Interface Tour
Updated: 2026-05
1. About This Page
Take a quick look at the Runway interface to get a sense of where everything is. Think of this as a map to help you find your way around when you first open Runway.
2. Dashboard
The screen that appears immediately after logging in. The navigation bar is on the left, recent projects are in the center, and account information is in the top right corner.
Main Sections:
- Generative Video — Generate videos from text, images, or video clips
- Generative Audio — Audio generation, lip-syncing
- Generative Images — Still image generation (for reference images)
- Apps — Act-Two, Aleph, special features
- Assets — Uploaded media and generated content
- Folders / Projects — Project management
In class, we’ll start with Generative Video.
3. Generate Mode (Main Screen)
The main interface for video generation. Screen layout:
- Left Sidebar: Model selection (Gen-4 Turbo / Gen-4 / Gen-4.5), recent generations
- Center Canvas: Prompt input, image/video references, settings
- Right Sidebar: Advanced settings (Seed, Length, Resolution, Aspect Ratio)
- Top Tabs: Mode selection (Image / Video / Audio, etc.)
- Bottom: Generate button and Credit Usage Display
For “Image to Video” (I2V), the process involves dragging and dropping an image into the area on the left and entering motion instructions in the text box below.
4. The Feel of Switching Models
Select the model you want to use in the left sidebar (or within the generation settings).
- Gen-4 Turbo — Fast and affordable. Ideal for prototyping (available even on the Free plan)
- Gen-4 Video — Flagship quality. For production-ready shots
- Gen-4.5 — Supports Director Mode. For when you want precise camera control
- Aleph — For editing existing videos (separate menu)
- Act-Two — For making characters act (located in Apps)
It is also common to test the same prompt on multiple models and compare the results.
5. Prompt Input Field
The text box in the center. Runway specializes in video-specific prompt interpretation, so the approach is slightly different from that of image-generating AI:
- Describe the verb or movement: What is moving? (e.g., “a cat walks slowly toward the camera”)
- Describe the camera movement: “slow zoom in,” “pan left,” “tracking shot”
- Describe the timeline: “The door opens, then a man enters”
- Keep it brief: 1 to 3 sentences are sufficient. Longer descriptions reduce accuracy
We will cover the details in the next section on Prompt Design.
6. References Panel
You can add it by dragging it from the left sidebar or onto the central canvas.
- Image Reference — Upload an image to reflect its atmosphere and composition
- Video Reference — Upload a video to use as a reference for movement
- Character Reference — Character images for Act Two
- Style Reference — Reference images for the style
“Images plus text” offer greater control than “text-only instructions.” This is Runway’s strength.
7. Director Mode (Gen-4.5)
If you select Gen-4.5, camera control sliders will appear below the prompt.
- Horizontal Pan — Left and right
- Vertical Pan — Up and down
- Zoom — In and out
- Roll — Roll
- Tilt — Up and down
You can use the slider to specify settings such as “Pan Left 50% + Zoom In 30%.” This is more precise than simply typing “pan left” in the text field.
8. Motion Brush
Motion painting feature available on Gen-4 I2V systems.
- Upload the input image
- Use the brush to select the “area you want to animate”
- Use arrows to specify the direction of movement for that area (or select “still” to keep it static)
- You can also assign different movements to different areas
Instead of giving text instructions like “move only the clouds,” it’s more reliable to paint directly on the image.
9. Timeline / Editor (Post-generation editing screen)
When you send the generated video to Editor, you’ll enter the timeline-based editing interface.
- Arrange multiple clips side by side
- Trim, cut, and reorder clips
- Simple transitions
- Add audio tracks
While it doesn’t have the same features as a full-fledged editing system like DaVinci, it’s more than sufficient for video prototyping. We’ll cover the details in Runway Editing.
10. Assets and Projects
- Assets — Displays a list of uploaded files and generated videos/images
- Projects — The unit for saving timeline edits and apps
- The Free plan is limited to 3 projects. You’ll need to clean up older projects
11. Help and Academy
Runway offers a wide range of learning materials:
- Runway Academy — Official Tutorials
- Help Center — Documentation by Feature
- Changelog — New Features and Model Updates
Since all Academy courses are available to read for free as learning materials, we recommend using them outside of class as well.
12. What’s Next
- First Generation — Try generating the first version yourself
- Prompt Design — Tips for designing prompts