Add visual effects to a video with AI

A plain shot edited three times by Seedance 2.5: an explosion behind, a storm, an energy sphere. The shot does not change, the effect is added. The full workflow is visible without an account.

Interactive demo

Real workflow, real results. Pan and zoom freely.

Use this workflow

Real workflow: the same shot enters the video port of three nodes set to Seedance 2.5, each with the prompt of one effect, and you compare.

At a glance

What the workflow produces: 3 videos of 15s in 720p, 16:9
Canvas structure: 8 nodes wired by 6 connections
Models wired in: Seedance 2.5
Cost of one full run: about 360 credits, roughly $4.32

A visual effect used to cost a shoot, a crew and a compositing session. It now costs one sentence and an input video. This workflow sends the same shot, a woman walking down an empty street, into three nodes set to Seedance 2.5: an explosion bursting from a car behind her, a storm splitting the sky, a blue energy sphere in the palm of her hand.

The point is that this is not generation, it is editing. The shot comes in through the video port and the model hands it back modified. Same woman, same coat, same walk, same street, same camera move. So an effect prompt has two halves, just like an image edit: what you add, described in film terms, then the list of what does not move. Without that list the model redoes the shot its own way.

A good effect lights what surrounds it. All three prompts in the demo ask for the light it casts: the orange flickering on the wet asphalt, the cold blue filling the street at every bolt, the blue glow moving on the coat. That is what separates an overlay from an effect. Count on about a dollar forty per effect over five seconds, four dollars thirty for all three.

How it works

1
Import a short, steady shot
Five seconds are enough, and cost three times less than fifteen. A locked-off shot or a slow move gives the best result: the model has to follow your camera, not guess it.
2
Describe the effect the way a film would
The matter, the movement, the scale: "fireball, shockwave, flying debris, thick black smoke rising". One word alone, "explosion", lets the model pick its own.
3
Ask for the light the effect casts
"Orange light flickering on the wet asphalt and on the buildings". That is the sentence that puts the effect inside the shot rather than on top of it.
4
End with what does not move
The people, the clothes, the walk, the set, the framing, the camera move. Then compare the three renders and keep the one that holds second by second.

Variations and use cases

The same canvas, tuned for different needs: each variation is two or three lines of prompt away.

An action shot without a stunt

The explosion behind the character, the car catching fire, the shockwave. What used to need a pyrotechnics crew and a filming permit now fits in one sentence and five seconds of render.

Changing the weather of a shot

Pouring rain, snow, fog, a thunderstorm. Useful when the shoot got the wrong sky: the weather is added afterwards, with its light and its reflections on the ground.

A power in the hand

The energy sphere of the demo, a flame, a bubble of frost. The model keeps it in the moving hand and casts its glow on the coat: that is where an effect becomes believable.

A creature or a craft in the set

A dragon passing over the roofs, a ship hovering at the end of the street. Describe its size against the set and the shadow it throws, otherwise it floats like a sticker.

A pitch reel for a client

The same shot with three treatments, cut side by side: a client picks an effect by seeing it on THEIR footage, not on a reference found elsewhere. Three nodes, one pass, the decision is made.

The effect, then the sound

A silent explosion is not frightening. The add sound to a video workflow adds the blast and the rumble, and the Edit node lays them under the picture.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the list of what does not move

Without it the model reinterprets the scene: another woman, another coat, another street. The effect is pretty and the shot is no longer yours. That half of the prompt does all the work.

Not asking for the effect's light

An explosion that lights nothing is spotted instantly: it sits on the image rather than in it. Always ask what it casts on the ground, the walls and the people.

Starting from a long clip

The bill follows the duration. Trim to the useful shot first, five seconds rather than thirty, then apply the effect. Otherwise you pay six times over for seconds you will throw away.

Stacking two effects in two passes

Adding the storm on top of the explosion render accumulates the drift of both passes. Describe both effects in a single prompt and let the model compose them at once.

Recommended models

Frequently asked questions

Is the shot really still mine?

Yes when the list of what does not move is in the prompt. In the demo the three renders keep the same woman, the same coat, the same street and the same camera move; only the effect changes.

How long a clip can I process?

From four to thirty seconds per pass. The model copies the format and the duration of your shot: the node's duration is not a free setting, it follows the source.

Do I need a green screen or tracking?

Neither. The model reads the shot as it is, including a moving camera. That is exactly what makes this reachable without a compositing suite.

How much does a full pass cost?

Three hundred and sixty credits for the three effects, a hundred and twenty each over five seconds at 720p. The price shows on each node before you click, and it is computed per second: a clip twice as long costs twice as much.

What quality does the render come in?

720p, the resolution of the demo shot. To deliver in 1080p, the Enhance node upscales the render afterwards: cheaper than processing everything at high resolution.

Can I put several effects in the same shot?

Yes, in a single prompt: "add an explosion behind her and heavy rain". The model composes them together, with both their lights. That is more faithful than two chained passes.

Can I do it from a phone?

Yes. The canvas runs on mobile and the video is picked from the gallery in the Media node. The create on mobile guide explains the gestures.

Are my videos used to train the models?

No. What you import stays in your workspace and is passed to no training. The demo shot is generated for the same reason, so that nobody is filmed.

Add visual effects to a video with AI

Use this workflow

Free account, no card required. The workflow opens pre-filled in your canvas.