Midjourney launches the first AI video tool to animate images

Midjourney launched its first public video generation tool, allowing users to create animation clips from still images.

Announced on the Midjourney website, this new feature allows you to generate 5-second videos from uploaded images or images created within the MidJourney platform.

Once an image is selected, the Animation button will appear, providing standard motion options or manual settings to customize movement.

Animations can be expanded in 4 seconds increments with a length of up to 21 seconds. Motion settings allow users to determine whether the subject, camera, or both are animated.

This feature is currently limited to subscribers, with plans starting at $10 per month.

According to Midjourney, the cost of video generation is about eight times higher than image rendering, which is equivalent to the cost per second of video.

The release arises amid ongoing copyright lawsuits filed by Disney and Universal.

Two entertainment companies argue that Midjourney's training process may include misuse of copyrighted works. The legal declaration specifically flags the video tool as concern, and the plaintiff describes the company's production volume as an “virtual vending machine” of unauthorized content.

Midjourney founder David Holz described the release as a “footstone” in the development of the company's real-time, open-world simulation model.

The startup is one of several companies competing to develop video tools powered by AI, and competitors such as Google, Openai and Meta have also released systems that generate video content from text prompts.

Social media users share the initial reaction, including early videos, and many praise it as a “game changer.”

Midjourney's current offering focuses on animations of static images, but the company shows that future updates will introduce enhancements.