"Can our product appear in the AI video?" Yes, but not by having the AI draw it. An AI-generated product is almost never right: the shape is off, the logo is skewed, the buttons are in the wrong place. The practical approach is to place the real product into an AI-generated scene.
Why we don't let AI draw the product
AI generates "something like this kind of thing", not your specific thing. Even with reference images, the details drift. The product is the thing your customers know best, and any error is noticed. The same goes for logos: text and marks inside AI images are rarely exact.
The mixed workflow
- The scene and the mood are generated by AI: office, kitchen, outdoors, abstract background, lighting and feeling.
- The product is a real photo or clip, cut out and composited into the AI scene, or used as the main frame with the AI scene around it.
- Logo, text and contact details are added in post, never generated.
- For "someone using the product", use real usage photos or a short clip, with AI scenes as the background or the surrounding context.
Preparing product material
- Product photos: on white or a plain background; front, side and 45-degree views; the higher the resolution the better. Original product shots or cut-out files are ideal.
- Product clips: a static camera, even light, the product turning or its main function in use, about 10 seconds each.
- Logo: vector (AI, SVG) or a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background, not a website screenshot.
- Brand colours: hex codes or the brand guidelines.
- For packaged products, one photo of each face of the packaging.
Results and limits
Done well, viewers don't consciously notice that the background is AI. The limit is lighting: the light on the product and in the scene must roughly match, so we design the scene around the product photo's lighting. Reflections or unnatural shadows in the product photo show up more after compositing. Phone photos work; shooting them in even light makes a big difference.
Products that should be filmed
Food, drinks, the texture of cosmetics, fabrics, jewellery: products that sell on texture are worth far more filmed than generated. AI suits the scene and mood around them, not the hero shot.
Frequently asked questions
The product is still in development and we only have 3D renders. Is that OK?
Yes. 3D renders composited into AI scenes usually work very well. See can AI make a concept video before the product exists.
We're a service company with no physical product. What then?
Use your real office, team and interface screenshots as the real material, with AI filling in the scenarios. See what to prepare for AI video production.
Can we use product images found online?
Only images you're licensed to use: your own photos or those formally supplied by your vendor. Images from a web search can't be used.
