Runway Gen-4 is an image-to-video workflow: your still establishes the shot, and your text directs what moves. If you arrived looking for the latest Runway model, note the version before copying a tutorial. Runway's Gen-4 help page explicitly marks it as an older generation.
Gen-4 and Turbo at a glance
| Documented setting | Gen-4 | Gen-4 Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| Required input | Image plus motion prompt | Image plus motion prompt |
| Duration | 5 or 10 seconds | 5 or 10 seconds |
| Credits per second | 12 | 5 |
| Five-second attempt | 60 credits | 25 credits |
| Ten-second attempt | 120 credits | 50 credits |
| Generation frame rate | 24 fps | 24 fps |
Those figures describe the named Gen-4 operations checked October 6, 2026. They do not price a Gen-4.5 shot, an Aleph edit, an upscale or a complete finished video. For the account-level budget, use our Runway pricing and credit guide.
Prepare an image that can support the action
For an original pilot, imagine an adult courier standing at a wet station, with an orange coat and one lantern beside a doorway. Decide where the courier starts and where the action ends. A tightly cropped portrait is a poor starting point for a full-body walk because the shot does not show the needed space.
Review the still before spending on video. Check feet, hands, coat edges, perspective and the lantern attachment. Resolve obvious ambiguity in the reference rather than asking motion to repair it. The editorial cover illustrates this brief; it is not an output created with Runway.
Write a short motion prompt
The official prompting guide recommends simple motion-focused directions and positive phrasing. Start with one action, then introduce a camera move only when the base action works.
The courier takes two slow steps toward the doorway. The coat hem moves gently in the rain. Locked camera, natural cinematic movement.
This is an original test prompt, not a guaranteed recipe. If the image contains more than one person, clarify the intended subject. If the courier turns and walks at the same time, the increased movement can make it harder to diagnose a changing face or hand.
Choose a short diagnostic attempt
Confirm the selected model, duration, aspect ratio and visible charge in the generation panel. Use five seconds when the action can resolve in that time. A ten-second option does not require ten seconds of useful story, and extending duration can add more continuity to inspect.
Runway documents several output aspect ratios; match the crop to the destination before generation. A horizontal source may lose important objects in a vertical crop. Preview the actual framing rather than relying on the original image's dimensions.
Review the middle and ending
Watch once at normal speed, then examine the start, middle and final frame. Inspect the courier's feet contacting the platform, the coat's shape, the lantern and the doorway. Mark where a defect first appears. A clean thumbnail cannot demonstrate stable motion.
| Observed failure | Focused next revision |
|---|---|
| Feet slide | Reduce the walk to one step and inspect contact |
| Lantern changes | Clarify its placement in the starting still |
| Unexpected camera drift | Use a single locked-camera instruction |
| Action never ends | Choose a smaller action or a longer supported duration |
Download the shot brief and attempt log
Budget for accepted shots
Three five-second Turbo attempts use 75 credits at the documented rate. Adding one five-second Gen-4 attempt makes 135 credits. If only one clip is usable, the diagnostic spend is still 135. This arithmetic is a planning example, not a quality comparison or a measured test.
Keep finishing costs separate: sound, captions, cuts and review time. Use Aleph editing when you want to change an existing clip, and the image-to-video creator guide when recurring identity is the broader production problem.
