- Runway is a generative AI platform with tools to transform images and video clips.
- The platform was used in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Runway is now opening some of its tools to the public. Here’s my experience trying them out:
When I was in high school, I took a graphic design class where I learned to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. My image editing experience ends there – and I haven’t even touched video.
In theory, I would be an ideal candidate to test Runway, a generative AI platform aimed at making photo editing and filmmaking more accessible to the general public.
The platform is already making headlines within the Oscar-winner hierarchy, and its tools were integral to the creation of Best Picture-winning film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” And brands like New Balance are using the tool for brainstorming, storyboarding and prototyping, Insider previously reported.
Runway utilizes AI models to enable users to enhance images and videos in a variety of creative ways, create images from text prompts, and more.
But its most unique feature is its ability to generate a full video from a text prompt. The feature is currently only available to select users of the chat app Discord, Axios reports. I did not have access for the purposes of this article, and Runway did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment.
In a previous interview with Insider, Runway co-founder Cristóbal Valenzuela said the platform’s ultimate goal is to make it available to artists with and without resources.
“It is the responsibility of every generation of artists to make the most of the technology out there to make art,” said Valenzuela. “Art is a point of view. It doesn’t have to be technical, it doesn’t have to be sophisticated. It just has to convey something meaningful.”
Still, I was a little skeptical that my runway endeavors would actually yield anything of artistic value.
Let’s take a closer look at my experience.
I started with a simple one: a text-to-image generator. My first suggestion was “Pink Orange and Orange Roses Dotting the Mojave Desert.”
There were no roses and oranges, but the desert itself had an interesting pinkish-orange glow.
