AI Clip Generator: How Small a Clip Can You Make?
Which kind of clip do you want?
“Clip” means three different things, and only two of them are things this site does.
| You want | Can you do it here? | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A new short clip from an idea | Yes, by writing a very short script | A one-scene script, then one segment. The ladder below |
| A short branded spot from product photos | Yes | Ad Video, 15, 30 or 60 seconds. An ad from one photo |
| A few seconds taken out of a clip you generated | Yes | Edit this clip, trim or remove. Trim a clip |
| Highlights or short clips cut out of a long video | No | The remake path reads a video and shoots it again with your cast. It does not export pieces of the original |
| A single photo that moves | No | AI image to video explains what pictures are used for |
The last two rows are the honest part. A remake reads your clip shot by shot, then makes a new picture; the source is never handed to the video model. Remake a video covers it.
The ladder, from smallest to largest
| Size | Length | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free preview | About 5 seconds | One shot of your own episode, with your own cast, on the cheapest tier. Once per account. It can be shared | Free |
| Shortest segment | 4 seconds | The least a segment can be. A shorter total is rounded up to 4 | Four seconds at the tier’s per-second price |
| Standard segment | Up to 15 seconds | Three to five shots, one generation, one clip | Seconds times the tier’s price, on the card before you press |
| Long take | Up to 30 seconds | One generation with the camera cutting inside it. Only on tiers that support it | Same per-second price |
| Ad spot | 15, 30 or 60 seconds | One, two or four segments plus an end card, from up to four photos | One all-in price on the button. It is a cap, not a bill |
| Episode | Many segments | The segments joined into one file | Joining is 1 credit a second |
Video is priced by the second. The cheapest tier starts at 10 credits a second, about $0.06 at the lowest credit price. The price on a segment card follows the tier you pick for that segment, so a draft on the cheapest tier and the keeper on a better one are two separate choices. Draft at the lowest quality, finish at the highest explains the pattern.
Make one clip from an idea
There is no one-box path from a prompt to a clip, because a shot needs a cast and a place to be drawn from. The shortest honest path is a script of one scene.
- Write one scene. In AI Create choose the shortest length, Mini, which the menu describes as one scene, a test. Or paste three or four paragraphs yourself. Choosing the script length.
- Read. The reading finds the people and the place. It is priced by length at 4 credits per thousand characters on the default, and English counts 3,333 characters as 1,000, so a short scene is a small read.
- Look at the pictures. Step 2 draws a sheet for each person and place. The first 15 on an account are free, and one scene rarely needs more than a handful.
- Open the storyboard. The first drama’s episode 1 storyboard is free. A scene usually comes back as several segments.
- Generate one segment. Nothing is shot until you press the button on a card, so shoot the first segment and leave the rest. You pay only for the seconds you generate.
- Delete the extras if you do not want the timeline of unused cards. Deleting a segment is free; an episode always keeps at least one. Inserting and deleting segments.
The preview is a quicker way to see whether the cast works: once the storyboard is open it makes one shot of about 5 seconds for nothing. The free preview.
What a clip costs, step by step
| Step | Charge | Free allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Read the scene | 4 credits per 1,000 characters, English counted at 3,333 per 1,000 | None. A short scene is a small read |
| Sheets for the cast and place | Per image, at the image model’s price | The first 15 on an account |
| Storyboard | By the episode’s length in characters | The first 1 episode of the first project |
| The clip itself | Seconds times the tier’s price per second | A free preview of about 5 seconds, once per account |
| Trimming it afterwards | 5 credits per save, as a new version | None |
For the full price list see the pricing page; for what is free on a new account see What you get for free. A new account also starts with 50 credits.
When the clip is a few seconds too long
Select the segment, open Edit this clip and use Trim. In Keep mode the two handles frame what stays; in Remove mode they frame what goes, which cuts a moment out of the middle. The cut is made at the exact frame, picture and sound together, and nothing is generated again, so the faces and voices are the ones you already had. It costs 5 credits and is saved as a new version; the clip you started from is kept. Remove a moment from the middle.
To make a clip shorter before it is generated, change the seconds of its shots: they add up to the segment, and the segment is what you pay for. Change the segment duration.
What it will not do
- Cut clips out of a long video. There is no highlights or clipping tool. The remake reads a video and shoots it again with your own cast.
- Return a clip from a text box. A clip comes from a script, a cast and a storyboard, so the shortest path has a few steps in it.
- Animate one photo. Pictures are references for who and where, not frames to move.
- Make a single shot longer than the tier’s cap. A segment stops at 15 seconds, or 30 on the tiers that allow long takes.
If what you want is a finished, longer thing, an episode is these clips joined. Where credits go in one episode shows the whole sum.
FAQ
What is the shortest clip I can generate?
A segment is billed for at least 4 seconds. The free preview is shorter, about five seconds, but it is one shot made once per account for you to judge the cast.
Can I make a clip from just a text prompt?
Not in one box. A clip starts from a short script, which is read into a cast and a place, then shot as a segment. A one-scene script is the shortest honest path.
Can I cut clips from a long video?
No. There is no clipping or highlights tool. The remake path reads a video and makes a new picture; it does not export pieces of the original.
How long can one clip be?
A segment is up to 15 seconds, or 30 on the tiers that support long takes. A longer video is segments joined into an episode.
Is there a free clip?
There is a free preview of about five seconds, once per account, made from your own script and cast. The first setup images and the first storyboard are also free.
How do I make a 15 second ad?
Use the Ad Video tab with up to four photos of one subject and choose 15 seconds. The price on the button is a cap.
How do I shorten a clip I have already generated?
Open Edit this clip and trim it, or remove a moment from the middle. Each save is a small charge and creates a new version.
Can I make the clip vertical?
Yes. Format is chosen when you start the project or the ad, landscape or portrait, and every shot follows it.
Write one scene and shoot one segment
You pay for the seconds you generate, and the price is on the card before you press.
Updated November 2, 2026