Sora is OpenAI’s new video generation tool, here’s everything it can do

Today, OpenAI continued its 12 days of product announcements with a big one: Sora, its video generation model, is now available to the public. Here’s everything it can do.

Sora does a lot more than create original videos on command

Sora was originally announced back in February, but it was available only to select researchers initially. Today, it’s been made available to the public.

What is Sora? It’s a video generation model that creates videos based on your text input.

There are a lot of asterisks on that description, and limitations in this early version, but that’s its basic function.

This means you can create wholly original videos simply by typing a command, but there are a lot of other use cases that may be more practical.

Here’s what Sora can do, per OpenAI’s site:

• Remix: Replace, remove, or re-imagine elements in your video with Remix (e.g., Remove the spaceship, add a jungle)
• Re-cut: Find and isolate the best frames, extending them in either direction to complete a scene
• Storyboard: Organize and edit unique sequence of your videos on a personal timeline
• Loop: Trim down and create seamless repeating videos with loop
• Blend: Combine two videos into one seamless clip
• Style Presets: Create and share styles that capture your imagination with Presets

As the list above makes clear, Sora might be a fun tool for novice users to create original videos.

But its biggest advantage, at least for now, could be the ways it can aid in the video editing process of YouTubers and other filmmakers.

Who can use Sora, and its current limitations

Sora, unlike ChatGPT, is not available for free users. Instead it requires a subscription.

You can use Sora with a $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription, or with the just-debuted $200/month ChatGPT Pro option.

Here are the limits with each:

ChatGPT Plus

• Up to 50 priority videos (1,000 credits)
• Up to 720p resolution and 5s duration

ChatGPT Pro

• Up to 500 priority videos (10,000 credits)
• Unlimited relaxed videos
• Up to 1080p resolution, 20s duration, and 5 concurrent generations
• Download without watermark

That last point is especially a big one, meaning that ChatGPT Plus users will have a watermark added to all of their work with Sora—whether they like it or not.

Despite the limitations, Sora is an especially compelling new addition to the ChatGPT Plus subscription that could push users to sign up—especially with iOS 18.2’s new ChatGPT integration almost here.

What do you think of Sora’s capabilities? Will you try it out? Let us know in the comments.

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