Forward-looking: OpenAI has officially launched Sora, the AI video generator that captured global attention earlier this year when it was first previewed. The launch took place on the third day of OpenAI’s “12 Days of OpenAI” event, marking the most significant reveal so far.

The technology behind Sora is powered by “Sora Turbo,” an upgraded version of the model that was teased back in February. This latest iteration is not only faster but also produces higher-quality videos than the initial demo. Additionally, Sora Turbo introduces several new features that go beyond basic text-to-video generation.

Sora can animate still images, giving new life to existing photos. You can also feed it an old video clip along with new text prompts, and Sora will creatively remix the video based on your fresh instructions.

Then there are more advanced tools like Storyboards and Blending. Storyboards maps out a narrative by letting you input multiple prompts to stitch together sequential scenes into a cohesive story video. Blending, on the other hand, allows you to organically merge two distinct video scenes – like transforming a forest into a futuristic cityscape through a seamless transition.

In addition, Sora offers a variety of style presets that can be applied to videos. Examples include Cardboard & Papercraft, Archival, Film Noir, and Original. The Film Noir preset, for instance, adds dramatic high-contrast blacks reminiscent of mid-20th-century cinema.

Safety is always a big concern with this kind of GenAI tech. OpenAI has implemented the usual safety guards. Every Sora video includes metadata to identify its AI-generated origins. Watermarks are added, too, though they can be disabled on the “Pro” plan.

Chatbots like ChatGPT are known to be resource-hungry enough. Video generators up that energy consumption multi-fold, so it comes as no surprise that OpenAI has implemented a credit system to limit its usage.

A ChatGPT Plus subscription will net you a limited 1,000 credits per month, which is enough for 50 videos at a 720p resolution of up to 5 seconds each. Opt for the premium ChatGPT Pro tier at $200/month, and you can create longer 1080p videos up to 20 seconds, get 10x more priority slots for faster video generation, and process up to five videos simultaneously.

It’s worth mentioning that certain regions like the UK and EU don’t have access to Sora yet due to stringent regulations. At the moment, it’s unclear when the model will launch there.