Seedance 2.5 is Now HD! | AI Film News
In this article and video tutorial, we’ll test Seedance 2.5 in 1080p, along with a few other pieces of AI Film News.
Seedance 2.5 just got a major upgrade with 1080p generation, alongside a packed week of new AI filmmaking tools and research.
Before we dive in, here are the highlights:
Seedance 2.5 can now generate in 1080p
We break down what Seedance 2.5 actually costs
Apple can transfer facial expressions between people
A new open-source tool clones voices with emotional control
Move AI demos real-time motion capture
And a ton more, so let’s jump right in!
Seedance 2.5 is Now HD! | AI Film News
Below we breakdown the top new AI tools and other AI Film news from the past week.
Seedance 2.5 is Now HD! | AI Film News
Here’s a list of all the AI news from the past few weeks.
1. Seedance 2.5 Can Now Generate in 1080p
When Seedance 2.5 first launched, one of our biggest complaints was that it topped out at 720p. That has officially changed.
Seedance 2.5 can now generate 1080p video, while still supporting up to 50 reference assets, 30-second generations, multi-shot sequences, and 10-bit color for more flexibility in post-production.
For our first test, we brought three reference images into Dreamina: two character references and a Midjourney image for the location and color grade. We then used a time-coded prompt to map out a 30-second, multi-shot scene.
Reference Image
Reference Image
Location Reference
Seedance 2.5 1080p
Seedance 2.5 720p
The result was pretty incredible. There are still a few artifacts and details we'd want to clean up, but overall, this is some of the best AI video we've seen.
Compared to 720p, 1080p had noticeably fewer artifacts and strange details, making the footage feel much more polished. MiniMax H3 was also impressive, especially for a free, open-weight model, but Seedance 2.5 1080p was the clear winner in overall quality.
We also wanted to see how it handled more challenging filmmaking scenarios.
For our VFX test, we generated a man driving through an asteroid storm. The result had impressive physical dynamics and particle effects, although Seedance unexpectedly pushed the scene into slow motion.
Seedance 2.5 1080p
Seedance 2.5 720p
MiniMax H3
We also tested a multi-shot dialogue scene, where Seedance handled the camera movement, character continuity, and reactions surprisingly well. The performances actually became more realistic as the scene progressed.
Seedance 2.5 1080p
Seedance 2.5 720p
MiniMax H3
Of course, all of this quality comes at a price. Our 30-second generation through Dreamina cost $31.62, and you're rarely going to get the perfect shot on your first try.
For professional projects, we'd still budget for multiple generations per usable shot, which means costs can add up quickly. But when quality matters most, Seedance 2.5 1080p is currently the best AI video model we've tested at Curious Refuge.
2. ByteDance and the MPA Reach an Agreement Around AI + Hollywood
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) reached an agreement with ByteDance to introduce protections around Hollywood IP and copyright into Seedance and SeedDream 5.0 Pro.
It’s not clear exactly what those protections will look like yet, but this feels like a significant shift. Hollywood is no longer playing around with AI. It’s actively figuring out how to integrate it into professional workflows.
3. Apple Can Transfer Facial Performances Between People
Apple's research team released a new white paper showcasing an internal project called Heads Up.
This isn't a publicly available product yet, but the research gives us a fascinating look at where digital performances could be heading.
Apple captured high-resolution facial data from 10,000 subjects and used that information to create detailed 3D representations of human faces.
But that's only the beginning.
The system can take an emotional performance from one person and project that expression onto a completely different person.
Apple also developed controls that allow you to fine-tune individual parts of a facial expression.
For a professional project, you could imagine this being useful for something like an advertisement or movie poster where you need to subtly adjust a model or actor's expression after the shoot.
It's easy to imagine this kind of technology eventually making its way into professional creative tools like Photoshop.
4. This Open-Source Tool Can Clone Your Voice + Emotions
Speaking of emotional control, a new open-source voice cloning tool, dropped this week that can clone a voice from a short audio clip and give you detailed control over its emotional performance.
Index TTS 2.5 is basically like a free version of ElevenLabs with emotional control.
You can upload reference audio, type the words you want your cloned voice to say, select a language, and control the duration of the performance.
But the really interesting part is how you can control emotion.
You can take one person's voice and combine it with the emotional performance of someone completely different.
For example, we cloned Caleb's voice and then uploaded a separate reference of someone sounding extremely sad. Like dramatic sad.
The model then brought that emotional tonality into Caleb's cloned voice. And the result’s pretty hilarious.
You can also manually dial in emotions using sliders. The actual performances still have room to improve, and some came across as robotic.
But the bigger takeaway is how quickly open-source and open-weight models are improving.
Tools like ElevenLabs still have the edge in many areas, but increasingly capable free models are right on their heels.
5. Move AI Demos Real-Time Motion Capture
The team at Move AI also showed off a new real-time motion capture demo.
Using a Gaussian splat stage and motion capture cameras, the system tracks a character's skeleton in real time and recreates their overall movement.
Compared with some of the open-weight skeleton tracking tools we've seen over the last few months, the movement looks significantly more refined.
Move AI continues to lean heavily into motion tracking, and they're doing a really impressive job.
6. LottieLabs Experiments With AI-Assisted Motion Design
If you're a motion designer, you're probably already familiar with LottieLabs, which allows you to take animations from tools like After Effects and export them into formats that can be used online.
This week, we saw an interesting workflow combining artist-controlled 2D animation with AI-generated texturing and stylization.
One of the interesting things about AI is that photorealism arrived surprisingly quickly, while really refined motion design has been much harder to replicate.
There's a lot of finesse and storytelling in micro-keyframes and subtle motion.
Tools like this are another sign that motion design is going to change dramatically over the next six months.
7. CAD X Studio Turns Ideas Into Engineering Schematics
CAD X Studio can turn a prompt or reference image into CAD schematics for physical products, breaking a design into individual components that could potentially be handed off to engineers or manufacturers.
It’s another interesting example of how AI could help automate some of the more tedious technical work behind engineering and product design.
8. Curious Refuge Community Updates
There are also a ton of AI filmmaking events happening around the world.
The Curious Refuge community recently hosted a meetup in New York, and we have upcoming meetups in:
Denver
Bulgaria
Los Angeles
Palm Beach
There's also an AI filmmaking event hosted by Machine Cinema in Los Angeles, featuring interactive AI work.
And if you're a Curious Refuge member, don't forget that our second Membership Build Challenge closes August 21. Finalists will be featured on the Curious Refuge YouTube channel and social platforms.
Visit the AI Events page to find an upcoming event near you.
9. AI Films of the Week
This week’s featured AI films include:
Simon Meyer’s Runway Ad Competition Winners 1st and 2nd - Simon and his team took both first and second place in Runway’s recent advertising competition. Both are fantastic examples of what’s possible when you put these tools in the hands of a talented creative.
Kill the Bill by Adria Gonzalez + Delirio - A hilarious concept that turns the awkward moment when the dinner bill arrives into an all-out fight scene.
Night Shift by Raza Shaw - A fun comedy concept that brings fantasy characters to life and gets us excited for our upcoming AI horror film competition.
Check out other amazing work in our AI Film Gallery.
10. September Course Enrollment Is Now Open
Enrollment will be open for our September Curious Refuge courses!
Whether you want to create AI films, ads, YouTube videos, or level up your AI storytelling skills, we’d love to have you join us.
Not ready for a full course yet? You can also get started for free.
Free Course | Intro to AI Storytelling
If you want to keep up with the latest AI filmmaking tools and workflows, explore our free course and join thousands of creators learning what's next.
Fill out the form above and get instant access. You also get free access to our global community full of AI creative from all walks of like.
We would love to see you there!
