Easy Access to Ai for Film Makers

Just under a year ago I made a presentation to the club about the ability of Artificial Intelligence to generate images from text prompts. Back in those yearly days, only a hand full of programs were capable of generating images from text, and even fewer produced good outputs, making it very easy to identify the best ones.

However, in the intervening months, Ai capabilities have improved massively, and so too have the range of programs claiming to be the ‘latest and greatest’. Ai programs can not only generate some exceptionally high quality images, but they can also tackle such tasks as editing, colouring, sharpening or enhancing images.

The choice of programs is now simply bewildering, and that becomes quite a challenge when selecting which ones to use, particularly since there are so many sub-standard ones mixed in. Not only is it time consuming to have to sign up and test each one, but it’s easy to end up paying a subscription for something that either doesn’t deliver, or a few months later discover that features have changed and it’s not kept pace with either new developments or your latest needs.

A year ago, generating videos from a text prompt was considered to be a pipe-dream, but since then one of the biggest Ai developments for video makers is the ability to create good quality 720p or 1080p videos directly from a prompt.

The output can be created either as a result of a text prompt, or (even better) by taking a still image as a start frame and then the Ai following text guidance as to the action or the camera movements required. There are now some very competent programs that can generate some very good videos:

Minimax /Hailuo
Kling 1.6-Pro and Standard
Tencent / Hunyuan
Luma<
LTX-Video
Mochi-1
Haiper
Pyramid-flow
CogVideox -5b (QingYing)

I regularly use Suno for music generation and 11labs for speech and voice cloning, and so I have subscriptions to both those services, but in other cases, such as utilities, or image and video generation where newer versions occur almost daily, it’s hard to keep current, and subscriptions services aren’t always viable.

I’ve found that an easy solution is to use ‘Replicate’, which is a platform offering access to a range of Ai ‘models’

I first used this platform to access the image generator ‘Flux’ (as detailed in the December edition of Border Post), but since then the range and depth of other models available on Replicate has grown, as indicated by this list below.

Replicate has several big advantages over trying to subscribe to a wide range of utilities or programs:

1. It’s a pay as you go system – if you don’t use it, there is nothing to pay.

2. Its simple to set a price cap so you don’t overspend each month (mine is set at $8)

3. It provides access to a range of Models that might normally only be available via subscription.

4. It has a consistent user interface, so it’s easy to switch between Models without having to relearn something.

This makes it a very simple way to experiment or test before making any serious commitment to subscribing elsewhere. Plus, many developers present their tuned Models on Replicate, so there are alternative versions available to try. Each Model will indicate it’s cost per run and they all vary so check it out carefully, plus you can cap your monthly spending so you don’t get too carried away!

The Models on offer vary from exceptionally good to mediocre, but its a really useful place to play around and experiment to find what suits. Its especially useful if you have a single project that might not require utilities or programs to be used again for a few months.

Those who have dabbled in Ai with know that getting good results is not as simple as typing in a few words and getting exactly what you expected – it requires learning how create good prompts, and involves a lot of patience, frustration, trial and error – and most of all, trying different programs.

Currently all my Ai image and video generations use a variety of Models on Replicate, and the range is regularly updated. These below are just some of their recent additions.

I not trying to act as a salesman for Replicate – and I have no other interest than I regularly use it – but club video makers might find some very useful utilities tucked away on there. For example, I was recently asked to sharpen an old slightly blurred photograph, and after a bit of experimentation, I found an inexpensive solution in Replicate.

Because it uses its own interface some of the more advanced features of programs might not be available, but it’s a very handy way to experiment with several Ai programs before needing to commit to a subscription.

If you want to get started with Replicate, this link will take you to my ‘Flux Feature’ where you can see how to set it up. Have fun!