Stock footage, AI pictures or your own files, scene by scene
Real footage when it exists. A painted picture when it doesn't.
Every TallyReel video gets a picture for each line from one of three places: real stock video from Pexels, Pixabay and Coverr matched to what the line says, AI pictures painted for each scene in one of 16 art styles, or your own photos and clips from the Library. You pick the source when you make the video and can swap any single scene's picture afterwards.
Plans: Stock footage on every plan, Free included. AI pictures come with any paid plan or credits, in all 16 art styles.
Faceless videos live or die on the pictures. A voice saying "the shark turned" over a random beach clip loses people in two seconds. TallyReel plans the pictures from the script itself: each scene gets its own search words or picture description, written for that line, before anything is fetched or painted.
The three sources suit different videos. Stock footage is real and the fastest to make, so it fits facts, animals, travel and business videos. AI pictures fit stories, history, horror and anything stock libraries don't have, like a medieval market at night or a talking fox. Your own files fit products, properties, trips and events, where the point is to show the real thing.
Updated 18 October 2026 ยท by Danish, who makes TallyReel
How it works
- Pick where the pictures come from. On Create choose Stock footage, AI art or My own files. Some niches start on a sensible default, such as Dark art for scary stories, and you can change it.
- For AI art, pick a style. Each of the 16 styles has a preview made by TallyReel. The whole video is painted in that one style so the scenes look like they belong together.
- Let each line get its picture. Stock videos search for clips that show what each line is about and fit them to the length of the line. AI videos paint one picture per scene and move a camera over it so it doesn't sit still.
- Swap what you don't like. In the editor, give any scene a new picture: upload one, pick from your Library, repaint it (optionally with your own description), or switch that one scene to stock footage.
What people use it for
How stock footage is matched
Each scene gets concrete search words from the script, such as "candle flame in dark room" rather than "fear". TallyReel searches Pexels first, then Pixabay and Coverr when Pexels has little, and avoids using the same clip twice in one video. A long line can get more than one clip so the picture keeps moving.
When no clip shows what a line is about, TallyReel looks for a real photo of it, and paints an AI picture only as the last resort. These libraries are free to use under their own licences, and TallyReel keeps the link to every clip it used.
How AI pictures are made
Pictures are painted by FLUX.2 klein, an open image model, from a description written for each scene in the style you picked. A drawn style such as Comic book or Pixel art gets a finishing pass so it reads as drawn, not as a photo with a filter. Every prompt, including any description you type for a repaint, goes through a content check before it reaches the image model.
Painting takes longer than finding footage: a Short with AI pictures takes about 10 minutes in the cloud, against 3 to 5 for stock. Repainting one scene in the editor usually takes about a minute.
Honest limits
- Stock footage depends on what the libraries have. Niche subjects (a specific person, a brand, a rare place) often get a near match, not the exact thing.
- AI pictures are still pictures. TallyReel adds camera moves so they don't sit still, but they are not filmed motion.
- AI pictures can get small details wrong, such as hands or written text inside the picture. Repaint the scene, or upload your own.
- My own files are used in the order you add them. One Your own photos video takes up to 30 photos and clips.
- In TallyReel Studio, the desktop app, stock footage needs a free Pexels or Pixabay key saved in Setup. Without one, those scenes are painted instead.
Questions
Where does TallyReel's stock footage come from?
From Pexels, Pixabay and Coverr, free stock libraries. TallyReel searches them for each line of your script and fits the clips to the voice.
Can I use my own photos and videos instead?
Yes. Pick My own files when you make the video, or drop them into the box on Home for a video built around up to 30 of your own photos and clips. You can also swap any single scene for a file from your Library in the editor.
Which is better for YouTube, AI images or stock footage?
Use stock footage when the subject is real and filmable (animals, cities, food), and AI pictures for stories, history and anything that was never filmed. Many channels pick one and stay with it, so the channel has a recognisable look.
Do AI pictures cost more credits than stock footage?
Yes. A stock video uses 100 credits a minute. An AI picture video uses about 207, because each picture is 10 credits. AI pictures only take longer to make.
Can I change one picture without remaking the whole video?
Yes. In the editor, repaint, upload or pick a new picture for one scene and save. Only the changed scenes are made again, and scene edits use your free fixes (30, 100 or 300 a month by plan), then 20 credits a saved edit.
Pick one. Make it tonight.
Type the idea into TallyReel, read the script, and it makes the video for you: in the browser, on your phone, or in Studio on your own computer. Start on the free plan.