A few months after it was first teased, Sora, OpenAI’s newest AI tool that is capable of generating videos from text prompts, is finally rolling out. The model expands on OpenAI’s previous work in image generation with DALL-E, and was revealed during a livestream event hosted by the company.
“Our video generation model is rolling out at sora.com(opens in a new window). Earlier this year, we introduced Sora, our model that can create realistic videos from text, and shared our initial research progress on world simulation. Sora serves as a foundation for AI that understands and simulates reality—an important step towards developing models that can interact with the physical world,” OpenAI noted in a blog post. The company is also rolling out Sora Turbo, an upgraded version that was first previewed in February, as a standalone product at Sora.com.
Sora operates on the same fundamental principles as OpenAI’s previous image-generation models, but instead of generating static images, it goes one step further to generate video content. Users can input textual descriptions of desired scenes, and the AI produces short video clips up to 20 seconds in length. A lot of resolution options are available (up to 1080p), so users can experiment with different aspect ratios and video styles. You can use it to create short videos, although it will be a while before Sora can produce full-length movies or complex animations. OpenAI notes that you “can bring your own assets to extend, remix, and blend, or generate entirely new content from text.”
OpenAI notes that it is bringing new interfaces for Sora, including a storyboard tool and Featured and Recent feeds that are updated in real-time.
OpenAI has chosen a subscription model for Sora, making it available to those who are subscribed to the ChatGPT Plus or Pro services at no extra cost. The base subscription, ChatGPT Plus, costs $20 per month and provides users with access to 50 priority video generations per month. These videos are limited to five-second durations at 480p resolution. Users who subscribe to the higher-tier ChatGPT Pro plan, priced at $200 per month, gain more access. This plan includes up to 500 video generations per month, 20-second videos, and higher resolutions (up to 1080p). The Pro plan also offers the option to download videos without watermarks.
“We obviously have a big target on our back as OpenAI,” Rohan Sahai, OpenAI’s Sora product lead, said on the livestream, adding, “But we also want to balance that with creative expression.” For now, the service is available immediately in the US and several other countries. users in the UK and Europe, on the other hand, will have to wait to get their hands on it since they are currently excluded from the rollout. According to OpenAI, regulatory issues and safety concerns related to the use of AI-generated content in these regions are among the reasons for the delay. It remains to be seen whether Sora brings further legitimacy to the concerns, especially at a time when it carries immense potential for creating deepfakes or misleading content. OpenAI notes that it has implemented several safeguards, such as embedding Sora videos with visible watermarks and metadata to indicate that they are AI-generated, as well as limiting the uploads of people for now.
