Text and images were just the beginning. With Sora, OpenAI's video generation model integrated into ChatGPT, you can now create HD video clips from text descriptions. Sora 2 generates 1080p video up to 60 seconds long — enough for social media content, product demos, explainer clips, and creative storytelling.
Today you'll learn how to describe scenes for video generation, use features like Character Cameos and Video Stitching, and understand what's possible with AI-generated video in 2026.
Sora 2 represents a major leap in AI video generation. Here's what you're working with:
Resolution and length — Full HD 1080p output. Clips can be up to 60 seconds long. You can choose landscape (16:9), portrait (9:16), or square (1:1) aspect ratios depending on your platform.
Visual quality — Sora 2 generates realistic lighting, reflections, shadows, and physics-aware motion. Objects fall naturally, water flows convincingly, and camera movements feel cinematic.
What it handles well:
- Scenic landscapes and establishing shots
- Product showcases and turntable-style rotations
- Abstract and artistic visual sequences
- Character-driven scenes with consistent faces and clothing
- Text overlays and simple title sequences
What to keep in mind:
- Very complex multi-character interactions can sometimes produce artifacts
- Extremely specific hand gestures and fine motor movements are still challenging
- The more precise your description, the better the output
Availability: Sora is available on ChatGPT Plus and Pro plans. Plus users get a monthly generation quota, while Pro users get higher limits and priority processing.
Writing prompts for video is different from writing prompts for images. With video, you need to think about motion, time, and camera behavior in addition to visual composition.
The video prompt formula:
1. Subject and action — What's happening? "A woman walks through a field of wildflowers" is better than "a woman in a field" because it includes motion.
2. Setting and time — Where and when? "A neon-lit Tokyo street at night during light rain" gives Sora environment and atmosphere context.
3. Camera movement — How does the camera behave? Options include:
- Static — locked-off, no movement
- Pan — horizontal sweep left or right
- Tilt — vertical sweep up or down
- Push-in/Pull-out — moving toward or away from the subject
- Tracking — following a moving subject
- Drone/Aerial — overhead sweeping shots
- Handheld — slight natural shake for documentary feel
4. Pacing and mood — "Slow and contemplative" vs. "fast and energetic" changes the entire feel.
5. Duration — Specify how long you want the clip: "a 20-second clip" or "a 10-second loop."
One of Sora 2's standout features is Character Cameos. This solves one of the biggest problems in AI video: keeping the same character looking consistent across multiple clips.
How it works:
1. Create a character — Describe a character in detail: appearance, clothing, distinctive features. Sora generates a reference and saves the character profile.
2. Reuse in any video — Reference that character by name in future prompts. Sora will maintain the same face, body type, and clothing across all clips.
3. Change outfits and settings — You can put the same character in different scenarios, outfits, and environments while keeping their identity consistent.
Why this matters:
Before Character Cameos, every new video generation might produce a completely different-looking person, even with the same description. This made it impossible to create a series of related videos — the "main character" would look different in every clip.
Now you can create an entire ad campaign, tutorial series, or short film with the same recognizable character throughout.
Practical uses:
- Marketing campaigns with a consistent brand spokesperson
- Tutorial series with a recurring instructor character
- Social media content series with a recognizable host
- Short narrative films with returning characters
Video Stitching lets you connect multiple clips into a coherent narrative sequence. Instead of generating one isolated scene, you can create a series of scenes that flow together as a story.
How to use Video Stitching:
1. Plan your sequence — Outline the scenes you want: Scene 1 (establishing shot), Scene 2 (character introduction), Scene 3 (action), Scene 4 (resolution)
2. Generate each scene — Create each clip with prompts that reference the overall narrative context
3. Stitch them together — Sora connects the clips with smooth transitions, matching the color grading, lighting continuity, and motion flow between scenes
Transition types available:
- Cut — direct jump between scenes
- Dissolve — smooth blend from one scene to the next
- Fade to black — classic cinematic transition
- Match cut — transitions where a shape or motion in one scene matches the next
Example narrative workflow:
Scene 1: "Wide establishing shot of a bakery storefront at dawn, warm light glowing from inside, 5 seconds"
Scene 2: "Interior close-up of hands kneading bread dough on a flour-dusted counter, 10 seconds"
Scene 3: "Time-lapse of bread rising and baking in an oven, golden crust forming, 8 seconds"
Scene 4: "A customer smiling as they receive a fresh loaf across the counter, 7 seconds"
Stitched together, this becomes a 30-second brand story for a local bakery — all generated from text.