Veo 3.1 Image-to-Video

Animate a single image into a dynamic video using Google DeepMind's Veo 3.1 model via fal.ai.

Prerequisites

• FAL_KEY environment variable must be set (typically in ~/.zshrc)
• Input image should be 720p or higher resolution

API Endpoint

POST https://fal.run/fal-ai/veo3.1/image-to-video

Parameters

Required

• prompt (string): Text description of the video motion/action to generate
• image_url (string): URL of the input image to animate

Optional

Parameter	Type	Default	Options
duration	string	"8s"	"4s", "6s", "8s"
aspect_ratio	string	"auto"	"auto", "9:16", "16:9"
resolution	string	"720p"	"720p", "1080p"
generate_audio	boolean	true	Uses 50% fewer credits if disabled

Usage

cURL

curl --request POST \
  --url https://fal.run/fal-ai/veo3.1/image-to-video \
  --header "Authorization: Key $FAL_KEY" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "prompt": "The camera slowly pans across the scene as leaves gently sway in the breeze",
    "image_url": "https://example.com/landscape.jpg",
    "duration": "8s",
    "resolution": "1080p",
    "generate_audio": true
  }'

Python

import fal_client

result = fal_client.subscribe(
    "fal-ai/veo3.1/image-to-video",
    arguments={
        "prompt": "The camera slowly pans across the scene as leaves gently sway in the breeze",
        "image_url": "https://example.com/landscape.jpg",
        "duration": "8s",
        "resolution": "1080p",
        "generate_audio": True
    }
)

# Access the generated video URL
video_url = result["video"]["url"]
print(f"Generated video: {video_url}")

JavaScript

import { fal } from "@fal-ai/client";

const result = await fal.subscribe("fal-ai/veo3.1/image-to-video", {
  input: {
    prompt: "The camera slowly pans across the scene as leaves gently sway in the breeze",
    image_url: "https://example.com/landscape.jpg",
    duration: "8s",
    resolution: "1080p",
    generate_audio: true
  }
});

console.log("Generated video:", result.video.url);

Response Format

{
  "video": {
    "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/.../output.mp4"
  }
}

Examples

1. Nature animation:

   • Image: A forest scene
   • Prompt: "Wind rustles through the trees, birds fly across the sky"

2. Portrait animation:

   • Image: A portrait photo
   • Prompt: "The person slowly turns their head and smiles"

3. Cinematic movement:

   • Image: A cityscape
   • Prompt: "Slow cinematic zoom out revealing the full city skyline at dusk"

4. Water animation:

   • Image: Ocean or lake scene
   • Prompt: "Gentle waves roll onto the shore, water sparkles in sunlight"

Tips

• Use descriptive motion language (pan, zoom, sway, flow)
• Describe camera movements for cinematic effects
• Higher resolution (1080p) provides better quality but takes longer
• Disable audio generation to save credits when not needed
• Ensure input image is at least 720p for best results

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Invalid FAL_KEY	Verify key at fal.ai dashboard
429 Too Many Requests	Rate limit exceeded	Wait 60 seconds, retry
400 Bad Request	Invalid image URL or low resolution	Use 720p+ image
500 Server Error	API temporary issue	Retry after 30 seconds
Timeout	Video generation taking too long	Use 720p or shorter duration