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With the Decart API, you can generate high-quality videos from text descriptions or bring still images to life with animation. Simply describe what you have in mind, and let the model create dynamic video content. If you want more creative input from the model, you can also keep your description broad and let Lucy fill in the details. Our models support a wide range of styles and motion types—from realistic movement to artistic animations.

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Quick start

Here’s a simple example using Lucy-Pro, our highest quality video model.

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Generate from text

curl -X POST https://api.decart.ai/v1/generate/lucy-pro-t2v \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $DECART_API_KEY" \
  -F "prompt=A serene ocean with dolphins jumping at sunset" \
  --output generated-video.mp4

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Animate images

curl -X POST https://api.decart.ai/v1/generate/lucy-pro-i2v \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $DECART_API_KEY" \
  -F "data=@landscape-photo.jpg" \
  -F "prompt=Make the clouds drift slowly and add gentle wind to the trees" \
  --output animated-video.mp4

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Control object motion with trajectories

For precise control over object motion, use Lucy Motion with trajectory paths instead of prompts: 
curl -X POST https://api.decart.ai/v1/generate/lucy-motion \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $DECART_API_KEY" \
  -F "data=@product-image.jpg" \
  -F 'trajectory=[{"frame":0,"x":0,"y":0},{"frame":1,"x":100,"y":100},{"frame":2,"x":200,"y":150}]' \
  --output motion-video.mp4
Motion Control Parameters:
  • data (required) — Input image file to animate
  • trajectory (required) — Array of keyframe coordinates defining motion path: [{frame: number, x: number, y: number}]
  • seed (optional) — Random seed for reproducibility
  • resolution (optional) — Output resolution: 720p (default)

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Parameters

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Text to Video

  • prompt (required) — Text description of the video to generate.
  • resolution (optional) — Output resolution: 480p or 720p (default: 720p).

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Image to Video

  • data (required) — Input image file to animate.
  • prompt (required) — Text description of how to animate the image.
  • resolution (optional) — Output resolution: 480p or 720p (default: 720p).
For complete API documentation including response formats and error codes, see the API Reference for Text to Video and Image to Video.

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Available Models and Options

Decart provides different configurations to balance speed, quality, and cost depending on your use case. We currently offer three model families:
  • Lucy-Pro — our flagship model for generating diverse, high-quality videos with prompts.
  • Lucy-Motion — trajectory-based motion control for precise, predictable animations.
  • Lucy-Dev — a faster model ideal for quick prototyping and simple animations.

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Video specifications:

  • Duration: Fixed 5 seconds
  • Resolution:
    • 480p: 480×832 (portrait) or 832×480 (landscape)
    • 720p: 720×1280 (portrait) or 1280×720 (landscape)
  • Format: MP4 with H.264 encoding

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Prompt Engineering

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For Text-to-Video

Video generation prompts should describe both what happens (subjects, actions) and how it looks (camera movement, style, atmosphere). Because video generation involves temporal elements, your prompts should consider movement, pacing, and progression. Effective prompts are specific about motion (around 80–100 words), include camera instructions (pan, zoom, static), and describe temporal progression (beginning, middle, end states). Lucy handles cinematic language well—camera angles, lighting changes, and atmospheric effects. Example prompts:
  • “A majestic eagle soaring through mountain valleys, camera tracking its flight. Golden hour lighting with dramatic clouds. The eagle dives toward a lake, then rises with a fish. Cinematic aerial perspective.”
  • “Time-lapse of a busy city intersection from sunrise to sunset. Traffic flows like rivers of light, shadows grow and shrink, sky transitions from pink to blue to orange. Static wide angle shot.”
Bottom line: For text-to-video, write prompts as if directing a short film. For image animation, focus on specific motion instructions while respecting the source image.

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Endpoints and Full API Reference

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Next steps

Now that you know the basics of video generation, you might want to check out one of these resources next.

Generate a video in the Platform

Try out video generation and other models in the interactive platform.

Full API reference

Check out all the options for video generation in the API reference.

Video Editing

Learn how to edit your videos with LucyEdit-Pro.