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Image-to-Video: animate a photo, add audio, and use references

Create motion from an image and understand audio, start/end images, references, and incompatible settings.

Written by Runbo (CEO of Magic Hour)

Use Image-to-Video to animate an existing image. If the only goal is a face speaking your recording, Talking Photo is the more direct starting point.

Animate your image

  1. Open Image-to-Video and sign in.

  2. Upload the starting image. Use a clear source with the subject visible.

  3. Describe the motion you want, such as “The subject smiles and turns slightly; keep the camera still.”

  4. Choose a model, supported duration, resolution, and aspect ratio.

  5. Review any required fields and the credit estimate, then generate.

  6. Check the completed result in History or My Library and download it.

Add your own audio

Select LTX-2.3, keep Audio enabled, and use Drop audio or browse. Add Audio offers upload, Text to Speech, voice cloning, and presets. You can use a starting image with your recording. See the audio workflow.

Why did the end image or references become unavailable?

Inputs are model-specific. Uploaded audio currently cannot be combined with an end image or additional reference/Character attachments in this LTX-2.3 workflow. Remove the conflicting input, or choose which feature is most important for this clip. A paid plan does not override these model restrictions.

On supported reference workflows, adding a Character or reference can cause the starting image to be generated from those references. If you see “Auto-generated from characters,” the tool is not preserving a separately chosen start image in that configuration. Remove the references if the exact starting image is essential, then inspect the controls again.

Make longer videos and consistent scenes

Use the duration options shown for your model. For a longer story, create individual clips and assemble them afterward. Saved Characters can help with consistency in compatible modes; they do not guarantee identical faces or exact motion. Avoid changing several settings at once when refining a result.

Upload or generation problems

Read the exact validation message and confirm the upload completed. If a supported file repeatedly fails, or a completed output is blank, cut short, or missing expected audio, stop repeating the request. Send support the route, model, input type, selected duration, error, and project link if available. Check generation status and credits.

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