How to Edit a Video With an AI Prompt
July 17, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026 · 8 min read
To edit a video with an AI prompt, you upload a short clip and describe one change — “make it snow”, “remove the cup from the table” — and a video model re-renders the clip with that change while keeping the rest. On our Video Edit tool the model is ByteDance's Seedance 2.0, the clip should be 2–15 seconds long, and every edit comes back as a 15-second clip for 180 credits. Below are ten prompts to try, what each one targets, and where this kind of editing breaks.
Two things people mean by “AI video editor prompt”
Some AI editors take prompts about the timeline: “cut the pauses”, “add captions”, “make a 9:16 version”. They rearrange frames you already have. A generative editor like Video Edit does the opposite: the timeline stays as it is and the pixels change — a new sky, a different color, an object gone. It can't trim, reorder, caption or add music, so do those in a regular editor before or after.
How Video Edit works
- Upload a clip. ByteDance's documentation (as of September 2026) limits Seedance 2.0 input videos to 2–15 seconds, MP4 or MOV, 24–60 fps, and at least 407,696 pixels per frame (854×480 clears it). It also says the model doesn't support uploaded videos containing real human faces, so clips of people usually fail; failed jobs are refunded automatically.
- Write the instruction — 2 to 1,000 characters.
- Model: Seedance 2.0 is the only option.
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (the default), 9:16, 1:1, 4:3 or 3:4. Match your source, or the edit comes back reframed.
- Resolution: 720p or 1080p, at the same price.
- Generate. The form shows the cost before you submit: 180 credits for any clip. The result lands in My tasks with a Download link.
Two limits shape how you write. The text box is your only control: there's no mask or brush to fence off a region and no reference-image upload, so a replacement has to be described in words. And there's no output-length setting: the result is always 15 seconds long, whatever the length of the clip you upload, so a 5-second shot comes back as 15 seconds. Check it and trim it before it goes into a timeline.
How to write an edit instruction
ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 prompt guide (updated September 2026) says parts of the video you don't mention stay unchanged by default, and gives three patterns:
- Modify: “Strictly edit Video 1, and change [the original] to [the new version].” Call your clip “Video 1”, not “reference Video 1”, which the model can read as a request for a brand-new video in the same style.
- Remove: name what to delete, then name what must stay.
- Add: describe the element, when it appears and where in the frame.
Beyond that: one change per prompt, concrete looks (color, material, size) rather than “better” or “nicer”, and constraints at the end, such as “no text, no logo”.
10 AI video editor prompts to try
Each prompt follows ByteDance's patterns. They're starting points to adapt, not results we're showing; “Watch for” lists what to check in the output.
1. Change the time of day
Targets: the sky and the overall light. Watch for: windows, water and shadows that still show midday light.
2. Change the season
Targets: surfaces and weather. Watch for: moving objects that stay snow-free, and snow that flickers between frames.
3. Recolor one object
Targets: one attribute of one object. Watch for: other red things changing too — point to the one you mean by its position.
4. Swap a material
Targets: a surface. Watch for: reflections, and the edges where objects meet the table.
5. Remove an object
Targets: one object and the background behind it. Watch for: a smudge where it stood. Objects that something else touches or moves are harder to remove cleanly.
6. Add an element
Targets: a new element with a position and an entrance time. Watch for: the kite's size, and whether it stays in frame once it arrives.
7. Replace an object
Targets: one object swapped for a described one. Watch for: generic details. Without a reference image you get a scooter, not a particular scooter.
8. Change the background
Targets: the environment. Watch for: halos around the leaves, and a background that doesn't shift with the camera.
9. Make an ad variant
Targets: a color variant for A/B testing an ad. Watch for: logos and printed text on the product; check them before the variant runs.
10. Restyle the whole clip
Targets: the entire look. Watch for: fine detail and text becoming illegible. ByteDance's guide recommends explicit style words like these to stop the result drifting back toward realism.
What Video Edit can't change
- Structure and timing. It won't cut, trim, reorder, speed up or loop footage.
- Long footage. Inputs are capped at 15 seconds, so cut out the shot you need first. The result comes back 15 seconds long either way.
- People. Real human faces aren't supported as input.
- Exact text and logos. Treat any lettering in the frame as something to check, not something the model will preserve.
- Several changes at once. Run separate passes instead; each pass is a new render and a new charge.
- A plain color grade. Your editor's color tools do that exactly and for free. Save Video Edit for changes a grade can't make.
What editing a video with AI costs
Video Edit charges for the clip it returns, and that clip is always 15 seconds long: 15 × 12 = 180 credits per edit, whether you upload 2 seconds or 15. At the prices on our pricing page (October 14, 2026) — Starter Pack $9 for 200 credits, Power Pack $59 for 1,800, Pro plan $49 a month for 2,000:
| Edits | Credits | Starter Pack | Power Pack | Pro plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 180 | $8.10 | $5.90 | $4.41 |
| 5 | 900 | $40.50 | $29.50 | $22.05 |
| 10 | 1,800 | $81.00 | $59.00 | $44.10 |
Each column is the per-credit price of that pack or plan; the Pro plan column assumes you use the whole monthly allowance. Because every edit costs the same, a shorter upload doesn't save credits — a working instruction does. Failed jobs are refunded automatically and results you don't like aren't, so test a new instruction on one shot before running it on the rest.
Generate, extend or edit?
- Video Generator — new shots from a text prompt, no source clip.
- Video Extend — more seconds after a clip ends; see our guide to extending a video with AI.
- Video Edit — change what's inside a clip without changing what happens in it.
Most projects use all three: generate the base shots, extend the ones that end too soon, and edit the ones that need a different look.
Try it
Open Video Edit, upload a short clip and start with a single, specific change — a sky or a color is the easiest first test. If you're writing from a blank page, our guide to writing AI video prompts covers the camera and lighting vocabulary that edit instructions use too.