How to Create AI Video with Minimax: A Complete Beginner's Guide

MiniMax makes one of the best motion-focused video models out there. It's called Hailuo AI, and the latest version - Hailuo 2.3 - handles realistic body movement, cinematic camera work, and stylized animation better than most tools in its price range.

In this guide, I'll walk you through how to create AI video with MiniMax from start to finish - preparing images, generating video clips, adding sound, and editing a polished result. Whether you're using this minimax AI video generator for social content, product ads, or animated shorts, the workflow is the same. Let's get into it.

What is MiniMax - and How Does Hailuo AI Fit in?

MiniMax is the company behind several AI products. Think of it as the parent brand. Hailuo AI is their video generation platform - the place where you actually go to create AI video with MiniMax technology. The latest model, Hailuo 2.3, specializes in image-to-video and text-to-video generation with up to 1080p resolution.

Then there's MiniMax Audio, a separate tool for text-to-speech, voice cloning, and music generation. You can use MiniMax Audio add narration, dialogue, or a soundtrack.

Quick summary:

• Hailuo AI (hailuoai.video) = video generation
• MiniMax Audio (minimax.io/audio) = voiceover, voice cloning, music
• Hailuo 2.3 = the current video model (released October 2025)

What You Need Before Your start

Here's your setup checklist:

• A Hailuo AI account - sign up with your Google account in one click
• A MiniMax Audio account - also supports Google login
• Image assets - your own photos, AI-generated images, or use Hailuo's built-in image generator
• A video editor like CapCut for final assembly

Hailuo 2.3 quick specs:

• Modes: Text-to-Video (T2V) and Image-to-Video (I2V)
• Resolution: 768p (up to 10 seconds) or 1080p (up to 6 seconds)
• Frame rate: 24-30 fps
• Camera controls: Pan, zoom, tracking, and more via prompt presets
• Two variants: Standard (max quality) and Fast (quicker, lower cost - I2V only)

Hailuo supports both Image-to-Video and Text-to-Video, but I'd recommend going the I2V route. When you provide a reference image, you control the composition, character appearance, and scene layout from the start - the output is more stable and predictable.

Step 1 - Prepare Your Images

You need a starting image for each scene. You have two options:

Use Hailuo's built-in image generator. On the Hailuo AI site, switch to the image section and generate scene images directly. This keeps everything in one place.

Upload your own images. Bring in photos, illustrations, or images from another AI tool. Just make sure they're 16:9 for widescreen video — that matches Hailuo's default output ratio and looks best for most content.

Keep your visual style consistent across all scenes. If you're making an animated short, use the same style keywords (like "3D cartoon, soft lighting, Pixar style") for every image.

Step 2 - Generate Video with Hailuo 2.3

Image-to-Video

Head to the video section on Hailuo AI. Select Image-to-Video, upload your scene image, and write a detailed prompt describing how you want it to animate.

Be specific - don't just write "person walking." Write something like: "A woman walks toward the camera on a rain-soaked city street at night. Her coat flutters in the wind. Camera slowly tracks forward."

In the settings, pick your resolution and duration:

• 768p / 10 seconds - longer clips, good for most scenes
• 1080p / 6 seconds - sharper output, ideal for close-ups or product shots

Check out the camera control presets too. Hailuo gives you options like Pan Left, Zoom In, Tracking Shot, and more - so you can direct the virtual camera without writing it all into the prompt.

For quick tests, use the Fast variant. It generates faster at a lower cost, perfect for checking composition and motion before committing to a final render with the Standard model.

Text-to-Video

That said, if you want to skip the image prep, the Standard model also handles text-to-video - just write a prompt and let Hailuo generate the visuals from scratch. It's one of the easiest ways to create AI videos using Hailuo without preparing any image assets first.

Chain Clips for Longer Videos

Each Hailuo clip is 6–10 seconds, so for a full story you'll need to chain multiple clips together. The trick: screenshot the last frame of one clip and use it as the first frame of the next. This keeps characters and environments consistent across scenes - each segment picks up right where the last one left off.

The Hailuo platform also offers a Start & End Frame feature on the Hailuo 02 model, which lets you upload both a first and last frame to control the transition more precisely. But for most workflows, simply feeding in a start frame is all you need.

Step 3 - Add Voiceover and Music with MiniMax Audio

Since Hailuo 2.3 produces silent video, you'll head to MiniMax Audio for the sound layer.

Text-to-Speech

MiniMax Speech 2.8 is their latest TTS model. Pick a preset that matches your content - "Tell a Story" for narration, "Create a Commercial" for ads, or "Tutor" for explainer videos. Browse 300+ voices filtered by gender, accent, and style.

Paste your script, select a voice, and generate. The model supports 40+ languages and emotion controls (calm, happy, surprised, etc.), so you can match the tone to your scene. Download the audio file when you're happy with it.

Voice Cloning

Want your own voice in the video? Upload 6–10 clean audio samples (about 10 seconds each), and MiniMax will clone your voice. Then use it to narrate any text you write - in any of the supported languages. The Fluent LoRA feature even smooths out accents and disfluencies in the source recording.

Music Generation

Need a soundtrack? MiniMax Music 2.6 generates original songs from a text prompt. Describe the mood, genre, and style you want - "upbeat electronic pop, energetic, 120 BPM" - and it'll produce a track with lyrics and mixing. You can also paste in your own lyrics separately to keep the prompt focused on the sound.

Step 4 - Edit Your Final Video

Open CapCut (or your preferred editor) and bring everything together:

1. Import all your Hailuo video clips in scene order
2. Layer in the voiceover audio from MiniMax
3. Add the generated music track as background audio
4. Trim clips, add transitions between scenes, and adjust audio levels
5. Drop in subtitles if needed
6. Export as MP4

An Easier Alternative - SeaArt AI

The MiniMax workflow gets the job done, but it requires jumping between Hailuo for video and MiniMax Audio for sound. If you'd rather keep things simpler, SeaArt AI puts multiple top-tier video models in one place - including Hailuo itself.

What makes SeaArt stand out:

• Models that generate video with built-in audio. Seedance 2.0 and Kling 3.0 produce video clips with sound effects, ambient audio, and even dialogue in a single pass. No separate audio step needed.
• More model choices. Beyond Hailuo, you get access to Seedance 2.0, Wan 2.7, Happy Horse, and others - all from the same interface. You can pick the best model for each scene and the videos you created have no watermarks..
• SeaArt Lip Sync. Upload a video clip and an audio file, and it'll sync the character's mouth to the speech. Perfect for dialogue scenes.
• Community and inspiration. Browse what other creators are making, find prompts, and get ideas for your next project.

You can try the Hailuo 02 AI video generator directly on SeaArt, or explore the full range at the SeaArt AI video generator page.

Tips for Better Results

• Write detailed prompts. The more specific you are about motion, camera angle, lighting, and style, the closer the output will match what you had in mind. Vague prompts get vague results.
• Use Fast mode for iterations. Test your prompt with Hailuo 2.3 Fast before burning credits on the Standard model. Once the composition looks right, switch to Standard for the final render.
• Keep style keywords consistent. If scene 1 uses "cinematic, warm lighting, shallow depth of field," repeat those exact words in every scene prompt.
• Chain clips with the last frame. Screenshot the final frame of each clip and use it as the start frame for the next one. This keeps characters and settings consistent across scenes.
• Match audio tone to visuals. When generating voiceover in MiniMax, use the emotion controls. A calm narration over an action scene feels off - match the energy.

Conclusion

That's the full process for how to create AI video with MiniMax. Use Hailuo 2.3 for the visuals - it handles motion, camera work, and stylized content at a level that's hard to beat in its price range. Add MiniMax Audio for voiceover, voice cloning, or music. Then assemble everything in an editor.

The workflow has a few steps, but each one is straightforward. Once you've done it once, the second project goes much faster.

If you want a more streamlined setup where video, audio, and lip sync live under one roof, check out AI video generator on SeaArt. It's worth exploring - especially if you want models that output video with sound in a single step.