OpenCharts · AI video studio

Director Mode vs 8frame

node-based canvas for multi-model AI video workflows

8frame asks you to build the pipeline before you make the picture. Director Mode skips the graph: describe the shot, direct the changes, and frontier models render take after take with nothing ever lost.

By OpenCharts TeamPublished September 8, 2026

OpenCharts Director Mode is a conversational AI video studio: 20 video models from 11 labs, picked per take, inside a loop where every note becomes a new take and a saved cast holds its look across up to 200 scenes. 8frame is a node-based workflow canvas that chains image and video models into repeatable pipelines, with a C.L.I.P.S. planner and team seats. Director Mode is included in OpenCharts Pro alongside documents, decks, code, and agents.

See Director Mode See plans

Director Mode vs 8frame✳The verdict✳When to choose✳The roster✳Feature matrix✳Pricing snapshot✳Migration✳FAQ✳Director Mode vs 8frame✳The verdict✳When to choose✳The roster✳Feature matrix✳Pricing snapshot✳Migration✳FAQ✳

The verdict

Where each one wins

Director Mode wins at

No graph to build: talk, watch the take, give the next note
Every take kept in a branchable thread, and scenes continue from the take you starred
A saved cast with a seven-angle turnaround, a voice, and rules, held across the whole production
One flat plan covering video plus documents, decks, sheets, code, images, music, and agents

8frame still wins at

Node-based pipelines you can save, re-run, and share as templates
Several artists working on one shared canvas, with agency-sized seat plans
Mixing image models and video models as explicit steps in a single connected flow

How they compare

Director Mode and 8frame solve overlapping problems differently. The matrix below makes the trade-offs concrete, and the migration note covers what it takes to switch when you're ready.

When to choose

The right pick for your team

Choose Director Mode when…

You want to make the film, not engineer the pipeline.
You iterate on shots by talking and want every earlier take one click back.
You need recurring characters across many scenes.
You want video inside the plan you already use for documents, decks, code, and agents.

Choose 8frame when…

Your team runs the same production workflow again and again and wants it as a reusable graph.
Several artists work on one canvas at the same time.
You chain image generation, upscaling, and video generation as explicit steps.

The roster

Every model you can direct

20 video models from 11 labs, picked per take from the Model picker inside Director Mode. Compare that with what 8frame offers in the matrix below.

Flash

6 models

Gemini OmniBuilt-in default
Google DeepMind
The conversational default — direct changes in plain language and the shot stays the shot.
Up to 8s720pNative audioImage anchorEdits footage
Aleph 2.0Edits footage only
Runway
Runway's video-editing flagship — hand it footage and direct the change.
Up to 30sSilent
Kling 2.5 Turbo
Kuaishou
Crisp, energetic motion at turbo speed.
Up to 10sSilentImage anchor
Hailuo 2.3 Fast
MiniMax
Lifelike motion from a single frame, fast.
Up to 10s768pSilentImage anchor
LTX 2.3 Fast
Lightricks
High-resolution drafts on a budget — up to 20 seconds of 4K.
Up to 20s4KNative audioImage anchor
Pika 2.2
Pika
Playful, stylized five-second shots.
Up to 5s1080pSilentImage anchor

Cinema Lite

1 model

Seedance 2.0 MiniBuilt-in default
ByteDance
The Cinema Lite default — the Seedance family's draft tier, about half the credits.
Up to 15s720pNative audioImage anchorEdits footage

Cinema

10 models

Seedance 2.0Built-in default
ByteDance
The Cinema default — premium fidelity, footage-anchored edits, native audio.
Up to 15s4KNative audioImage anchorEdits footage
Kling 2.6 Pro
Kuaishou
Cinematic motion with a director's eye for camera moves.
Up to 10sSilentImage anchor
Kling 3.0 Pro
Kuaishou
Kling's flagship — multi-shot direction with native audio, up to 15 seconds.
Up to 15sNative audioImage anchor
Hailuo 2.3 Pro
MiniMax
Best-in-class physics and human motion at 1080p.
Up to 10s1080pSilentImage anchor
MiniMax H3
MiniMax
MiniMax's arena heavyweight — native audio up to 4K.
Up to 15s4KNative audioImage anchor
Veo 3.1
Google DeepMind
Google's flagship — native audio and razor prompt adherence.
Up to 8s1080pNative audioImage anchor
Sora 2
OpenAI
Native sound and sharp storytelling instincts.
Up to 12s720pNative audioImage anchor
Grok Imagine 1.5
xAI
xAI's fast cinematic engine — lip-synced dialogue on a budget.
Up to 15s1080pNative audioImage anchor
Happy Horse 1.1
Alibaba
Alibaba's arena climber — lip-synced dialogue in seven languages.
Up to 15s1080pNative audioImage anchor
LTX 2.3 Pro
Lightricks
Open-source cinema — 4K-capable takes at the lowest premium price.
Up to 10s4KNative audioImage anchor

Cinema Ultra

3 models

Seedance 2.5Built-in default
ByteDance
The Cinema Ultra default — up to 30 seconds in one continuous take.
Up to 30s1080pNative audioImage anchorEdits footage
Sora 2 Pro
OpenAI
OpenAI's premium cut — longer, steadier, cinema-ready takes with native sound.
Up to 20s720pNative audioImage anchor
FLUX 3
Black Forest Labs
Black Forest Labs' video flagship — 20-second sound-designed takes.
Up to 20s1080pNative audioImage anchor

Names and marks belong to their labs. This roster mirrors the studio's live Model picker, so it changes as models ship.

Side by side

Feature comparison

Feature

Director Mode

8frame

Interaction model

Conversational: a note becomes a new take

Node graph: connect models and run the flow

Model roster

20 video models from 11 labs, picked per take; the tier's built-in engine is one tap away

Kling, Veo, Seedance, Wan, and Happy Horse video families plus image models such as Nano Banana and Seedream, as nodes

Iteration history

A plain-language note becomes a new take that remembers the last; every take stays in a thread you can branch, up to 30 per scene

Re-run the graph; outputs collect on the canvas

Character consistency

Character library: box a face in any take and it is saved as exact pixels with a seven-angle turnaround, a voice, and rules that ride every take (up to 100 characters)

Asset-first workflows anchored on reference images

Long-form structure

Up to 200 scenes per production, each continuing from the take you starred; Story Mode plans the whole film; Final Cut assembles it

C.L.I.P.S. plans shots from an idea; storyboard coverage of 9 to 20 frames per run

Teamwork

Teams plan: every seat gets Director Mode plus an org workspace, real-time collaboration, team chat, and a shared Drive

Creator up to 3 members, Agency up to 30, on one shared canvas

Pricing model

Included in Pro ($24.99/mo, 5 million AI credits a month) and Teams ($14.99 per user per month); a Flash take is 2,000 credits, and the same credits pay for documents, decks, code, and agents

Starter $19 (1,000 credits), Creator $49 (3,000), Agency $499 (44,000) per month; per-model credit costs not published

Beyond video

Documents, decks, sheets, code, images, music, meetings, agents, an MCP server, and a REST API in the same plan

Video and image content for marketing teams

Availability

Live for Pro and Teams

Closed beta at time of writing

Scroll to compare

Pricing and migration

What it costs, what it takes

Pricing

Pricing snapshot

Director Mode is included in OpenCharts Pro at $24.99/mo (5 million AI credits a month) and Teams at $14.99 per user per month; a Flash take is 2,000 credits and the Cinema tiers cost more per take. 8frame lists Starter at $19/mo (1,000 credits), Creator at $49/mo (3,000 credits, up to 3 members), and Agency at $499/mo (44,000 credits, up to 30 members), with custom Enterprise plans; per-model credit costs are not published on its pricing page. List pricing at time of writing (September 2026).

Migration

Migrating from 8frame

Export finished clips from 8frame as MP4 and upload them into Director Mode as source takes. Reference images from your 8frame assets can be staged on any take, and a face from any rendered take can be captured as a Director character.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is 8frame the same kind of product as OpenCharts Director Mode?

They overlap on the models and differ on the workflow. 8frame is a node-based canvas where you wire models into a pipeline and run it. Director Mode is a conversational studio where you describe a shot, direct changes by note, and keep every take in a thread. Both target ads, shorts, and films.

Do I need to build a workflow before rendering in Director Mode?

No. Type or dictate the shot, attach a photo or a saved character if you want, and the first take lands in about a minute. Story Mode is the closest thing to a pipeline: describe the film once and it plans a cast and a shot list you roll shot by shot.

Which models do both support?

Director Mode offers 20 video models from 11 labs, picked per take, with each model's specs and warnings in the picker. 8frame's published workflows use the Kling, Veo, Seedance, Wan, and Happy Horse video families alongside image models. The full Director roster is on the Director Mode page.

How does the pricing compare?

Director Mode is included with the Pro and Teams plans and runs on the AI credits those plans already include, so there is no separate video subscription. Pro includes 5 million AI credits a month; a Flash take is 2,000 of them, and the Cinema tiers and market models cost more per take. 8frame runs $19, $49, or $499 a month for 1,000, 3,000, or 44,000 credits, and does not publish what each model costs per run.

Can teams collaborate in Director Mode?

OpenCharts Teams gives every seat Director Mode plus a shared org workspace, team chat, and a shared Drive for the assets you export. 8frame's shared canvas is the stronger fit when several artists need to edit one graph at the same time.

Go deeper

Director Mode vs RunwayComparison

Director Mode vs HiggsfieldComparison

Soft clouds drifting across a bright sky

Step onto the set

Describe a video, watch it roll, then direct it take by take. Director Mode is included with the Pro and Teams plans, with the whole workspace alongside it.