On the first day of the 12 Days of OpenAI, Sora was announced. It is a new AI video generator available on a new platform called sora.com. People from many places can access Sora for a fee, except for those in Europe and the UK. This release is special to me because my background is in video production. I started my career as a freelancer about ten years ago. Creating videos has always been my passion.

Context of Sora in the Video Generation Space
First, let’s note that Sora is not the first video generator. There are many other video generators out there. In fact, some Chinese video generators have made big strides recently. We publish a monthly ranking of these tools, and now that Sora is here, I want to say it is at the top of my list. It is my personal number one. The quality of the videos it generates is excellent.
Features of Sora
Sora offers a blend of features that make it stand out. The platform is user-friendly, and it has all the features I always wanted to see in AI video tools. Other competitors have some of these features, but Sora brings them all together in one place. OpenAI has taken a good look at the market and picked the best elements from other tools. For example, Luma Labs had a feature called “dream machine,” which allowed users to generate videos from text prompts. Sora has similar features, but with improvements.

Pricing Plans
Now, let’s talk about the pricing for Sora. Unfortunately, there are no free plans available. Sora is only for paid plans, specifically the Plus and Pro plans. If you are on a Teams, Enterprise, or Education plan, you cannot access Sora. This is disappointing for many users.
The Plus plan costs $20 a month. With this plan, you get up to 50 videos per month, but the video quality is limited to 720p. The Pro plan gives you more options. It allows for full HD videos and more video generations. For instance, the Pro plan allows for 500 video generations. After you reach this limit, you can still generate videos, but they will be slower.
Video Generation Features

As for the video generation features, Sora offers many tools that are not new but are well-implemented. For example, there is a blend feature that helps transition between two objects in a video. This feature allows the model to figure out what belongs in between the start and end points. There is also a loop feature that lets users create infinite loops of video clips they generate.
Another interesting tool is called “remix.” This allows users to edit parts of a video using text prompts. If you want to change something in the video, you can simply prompt it to make the change. There is also a “recut” feature that lets you take a part of a video you like and regenerate the parts you do not like.

Storyboarding Feature
One standout feature is the storyboard tool. This feature allows users to edit video scenes in a timeline format. You can generate one scene and then edit the length, and then generate a second scene. This makes creating coherent stories easier for those who may not have experience with video editing software.
Overall Impressions
In summary, Sora combines the best elements from many competitors into one platform. It generates high-quality videos at 1080p, which is better than most competitors. It also includes user-friendly features like folders, prompt presets, and the ability to storyboard. All of this makes Sora an excellent choice for anyone interested in AI video generation.

The Future of Sora
OpenAI has put significant effort into ensuring that Sora is a top-tier product. The pricing may seem high, but the value provided is substantial. For anyone already using the Plus plan, the addition of Sora makes it even more worthwhile. The potential for Sora to dominate the AI video market is significant.
Overall, Sora is a game-changer for those interested in AI video generation. It is easy to use and offers many features that can help users create amazing videos quickly. I look forward to seeing how Sora will evolve and what new features will be added in the future.