Motion Transfer: Animate a Photo With a Driving Video (2026)
Choose your source media and review the settings before processing.
Open the editing toolPrepare both inputs before you start
You need a character image and a driving performance video. A photograph alone is not enough for this workflow. Use a short, clearly framed driving clip first, and check the displayed cost before you press Transfer Motion.
Open Motion Transfer to prepare the inputs. If you only have a photo and want the model to invent a small movement, use image-to-video instead. A generated clip must be reviewed for face, hands, motion and audio before publication.
What is motion transfer?
Motion transfer is a technique where the motion from a driving video is reenacted by a subject in a source image. You supply two inputs: a photo of one character (a person, an illustrated avatar, a pet, a mascot) and a video of someone performing the actions you want — gesturing, speaking, nodding, dancing. The model reads the driver's pose, head orientation and facial movement, then renders your photo's character doing the same thing while attempting to preserve the character's appearance. Identity, clothing and fine detail can change and need review.
It is sometimes called pose transfer, character reenactment, or "puppeteering" a photo. The key distinction from plain image-to-video: you are not describing motion in a text prompt and hoping the model invents it. You are giving the model a recorded performance to follow.
Related questions: What does motion transfer mean? Is motion transfer the same as a deepfake? What is character reenactment?
How does motion transfer differ from image-to-video?
Image-to-video (for example Kling 3.0 Standard or Seedance 2.0 animating a still) generates motion from a text prompt. You write "she waves and smiles" and the model improvises the timing and gesture. Results can be good but you cannot dictate exact choreography or lip timing.
Motion transfer is guided by a recorded movement rather than only a text description. The driving video is the choreography. If the driver tilts their head left on beat three and raises an eyebrow, the model attempts to follow that timing; precise pose and expression matching are not guaranteed. That makes it the better tool when you need a specific performance — a set dance, a talking-head delivery, a repeatable brand gesture — rather than a generic "make it move."
Related questions: Should I use image-to-video or motion transfer? Can text-to-video copy a specific dance?
How do you animate a photo on Viralance?
Inside Viralance the feature is called Motion Transfer, one of the tools on the Edit Video page, powered by DreamActor v2 (fal-ai/bytedance/dreamactor/v2). The workflow:
- Open Edit Video and choose the Motion Transfer card.
- Under Motion Video (drives the animation), upload the performance to copy, or pick one of your existing videos with Choose from My Videos. The uploader accepts videos up to 30 seconds.
- Under Character Image, upload the character to animate — one clear subject, framed so the body and face you want animated are visible.
- Press Transfer Motion. The result appears in your video library when processing finishes.
DreamActor's provider documentation notes that the raw output begins with a roughly one-second transition and that its API trims that first second by default (fal input reference). Give your driver a short neutral lead-in so the important action isn't at the very start, and check the finished timing.
Related questions: How do I make a photo talk on Viralance? What model does Viralance use for motion transfer?
What can the character actually do — talk, emote, dance?
Because the source of motion is a real human performance, the character inherits whatever the driver does within frame:
- Talk — mouth shapes follow the driver's speech movements, so a talking-head driver produces a talking character.
- Emote — eyebrow raises, smiles, blinks and head tilts carry over, which is what makes the result read as alive rather than a warped photo.
- Gesture and move — upper-body pose, hand raises, leans and turns transfer when they are visible in the driving clip.
Review audio and lip timing in the finished clip. Motion matching does not guarantee accurate speech synchronization. If you want to replace the voice, Viralance's separate Lip Sync / Dub tool on the same Edit Video page swaps the audio track and re-matches the lips (1 credit per second, 10-credit minimum), and Voiceover generates narration from a script (from 2 credits).
Related questions: Can motion transfer make a still image talk? Does it transfer facial expressions? Can I add a voice?
What does motion transfer cost on Viralance?
Motion Transfer in the dashboard is a flat 12 credits per run, whether your driving video is 5 seconds or 30. That makes longer drivers better value per second — but a short test is still the cheaper way to find out whether a photo and driver pair works.
| Pack | Price per credit | One 12-credit run |
|---|---|---|
| Mini ($9, 30 credits) | $0.30 | $3.60 |
| Starter ($29, 110 credits) | ~$0.26 | ~$3.16 |
| Business ($299, 1,650 credits) | ~$0.18 | ~$2.17 |
Packs are one-time purchases with no subscription, and credits never expire. The 4 free credits new accounts receive after verification do not cover a motion-transfer run. Failed runs are refunded automatically; a result you don't like is not.
Related questions: How many credits is motion transfer? Is motion transfer cheaper than full video generation?
How do you get clean results?
A few input choices do most of the work:
- One clear subject in the photo. A single, well-lit character with an unobstructed face transfers more reliably than a crowded or low-resolution image. The provider accepts JPEG/PNG reference images up to 4.7 MB.
- Match the framing. If the driver is a waist-up talking head, use a waist-up photo. Large mismatches in crop force the model to invent body parts.
- Keep the driver in frame. Movement that leaves the frame or hides the face has nothing to map onto your character.
- Stay within 30 seconds and lead with a neutral pose.
- Use material you have rights to. Animate your own character or someone who has agreed to it.
For a step-by-step input checklist, see the motion transfer reference video checklist.
Related questions: Why does my motion transfer look distorted? What makes a good driving video? What resolution should the source photo be?
Where does motion transfer fit in a content workflow?
It is strongest when you need the same character to deliver many performances: a recurring brand avatar that talks to camera each week, an illustrated mascot that dances to a trend, or a founder headshot reused across clips without re-shooting. Film one driving performance, swap the character image, and you have a consistent on-screen presence.
On Viralance, Motion Transfer sits alongside Lip Sync / Dub, Subtitles (3 credits) and Voiceover, so a clip you drive here can move straight into dubbing and captions. Download the finished video and upload it yourself to TikTok, Reels or Shorts — Viralance does not post for you.
When not to use it: if you have no driving performance, or you only need a subtle product or scene movement, image-to-video is simpler and can be cheaper (a 4-second 720p VEO 3.1 Lite clip is 3 credits).
Related questions: What is motion transfer used for? Can I reuse one avatar across videos? How do I turn a motion-transfer clip into a finished TikTok?
