Runway: Video Settings, Pricing and Sources

Runway is a video generation service that turns a text prompt, with an optional still photo, into a short clip. On Effect Video you open the generator with Runway selected, choose 5 or 10 seconds at 720p or 5 seconds at 1080p, and see the total credits before you start. This guide also covers what the public sources say about Runway and how creators have tested it.

What Runway does

Version note: the Runway material below describes Gen-4.5 (introduced 2025-12-01) and its Image to Video update (2026-01-21), and community posts also mention Aleph 2.0. Our sources do not say which Runway model version the interface behind this generator uses, so these notes describe Runway in general, not necessarily what you get on Effect Video.

Runway publishes its video model work through the Introducing Runway Gen-4.5 research page and tracks developer-facing updates in the Runway API changelog. On 2025-12-01, Runway introduced Gen-4.5 in the official video Introducing Gen-4.5 | Runway. On 2026-01-21 it followed with Introducing Gen-4.5 Image to Video | Runway.

On Effect Video, Runway runs through the KIE Runway interface. The generator accepts a text prompt and an optional reference photo. You can make 5 or 10 second clips at 720p and 5 second clips at 1080p; 10 seconds is not offered at 1080p. There is no sound setting for this model.

What creators and the community say

Runway's own posts, creator videos and community threads show how people have been testing it. On 2026-01-21, Runway announced Image to Video for Gen-4.5, available for all paid plans and built for longer stories, precise camera control, coherent narratives and consistent characters.

On YouTube, no video on this page is marked as sponsored in our source records. On 2026-01-21, Theoretically Media published Runway Gen 4.5 Image To Video is HERE (and it's GOOD!), a stress test covering character consistency and camera moves, and on 2026-01-23, Curious Refuge published Runway 4.5 vs Kling 2.6: Who Wins? (AI Video Review), a side-by-side of the two models.

On X, Chrissie (@pressmanc) shared Gen-4.5 Image to Video tests on 2026-01-24 and wrote: "My favorite part is the sequential prompting. You have so much control because of it." The other X posts, videos and Reddit threads are shown further down this page and in the references.

Using it on Effect Video

Runway is available on Effect Video: open the generator with Runway selected. Bring a descriptive prompt to begin; one reference photo is optional.

Choose 5 or 10 seconds at 720p, or 5 seconds at 1080p. The generator shows the total credit cost before you generate, and reserved credits return if a generation fails. Finished videos stay available for 7 days, so download the ones you want to keep.

Limits and open questions

• The upstream release date is not recorded on Effect Video, so this guide does not state one.
• Version and date: community sources focus on Runway Gen-4.5 (December 2025 to January 2026) and Aleph 2.0, while the site connects through the KIE Runway interface. The sources do not confirm that the site's interface is the same model version, so only the lengths, resolutions and inputs listed under "Using it on Effect Video" are claims about this site.
• No independent written review was found; the material above is official posts, creator videos and community threads.
• The generator shows only a text prompt and an optional reference photo; upstream interfaces may offer additional reference inputs.
• Chrissie's X profile lists the Runway Creator Partner Program, so read that post with that in mind.