The Studio is the route that skips the script. Describe the shot you want in one line and go straight to an image or a video — no shot breakdown, no four-stage workflow.
It suits catching an idea, testing a look, making a single image, or filming a short beat. If you want a complete film with a story, that's what the “Short Film Shoot Handbook” covers.
Fastest route: three steps to your first image
1. Open the Studio — sidebar, "Create → Studio". You land on "What are you shooting today?" and an input box.
2. Describe the shot — just type. For example: "outside a convenience store late at night, rain on the glass door, a black cat sitting at the entrance".
To the left of the input box are two upright buttons that switch mode: Image / Video.
3. Submit — in image mode the button reads "Develop"; in video mode, "Shoot". Right under the button it tells you how many credits this one costs.
Whatever you generate lands on the project's asset wall.
What a project is
A project is a box you keep assets in.
"My projects" further down the home page lists all your boxes; "New project" opens another. Each card is tagged with where it came from — Studio, Quick Shoot or Darkroom — and how many assets it holds.
You don't have to manage any of this — generate straight from the home page and the system files it for you. Move things later if you want.
Higher up the home page there is a "Continue →" card for the project you touched most recently: one click back in.
The "⋯" on a project card can rename or delete the project.
⚠️ Deleting a project permanently deletes the assets inside it, and credits already spent are not refunded.
There is also an "Unsorted" box — that is where material imported from the old Quick Shoot and Darkroom lives.
The two modes
| Image | Video | |
|---|---|---|
| Submit button | Develop | Shoot |
| Setting pills | model, resolution, aspect ratio | model, quality, duration, ratio, audio |
| Reference images | yes | yes |
The settings are the row of pills under the input box; tap one to expand it. Every option in the model list is labelled with how many credits this one costs, so the expensive ones are obvious at a glance; anything you cannot pick says which plan it needs.
Up to 12 reference images — either "Upload" your own or pick from the "Library".
Using the asset wall
Opening a project puts you on its asset wall.
Left column — all your projects, and the folders inside each. "New project" or "New folder" starts another. "Unsorted" sits at the bottom.
Top pills — switch between "All / Images / Videos"; the star on the far right shows favourites only.
Right of the title row — "Multi-select" for batch mode, "Filter" (by format, status or the model that generated it), and the sort toggle (Newest first / Oldest first).
Assets are grouped by date — Today, Yesterday, Earlier. The older group is collapsed by default; tap to expand.
Batch actions — once you are in multi-select, a batch bar appears at the bottom: move to a project, move to a folder, download, or delete, all in one go.
The input box stays pinned to the bottom of the screen, labelled with the project you are currently in.
What each asset can do
Hovering an asset card reveals a row of small icons; they are also there when you open the full-size view:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reuse | Loads this one's prompt, settings and reference images back into the input box so you can tweak and regenerate. The one you will use most. |
| To video | Images only. Switches to video mode with this image as reference image #1. |
| Continuation | Videos only. Carries on filming from where this one ends. |
| Upscale | Raises the quality. |
| Edit image | Images only — see the next section. |
| Favorite | Adds a star, so the star pill at the top can show favourites only. |
| Download / Delete | As they sound. Deleting cannot be undone, and credits are not refunded. |
"N versions" in the top-right of a card is how many versions that group holds (every edit adds one); open it to step through them.
Generating and failures
| State | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Queued · position N | Press "Cancel" — it has not started generating, so the credits come back. |
| Generating | Press "Cancel". ⚠️ Anything already generating cannot be stopped — the video finishes and lands in the library, and credits are not refunded. |
| Generation failed | The card says why, usually noting "credits refunded". Press "Retry" to try again. |
Edit image
Pressing "Edit image" on an image asset opens an editor where you change the picture by describing what you want.
Mark the area to edit — click a spot, or drag a box around a region, to tell the AI where to work.
Describe the change — for example "make the sign blue" or "remove the person in the background".
Point at a reference — once you have added reference images, typing @Image 1 or @Image 2 in the prompt names the one you mean.
Press "Apply edit" when you are done; the button says how many credits it costs. Every edit is saved as a new version, and the version row below lets you go back.
Generating with Midjourney
At the bottom of the model list in image mode there is a Midjourney section with four versions:
| Version | Best for |
|---|---|
| MJ 8.2 / MJ 8.1 | Photorealism, product shots, cinematic frames. Handles long, specific descriptions and keeps fine detail. |
| MJ V7 | Short descriptions when you want a look fast. |
| Niji 7 | Anime, illustration, character sheets. Clean, flat rendering that follows your words closely. |
Available on Aperçu and above. On the free plan the section is visible but locked ("Upgrade to unlock").
Each run makes 4 images for 9 credits. All four land on the asset wall as separate assets. Resolution is fixed at 1K; the aspect ratio follows your pick. Expect to wait about 2–4 minutes.
✨ AI Refine
With a Midjourney model selected, an "AI Refine" button appears next to the model pill. Write the picture you want in a line — in any language — press it, and it rewrites your text into the English prompt that version reads best, right in the input box. Edit it if you like, then press "Develop".
- The style changes with the version: long and specific for 8.2 / 8.1, concise for V7, explicit hair, outfit and rendering style for Niji 7.
- It may add parameters at the end where they help, such as
--s 150(how stylised) or--raw(more literal, less beautified). - It never touches the aspect ratio or the version — those follow what you picked on the pills.
- AI Refine costs no credits.
Writing your own parameters
If you know Midjourney, put parameters at the very end of the prompt, e.g. --s 50, --chaos 20, --no text.
- Parameters you write are kept as-is, and AI Refine will not overwrite them.
- No need to write the aspect ratio — the pill handles it.
- If your prompt names a version itself (e.g.
--v 7or--niji 7), the prompt wins, and the asset card shows the version actually used.
Reference images
You can attach reference images, but Midjourney treats them as a reference for the whole picture (composition, palette and elements all carry over). You cannot point at one with @Image 1 ("this person from image 1"). AI Refine replaces any @Image N in your prompt with a plain description.
Good to know
- Midjourney images never appear in any public showcase (Screening Room, inspiration wall, template covers) — only on your own asset wall and in your library.
- Midjourney is occasionally unavailable. A failed run is fully refunded automatically; just try again later.
Where things are
| What you want to do | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Generate an image or a video | Sidebar "Studio" → the input box → switch image/video on the left |
| Start a new box | "New project" on the home page, or "New project" in the asset wall's left column |
| Get back to what you were doing | The "Continue →" card near the top of the home page |
| Find an old asset | The search box at the top (searches assets, projects and prompts) |
| See only favourites | The star pill at the top of the asset wall |
| Move or download a batch | "Multi-select" in the title row → the batch bar at the bottom |
| Regenerate from an existing image | "Reuse" on the asset card |
| Turn an image into a video | "To video" on the asset card |
| Change an image by describing it | "Edit image" on the asset card |
| Generate with Midjourney | Image mode → model pill → the Midjourney section at the bottom |
Beyond the basics
- Skill recipes — there is a recipe button on the input box toolbar. A recipe is a pre-written prompt skeleton; picking one fills in the structure for you, and some also suggest how many reference images or audio clips to pair with it.
- Reference audio (video mode) — attach an audio clip for lip sync or to catch the rhythm of a track. Anything over that model's duration limit is rejected, and the interface warns you first.
- Folders — projects can be split further into folders; "Move to folder" on an asset card, or the batch bar, moves things across.
- Reference image limit — the form takes up to 12, but models differ in how many they can actually use, and the excess is ignored on submit. The interface tells you that model's limit.
Credits and plans
- Generating spends credits, and you see the cost before you submit.
- A successful submit shows "Submitted · N credits · balance N".
- If you are short, it says how much by and offers "Buy credits".
- Some models and higher qualities need a higher plan; options you cannot pick are labelled with the plan they need.
- The free plan has a monthly cap on images, and tells you when it runs out.
- Midjourney makes 4 images for 9 credits per run, on Aperçu and above.
Common questions
I generated without creating a project — where did it go?
The system files it into a project for you. It is under "My projects" back on the Studio home page.
What is the difference between "Reuse" and "Edit image"?
Reuse generates a new one — it loads the original prompt and settings back into the input box for you to tweak and regenerate. Edit image changes this one — mark a region, say what to change, and the result is saved as a new version in the same group.
Why can I cancel while queued but not while generating?
Queued means it has not actually gone out yet, so cancelling refunds the credits. Once generation has started, upstream is already computing it and stopping is not possible — so it runs to completion, lands in the library, and the credits stay spent.
I can't find something old on the asset wall.
Assets are grouped by date and the older group is collapsed by default — tap to expand. Or use the search box at the top; it searches prompts too.
I added a lot of reference images but some seem to do nothing.
It depends on the model you picked. Some take fewer than 12, and the extras are ignored on submit.
Midjourney makes 4 images per run — can I get just 1?
No. Midjourney always makes 4, and the 9 credits are the price of all four. They all land on the asset wall; delete the ones you don't want (deleting does not refund credits).
Why did AI Refine turn my prompt into English?
Midjourney reads English far better than other languages, so AI Refine always writes in English. The result stays in the input box for you to review and edit before you submit.
For a complete short film with a story and consistent characters, see the “Short Film Shoot Handbook”; to mass-produce a vertical series, see the “Short Drama Shoot Handbook”.