If you haven’t tried Sora yet (or are in a region where it’s not currently available) and you’re curious about my results, then keep reading. I will begin with an overview of Sora’s usage limits, its UI / UX, and the different ways you can make a video with it. Then I’ll share samples of the videos I made – both good and bad – and I’ll review some of Sora’s additional features that you can use to edit your videos.
Sora usage limits ⚠️
When you first log into Sora, you are greeted with a popup window that shows you the user limits of the particular OpenAI subscription you’re on. In my case, that would be ChatGPT Plus.
As you can see below, on the Plus plan you get 1,000 video credits per month, while the Pro plan gives you ten times that amount. Seeing as the Pro plan costs exactly ten times more than the Plus plan, the math adds up here:
You’ll also notice that it says the 1,000 credits can theoretically let you create up to 50 videos. In practice, it highly depends on what other variables you tweak when creating your videos.
Realistically, based on my experience, 👉 most people will burn through those 1,000 credits way before coming anywhere near close to 50 videos.
For context, I used up my first 600 credits by making 13 videos at the lowest possible resolution (480p), with most of them being ten seconds long. Assuming I continued at that pace without any adjustments, I would have run out of credits before getting even halfway to 50.
Fortunately, you can still continue making videos even after you run out of credits. The main caveat is that your requests will be added to what OpenAI calls the “relaxed queue.” This just means your videos will take a longer time to generate. You’ll also be capped at a maximum of two simultaneous video requests (which is lower than the normal ceiling when using your credits).
The Sora UI 💻
I have to give credit to the designers at OpenAI who worked on the user interface because they made it extremely accessible. Compared to video editing programs like Davinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro, it’s on the complete opposite end of the learning curve spectrum. The basic functions are that straightforward.
The main page looks like what you see below, with the prompt window being found at the very bottom of the screen:
