OpenAI’s Sora is cool for letting your imagination run wild, but how does it perform when recreating existing videos? I put this software to the test to see how it would do. The results were… mixed, to say the least.
How I Replicated My Video With Sora
I first uploaded the content directly to see how good Sora was at replicating my video. Then, I used prompts and tried storyboarding. Below was the video that I fed Sora:
My results were inconsistent in all three areas.
1. Uploading My Video Directly to Sora
I wanted to give the tool something relatively simple. I have numerous videos with people, city skylines, and animals—but I wasn’t sure how it would perform in these areas. I figured that using something straightforward should be easy for Sora to understand.
After uploading my video, I asked the software:
“Please recreate this video with a flat gray sky and some snow on the mountains.”
I also used the Subtle remix tool to avoid changing a huge amount.
I have no idea what Sora changed. It felt like the same video I uploaded, but with worse quality. Though disappointed, I wanted to try again with prompts.
2. Prompting
Prompting allowed me to be more specific about what I wanted to create. Moreover, I could increase the video duration from a maximum of five seconds to twenty seconds.
Given the disaster of my previous attempt (and because I’ve tested various prompting tips that work), I gave the software as much information as possible. Here was my prompt:
“Please ignore all previous instructions. You are tasked with creating a wide-angle landscape video of a mountain and waterfall in the Faroe Islands. Please include flying gulls in your video and make the sky gray. The sea should also be a bit choppy, but not too much. Please also make the mountains look like the video was taken in March.”
Okay, so this video wasn’t a replica of what I created. Nonetheless, it was still quite cool. Sora at least added some creativity to this version.
I should, however, have been more accurate with my description. For example, the waterfall was not in the same place as in the original video. Moreover, the birds were too big and didn’t look like they were naturally.
The colors were a big bonus. I felt like Sora got these pretty accurate, and if I decided to rewrite the prompt, I at least had something to work with.Remixed videos can only be a maximum of five seconds long. You can use numerous free online video trimmers to cut your clips.
3. Using the Storyboard Feature
One way to learn how to use video editing apps is by storyboarding before you create a video. Since Sora has this feature, I wanted to see if it would make a difference.
I used three storyboard sections. Once I added my suggestions, I then created a five-second video. You can see the result below:
Honestly, I didn’t even care that this differed from my original real-life video. This version looked really cool and gave me some ideas for the next time I’m in a landscape of this kind.
If I wanted to make this look exactly like my real-life version, I would tell the camera to stay at the same angle next time. The waterfall is also too wide, so I’d also correct this.
What Did Sora Perform Well With?
During this experiment, Sora handled some things well but did others terribly. Here’s what I liked about the tool.
1. A Good Storyboarding Feature
My favorite video of the three attempts was the one I created with my storyboard. This version had better results because I could be more specific. Moreover, the tool knew exactly where to include each element.
When creating my storyboard, I found it easier to use than many apps designed for real-life videos. Everything was intuitive and responsive, which helped massively.
2. Varying Camera Angles
While I wanted Sora to stick with one camera angle, I liked discovering that I could use different ones for my videos. The footage where the camera flew close to the waterfall was particularly cool.
In the future, I’ll use different camera angles and other useful Sora tips to improve my videos.
Where Could Sora Have Improved?
I can see Sora’s potential, but it was disappointing when I recreated my videos. The app needs to fix three elements before I feel comfortable re-running this experiment and getting better results.
1. More Accurate Video Editing
Sora doesn’t seem to handle video editing very well. When I uploaded my own footage, all I received in return was a worse-quality version of the same thing. Perhaps my prompts needed to be more accurate, but I also felt like the software played a role here.
Rather than prompting, I think having buttons like background removal would work better.
2. Longer Video Allowances
I’m sure Sora will let me make longer videos in the future, but uploading preexisting content for a maximum of five seconds was frustrating. This is not enough time to be truly creative.
While the 20-second cap on videos I create in-app is better, it’s still sometimes limiting. I guess creating multiple video clips and bringing them together in an external video editing app. For example, I could use one of the alternatives to CapCut.
3. Better Animations for People and Animals
Sora seemed to perform well with landscapes, but the same couldn’t be said for animals. For example, the birds flying in my videos seemed very unnatural. Rather than going somewhere, these birds were effectively standing in mid-air.
Others have also complained about how bad Sora is at object interactions. I imagine that the software will iron this out as it gets more information, and hopefully, it does so before too long.
What Kinds of Videos Work Best With Sora?
I don’t recommend using Sora to recreate real-life videos. While I could have done certain things differently, the software didn’t impress me.
Instead, I think Sora is better for creating videos from scratch. It offers many options if you want to let your creativity run wild with prompts and storyboards. Similarly, I’d use the tool to get inspiration for future real-life projects.
