Text to video
How text-to-video works in Seedance 2.5
Learn when to use text-only video generation, how to write prompts, and how the workspace estimates video credits before submission.
Text-to-video is the fastest path when the subject, camera movement, and scene can be described in words. It is best for ideation, concept clips, simple product reveals, and cinematic drafts.
Quick decision
Best for
- Fast concept clips, cinematic drafts, simple product reveals, and scenes that can be described clearly in words.
- Early ideation before a final product shot, character design, or brand frame exists.
Not ideal for
- Keeping a real product, face, outfit, package, or exact scene consistent across the clip.
- Tasks where the first frame or final frame must match a supplied image.
Choose this when
- The prompt can explain the subject, scene, camera motion, lighting, and pacing without needing an uploaded reference.
When text is enough
Use text-only generation when you do not need to preserve a real product, face, outfit, packaging, or previous frame. The prompt should describe subject, scene, camera movement, lighting, pacing, and output style.
A reliable prompt structure
A strong prompt usually follows this order: subject, action, location, camera movement, mood, lighting, detail level, and anything that must stay unchanged. Short prompts are fine for exploration; production prompts should be more explicit.
How the workspace matches your input
Text-only input starts a text-to-video workflow. When you add reference images, the workspace prepares an image-guided workflow before submission.
Key takeaways
What is text-to-video?+
Text-to-video generates a video from a written prompt without requiring a reference image. The prompt defines the subject, scene, camera, motion, and style.
Should I choose text or image mode manually?+
Usually no. No reference image means text-to-video; one or more reference images means image-to-video or reference-guided video.
Why can the same prompt cost different credits?+
The cost shown before generation changes with model family, duration, resolution, audio, reference count, and selected workflow.
7 free credits every day plus one 4s 480p video — failed generations refund automatically.
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