HeyGen

Between TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, it can seem like video is everywhere these days. But making something that looks professional can often be a daunting task. This is the problem that HeyGen (which used to be known as Movio) promises to fix.

HeyGen is an AI-powered video creation platform that lets you make unique talking-heads clips. When you load up the app, you are presented with several options, including the ability to generate a “TalkingPhoto” video, or to begin with one of HeyGen’s avatars. TalkingPhoto lets you create an AI-generated image (similar to Midjourney or Stable Diffusion) that you can then turn into an animated video. I opted to start with an avatar, and selected one from the dozen pre-created characters that were available. These include a few fun ones, including Mona Lisa and William Shakespeare, though premium customers have access to a larger range of avatars.

You can customize several elements before you create your clip, including the format (landscape or portrait), and your avatar’s voice. Again, there are more options for premium users, and even the ability to clone your own voice for a one-off fee of $99. Here, I went with a free voice and then input the text that I wanted the character to say. You can of course upload your own audio, but you’ll have to be mindful of your video’s runtime, as each time you generate a video, you use credits; the longer the clip, the more credits you’ll use.

HeyGen gives you a voice preview feature which is helpful for checking how your avatar will sound before you create the end clip, and when you press render, the wait time is also mercifully quick. The end-result is a very good animated video, which, while not quite able to get over the uncanny valley, is more than good enough for an explainer video, presentation, or even a social media response clip. (Just maybe don’t try to use it for a TikTok duet.)