-generated clips feed into the multi-aspect export pipeline. You produce three formats from one generation:
Standard tier generates 16:9 natively, then crops to other formats. Premium tier generates each aspect ratio independently for better composition.
AI video generation is the slowest phase of production:
Phase timing:
A 4-scene video requires 4 separate clip generations. These run in parallel (typically 4 simultaneous). Expect 3-8 minutes total for the video clips phase.
Use AI video when:
Use Ken Burns when:
Both modes produce high-quality output. The choice is budget vs. engagement impact.
Standard tier only generates 16:9 video. ILLIXIS handles vertical output by:
This works well for most content but can crop important elements. If your video has critical details at the edges, use the Premium tier which generates 9:16 natively.
Track AI video generation in Video Production:
Status indicators:
During Phase 3, you'll see:
If generation fails on one scene, the system retries up to 3 times before flagging the scene as failed. You can regenerate failed scenes individually.
Video generation times out
Video looks static (not much motion)
Cropped vertical videos cut off important elements
Generation fails repeatedly
Video doesn't match voiceover duration
Video settings persist per tenant. Configure once in Settings > Video Production:
Individual videos can override these defaults at production time.
Q: Can I use my own images instead of AI-generated scene images? Not yet. Custom image upload for video scenes is on the roadmap.
Q: Why does AI video cost more than Ken Burns? AI video generation requires advanced ML models that are computationally intensive. Ken Burns uses simpler rendering with static images.
Q: Can I generate audio directly from the video model? Premium and Mid tiers support native audio generation with lip-sync. This is optional. The default workflow uses ILLIXIS voiceover generation for better control and consistency.
Q: How many videos can I produce per month? Check your plan tier in Settings > Usage. Video quotas vary by tier:
Q: What happens if one scene fails to generate? The pipeline retries up to 3 times. If still failing, the scene is marked as failed. You can regenerate that scene individually, switch to Ken Burns mode for that scene, or choose a different quality tier.
Q: Can I mix Ken Burns and AI video in the same video? Not currently. All scenes use the same animation mode. This is a potential future enhancement.
Q: What if my video is longer than 20 seconds per scene? ILLIXIS splits long scenes into multiple clips. Each clip maxes out at the tier's limit. Clips are seamlessly joined during composition.
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