Short answer: Some video models can use images as visual references for the first frame, last frame, subject, or scene direction. Seedance 2.5 also accepts short video clips as references.
Steps
Choose a video model that supports image references.
Upload clear reference images.
Write a prompt explaining the motion and how the reference should be used.
Choose supported duration and resolution settings.
Start the generation and review the result.
Notes
Veo models and Grok Imagine Video accept one image. Grok Imagine Video 1.5 requires one image.
Seedance 2.5 accepts up to 30 references, which can include up to three video clips. Seedance 2.0, Fast, and Mini accept up to nine images, and Seedance 1.5 Pro accepts up to two.
Image references are cropped to the selected 9:16 or 16:9 ratio before generation.
To animate one image as the exact opening frame, use AI image to video. See Create Your First AI Video.
Create from image in Video mode only writes a prompt. Add the image separately as a reference if the model should use it.
A reference image controls visual direction; the prompt still needs to describe motion.
[Screenshot placeholder: video reference upload area.]
Video references with Seedance 2.5
In Create, with Video selected and Seedance 2.5 as the model, a reference can be a video clip as well as an image. The clip guides the motion, camera movement, pacing, or look of the new video.
File type: MP4 or MOV.
Length: 2 to 30 seconds per clip.
Up to three clips per generation, 30 seconds in total. Clips count toward the 30-reference limit.
Resolution: between 480p and 4K.
File size: 20 MB or less per clip, the same limit as image references.
The result is still a new video in the selected 9:16 or 16:9 ratio at 4, 8, or 12 seconds. Typeshutter does not edit or extend the uploaded clip.
Other video models, guided AI tools (including AI image to video), and saved Characters accept image references only.
The model provider does not accept reference clips or images that show real human faces. Such a generation fails its content check and the credits are returned.
A reference clip changes the credit cost. The clip's length, counted as at least 4 seconds, is added to the output length, at a lower per-second rate than image-only requests. For example, an 8-second 1080p video costs 228 credits with image references only and 290 credits with one 9-second clip. Trim a clip to the part that matters before uploading it.
Troubleshooting
If the model ignores the reference, simplify the prompt and make the reference subject clearer.
If the crop removes important content, choose the other ratio or start with an image whose subject is closer to the center.
If upload fails, try PNG or JPEG and reduce file size.
If you see "Video references are not supported for the selected model," switch to Seedance 2.5 in Video mode or remove the clip.
If you see "Reference videos must be MP4 or MOV, 2 to 30 seconds long, and between 480p and 4K," export the named clip again as MP4 (H.264) within those limits.
If you see "You can add up to 3 reference videos, 30 seconds in total," remove a clip or trim the clips.
If a clip is selected but no preview appears and the composer cannot process it, your browser cannot decode that clip. Export it as MP4 (H.264).
If a generation with a reference clip fails after it starts, check whether the clip shows a real person's face and whether the prompt asks to edit or extend the clip instead of describing a new video. Credits for a failed generation are returned automatically.