The Ultimate AI Video Starter Guide for 2026!

AI Video is here to stay, but if you feel like you have no idea what is actually going on—you aren't alone. In this video, we are stripping away the complex jargon to give you a complete "Too Afraid To Ask" guide to the state of Generative Video in 2026. We break down the history of the tech (from Deep Dream to Transformers), the core workflows you need to master like Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video, and the best tools available right now. I also compare the top models including Google’s Veo 3.1, OpenAI’s Sora 2, Kling 2.6, and the industry-standard image generator, Nano Banana Pro. Whether you are part of the "freshman class" just getting started or a power user looking to refine your workflow, this video is your roadmap. ⚡️ SPONSOR ⚡️ This video is brought to you by our friends at Wispr Flow! Get a FREE 14 day Trial and an Extra Month of Flow Pro by using this link: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/theoretically 👇 MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO Full Nano Banana Pro Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/U_dSp3kL31I The Truth About AI Avatars: https://youtu.be/vUVow0yzS_0 Flora vs Node-Based Workflows: https://youtu.be/vRNHNNliDVM 🛠️ AI TOOLS & RESOURCES 🎨 Image Generators: Nano Banana Pro: https://gemini.google.com Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/ Flux (Black Forest Labs): https://bfl.ai/models/flux-2 SeeDream (ByteDance): https://seed.bytedance.com/en/seedream4_5 🎥 Video Generators: Google Veo 3.1: https://labs.google Kling 2.6: https://klingaiaffiliate.pxf.io/qz3955 OpenAI Sora 2: https://openai.com/sora/ Runway Gen 4.5: https://runwayml.com/ Luma Labs Ray 3: https://lumalabsai.partnerlinks.io/dd1jzuzx6o87 SeeDance (ByteDance): https://seed.bytedance.com/en/seedance1_5_pro 💻 Platforms & APIs: Freepik: https://www.freepik.com Higgsfield: https://goto.higgsfield.ai/PODvze Flora: https://dub.florafauna.ai/theoretically-media 00:00 Intro: AI Video is Here to Stay 00:20 The "Too Afraid to Ask" Guide 01:03 History: Deep Dream (2015) 01:41 History: Transformers (2017) 02:04 History: Stable Diffusion (2022) 02:38 Local vs. Platform Workflows 03:18 The 4 Core AI Video Techniques 03:41 Technique: Text to Video 03:59 Technique: Image to Video 04:26 Video to Video & Ingredients 04:55 Image Models: Midjourney 05:23 Image Models: Flux 0 5:42 Image Models: Sea Dream 05:57 Image Models: Nano Banana 06:13 Nano Banana Pro Workflow 06:55 Finding Nano Banana 07:22 Prompting: Old vs New 07:54 Using LLMs to Write Prompts 08:30 JSON Prompting Technique 09:04 Sponsor Segment 12:35 Video Generators Overview 13:03 Why Features Break in Updates 13:42 Video Model: Google Veo 3.1 13:58 Video Model: Kling 2.6 14:13 Video Model: OpenAI Sora 2 14:33 Video Model: Runway Gen 4.5 14:48 Video Model: Luma Labs Ray 3 14:59 Importance of Video-to-Video 15:12 Video Model: SeeDance 15:37 Which Model is Best? 16:08 Platforms: Freepik 16:30 Platforms: Higgsfield 16:45 Platforms: Flora 17:11 The Constant Shift of Tech 17:44 Welcome to the Senior Class 17:56 Welcome to the Freshman Class