7.2 – Runway Intro Lesson

Lesson Overview

This lesson introduces Runway, a platform that reshapes how users create and edit videos, images, and audio using AI. Runway separates itself from typical editors by integrating a large library of “magic tools” for tasks like background removal, inpainting (erasing parts of a video), advanced motion tracking, and much more. These features go beyond standard editing to make complex edits quick and accessible, even for those without heavy technical backgrounds.

You’ll also learn about Runway’s pricing, which uses a credit system. The free tier allows you to experiment, while monthly upgrades offer more freedom for frequent or professional use. The lesson explains how to organize projects using workspaces, which provide a familiar editing environment whether you’re new to video editors or experienced.

This overview is valuable if you want to compare Runway to alternatives like Kaiber, particularly when looking at features such as text-to-video or video transformation. The platform’s powerful Gen-1 and Gen-2 tools will be referenced, offering a preview before the upcoming, more detailed lessons on each. Runway is especially useful for content creators, marketers, educators, and anyone producing media for online platforms.

Who This Is For

If you’re interested in AI-driven content creation or are looking to streamline your video, audio, or image editing process, this lesson is designed for you. It’s a helpful starting point if you fall into any of these categories:

• Content creators and social media managers seeking simple but powerful editing tools
• Educators and trainers producing engaging video or visual materials
• Marketers preparing online ads, promotional videos, or explainers
• Designers and artists wanting to explore generative AI for image or video
• Anyone curious about leading-edge generative AI platforms before making an investment

Where This Fits in a Workflow

Runway’s suite of tools becomes especially useful when you’re ready to take your projects from concept to polished output without bouncing between multiple apps. You’ll typically reach for Runway after you’ve written a script, collected footage, or planned media assets—and now need both the power of AI and accessible editing in one place.

For example, a marketer might upload raw video files into a Runway workspace, use magic tools to remove unwanted backgrounds, then apply AI templates for platform-ready social media clips. Similarly, an educator could generate new video content from text prompts, tweak visuals, and add subtitles, all inside Runway. By understanding what Runway offers at a high level, you can decide when its workflow is a fit for your current or next media project.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

Traditionally, creators needed a mix of advanced (and often expensive) software for video editing, background removal, special effects, and audio cleanup. Each tool handled only one job—forcing users to juggle file formats and learn several interfaces, often slowing down the creative process and introducing errors.

With Runway, many of these tasks come together in one place. The magic tools let you perform complex edits in a matter of clicks, such as instantly erasing people or objects with inpainting—something that would previously require detailed frame-by-frame work in pro software. Gen-1 and Gen-2 push boundaries further by letting you transform videos or generate them from scratch using only a prompt.

This unified environment reduces friction, speeds up production, and helps users output high-quality, AI-powered content—whether for social, web, marketing, or instructional use. Runway’s credit model also lets you scale work to suit your needs without a steep upfront cost, making high-end tricks available to individuals and teams alike.

Practice Exercise

To get familiar with Runway, try the following:

1. Create a free Runway account at runwayml.com and log in.
2. Start a new workspace and open the video editor. Import a short video clip or use a stock asset.
3. Experiment by applying a magic tool—such as the background remover or inpainting tool—to change or clean up your clip.

Reflect: How does the editing experience in Runway compare to the tools you’ve used before? Does using AI-powered magic tools feel faster or more approachable for your projects?

Course Context Recap

This lesson gives you the broad overview needed before exploring Runway’s more advanced generative video features. Previously, you learned about the essential concepts and landscape of generative AI tools. Next, the course will focus in detail on Runway’s Gen-1 (video-to-video) and Gen-2 (text-to-video) tools, letting you see firsthand how they transform raw ideas into finished content. Keep moving forward to see how each tool works—and how to make the most of them in your own projects.