Skip to main content
Reference video lets you generate clips where the AI maintains the look, style, and appearance of subjects from your reference images. Provide 1-3 images as visual anchors, describe what should happen, and the AI creates a video that stays true to those references. This is how you achieve continuity across shots — reuse the same reference images, and each generated clip maintains consistent characters, environments, and visual style.

​
How reference images work

Reference images guide the AI’s visual output. The AI analyzes your references and preserves their key visual characteristics in the generated video:
  • Character appearance — face, clothing, body type, and distinctive features
  • Environment style — architecture, lighting, color palette, and atmosphere
  • Prop details — shape, color, texture, and proportions
  • Visual style — artistic approach, rendering quality, and overall aesthetic

​
Creating a reference video

1

Select reference images

Choose 1-3 images from your canvas or asset library. These define the visual identity for your video. You can use generated images, uploaded photos, or a mix of both.
2

Describe the action

Tell the AI agent what should happen in the shot — camera movement, character action, environment changes. Use filmmaking language for precision: “slow dolly in”, “rack focus to background”, “character turns to face camera”.
3

Generate

The AI creates a video clip at 720p or 1080p that maintains visual consistency with your references.

​
Best practices for reference images

  • Use clear, well-lit images — avoid noisy, blurry, or heavily compressed references
  • Show the full subject — a full-body character shot works better than a cropped headshot
  • Use a clean background — solid or simple backgrounds help the AI isolate the subject. Use Remove background if needed.
  • Match your target style — if your project is photorealistic, use photorealistic references. If it’s illustrated, use illustrated references.
  • One subject per reference — each reference image should feature a single character, prop, or scene — not a group
Generate your reference images with TalkCut first, then use those as references for video. This gives you the most consistent results because the AI understands its own outputs best.

​
Building continuity across shots

To maintain visual consistency across multiple video clips:
  1. Create a reference sheet — generate or upload clear images of each key character and environment
  2. Reuse the same references — select the same reference images each time you generate a new shot with that character or setting
  3. Use frames to organize — group reference images for each character or scene in a frame on the canvas
  4. Be consistent with style direction — use the same style descriptions across shots, or save them as a skill
By reusing consistent reference images and style directions, you achieve continuity across shots.

​
Specs

SpecValue
Aspect ratio16:9 (widescreen)
Resolution720p (default) or 1080p
AI-generated audioOptional
Duration5-8 seconds per clip
Cost840 credits per clip
Video generation is credit-intensive. Check your credit balance before generating long sequences of reference video clips.