How to turn a picture into a video
Choose a picture that suits a film, say how it should move, and pick the model and length that fit. Six steps, from a still to a finished shot.
1. Pick a picture that suits a film
Your picture becomes the film's first frame, so the film starts exactly where it does. Three things make a picture easier to animate:
- One clear subject. A bottle, a face, a figure on a beach: something the camera can move toward or around.
- Room to move. Space around the subject gives the camera somewhere to go.
- The right shape. Choose the film's frame to match the picture: wide for a wide picture, tall for a tall one.
2. Bring it into Thisbe
In the chat, press + and choose Upload an image. Set Pick what it is for to Start frame, then press Attach.
If the picture is on your board already, choose it there and press Animate: it goes to the Director as the start frame.
3. Say how it should move
Tell the Director what happens, in your own words. Name the camera's move, and what moves in the frame.
“Move in slowly on the bottle, and let the light catch the glass.”
4. Check the Prompt
The Director writes the Prompt from what you said, with your picture in it as the start frame. The Prompt is exactly what will run: it's there to read, and you can change any part of it first.
Change a word, and the price updates before anything runs.
5. Choose the model and length
Every one of the six video models in this guide can start from your picture, and every one can also end on a picture you choose. Five of them add sound; Veo 3.1 can speak a line you write in quotes. For long takes, Seedance 2.5 and Wan 3.0 run up to 30 seconds. Lengths run from 2 to 30 seconds, depending on the model.
On Auto, Thisbe picks the model for the job and says why. To pick one yourself, open Models in the chat. Parameters, beside it, sets the length, the frame and the size.
6. Generate, then keep what works
The Director's card shows the job: the model, the length and the Prompt. Generate on it carries the price, and no render is charged until you press it.
The film lands in the chat and on your board. Open it on the board: Another take asks for the same Prompt again, and Use this prompt starts your next shot from its words. The Director prices each before anything runs.
If the picture is refused
A very wide or very tall picture can be refused. H3 takes a picture up to 2.5:1, long side to short, and Wan 3.0 up to 8:1. Crop the picture closer to a usual frame, or choose another model.
If the film is silent
Kling 3.0 Pro makes its films without sound in Thisbe; the other five add their own. To hear a character speak, write the line in quotes and choose Veo 3.1.
What it costs
A film from a picture is priced as any other film on its model, by the second, or by the clip on Veo 3.1.
H3 adds 3 credits for each picture it's given, so a 5-second H3 film from one picture is 33 credits at 768P.
A Veo 3.1 Lite clip at 1080p is 27 credits, at any of its lengths.
The models that do it
| Model | Lengths | Sound | First take from a picture | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kling 3.0 Pro | 3s to 15s | No | 5s at 1080p | 68 |
| Seedance 2.0 | 4s to 15s | Yes | 5s at 720p | 154 |
| Veo 3.1 | 4s, 6s or 8s | With lines | 4s Lite at 1080p | 27 |
| H3 | 4s to 15s | Yes | 5s at 768P | 33 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 4s to 30s | Yes | 5s at 480p | 105 |
| Wan 3.0 | 2s to 30s | Yes | 5s at 480p | 30 |