Creating Animated Social Content with Runway

1. Go to runwayml.com and click Sign Up Free.
2. Create an account with your email or sign in with Google.
3. You'll start with 125 free credits. Each video generation costs 5 credits (about 4 seconds of video), so you have roughly 25 free generations to learn with.

What you should see: The Runway dashboard with tool categories on the left sidebar.

Before going to Runway, prepare your static design:

1. In Photoshop or Canva, export your design as a high-quality JPEG or PNG at the final video size:

   • Instagram/TikTok video: 1080×1920px (9:16)
   • Instagram feed video: 1080×1080px (1:1)
   • YouTube/Web: 1920×1080px (16:9)
2. Make sure text is legible, colors are vibrant — Runway's animation will not improve a poor base image.

1. In the Runway dashboard, find Gen-3 Alpha in the left sidebar (or on the home dashboard under "Video Tools").
2. Click Image to Video.

What you should see: A workspace with an image upload area on the left and settings on the right.

1. Click the image upload area and upload your static design.
2. In the Motion Prompt text box (below the image), describe the motion you want. Good motion prompts for design assets:

   • For a product image: subtle zoom in on the product, gentle ambient particles floating in background
   • For a lifestyle photo: slow drift left, bokeh elements gently swaying, atmospheric
   • For a graphic design: elements fade in sequentially, gentle pulsing glow effect
   • For a brand hero image: slow parallax motion, soft light rays moving across scene
3. Set Duration to 4 seconds (the default — enough for a looping social video).
4. Click Generate (uses 5 credits).

What you should see: A progress indicator while Runway processes (takes 30–90 seconds). Then a 4-second video preview.

1. Watch your video preview. Look for:

   • Does the motion feel natural or jarring?
   • Is the main subject (logo, product, headline) staying stable?
   • Is any important text or graphic element being distorted?
2. If the motion is too aggressive: try adding slow, subtle, gentle to your prompt.
3. If not enough motion: try adding dynamic, visible movement, strong parallax.
4. Click Generate again to create 3 alternative versions with slightly different motion interpretations.

What you should see: Multiple 4-second animated versions of your static image to choose from.

1. Once you have a version you like, click Download (the arrow/download icon below the video).
2. The file downloads as an MP4.
3. For Instagram Stories loops: use Canva or Kapwing to trim/loop the 4-second clip into a 15-second version (3 loops).
4. For a cleaner loop: generate your video, then generate the same video with reversed motion, and splice them together for a seamless forward-reverse loop.