Which AI video engine? How Ask picks the engine, length and format

Three settings shape an AI clip before a single frame renders: the engine, the length and the format — and the first two set most of what it costs. When you describe a clip in the Ask bar at the top of the studio, Clap, its assistant, reads your sentence against the studio's own catalogue and puts those settings on the clip it plans for you, or on the Video tool when you ask for the tool. Here is how it reads each one, and what it leaves alone. For Ask itself, start at /ask.

The rule behind every setting

Ask only sets what you asked for. In a plan, anything you did not say stays at the engine's defaults, and with no engine named Clap picks one; the plan names it, with the exact credits, before you approve. Ask for the tool instead ("open Video") and anything you did not say is left as the Video page already has it, the engine included.

Under its reply, a grey line then shows what it set, with the prompt it wrote quoted under it, and an Open Video → button takes you to the page with everything filled in:

You ask:    open Video: a clip of a fox running through fresh snow at dawn
Grey line:  Video    [Open Video →]

No engine, length or format named, so Ask writes the prompt and changes nothing else. The page keeps the engine it is on: the last one you used, or Motion One, eroq's own engine, on a new account: available on any plan, 145 credits for five seconds.

None of this spends credits until you click: Approve on a plan, or Generate on the page, with the usual credit check and plan unlock.

Naming an engine

Name an engine — "with Kling", "on Veo 3.1" — and it is set. A family name picks one engine of that family; add the variant to get another:

You say	Ask sets	Plan	For another, add
"Kling"	Kling 3.0	Hobby	"Pro"
"Veo"	Veo 3.1	Creator	"Fast" or "Lite"
"Seedance"	Seedance 2.0 Mini	any plan	"2.5", "2.0" or "Fast"
"Hailuo"	Hailuo 3	Creator	"Max"
"Wan"	Wan 3.0	Hobby	—
"Grok"	Grok Imagine	Creator	—
"Runway"	Runway Gen-4.5	Creator	—

Two more rules complete the picture:

• No engine named, Clap picks one for a plan, and the page keeps its current engine — the last one you used, or Motion One on a new account.
• An engine your plan does not include never goes into a plan. Clap says which plan unlocks it. Set up on the page, it shows its plan badge next to the Open Video → button, and the Video page opens with the engine's Unlock button.

You ask:    make a vertical clip with Kling of a skateboarder at sunset, 10 seconds
Plan:       Kling 3.0 · 10 s · 9:16    [Approve]

You ask:    open Video on Veo 3.1: waves breaking on black rocks, landscape, 8 seconds
Grey line:  Video · Veo 3.1 · 8 s · 16:9    [Open Video →]    Creator badge

Both wait for your click. The badge on the second is what you see when your plan does not include Veo 3.1, and the page then opens with the engine's Unlock button.

The variant matters to the bill: "Veo" alone is Veo 3.1, the one that needs Creator, so say "Fast" or "Lite" when you want those. "Kling" never means the Pro — the FAQ below has both prices.

Six engines, side by side

Engine	What to say	Plan	Clip	Credits
Seedance 2.0 Mini	"Seedance"	any plan	5 s	75
Veo 3.1 Lite	"Veo 3.1 Lite"	any plan	8 s	176
Kling 3.0	"Kling"	Hobby	5 s	270
Veo 3.1 Fast	"Veo 3.1 Fast"	Hobby	8 s	344
Veo 3.1	"Veo" or "Veo 3.1"	Creator	8 s	1,352
Seedance 2.5	"Seedance 2.5"	Creator	5 s	490

Credits are for one clip of that length. The whole lineup is on /models, and the plans are on /pricing.

Length: say the seconds

Say the seconds — "10 s", "a 15-second clip" — and Ask sets them. A plan shows them already snapped to what the engine renders and what your plan allows, priced for that length. On the tool, the grey line repeats the length you asked for; the Video page then snaps it the same way. Longer clips unlock with a plan: up to 15 s on Hobby, 20 s on Creator, 30 s on Studio.

You ask:    open Video: a 20-second clip of a night train crossing a desert
Grey line:  Video · 20 s    [Open Video →]

On Hobby, the page brings that down to a length the engine renders within 15 seconds; a plan does it before you approve.

Length is the other half of the price, so say it on purpose: Seedance 2.0 Mini is 75 credits for 5 s and 150 for 10 s; Kling 3.0 is 270 and 540. More in the clip length guide.

Format: words become aspect ratios

You say	Ask sets
vertical, portrait, TikTok, Reels, Stories, Shorts	9:16
landscape, horizontal, YouTube	16:9
square	1:1
cinema, ultra-wide	21:9 (video only)

Images take 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16 and 16:9, so "a vertical image" works and 21:9 stays a video format. Say no format and a plan keeps the engine's default, the page the one it has.

You ask:    make a clip for Reels of rain on a neon street, 10 seconds
Plan:       10 s · 9:16    [Approve]

For a whole vertical workflow, see vertical clips for TikTok in one sentence; the aspect ratio guide helps you choose the frame.

Resolution, camera and sound: only when you say so

On the Video page, the other settings follow the same rule — set only when you name them:

• Resolution — "720p".
• Camera move — one of 24, from push-in, tracking and orbit to dolly zoom and FPV.
• A palette or lighting look.
• Takes — 1 to 4 ("three takes").
• Sound — only when you mention it.

You ask:    open Video: three takes of a slow orbit around a vintage car in the rain, 8 seconds, 720p
Grey line:  Video · 8 s · 720p · ×3    [Open Video →]

The orbit is written into the prompt on the page too, where it shows and can be removed; the grey line sums up engine, length, format, resolution and takes, not every setting. A plan keeps the camera move you name as well; it renders at the engine's own resolution, with sound on an engine that has it unless you ask for silence, and prices exactly that.

Not sure which engine? Ask first

Clap answers questions in the chat from the studio's live catalogue, engines and prices by name:

You ask:    what's the cheapest video engine?
You ask:    which engine does 1080p with sound?

Nothing opens or renders from an answer: a page is a button, a render a plan to approve. Then refine in the same thread — "rather with Kling", "make it 5 seconds", "the same but vertical" — and what you said earlier still counts. Iterating by conversation walks through a full session, and making a video by describing it starts from the first sentence.

FAQ

Which video engine does Ask use if I don't name one?

In a plan, the one Clap picks, named in the plan with its price before you approve. On the Video page, none: the page keeps the engine it is on, the last one you used, or Motion One, eroq's own engine, on a new account (any plan, 145 credits for five seconds). Name an engine when you want a specific one.

Does "Kling" mean Kling 3.0 or Kling 3.0 Pro?

Kling 3.0, which needs Hobby and costs 270 credits for five seconds. Say "Kling 3.0 Pro" for the Pro, which needs Creator and costs 355 credits for five seconds.

What happens if I ask for an engine my plan doesn't include?

A plan never uses it: Clap tells you which plan unlocks it. Ask for the tool and it is set up as usual, with the engine's plan badge next to the Open Video → button. Click it and the Video page opens with that engine and its Unlock button. Nothing is charged.

How long can an AI video clip be?

Say the seconds and the plan, or the Video page, snaps them to what the engine renders and what your plan allows. Longer clips unlock with a plan: up to 15 s on Hobby, 20 s on Creator and 30 s on Studio.

Can I change the engine after Ask has set it up?

Yes. Follow up with "rather with Kling" and the rest of what you said still counts: the next plan, or the page set up again, is on Kling 3.0. Or change it on the Video page before you click Generate.

Describe your next clip in the studio — name the engine, the seconds and the format, then read the plan before you approve it.