Animate Your Images with Midjourney: A Simple How-To Guide

The ability to bring still images to life is here. Midjourney recently launched its new video tool. You can now add motion to any of your Midjourney pictures. This guide will walk you through how to start, from basic steps to controlling the motion yourself.

Starting Your First Midjourney Video

Let's begin with a simple example. First, you need an image. You can use any picture you have already made. Once you have your image, click on it.

Picking Your Image

[LI]Select the image you want to animate.[/LI]

[LI]Look on the right side under "Creation Actions."[/LI]

[LI]Click on "Animate Image."[/LI]

Choosing Animation Settings

You will see a few choices:

• "Auto" lets Midjourney choose the best movement for your picture.

• "Manual" lets you type a prompt to guide the motion.

• Both "Auto" and "Manual" have "low motion" and "high motion" settings. Low motion gives subtle movements, while high motion creates more active scenes.

For your first try, use the "Auto" part. Generate one video with "Auto, Low Motion" and another with "Auto, High Motion" to see the difference. As soon as you hit "Go," your new video clips are sent to your "Create" page. This process is very quick.

Speed and What It Costs

Midjourney's video generation is fast. It is quicker than other video tools. Making a video costs about the same as doing four upscales of an image. This feature is open to users on all plan levels, but how much you can use it depends on your plan. Midjourney has said the price might change if many people use it, so keep that in mind.

Want to make your Midjourney workflow even smoother? Consider using the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT. It helps manage your creations and can make your process more efficient.

Understanding Your Video Results

Four Video Choices

Each time you make a video, you get four different little videos. You can move your mouse over each one to see a quick play. It can be hard to see small differences at first, but each video has a slightly different way of moving your image.

Making Videos Longer

If you find a video you like but want it to be longer, you can extend it. When you hover over a video, you will see options like "Extend Auto" or "Extend Manual." You can do this up to four times. This turns a 5-second video into a clip of about 20 seconds. It is a good way to make longer, calming scenes.

Discovering New Ideas

The Video Explore Page

A great new part of this update is the "Explore Page" for video. It shows a large collection of videos made by other users. Looking through this page is a great way to get ideas and see what is possible with this tool. You can see how different image descriptions create different types of videos.

Handy Viewing Features

Scrub Through Videos

When you look at videos in the collection, you can move through them frame by frame. Just move your mouse over a video, and a tip will appear. On Windows, hold "Control" and move your mouse left or right over the video. On a Mac, hold "Command" and do the same. This is very helpful for longer videos when you want to look closely at the movement.

Auto-Playing Videos

By default, videos in your creation area play when you move your mouse over them. You can change this by right-clicking on any video in your collection. You will see an "Autoplay videos" choice. If you turn it on, all videos on your creations page will play at the same time. This looks cool but can use a lot of your computer's power. It is generally better to keep this off so only the video you are looking at plays, keeping things smooth.

Current Video Resolution

For now, all videos are 480p. This is not high definition, but it is good for making quick previews. Midjourney has said they are working on a video upscaler. This means you can quickly make videos, find the one you like, and then use resources to make only your chosen video high definition. This will be a great feature.

Taking Control with Manual Mode

Manual mode gives you more power. Here is how to use it.

Subtle Motion with Low Settings

Start with an image. Choose "Manual" and "Low Motion." Your image will show up on the left as the video's beginning frame. Midjourney will load the initial image description (prompt). You can erase this and write your own animation prompt. For low motion, try something gentle. For example, with an image of an oni in samurai armor, you might type: "Head turns slowly to the left. Subtle steam rises from his armor." The result will be a controlled, moving picture. The motion is soft, like a living portrait, not a full video clip.

Dynamic Action with High Settings

To get more action from the same image, select "Manual" and "High Motion." Type a prompt for more movement. For instance: "Gripping his sword tightly as the background swirls with dark energy." With high motion, the video will have much more force. The background will shift, and the whole scene will feel strong and active. Remember, the picture you start with greatly affects the result. Your prompts should be short, since the videos are only about 5 seconds long. Currently, there is no sound, but Midjourney is thinking about adding it later.

To create many videos and manage them effectively, check out the Midjourney Automation Suite by TitanXT. It can help you organize and streamline your creative projects.

Animating Your Own Images

You can animate photos or images made with other AI tools too. First, click the "Add Images" icon next to the prompt box. Choose a file from your computer. Once it uploads, drag the picture to the area on the left labeled "Starting Frame, Animate an image."

Fine-Tuning Video Motion

When you have an image loaded as a starting frame, click the settings icon. You can switch "Motion Speed" on or off. "Relax mode" is for users with a Pro plan.

Adding Life to a Portrait

Let's give life to a still portrait. Use a manual animation prompt like: "A gentle breeze blows through her hair. She slowly blinks and a subtle smile forms on her lips." This makes a beautiful, lifelike effect, adding motion that makes a still image feel alive.

Creating Cinematic Camera Moves

For a camera movement, try: "Slowly zoom in on her eyes. Slight camera shake." This gives a more movie-like feel, drawing your eye and adding feeling to the shot.

Conclusion

Midjourney video is here. It is quick, powerful, and fun to use. From automatic movements to full manual control, you have many creative options. With planned features like video upscaling, this is just the start. Ready to take your Midjourney creations to the next level? Explore the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT to enhance your experience.