Runway Aleph Lets You Edit Real Video with Text Prompts

Key Takeaways:

• Aleph lets users edit real footage using text prompts, enabling scene changes without traditional tools or CGI.
  

• The model supports 12 core capabilities, from object insertion and relighting to motion transfer and green screen-style masking.
  

• Early access is limited to Enterprise and Creative Partners, with broader rollout expected soon.
  

• Technical details remain undisclosed, including pricing, video duration limits, and file compatibility.
  

• Aleph unifies multiple high-end post-production tools into one prompt-based editing interface for professionals and creators.

Runway Unveils Aleph: Full-Feature AI Model for Editing Real Video

Runway has introduced Aleph, a generative AI video model that enables users to edit existing footage using natural language prompts—eliminating the need for manual post-production techniques like rotoscoping, compositing, or reshoots.

Aleph allows creators to edit video directly by prompting the model with simple instructions like “add falling snow,” “change the camera to a side angle,” or “remove the man in red.” These changes are applied to real footage, not rendered from scratch, and the model maintains lighting consistency, scene continuity, and perspective realism throughout.

This allows for faster, more flexible post-production workflows—without sacrificing professional quality.

Aleph’s Full Feature Set

Runway Aleph combines a wide range of high-end video post-production tools into a single, AI-driven model. It enables users to modify real footage using natural language prompts, replacing manual techniques like rotoscoping, VFX compositing, or 3D rendering. The model currently supports 12 distinct capabilities:

1. Generate new camera angles — Create alternate views of the same scene—such as wide shots, close-ups, over-the-shoulder, or tracking shots—without needing multiple camera setups.
   

2. Seamlessly extend scenes — Continue the action or motion from an existing video clip into additional frames, allowing a shot to be lengthened or completed using AI-generated content.
   

3. Apply style transformations — Shift the visual tone of a scene by applying cinematic looks, artistic filters, or specific visual aesthetics, such as vintage film or hyperreal color grading.
   

4. Change environment or setting — Modify the overall setting by changing seasons, weather, or time of day. A summer scene can become a snowy winter evening, or a cloudy dusk can become golden hour.
   

5. Insert new objects or characters — Add elements like buildings, people, animals, props, or vehicles into a shot—even ones that weren’t filmed—using prompt-based generation.
   

6. Remove or replace unwanted elements — Cleanly eliminate items from a scene, such as signage, background passersby, or camera reflections, without disrupting the surrounding footage.
   

7. Alter character appearance — Change facial features, clothing, body type, hairstyle, or even perceived age and identity. For example, an adult character can be reimagined as a child.
   

8. Transform the nature of objects — Reimagine or convert objects into entirely new forms—such as turning a parked car into a horse-drawn carriage or a city street into a cobblestone village.
   

9. Recolor scene elements — Modify specific colors within the scene, such as turning a red dress blue or shifting the tone of a building’s façade—without needing manual masking.
   

10. Adjust lighting and shadows — Change the time of day or direction of light in a scene. For example, a grey, overcast morning can be transformed into a bright, sunlit afternoon with natural shadow casting.
    

11. Transfer motion between clips — Apply camera movement or subject motion from one clip to another. A drone’s flight path or dolly zoom can be replicated across different scenes.
    

12. Create green screen-style masks — Automatically isolate people or objects from a video’s background—without needing a physical green screen—so they can be placed into new scenes or edited separately.

Launch and Access

Aleph launched on July 25 and is currently available only to Enterprise and Creative Partner accounts. Runway has announced that broader access is coming “in the weeks ahead,” though access for free-tier users has not been confirmed.

Key details still to be announced include:

• Video length and resolution limits

• Supported input/output file formats

• Pricing and licensing structures

• Availability of API or software integration

Q&A: Runway Aleph

Q: What is Runway Aleph?
A: Aleph is a generative AI video model that enables users to edit real footage with natural language prompts—altering visual content without manual editing tools.

Q: What editing features does it support?
A: Aleph currently offers 12 core capabilities, including camera angle generation, scene extension, style changes, environment adjustments, object insertion or removal, character appearance changes, object transformation, recoloring, lighting adjustment, motion transfer, and green screen-style masking.

Q: Who can use it right now?
A: As of launch, Aleph is available only to Enterprise and Creative Partner users.

Q: What technical specs are known?
A: Runway has not yet shared limits on video length, format compatibility, resolution, or pricing.

What This Means

Runway Aleph represents a shift in how video editing is approached—moving complex, high-cost tasks into a single AI model that responds to plain-language prompts. It gives filmmakers, agencies, and digital creators access to tools once reserved for large production teams and post houses.

For creators working on tight budgets or timelines, Aleph offers a new path: high-quality control over lighting, motion, composition, and style—without needing specialized gear or crews. It’s not just an efficiency tool; it’s a creative enabler.

As access expands and workflows adapt, Aleph may reshape post-production across film, advertising, and digital video—bringing studio-grade capabilities to the desktop.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.