The AI Video Tool: Picking the Right Engine

The video tool turns a prompt (or an image) into a short clip. It offers the widest engine range on WorkCrafter because video is where quality, speed and cost diverge the most. This guide groups the engines so you can pick with confidence, and covers the prompt habits that matter more for video than anything else.

The models, by family

Pick a model per generation. They group into a few families:

• Automatic: the standard engine, at the standard price. Start here.
• LTX Video (13B / 2 / 2.5): the fast, dependable core at 2 to 3 credits a second — 13B for clips up to 4 seconds, LTX Video 2 and 2.5 for 4 to 10 seconds. LTX Video 2.5 is the newest and the one to try first. Great for drafts and everyday clips.
• Hailuo H3 Turbo: a standard engine at 4 credits a second, 4 to 10 seconds. A second opinion when LTX misses the motion you asked for.
• Grok Imagine Lite and Grok Imagine 1.5: Lite is the cheapest premium engine on the platform at 3.6 credits a second, which makes premium output affordable in volume. Both take clips up to 15 seconds.
• Gemini Omni, Omni Flash 1.1 and Omni Flash 1.2, Wan3 and Wan3 Prime: inexpensive premium engines, a sensible step up from the standard one. Omni Flash 1.2 goes to 15 seconds but has no square format — a square brief comes back as 16:9.
• Hailuo H3 Max and Hailuo 3: 9.6 and 12 credits a second, up to 15 seconds. H3 Max is unusual in that it chooses the shape of the clip itself rather than taking an instruction.
• Kling O3 Standard and Kling O3 Pro: 15.6 and 20.4 credits a second, 5 or 10 seconds. Standard works at 720p, Pro at 1080p.
• The Kling family — Kling 4, Kling 4 Flash, Kling 3.0 Pro, Kling 3.0 Standard, Kling 2.5 Turbo Pro: a 12-to-21-credit band. Kling 4 is the only engine here that produces 30 seconds in a single shot; Kling 3.0 Standard is the cheapest way in; Kling 3.0 Pro is the cheapest route to 1080p. Kling 2.5 Turbo Pro accepts 5 or 10 seconds and no other length, and Kling 4 Flash bills a minimum per run.
• Veo 3.1 Fast / Veo 3.1: premium, film-like output for hero clips and ads where the look is everything. Both can generate sound with the clip, which roughly doubles the price per second.
• Seedance 2 Mini / Fast / 2 / 2.5: strong motion and coherence; Mini is the affordable one, 2 and 2.5 the most expensive engines on the list.
• Gen-4.5 and HappyHorse 1.0: flagship models for demanding shots. HappyHorse offers ten output shapes, which is unusual flexibility at 18 credits a second.

Four engines bill a minimum per run whatever the clip length — Kling 4 Flash, Seedance 2 Mini, Seedance 2.5 and Gemini Omni Flash 1.2. On those, a two-second test costs the same as a longer clip, so test somewhere else or make the test long enough to be worth the floor. Every engine's accepted lengths and shapes are listed here.

“Iterate on a fast model, finalise on a premium one. Video is the most expensive tool per run — don't polish a bad idea at flagship quality.”— WorkCrafter

Prompt for motion, not just a picture

The mistake most people make is describing a still image. Video engines need to know what moves and how the camera behaves. Cover:

1. Subject and setting: what's in the shot and where.
2. Motion: what the subject does, and how fast.
3. Camera: static, slow pan, push-in, orbit, handheld.
4. Style and light: cinematic, documentary, golden hour, neon.

A red kayak gliding down a calm river at dawn, gentle forward motion, slow cinematic push-in, mist on the water, warm golden light

Keep clips short and intentional

Shorter clips hold together far better than long ones — coherence, physics and faces all degrade as duration grows. Generate two good seconds rather than six shaky ones, and cut several short clips together in an editor for anything longer. This also keeps costs down while you find the shot that works.

Image-to-video

Starting from an image you generated (or uploaded, where supported) gives you far more control over the look than describing everything in words. Nail the frame first with the image tool, then animate it — the video inherits the composition you already like.

What video engines are still bad at

• Long takes — quality and coherence fall off quickly, so keep clips short.
• Precise hands, faces and text, especially in motion.
• Complex multi-step actions — one clear motion per clip works best.
• Exact continuity across separate clips — plan cuts rather than expecting a seamless long shot.

One motion per clip

The single most common mistake is asking one short clip to do three things: a subject that moves, a camera that moves, and something changing in the background. The model has a few seconds to satisfy all of it, and the result is usually a soup where nothing reads clearly.

Describe one clear movement and one camera behaviour. If your idea needs more, that is not one clip — it is two, cut together in the editor. Thinking in shots rather than scenes is the habit that separates usable AI footage from the kind that stays on the hard drive.

Camera language that the model understands

• Static — the camera does not move. Underrated: it makes the subject's motion read clearly.
• Slow push-in — builds attention. The safest cinematic move.
• Pull back — reveals context, good for establishing a place.
• Pan or tilt — sweeps across a scene without changing distance.
• Orbit — circles the subject. Strong for products, demanding on coherence.
• Handheld — adds documentary energy, and hides small imperfections.

Why short clips are not a limitation

Coherence decays with duration: physics drift, faces morph, and the model loses the thread. Two seconds that hold together are worth more than six that fall apart, and professional edits are built from short shots anyway — count the cuts in any ad you like.

Generating short also costs less per attempt, which means more attempts and a better final pick. Plan for a sequence of three to five short clips and assemble them, rather than hoping for one long take.

Draft cheap, finish expensive

Video is the most expensive tool per run, so the order matters. Explore the idea on a fast model until the framing and motion are right, then re-run that exact prompt on a premium model for the final. People who generate everything at flagship quality spend several times more to reach the same clip.

From clips to a finished video

1. Generate three to five short clips around one idea, keeping the style words identical.
2. Trim each to its best moment — usually the middle, not the start.
3. Order them so the sequence tells a small story.
4. Add a music bed and one sound effect on the main cut.
5. Export, and only then judge whether a shot needs regenerating.

What it costs

Video is priced by the second. The standard engine is 3 credits a second, so a 4-second clip is 12 credits — about $0.24 at the $5 starter rate and $0.17 on the $50 pack — and a 10-second clip is 30. Premium engines run from 3.6 to 48 credits a second, and the exact price of the clip you have set up is on the button before you generate. That spread is why drafting on the standard engine first pays off. Failed generations are refunded automatically.

Frequently asked questions

Which model should I finalise on?

For a hero clip or ad, a Veo model; for motion and action, Seedance; for a long unbroken shot, Kling 4, which is the only engine that reaches 30 seconds in one pass; for volume on a budget, Grok Imagine Lite at 3.6 credits a second. Draft on LTX Video first, then re-run your best idea on the premium model.

Why does my clip look warped or jittery?

Usually the clip is too long or the prompt asks for too much motion at once. Shorten it, simplify to one clear movement, and regenerate.

Can I make a full video with it?

Yes — by generating several short clips and editing them together. Treat the tool as a shot generator, not a one-click film maker.

Start filming

Open the video tool, draft a short clip on a fast engine with a clear motion and camera move, then finalise your best idea on a premium engine. Cut several short clips together for longer pieces.