Midjourney expands to real-time generated AI videos as part of latest update – -.

Artificial intelligence company Midjourney recently unveiled its next big step forward. After years of offering and focusing on still images, Midjourney now wants to expand into the world of video generation, specifically real-time generation.

This is now available as part of Version 1 of the Video Model, which is described as “something fun, easy, beautiful and affordable for everyone to discover”. Right now, the system is designed to convert images into video by using an animated motion prompt mechanism. Essentially, it brings life and motion to a still image, which can be adjusted depending on the level of motion that can be expected from the source image in question.

Compared to competing AI video software, it may seem like Midjourney is a bit behind, but it notes that this is just a stepping stone to a much larger goal. The long-term goal is to be able to offer real-time open-world simulations, and to get there you also need to be able to move through 3D models of generated video and then also generate everything very quickly. These last points are the next steps to realizing Midjourney’s goal. In Midjourney’s own words:

“What you may not know is that we believe the inevitable destination of this technology is models capable of real-time open-world simulations.

“What is that? Essential; imagine an AI system that generates images in real time. You can command it to move in 3D space, the environments and characters also move, and you can interact with everything.

“To do this, we need building blocks. We need visuals (our initial image models). We need to move those visuals (video models). We need to be able to move ourselves through space (3D models) and we need to be able to do it all quickly (real-time models).

“The next year consists of building these pieces separately, releasing them and then slowly putting everything together into one unified system. It may be expensive at first, but sooner than you would think, it will be something that everyone will be able to use.”

The catch with this video software is that it is much more expensive to use. Midjourney charges 8x what it charges for an image job, which it describes as being still “more than 25 times cheaper than what the market has shipped before.”