How to Turn Text Into Video With Seedance 2.0 (Step by Step)

Text-to-video used to mean stitching stock clips by hand. With Seedance 2.0 you describe a shot and the model renders it. This guide shows how to go from a single prompt to a finished clip, and how to animate a reference image instead.

What text-to-video is good for

• Social shorts (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts)
• Music videos and mood pieces
• Product demos and ads
• Storyboards and concept tests before a real shoot

Step 1 — Write a prompt that describes a shot

Good prompts read like a shot list: subject, action, camera move, lighting, mood. Example: "A cyberpunk city street at night, neon reflections on wet pavement, slow dolly-in, cinematic, rain."

Open the text-to-video workspace, paste your prompt, and pick the aspect ratio and duration.

Step 2 — Choose your model and duration

Seedance 2.0 is the default for cinematic motion. Duration drives the cost, so start with a short 5-second draft, then re-render longer once you like the look.

Step 3 — Animate an image (image-to-video)

Already have a key visual? Upload it as a reference and SeeAny automatically switches to the image-to-video variant — no manual model swap. This keeps your character or product consistent across the clip.

Tips for better results

• Describe one clear action per clip; chain clips for longer scenes.
• Name the camera move ("slow pan", "dolly-in", "orbit").
• Keep the first 5 seconds simple, then iterate.

Ready to try it? Start in the video generator, or explore AI image generation and AI music for the rest of your project.