Getting started

This walks through the whole workflow once. Budget about fifteen minutes, most of which is waiting for generations.

Before you start

Have three things to hand:

• Two or three photographs of your product, ideally on a plain background, from different angles.
• A photograph of the person you want in the film, if there is one. A clear, well-lit face works best.
• A reference advertisement whose pacing or look you admire. A downloaded MP4 is fine.

None of these are required — you can generate from a written brief alone — but the output is markedly better when the model has something real to anchor to.

1. Create a project

Pick a template if one matches what you are making, or start blank. The template only seeds a scene structure; you can rewrite every part of it.

Set the aspect ratio to match where the video will run. 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts; 16:9 for YouTube and most paid placements.

2. Upload your references

Drag your files onto the canvas. They upload directly to storage — large videos do not pass through the application — and each one is analysed as soon as it lands.

Analysis is what makes the Director useful. For an image it identifies people, products, palette, lighting and composition. For a video it samples frames across the whole clip and describes shot lengths, camera movement, pacing and lighting discipline. You can see the result on any asset in the library.

Wait for the analysis badge before writing your brief. The Director can only reason about what has been analysed.

3. Register your cast and product

Select the photographs of your product, then create a product from them. Do the same for any person who appears in the film.

This step matters more than it looks. A prompt that says “a woman with dark hair” produces a different woman every time. A registered character sends the approved photographs with every generation, so shot four shows the person from shot one.

4. Describe the video

In the Director panel on the right, write what you want in plain language:

Create a 20-second cinematic Instagram advertisement for this handbag, using this woman, taking inspiration from the pacing of the reference video.

The Director reads the whole project and returns a storyboard: four or five scenes with duration, camera, lighting, environment and a self-contained prompt each. They appear on the canvas connected in sequence, with your references wired to the scenes that use them.

Nothing has been generated and nothing has been charged.

5. Edit the plan

This is the cheap part, so spend time here.

Select a scene on the canvas and tell the Director what to change — “make this one an outdoor night scene” — and only that scene changes. Or open the scene inspector and edit the fields directly.

Connect a reference to a scene by dragging between their handles. You will be asked what the reference means: a style reference, a first frame, the product. That choice changes what the model does with it, so it is worth getting right.

6. Generate

Open a scene’s Generate tab. You will see the model that will be used, the resolution, and the cost in credits before anything happens. If a setting is not supported, you are told which one and why, rather than having it silently changed.

Generate one scene first and look at it. Adjust the prompt, regenerate, compare the two takes in the Versions tab, and promote the one you prefer. Old takes are never overwritten.

When you are happy with the direction, use Generate all to run the remaining scenes. You will get a total cost and a per-scene breakdown to confirm before anything runs.

7. Cut and export

Open the timeline and press Rebuild from storyboard to lay your generated takes end to end. Reorder clips by dragging, set transitions, and add voiceover or music if you have it.

Then Export. The render runs in the background — you can close the tab — and the finished MP4 appears on the project’s exports page, ready to download.

What to do when a generation disappoints

• The product looks wrong. Add more product references, especially a straight-on front shot, and make sure the product is attached to the scene with the PRODUCT role.
• The person changes between shots. Check the character is attached to every scene that features them, and that its reference images are clear and consistent.
• The motion is wrong. Be explicit in the camera field. “Slow dolly-in on a locked tripod” beats “cinematic”.
• It ignored your reference. Confirm the connection role. A style reference influences the look; it does not put that image in the shot.