How do I make AI video ads in Votel?

Go to the Library and open AI Video (AI video generation). The Library also has AI Image Gen for images. Video generation is credit based, so each video uses credits. Models available include Seedance 2.5, Kling, Runway, HeyGen and Hedra, with wide and tall formats, and you can ask us to add models you want. We recommend Seedance 2.5: it is the newest and best model, the most expensive, and the one we use for our own ads. It follows instructions well and uses reference images accurately, but it is bad at text and sometimes mispronounces words, including brand names.

1. Start with a reference (seed) image. It makes every generation start with the same characters, for example you, two recurring characters or your brand logo, or a scene such as a photo of a house. Create it in AI Image Gen, ChatGPT or your favorite AI and upload it as the reference file.
2. Have an AI write a detailed script, almost like a movie script with time codes: what happens second by second, what the person says, hand movements, body language, emotion, tone of voice, props and what is on screen (for example zooming in, opening the front door and walking in). The more detail, the more predictable the result.
3. Draft at 480p, which is faster and cheaper, and perfect the script there. A 30 second video costs about $4.50 at 480p and a little over $22 at 1080p. When the script gives good results, render the final at 1080p.
4. Make both 16:9 and 9:16 versions. Use 9:16 for Reels.
5. Do not ask the AI for text in the video, such as signs or words on a computer screen; AI butchers text and it looks like gibberish. Add subtitles and text afterwards in another tool such as CapCut. Most people watch Facebook video without sound, so subtitles matter.

Seedance videos go up to 30 seconds. Most AI video is short; for longer videos, stitch several clips together, which takes more work.

Expect to generate several times. AI video has random defects (a prop disappears, a wrong word is said, speakers swap lines) that prompting cannot always fix. Our first ad style took about 40 to 50 tries at 480p; once the style was set, later ads took about two tries at 480p and two to four at 1080p. It is trial and error, so practice. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses, so experiment.

Images are much cheaper, about 7.5 cents each, so perfect your image ads before you tackle video. As an example of what is possible, our Mac versus PC style ad of two people arguing over a button was built entirely with Seedance 2.5 inside the platform.