Midjourney, the company that helped ignite the AI image boom in 2022, has released its first video model, simply called V1. Available in the same Discord workflow familiar to its 20 million‑plus users, V1 turns any still image—generated or uploaded—into four five‑second clips at the tap of an “Animate” button.

The launch keeps Midjourney’s trademark simplicity. Users can accept automatic motion or write a short text prompt to choreograph how elements should move. Two toggles—low and high motion—let creators decide whether they want gentle eye blinks or sweeping camera pans. Each clip can be extended in four‑second increments to a 20‑second maximum, and output tops out at 1080p. While a video job consumes roughly eight times the credits of an image generation, the entry‑level Basic plan remains US $10/month; Pro and Mega subscribers get an unmetered “relax” queue for longer renders while Midjourney fine‑tunes pricing.

Late To a Fast‑Moving Party

The company’s once‑unchallenged lead in AI art is less certain in video. OpenAI’s Sora, Runway’s Gen‑4, Google DeepMind’s Veo and Luma’s Dream Machine have spent months jockeying for mindshare—and some already bundle sound, higher resolutions or timeline editors that V1 lacks. Midjourney’s counter‑move is accessibility: no waitlists, a low sticker price and outputs that preserve its distinctive, painterly aesthetic. CEO David Holz frames V1 as a “stepping stone” toward real‑time, open‑world simulation models rather than a final film‑ready product.

First Impressions: Intrigue and Caveats

Early testers are impressed by coherence and style transfer—Perplexity designer Phi Hoang called the results “surpassing all my expectations” on X—but Reddit threads question whether another short‑form, mute generator truly advances the state of the art. Reviewers also note flicker in high‑motion scenes and the absence of native audio tracks, making post‑production a must for polished projects.

Legal Clouds On The Horizon

The debut lands one week after Disney and Universal sued Midjourney for alleged copyright infringement in its training data—a suit that explicitly mentions future video outputs. That litigation could complicate enterprise adoption just as Midjourney pushes beyond hobbyists.

Why It Matters

V1 marks Midjourney’s first serious bid to evolve from a static‑image playground into a broader media platform. Its streamlined UX and aggressive pricing may lure millions to experiment with AI moviemaking. Yet entering late means V1 must iterate fast—adding audio, longer runtimes and stronger IP safeguards—if Midjourney hopes to lead a video race that is already running at 60 fps.