Exploring Midjourney Video: A First Look and AI Industry Shake-Ups

The world of AI is moving fast. This post brings you important news from Midjourney, including a first look at their video model and details about a major lawsuit. We also cover new updates and tools from Runway, Krea, Topaz, and ByteDance. These tools bring new ways to create images and videos. Let's get started.

Midjourney's First Video Model: What We're Seeing

Midjourney has started user ratings for its first video tool. This is a very early version. It is still in training, so it is not perfect yet. However, we can see what it will be good at once it's complete.

Keeping the Midjourney Look

One surprising thing is the model's ability to keep the Midjourney art style, even as it creates video. Other video tools often lose the original style over time. Midjourney video holds onto the unique look, even with simple movements or changing colors.

This new model looks very good with animated styles. Characters keep their look as they move and talk. If Midjourney video has a strong point, it could be for animation and anime. It can also create realistic videos, like someone cooking. And yes, those famous Midjourney characters can now blink and move slightly. Even better, teeth look good, and hands and fingers are well-made, which is a big challenge for AI art.

Movement and Resolution Details

Midjourney video also handles 360-degree rotations very well. This shows a unique strength because other video tools often have to guess parts they cannot see, which can change the style. The model also shows good understanding of scenes, like a mask with a face on it. It does not get confused between the mask and the person wearing it.

The current videos are about 640x480 pixels. High resolution might not be available at launch. There will also be no video upscaler at first, to keep costs low. You can use your own upscaler if needed. The model also will not create video from just text. Instead, you can bring in your own images to start a video. People can connect their Midjourney experience with tools like the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT to expand their creative projects.

Overall, this video model does its own thing. It is not trying to be like other big AI video tools. It focuses on its unique artistic style. The goal is to keep costs low, which is good news given the rising prices of other video generators.

Midjourney Faces a Lawsuit

Midjourney is now facing a lawsuit. Disney and Universal have filed a complaint against them. They claim copyright infringement. Disney and Universal are looking for profits made by Midjourney that came from using their work without permission. They also want up to $150,000 for each copyrighted work that was used. They seek a court order to stop the creation of characters like a Minion or Chewbacca, plus legal fees.

Midjourney is not alone. Many AI companies are facing similar lawsuits. This includes Open AI, Stability AI (sued by Getty Images), Suno and Yo (sued by the music industry), Meta, and Perplexity. Midjourney's CEO, David Holtz, said he believes Midjourney will be around for a long time. These legal cases usually move very slowly, so Midjourney is not expected to go away soon.

Other AI Tool Updates

Runway ML's Chat Mode

Runway has launched a new chat mode, currently in beta. This mode lets you use natural language to create and guide your video projects. For example, you can give it an image and ask it to create five different angles of a character in a scene. Then, you can ask the chat for ideas to build a story, and it will generate video based on those ideas. This new way of editing with chat is a lot of fun. Leveraging helpful tools can streamline your workflow, similar to how the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT helps automate your Midjourney tasks.

Krea 1: A New Image Model

Krea has released its own image model, Krea 1. It creates images that do not look like typical AI art. It is also very fast, generating images in about seven seconds. A big bonus: it is free. You can use your own trained art styles with Krea 1 or merge them with other styles. This gives you a lot of control to find the right mix between different looks, while still getting results quickly. The platform also lets you use tools like WAN 2.1 for video creation, which is a good and affordable option.

Topaz Astra: Creative Video Upscaling

Topaz Labs is preparing to launch Astra, their first creative video upscaler. This follows Bloom, their creative image upscaler. Astra will have two modes: a precise mode to restore and improve video details without changing the original look, and a creative mode that can reimagine and enhance details. The creative mode will start with videos up to 15 seconds long and works best with AI-generated videos. There is a waitlist to try it early.

ByteDance Seed Dance

ByteDance has also released a new video model called Seed Dance. It is a closed source model and is available in a mini version on the Dreamina platform. It looks like a good model, and some people place it very high on AI leaderboards.

Conclusion

This week has brought many important updates in the world of AI art and video. From Midjourney's first look at its video model and its legal challenges, to new creative tools from Runway, Krea, Topaz, and ByteDance, the landscape is always changing. These advancements offer new ways to create and expand what is possible with AI. As the technology grows, tools that help you manage your projects will become even more helpful. Consider exploring the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT to improve your creative process.