Updated: 2026-05

1. About This Page

This guide covers how to create videos efficiently in Runway by building a shot plan based on storyboards. When generating AI videos without a plan, the number of credits consumed can be enormous. It’s not uncommon to achieve five times the credit efficiency with advance planning.

2. Why Planning Is Necessary

The time and credits for AI video generation are:

• 1 shot: 5–10 seconds, generation: 30–90 seconds, 25–120 cr
• If you don’t like it, regenerate; repeating this 5 times yields 250–600 cr per shot

If you keep haphazardly creating shots and then redoing them because you don’t like them, even the Pro Plan’s 2,250 cr per month will run out after just 5 to 10 shots.

Planning before creating makes it much easier to manage both the results and the budget.

3. How to Create a Shot List

When creating a short video (approximately 30–60 seconds):

1. Write a general synopsis in 3–5 sentences
2. Break it down into scenes (units where the setting changes)
3. Break each scene down into shots (units where the camera position or movement changes)
4. Describe each shot in a single line

Example: A 30-second piece composed of 6 shots, each 5 seconds long

#	Shot Description	Duration	Estimated cr (Gen-4.5)
1	Snowy street, wide shot, static	5s	60
2	Protagonist’s face, zoom in	5s	60
3	Feet walking, tracking shot	5s	60
4	People passing by, pan	5s	60
5	Protagonist looking back, close-up	5s	60
6	Sky with snowflakes, tilt up	5s	60
	Total	30s	360 cr

Based on this alone, we can expect to be able to regenerate it up to four times with a budget of about 6 cr per shot.

4. Storyboard

It doesn’t matter if it’s on paper or an iPad. Draw each shot:

• Composition (subject placement)
• Camera movement (arrows)
• One-line caption

Even if you can’t draw, stick figures and arrows are enough. The important thing is to “visualize the composition and intended camera movements.”

If there is a storyboard:

• No more hesitation when writing prompts
• Easy to share with group members and gather feedback
• Can potentially be used as an input image (first frame)

5. The Keyframe Approach

It’s easier to control the animation if you prepare the first frame of each shot as a still image and then animate it using I2V.

5.1 Steps for Creating a Still Image

• Take your own photos
• Modify stock images
• Generate images using another AI tool (feel free to use the tool you normally use)

5.2 Specifying Two Points Using “First” and “Last Frame”

For complex shots, create both the first and last frames as still images, then use Runway’s First/Last Frame feature to interpolate the frames in between.

Example:

• Shot 2: “The protagonist’s face (center)” is the First frame, and “The protagonist disappears off the right side of the screen” is the Last frame
• → The AI fills in the “movement of walking to the right”

6. Continuity Between Shots

Points where discrepancies are likely to occur when arranging multiple shots side by side:

Issues	Solutions
The protagonist’s appearance changes	Ensure the Character Reference is consistent across all shots
The atmosphere of the location changes	Ensure the Image Reference is consistent across all shots
The time of day changes suddenly	Include consistent lighting and weather in your prompts
The camera scale changes abruptly	Be mindful of this when creating the shot list

In particular, character consistency will be discussed in detail on the next page, “Character Consistency.”

7. Prototyping Grade

In video prototyping, it “doesn’t have to look like the final product.”

• Start by generating all shots using Gen-4 Turbo (25 cr per shot × 6 = 150 cr)
• If the overall flow looks good, generate only the key shots using Gen-4.5
• Keep the surrounding shots at Turbo

This will keep the overall budget to less than half.

8. Handling Missed Shots

No matter how many times I generate them, I keep getting shots I don’t like. Is this either a limitation of AI or an unrealistic concept?

• Examples of what is feasible: Complex hand movements, signs with legible text
• Examples of what is impossible: Prompts that are inherently contradictory

If that’s not possible, rewrite the storyboard. Adjusting the visuals to suit the AI is a common practice in both live-action and CG.

9. Division of Labor Within the Group

For a group of five:

• 1 person: Create shot list and storyboard
• 2 people: Generate shots (mass-produced using Gen-4 Turbo)
• 1 person: Editing (Runway Timeline)
• 1 person: Audio and BGM (covered on the next page under “Audio”)

If you work on it in parallel, you can expect to complete one 30-second short film in about 2 to 3 hours.

10. What’s Next

• Character Consistency — Animating characters in Act Two
• Runway Editing — Editing shots on the timeline
• Audio — Adding sound