Act-Two
Runway's character animation model. Upload a motion reference video — a real person performing an action — and apply that motion to any character, generated or existing. Human movement, any character.
What is Act-Two?
Act-Two is Runway's character animation model — a specialized tool for transferring human motion onto characters. You supply a motion reference video of a person performing specific movements, and Act-Two applies that motion to a character defined by your prompt or a reference image.
This motion transfer capability opens up a unique production workflow: capture or source any human movement, then apply it to any character identity. An actor's walk becomes a game character's walk. A dancer's choreography becomes a brand mascot's animation. The human performance is the driver; the AI generates the character expressing it.
For brand and marketing applications, Act-Two enables character-driven video content that moves with the naturalness of real human performance without requiring either an actor in the character costume or complex 3D animation pipelines. The resulting videos look performed rather than generated.
Motion reference video
Human movement as input
Any character
Apply motion to any subject
Motion transfer
Realistic human movement
Runway quality
Cinematic animation output
How to animate characters with Act-Two on project.video
Open the composer
Go to your project.video dashboard. Act-Two is available under Runway models in the model selector.
Select Act-Two
Choose Act-Two. The composer will show you the motion reference video upload slot and character definition fields.
Upload your motion reference
Upload a video of a person performing the movement you want to transfer. The clearer and more isolated the movement in the reference, the more accurate the transfer.
Define your character and generate
Describe your character in the text prompt or upload a character reference image. Generate to produce the animated character performing the motion from your reference.
Technical specs
Best use cases
Brand mascot animation
Capture natural human performance — a wave, a walk, a point, a dance — and apply it to your brand character. Act-Two produces mascot video that moves with natural human authenticity.
Fashion and style animation
Apply a model's catwalk performance to an AI-generated fashion character, or transfer a specific body movement to a styled figure. Motion-referenced fashion content for social and lookbook.
Game and entertainment character content
Apply specific actor performances or motion capture moves to game-style characters for promotional content, social media, or creative marketing without a full animation pipeline.
Educational and explainer animation
Transfer presenter gestures and body language to animated explainer characters. The naturalness of human-referenced motion makes animated explainers more engaging than static or loop-animated alternatives.
Example prompts
Each of these pairs a character description with a motion reference type for use in the project.video composer.
"Character: A friendly cartoon robot with round proportions, matte white surface, blue accent lights. Motion reference: person doing an enthusiastic wave greeting."
"Character: A stylized fashion model in a flowing red dress, illustrated aesthetic, warm skin tones. Motion reference: catwalk pivot and return, professional model pace."
"Character: A confident business professional in a tailored navy suit, realistic rendering, studio lighting context. Motion reference: presentation gestures and confident walking entrance."