Evaluating 7 AI Video Generators While Waiting for OpenAI’s Sora

I watched “OpenAI Sora’s first short film — ‘Air Head,’ created by shy kids” when it was released in March and assumed Sora would be available to the public in a few months.

But it’s already August, and only a limited number of visual artists, designers, and filmmakers have been allowed access to “gather feedback on how to advance the model so that it’s most useful to creative professionals.”

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In other words, I still can’t rate Sora for myself.

Additionally, Shy Kids is a Toronto-based production company. It’s unclear whether KaraVideo.AI, a Sora-powered video generator, deserves most of the credit for this eye-catching video. Would the results be as good without a creative team of humans driving the text-to-video model?

Exploring 7 Alternative AI Video Generators

While waiting for Sora, I taught two online courses on influencer marketing and AI at the New Media Academy in Dubai, UAE. I showed my students “Air Head” but stressed that AI video generators still need human creativity to produce interesting results.

I then asked them to create a video using a free AI generator available in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in two to three days.

Using AI search engines (Perplexity, ChatGPT-4, Claude 3, Microsoft CoPilot, and Google’s Gemini) to find the best tools, I selected six and another instructor recommended one. Here’s the list in alphabetical order:

1. Canva Magic Studio: Fast, customizable video creation

Canva’s AI video maker is part of its Magic Studio, AI-powered tools designed to help teams quickly create videos from text and refine them with editing tools, applying filters or removing backgrounds with a single click.

2. InVideo AI: Simple and efficient video production

InVideo AI offers pre-made templates and AI-driven text-to-video functionality. It lets you create professional-looking videos quickly. The free plan includes watermarked videos and limited export options.

3. Kapwing: Collaborative editing with AI tools

Kapwing is a collaborative video editor with AI tools for video creation, such as automatic captioning and meme generators. The free plan has some limitations, such as watermarked exports and limited cloud storage.

4. Lumen5: Turn text into engaging videos

Lumen5 converts text into engaging video content. You can input your blog post, article, or any other text content, and it will generate a video based on it. The free plan includes basic features, although it adds a watermark.

5. Pictory: Condense long content into short videos

Pictory turns long-form content, like blogs and articles, into short, shareable videos. It uses AI to highlight key points and create a video summary. The free version has some limitations, but is functional for basic needs.

6. Runway ML: Experimenting with Creative AI

Runway ML is a unique tool that offers a free plan with credits for using its AI features, including video generation. It’s a good choice if you want to experiment with a creative and powerful tool, but the free tier has limitations.

7. Synthesia: AI-driven multilingual video content

Synthesia is an AI video generator that turns text into speech in minutes. It includes over 160 AI avatars that can speak your text in over 130 languages. This allows marketers to create training, how-to, and product marketing videos for a global audience.

Insights from Practical Use of AI Video Generators

Here are my students’ thoughts on the video generator they used.

Dana Al Khulaifi, a student at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Data and Technical Support Manager at Dawahi AlAin, a community project, said:

• “It was easy and enjoyable to create videos with InVideo.io! I thought of AI, which made it a masterpiece. I was able to produce professional-quality videos quickly because AI took care of most of the work.”
• “I was really pleased with the variety of layouts and how easy it was to customize. It took almost no effort to make my videos look fantastic. InVideo.io is an incredible resource for anyone looking to create amazing videos quickly and easily.”

Three other students, who wished to remain anonymous, shared these comments:

• Summary: The student was impressed by the availability of different Arabic dialects, but noted that the Arabic pronunciation was not perfect. She said the AI ​​still needed human guidance for quality control, such as improving pronunciation and adding emotional expressions.
• Track: The student said the process was simple and included tools for editing, transitions and effects. She noted that while AI could automate many aspects, it lacked the originality and emotional depth of human creativity. She stressed the importance of human supervision to bring contextual awareness and cultural sensitivity to AI-generated videos.
• Cloth: The student noted the efficiency and speed of the tools, but highlighted the lack of emotional expression and the computer-like tone of the AI-generated content. She felt that AI tools would be best suited for video editing.

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Here are some comments on other students’ use of these tools:

• “I tried using AI tools, but the video looked very boring and didn’t really have any social content.”
• “When comparing the AI ​​video with the one I created, the AI ​​video was less engaging.”
• “AI is great, but it lacks the human touch, especially in terms of storytelling and video quality.”
• “The AI ​​didn’t really fit the style I wanted and the video looked robotic.”
• “The AI ​​video was interesting, but not as detailed or creative as the one created by the human team.”
• “AI-generated content still requires human intervention; the video didn’t capture the creativity I was looking for.”
• “I tried to challenge the AI, but it had a hard time properly describing what I had in mind, especially in terms of cultural representation.”
• “The AI ​​couldn’t position the hands correctly: it looked weird and the voiceover was robotic.”
• “AI tools provided options and brainstorming ideas, but did not produce a final result that lived up to expectations.”
• “The AI ​​video was very different than I expected, especially the hands and backgrounds. It wasn’t entirely accurate.”
• “AI is good at generating basic content, but it lacks the precision and personalization needed by luxury brands.”
• “The AI ​​had trouble with details like hands, and the background didn’t match the context I wanted.”
• “Videos created by AI often don’t have the same emotional connection or creative flow as those made by humans.”
• “AI-created backgrounds often don’t match the context I want.”
• “AI videos can create something quickly, but lack creativity and detail.”
• “It didn’t feel authentic; AI can’t replace human touch and emotional intelligence.”
• “The hands and background in the AI ​​video were distorted and didn’t match my original idea.”

Benefits and Challenges of AI in Video Creation

Overall, here are the general observations made by dozens of students from both classes:

Benefits

• Efficiency and speed:AI tools can quickly generate videos, providing a starting point or draft for content creation.
• Ease of use:Many AI video tools are simple, so you can create videos without deep technical knowledge.
• Versatility:Tools like Synthesia offer various options, such as different languages ​​and dialects, improving accessibility.

Limitations and challenges

• Need for human intervention:AI-generated content requires human oversight to ensure cultural relevance, emotional depth, and accuracy.
• Pronunciation and expression:AI-generated voices, especially in languages ​​other than English, may lack proper pronunciation and emotional expressiveness.
• Authenticity of content:AI tools can struggle with originality and creativity, highlighting the need for human creativity to add unique elements.

Lessons Learned

While we wait for Sora, evaluating other AI video generators can still teach us some important lessons.

The most important lesson is, as economist Richard Baldwin said: “AI won’t take your job, someone using AI will take your job.”

Don’t wait for the perfect AI video generator to appear.

Try out the best ones available to find out what they can and can’t do already. Taking this test-and-learn approach will allow you to evaluate Sora when he appears.

And if Sora doesn’t arrive in the near future, you will have learned another important lesson: “Perfection is the enemy of good.”

Either way, you’re less likely to lose your job because you don’t know when or how to use AI to “generate videos up to one minute long while maintaining visual quality and following user instructions,” which Sora continues to promise to do.