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AI tool cheat sheets / Runway

Runway prompts and tips

Runway is a Gen-4 class AI video tool that shines at camera motion control and image-to-video. These prompts and hacks help you steer shots, use Act-One performance transfer, and iterate in short clips.

Last verified: 2026-07-06. Free tiers and features change, so check the official site.

Shot 1 2s Shot 2 3s Shot 3 2s durations should sum to your tier limit (often 5-15s)
Storyboard a video as timed shots. Keep the durations adding up to the clip length your tier allows.

At a glance

Type
A creative AI video tool in the Gen-4 class.
Strengths
Strong camera motion control and image-to-video.
Act-One
Transfers a performance from a driver video to a character.
Pricing
Free trial credits with paid Standard and Pro plans, verify current pricing.

Camera and motion

Camera push in

Dolly toward the subject.

Example: slow push in on the face

Camera pull out

Reveal the environment.

Example: pull out to a wide shot

Pan left or right

A horizontal sweep.

Example: gentle pan right across the city

Tracking shot

Follow the subject motion.

Example: tracking shot, subject walking

Static camera

No camera motion.

Example: for product shots

Act-One

Performance transfer from a driver video plus a character image.

Motion brush

Region-specific motion.

Example: animate only the water

Image-to-video

Start from a single frame.

Example: best for a consistent first frame

Tips

Start from a keyframe

Start from a strong keyframe made in Midjourney or Ideogram. Image-to-video beats raw text-to-video for people.

One move per prompt

Use one camera move per prompt. Stacking several moves confuses the model.

Short clips, iterate

Make 5 second clips and iterate. Do not ask for 30 seconds in one generation.

Clean driver video

Act-One needs a clean driver video with neutral, even lighting on the face.

Split the clauses

On Gen-4, describe the subject action and the camera move in separate clauses.

Lock the first frame

A consistent, high-quality first frame drives the whole clip, so refine it before you animate.

Draft then render

Generate at draft settings while iterating, then render the final keeper at higher quality.

Workflow ladder

Beginner

Use image-to-video, a 5 second clip, and one camera move.

Intermediate

Use Motion brush for region-specific control over what moves.

Master

Run Act-One performance transfer from a clean driver video.

Frequently asked questions

Is Runway free to use?
Runway offers free trial credits, then paid Standard and Pro plans for more generations and features, verify current pricing.
Should I use text-to-video or image-to-video?
For people and consistent scenes, start from a strong still and use image-to-video, since it holds detail far better than raw text-to-video.
What is Act-One in Runway?
Act-One transfers a performance from a driver video onto a character image, so facial expression and timing carry over to your subject.

This is reference content. The prompts and settings run in your own AI tool, not on glunty, so reading this page makes zero requests to those services. Details change often, so verify current pricing and limits on the official site.

Official reference: Runway docs. Details change, so verify version-specific features there.

Related on glunty: Generate keyframes, Kling video tips, Compress a still.

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