Step-by-Step Implementation (Simplified Runway ML Style)

What is Runway ML?

Runway ML is a creative AI platform offering:

Text-to-video generation (like Gen-2)
Image editing
Background removal
Motion tracking
Inpainting

In this clone, we’ll build:
✅ A text-to-video generator
✅ Using Stability AI or Pika Labs API (for text-to-video)
✅ UI with Gradio
✅ Optional: Image-to-video and video-to-video later

Tech Stack

Python
Gradio (UI)
Runway or alternative API (like Pika or Kaiber)
(Optional) HuggingFace for open-source models
ffmpeg (for stitching frames if needed)

Step 1: Install Dependencies

pip install requests gradio

Step 2: Set Up the Text-to-Video API

We’ll use Pika Labs (for free text-to-video) or Stability AI if you have access.
If you have Runway’s Gen-2 API (enterprise only), use that key instead.

Here’s a simulated API POST setup (for Pika-style API):

import requests

def generate_video(prompt):
    url = "https://api.pika.art/generate"  # Sample endpoint (simulated)
    headers = {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }

    payload = {
        "prompt": prompt,
        "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
        "duration": 4  # seconds
    }

    response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
    video_url = response.json()["video_url"]
    return video_url

Example

video_url = generate_video("A futuristic robot walking in Times Square at night")
print(video_url)

Output:

https://pika-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/generated/robot-times.mp4

Step 3: Build a Gradio UI for Your Runway Clone

import gradio as gr

def runway_clone(prompt):
    try:
        video_url = generate_video(prompt)
        return video_url
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error: {e}"

gr.Interface(
    fn=runway_clone,
    inputs=gr.Textbox(label="Enter a video prompt"),
    outputs=gr.Video(label="Generated Video"),
    title="Runway ML Clone – Text-to-Video",
    description="Generate AI videos from text prompts using a creative Gen-2 style API."
).launch()

Sample Prompt Outputs

Prompt	Output Video
“Astronaut dancing on the moon, retro style”	astro-dance.mp4
“A panda cooking noodles in a neon-lit kitchen”	panda-noodles-neon.mp4
“Glitchy cyberpunk highway with hovercars”	cyber-highway-glitch.mp4

Folder Structure

runway-clone/
│
├── main.py                # Full code
├── video_api.py           # API handling logic
├── requirements.txt

Optional Advanced Features

Feature	Tools / Techniques
Upload image → Animate	AnimateDiff / Pika
Upload video → Stylize	Video-to-video Gen-2
Add motion from text	Runway ML motion module
Background removal	remove.bg API / Segment Anything
Video stitching	ffmpeg
Generate audio for video	ElevenLabs / Bark / Coqui

Real-World Usage Ideas

Use Case	Benefit
Ad agencies	Generate concept videos
Influencers	Turn quotes into short reels
Startups	Generate demos and intros
Storyboard artists	Create visual mockups fast
Filmmakers	AI-driven pre-viz of scenes

Summary Table

Step	Input	Output
Text Prompt	“Dragon flying over snowy mountains”	AI-generated video (mp4)
Image Input	(Optional – animate from image)	Motion-enhanced video

Final Note

With this setup, you’ve built a Runway ML Gen-2 clone that:

Generates short videos from simple prompts
Uses real APIs like Pika Labs or Stability AI
Has a clean, shareable UI via Gradio

Next Blog- Part 1- Tools for Image and Video Creation: MidJourney

Purnima

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