Hedra is one of the image to video tools that is particularly good at syncing to audio. There are plenty of AI video tools that can show people walking around or dancing, but not as many that do lip syncing for realistic conversations. Since I had tested Hedra last year, I wanted to experiment with it again to see how much Hedra Character 3 has improved over the earlier versions. I tested the same character with different emotions.
Hedra character video example
Here’s my example. This is two clips: one with a calm audio and one showing the same character frustrated. (Email readers, if the video doesn’t appear below, try watching it on YouTube.)
How I created this
I’m using the free plan for Hedra currently, so I wanted to save my credits just for the video generation. Therefore, I generated my character image and audio outside of Hedra. You could do it all within this single tool though.
First, I generated the character image in Midjourney. You need an image with a clear face to generate a video. I specifically prompted for glasses in my character image because sometimes those throw off the tools and generate weird artifacts.
Editorial photo, Latina woman wearing a red button-down shirt and wire-rimmed glasses, sitting in a modern office conference room, looking at the camera, neutral expression
I also generated my audio separately in ElevenLabs. Again, this was to save my credits in Hedra during my experiment; it would be simpler to just generate audio directly in Hedra.
From there, it’s easy to generate a video. With external assets like this, I just uploaded my image as the starting frame and my audio in the “audio script” section. In the second clip, I added a text prompt of “annoyed, frustrated” to set the emotion.
On a free plan, you’re limited to a max of 20 seconds per generation. That’s enough for a few sentences of dialogue.
Hedra for scenarios
These snippets of dialogue are from my New Hire with Attitude branching scenario. (That’s why there’s two different versions of similar information; those are the consequences of different decisions you make as you try to resolve the conflict.)
I think you could use this to create multiple snippets and show different versions in a scenario. The videos still have flaws, but the hand gestures felt pretty natural (if a little too frequent). Even the reflections on the glasses turned out well. This would be good enough for generating dialogue for an interactive video scenario, at least for some purposes.
See my previous Hedra experiments
If you’re interested in seeing how Hedra has improved, check out my previous post sharing my experiments with AI image to video creation.
Upcoming events
Set the Stage: Make Elearning Relevant and Authentic with Scenarios
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 12PM Pacific / 3PM Eastern
“What does this have to do with me?” That’s often the first question learners ask about elearning. Many instructional designers struggle when faced with dry or dense content. Often, the training feels disconnected from learners’ day-to-day work. Because learners view it as irrelevant, they’re less likely to remember their training and less motivated to change their behavior. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to create relevant and authentic scenarios to enhance your eLearning and improve performance.
Register for this free webinar through Training Mag Network.
Stock Photos to Stunning: Generate Custom Images with AI
Friday, November 14, 2025 at 10AM Pacific
DevLearn in Las Vegas
Are you tired of using the same generic stock images and cutout characters over and over in your training? In this session, you’ll learn how to use AI image tools to generate unique images for your elearning and training programs. By the end of this session, you’ll have prompts and tools to generate custom, consistent images for your training.
Create images with consistent styles and charactersCompare image generation tools so you can pick the best ones for your needsTips for writing image generation promptsMinimize bias and other pitfalls in AI image generation
Save an extra $100 off your DevLearn registration with code CHRISTY.
