Hi, there. Welcome back to another episode of Tech Break by Friday. Today’s topic is creating videos for short-form content using an AI creative platform, Runway. If you ever wanted to experiment with making videos without being a professional videographer, please stay for this episode’s sweet spots. Today’s episode aims to help students, AI enthusiasts (who like to experiment with AI tools), small business owners or marketers who are looking for an easy way to create engaging short videos to market their products or services.
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What is Runway?
So, if you are up for the ride, let’s move on to see what Runway is exactly. Runway is an AI-powered creative suite built to help anyone make videos, images, and even audio. When you sign up with Runway, you get some free credits to try out the service.
My Experiments
You can generate a video by typing a prompt like “a woman preparing to record a podcast episode”, with Gen-4 Turbo or Gen-4. I want to add here that the Gen-4 model is their more premium, robust model. I created a video from an image I already had saved. You can see the video here.
As you can see, the video gets a bit distorted from the initial picture.
Then I used a bit more detailed prompt to create 4 images with Runway’s image generator. Prompt: “a white woman with black hair, black and white outfit preparing her space to record a podcast“
Then I used the image I created here as input for the video generation. By using the image and the same prompt from the previous video, I got a short video of a woman preparing to record a podcast. Below you can see the video.
I liked Gen-4 Turbo's fast video creation speed. The video seems super realistic. From my 2 experiments, you can see that the quality of the image plays a huge role.
What else can you make with Runway?
Here’s where it gets fun. Runway isn’t just for one type of creator. You can use it to:
Storyboard your next short film- no more stick figures!
Make social media videos that pop, whether it’s for TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube Shorts.
Create product demos or explainer videos for your business.
Design educational content that actually holds students’ attention.
Experiment with digital art- try wild styles, mash up genres, or animate your illustrations.
Edit your pictures by removing random people or imperfections.
Because it’s all AI-powered, you can try a dozen ideas in the time it used to take to edit one video. If you don’t like the output, tweak your prompt and try again—no reshoots, no stress.
Why use Runway or similar tools?
Someone might ask, "Where does this help me?" If you don't mind, if you are a new product founder or business owner, you can upload a mockup of your product and create a set of short-form videos. By tweaking them and playing around, adding music or audio, you can create a fast ad or reel to boost your reach on social media.
If you are a professional and you see that your shots contain material that you don’t want, you can upload the frames in Runway and edit them a lot faster. AI can remove people and objects from videos or photos by replacing the background with a high probability. You can save time editing and make more videos you like.
If you are a student or someone who wants to create but lacks videography skills, you can experiment by creating a runway video. Hopefully, this will expand your skills and productivity, helping you develop ideas and skills you can use later in your life.
Useful Prompting Tips
Use positive phrasing only
Use direct, simple, and easily understood prompts
Focus on describing the motion, rather than the input image
Avoid conversational or command-based prompts
Avoid overly complex prompts
Call to Action - Ready to try it out?
Here’s how to get rolling with Runway:
Sign up- head to Runway’s website and create a free account.
Choose your tool- start with text-to-video, image-to-video, or play with the magic tools.
Type your prompt. Be as specific or creative as you like. “A cat surfing a giant wave at sunset”? Go for it.
Tweak and download-adjust settings, preview your video, and when you’re happy, download and share it anywhere.
Pro tip: Start with Gen-4 Turbo if you want fast brainstorming results, then switch to the standard Gen-4 for your final, polished video. And don’t be afraid to experiment—the best ideas usually come from playing around.
Disclaimer: Runway is not sponsoring me to create this episode or say these words. This is my opinion, which I wanted to share with you since I gained a lot of value from it.
Let’s wrap up. Runway is changing the game for creators of all stripes. It’s fast, fun, and packed with features that make video creation accessible to everyone.
If you try it out, let me know what you make! Tag me or send your creations my way. I’d love to see what you dream up.
If you liked this episode and found it useful, please share it with others who might also find it helpful. Have a great week, and keep building.
References:
1. https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/39789879462419-Gen-4-Video-Prompting-Guide
3.https://app.runwayml.com/video-tools/teams/kibroglouparaskevi/dashboard
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