Text-to-Video Generation using a Generative AI Model

Text-to-Video Generation using a Generative AI Model

Hello everyone, welcome to AI Anytime! In this article, we'll explore a fascinating repository from Hugging Face that helps generate video content from textual descriptions. While generative AI models for text-to-image conversion are becoming common (think MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, etc.), text-to-video is an emerging and exciting frontier.

We're going to focus on a model called "ModelScope Demo Text-to-Video Synthesis," developed by the DEMO VI Lab. If you're familiar with diffusion models, you'll know these generative models create data resembling their training input—be it images, audio, or in this case, videos.

What is ModelScope?

ModelScope, an initiative by Alibaba Cloud, is a platform like Hugging Face that lists open-source models. You can find diverse models and datasets here, similar to Hugging Face's pattern with models, datasets, and spaces for open-source or research purposes.

Overview of ModelScope Demo Text-to-Video Synthesis

This text-to-video model employs three crucial sub-networks:

1. Text Feature Extraction
2. Text Feature to Video Latent Space Diffusion Model
3. Video Latent Space to Video Visual Space

The model is trained using approximately 1.77 billion parameters and supports English prompts. Among the training datasets are well-known public datasets like ImageNet and WebVid.

Limitations

The model comes with a few limitations:

• It can’t generate high-quality videos yet, similar to early image-generation models like initial versions of Stable Diffusion.
• It struggles with generating clear text in videos.
• It can’t handle long textual prompts effectively.
• It requires high computational power, generally a GPU.

Running the Model

To run this model, follow these steps:

1. Set Up: Ensure your environment has GPU support, Pytorch, OpenClip-Torch, Pytorch-Lightning, and ModelScope installed.
2. Dependencies: Import required libraries and set up the pipeline to download model weights.
3. Inference: Create small, simple text prompts to generate videos.
4. Output: Save and play the output video using a supported video player like VLC.

Here's Python code using Google Colab for inference:

from modelscope.pipelines import pipeline

## Introduction
pipe = pipeline('text-to-video-synthesis', model='damo-vilab/text-to-video-synthesis')

## Introduction
text_prompt = 'A robot is dancing on the street'

## Introduction
output = pipe(text_prompt)
print(output)

After running the code, the output video will appear. For instance, using the prompt "A robot is dancing on the street," you might see a brief video clip reflecting that scene.

Observations

Some videos generated carry watermarks from stock video providers, indicating their source. Attribution to creators should ideally be provided, enhancing transparency.

Future Prospects

Text-to-video generation is in its nascent stages. High-quality models might emerge soon, much like how image generation systems have evolved. Models like HD-Video on GitHub also promise exciting developments.

Conclusion

The text-to-video model from ModelScope offers an intriguing look into the future of generative AI. Though currently limited, the technology shows immense potential. If you enjoy delving into generative AI, give this model a try and share your experiences!

Feel free to check out the repository and try the model yourself. If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to AI Anytime and sharing it with your peers. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next article!

Keywords

• Generative AI
• Text-to-Video Synthesis
• ModelScope
• Hugging Face
• Diffusion Models
• Video Generation
• Pytorch
• Open Source
• Alibaba Cloud

FAQ

Q1: What is the ModelScope Demo Text-to-Video Synthesis? A: It's a generative AI model that converts textual descriptions into video content, developed by the DEMO VI Lab and available on the ModelScope platform by Alibaba Cloud.

Q2: What are the limitations of this model? A: The model struggles with generating high-quality videos, clear text within videos, and cannot handle long textual prompts. It also requires high computational power, typically a GPU, to run.

Q3: What datasets were used to train this model? A: The model was trained using public datasets like ImageNet and WebVid.

Q4: How can I run this model? A: You can run the model using Google Colab with GPU support. Install necessary libraries like Pytorch, OpenClip-Torch, and ModelScope, then set up the pipeline and generate videos using simple text prompts.

Q5: What video players support the output videos? A: The generated videos are in MP4 format and can be played on VLC media player for optimal performance, though other players like Windows Media Player might also work.

Q6: How good is the quality of the generated videos? A: Currently, the quality is not very high, typically producing brief (2-5 seconds) clips that reflect the textual prompt. However, this area of generative AI is expected to improve significantly over time.