How to Use AI Cinematic Shorts in PowerDirector

Q: What photo does it need?

Under 10 MB , and at least 300 by 300 pixels . Both limits are printed above the drop zone. The file size is the one that actually bites: a full-resolution phone photo can sit above 10 MB, while almost nothing you would want to use falls under 300 by 300.

Q: Which template should I pick?

Match it to how much is going on in the photo. Micro Cinema is the one to reach for first, because a slow move flatters almost any subject. Time Lapse needs something that would plausibly change over time, like sky or a street. Fast Cut is the most aggressive and wants a subject with a clear outline, or the movement reads as noise.

Q: Can I crop it after it has generated?

Not inside this tab, which is why the Crop / Rotate step matters. The clip is generated from the cropped photo, so framing decided there is baked in. Set the Aspect ratio in the crop window to the same shape you plan to pick before generating, and the two will agree.

Turn one still photo into an 8-second moving shot, using a camera move you pick.

Updated Aug. 27, 2026 · 5 min read

In a hurry? Use the AI Cinematic Shorts quick guide instead.

A still photo is a still photo until something moves. AI Cinematic Shorts in PowerDirector takes one image and builds an 8-second clip out of it, with the kind of camera move a crew would have set up: a slow push in, a single unbroken take, a time lapse. You pick the move and hand it a photo. Here is one, generated from a single photograph of a tiled roof.

The photo

A traditional wooden building with a deep tiled roof, photographed from the street on a clear day. — One still, straight out of the camera.

The 8-second short

An 8-second clip generated from that photo, the camera drifting slowly across the curved tiles of the roof. — The same roof, with a camera move it never had.

⚡ Quick Answer: How to Make an AI Cinematic Short in 4 Steps

Open the GenAI menu, go to Video, and choose AI Cinematic Shorts.
Pick one of the five camera-move templates.
Add a photo under Add photo, then crop it and click OK.
Choose an Aspect ratio and click Generate.

Steps to Make an AI Cinematic Short

Step 1: Open AI Cinematic Shorts

Open the GenAI menu at the top of the editor, go to Video, and choose AI Cinematic Shorts.

What opens is the Image to Video window with the AI Cinematic Shorts tab already selected. That is worth knowing, because the title bar keeps saying Image to Video and it is easy to think you landed in the wrong place.

The GenAI menu open in PowerDirector, with AI Cinematic Shorts highlighted under the Video section. — GenAI, then Video, then AI Cinematic Shorts.

Step 2: Pick a Camera Move

Five templates, and the choice matters more than anything else in this window, because it is the only thing deciding how the shot behaves. The line under the grid says so plainly: Select a template above to get started. Nothing else unlocks until you have.

The AI Cinematic Shorts tab showing five camera-move templates: Micro Cinema, One-Take Shot, Time Lapse, Handheld Camera and Fast Cut. — Five moves. Each preview shows the crop traveling across the frame.

Template	What it does to the shot
Micro Cinema	A slow, deliberate move. The safe default for a landscape or a building.
One-Take Shot	One unbroken move through the frame, as if nobody cut.
Time Lapse	Speeds the world up. Wants a scene with sky or traffic in it.
Handheld Camera	Adds the small instability of a camera being carried.
Fast Cut	The most aggressive of the five. Best on a subject with a clear silhouette.

Step 3: Add Your Photo and Crop It

The Add photo panel appears once a template is chosen. Drag a photo in, or click to import.

The limits sit right above the drop zone, and they are worth reading before you go hunting for a file: Max file size: 10 MB and Min resolution: 300*300 px. A photo straight off a recent phone can exceed 10 MB, so that is the one likely to catch you out, not the minimum.

The Add photo panel in the AI Cinematic Shorts tab, with the line reading Max file size 10 MB and Min resolution 300 by 300 pixels. — The size limits are printed above the drop zone.

A Crop / Rotate window opens on import. Set Aspect ratio here to the shape you want the finished clip in, drag the frame over the part of the photo that matters, and click OK.

Do the framing here rather than after generating. The clip is built from what survives this crop, so anything you leave outside it is gone for good.

The Crop / Rotate window with the Aspect ratio dropdown set to 16:9 and the crop frame over a photo of a traditional wooden building. — Frame it now. The clip is built from what is inside this box.

Step 4: Set the Aspect Ratio and Generate

Pick 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 in the right-hand panel, then click Generate. The badge on the button shows what the run costs before you commit to it.

The right-hand panel of the AI Cinematic Shorts tab with 16:9 selected under Aspect ratio, and the Generate button showing its credit badge. — Aspect ratio, then Generate. The cost is on the button.

Haven't got PowerDirector yet? One still photo is the entire input. If you have a shot you like, you have everything this needs.

Download PowerDirector Free →

FAQs

1. How long is the video, and can I change it?

Eight seconds, and no. The right-hand panel states it outright: AI Cinematic Shorts videos are 8 seconds long. There is no duration control anywhere in the tab. For a longer sequence, generate several shorts and join them on the timeline, which also lets you vary the template between them.

2. What photo does it need?

Under 10 MB, and at least 300 by 300 pixels. Both limits are printed above the drop zone. The file size is the one that actually bites: a full-resolution phone photo can sit above 10 MB, while almost nothing you would want to use falls under 300 by 300.

3. Which template should I pick?

Match it to how much is going on in the photo. Micro Cinema is the one to reach for first, because a slow move flatters almost any subject. Time Lapse needs something that would plausibly change over time, like sky or a street. Fast Cut is the most aggressive and wants a subject with a clear outline, or the movement reads as noise.

4. Why does the window say Image to Video?

Because AI Cinematic Shorts is a tab inside that window rather than a separate tool, in the same way Character Motion Swap is. Check the tab row: as long as AI Cinematic Shorts is the one underlined, you are in the right place.

5. Can I crop it after it has generated?

Not inside this tab, which is why the Crop / Rotate step matters. The clip is generated from the cropped photo, so framing decided there is baked in. Set the Aspect ratio in the crop window to the same shape you plan to pick before generating, and the two will agree.