CraftStory launched its AI video generation platform that creates photorealistic talking avatars from single photos, addressing the industry challenge of maintaining facial consistency in longer clips.

The platform generates coherent videos lasting several minutes with the same face frame-to-frame, accurate lip-sync, and natural gestures across 30+ languages. Users can create custom avatars from 15-second video clips or select from over 100 pre-made AI actors.

Built by the team behind OpenCV, the open-source computer vision library, CraftStory uses a proprietary model trained on professional actor footage through revenue-sharing agreements. The service prices generation at 4.5 cents per second.

Solving the length problem

Most AI video models struggle with clips longer than 10-15 seconds before facial drift occurs. Runway's latest models and competitors like Pika typically cap out around 15 seconds for consistent results.

CraftStory's approach maintains identity consistency across multi-minute videos by treating length and facial stability as interconnected technical challenges rather than separate problems.

The platform includes a Video Agent feature that writes scripts, adds b-roll footage and subtitles, and selects avatars through conversational interface. Users can also upload their own audio or generate speech from text.

Targeted use cases include learning and development content, podcast video versions, and user-generated content for marketing campaigns. The platform offers a free tier without requiring payment details.

"We've watched AI video get sharper but stay short," said Alexander Shishkov, co-founder. "That's useless if you actually want to say something — a product walkthrough, a training module, a spokesperson."

The company competes with established players like Synthesia and HeyGen in the AI avatar space, differentiating on multi-minute consistency and pricing model.

CraftStory plans to expand language support and improve gesture naturalness based on early user feedback from the Product Hunt launch.