Videos

AI images for video scenes

Some scene layouts want a photograph and you do not have one. A generated image fills that gap, and the interesting part is the rule around it: it is only allowed where the picture is genuinely generic. Faking your own interface, your logo or a real person is explicitly forbidden.

Create a video with OneCraftWhen a generated image is allowed, how the shape is chosen, and the rule against faking
The Image component tile, offering upload or pick a photo
An image slot takes an upload or a picture you generate, and the scene animates it in.

Only where the picture is generic

The rule the director works to is precise. Where a layout wants a photograph or an illustration and no uploaded image fits, it may write image prompts, one per image slot in slot order, describing a subject, a setting and a mood, with no text in the picture. It may only do that for generic visuals. It is told never to fake the user's own app, website, screenshots, real people or logos, and that for those it should prefer a layout that draws itself instead.

One or the other, never both

A scene uses either your uploaded images or generated ones, never a mixture. That prevents the specific ugliness of a real product photograph sitting next to a fabricated one at the same size, where a viewer reasonably assumes both are real. The same applies to the per frame narration, which is written the same way whichever kind of picture the scene is using.

The shape is chosen, not fixed

Every image slot publishes the box it makes in each canvas, and generation picks the aspect ratio nearest that box from eight options: 21:9, 16:9, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, 2:3 and 9:16. So a tall slot gets a tall picture rather than a square one cropped to fit. In the builder each media field also carries its own prompt box, up to 2,000 characters, so you can generate a replacement for one slot without touching the rest of the scene.

What generated images are actually good for

Backdrops behind a statement line, atmosphere in a hospitality or travel video, an abstract visual for a concept with no photograph, and a texture or setting shot to break up a run of typography. What they are bad for is anything a viewer will inspect: hands, faces, text on signage, a specific place they know. Video helps here, since a picture on screen for three seconds is examined far less than one on a web page.

How it works, in three steps

  1. Step 1

    Upload what you have first

    Real pictures always win. Generation fills slots your own images do not, so eight good uploads leaves little for it to do.

  2. Step 2

    Let the director write the prompts

    It writes one per slot in order, with subject, setting and mood, sized to the slot. That is usually better than a prompt written blind.

  3. Step 3

    Regenerate one slot at a time

    Each media field in the inspector has its own describe and generate row, so a single weak picture can be replaced without redoing the scene.

The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Make a promo video with AI voiceover.

Limits worth knowing

Questions people ask

Can it generate a picture of my product?

It is instructed not to, and that is the right behaviour. A fabricated version of a real product is a false representation of the thing you are selling, and in most jurisdictions a demonstration has to depict actual performance.

Why do I not get an image on some scenes?

Because many roles are text and graphics only by design. Problem, solution, comparison, checklist, diagram, chart, offer, countdown and table all draw themselves and take no picture at all.

Can I generate a person?

Not as a stand-in for a real one. The creator format does generate a persona, but that is a separate mode, gated to the Pro plan, and the person is presented as a creator rather than as your customer or your staff.

Do I need to label AI images in an ad?

Increasingly, yes, depending on where the ad runs. Google now requires AI generated or AI edited ad assets to be labelled in several markets, so check the rules for your placement before publishing.

Make your own video

The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.

Create a video with OneCraft

Related pages

More finished work of this kind is on the video examples hub.