Runway ML Complete Guide: How to Make AI Videos in 2026

Runway ML is the most feature-complete AI video platform in 2026. While Sora gets the headlines, Runway gives you the directorial controls professionals actually need. Here's how to use it.

Gen-4 text-to-video. Type a prompt, pick aspect ratio, get a 5-10 second clip. Quality is genuinely cinematic. Pro tip: prompt like a director — specify camera moves, lens, lighting, mood.

Image-to-video. Upload a still image, describe how it should move. The model preserves your image's style and adds motion. This is the bread-and-butter feature most pros use.

Motion Brush. Paint specific regions of an image and assign motion to just those parts. Make smoke rise from a chimney without moving the rest of the scene. Unique to Runway.

Camera controls. Pan, zoom, dolly, tilt — all selectable from a UI. Far more reliable than describing camera moves in prompts.

Lip sync (Act One). Record yourself acting, apply that performance to an AI-generated character. Excellent for narrative work.

Frames (image gen). Runway also has a strong image generator built in. Generate references in the same app you animate them.