What does Seedance 2.0 mean for AI applications?

Seedance 2.0 pushes AI video generation from "usable" to "controllable and scalable," potentially becoming a catalyst for emotional repair in AI applications and the repricing of the industrial chain while lowering the barriers to content production.

On February 6, ByteDance's Dream AI released the video model Seedance 2.0, focusing on multimodal references and efficient creative capabilities, providing systematic improvements around controllability, coherence, expressiveness, and production thresholds. According to a strategy commentary by China Merchants Bank Securities on February 9, breakthroughs in these functional areas have significant catalytic implications for AI multimodal applications, especially in the field of video generation.

From a market perspective, China Merchants Bank Securities believes that after the initial negative factors have been densely released, the current market sentiment is at a low point. The "large model Spring Festival" brings intensive industrial catalysts, and Seedance 2.0 is expected to drive the AI multimodal industrial chain and promote a rebound in AI applications. They suggest paying attention to opportunities in AI applications, cloud services, storage, and computing power.

Feedback from the industry has also been swift. Feng Ji, founder and CEO of Game Science and producer of "Black Myth: Wukong," commented after experiencing it that Seedance 2.0 is "the strongest video generation model on the planet" and expressed, "I am very glad that today's Seedance 2.0 comes from China."

Key Breakthrough: Turning "Card Drawing" into "Controllable Production"

According to a document from China Merchants Bank Securities and the Seedance team on Feishu, Seedance 2.0 strengthens delivery certainty around four core capabilities.

First is the multimodal reference input capability. Unlike earlier models that could only upload a single image as a style reference, Seedance 2.0 supports simultaneous input of multiple modalities and allows for free combinations of images, videos, audio, and text. Users can upload character design images, scene atmosphere images, reference camera movement videos, and background music. This multimodal input significantly enhances the controllability of the generated video, effectively solving the "card drawing" problem in AI video generation.

Second is maintaining consistency across multiple shots. The model can maintain consistency of characters and scenes across multiple shots, allowing for the generation of videos in completely different scenes while keeping character facial features, hairstyles, and even earrings highly consistent. This enables users to directly generate complete narrative segments containing multiple shot transitions without the need for complex workflows to fix them.

Third is native audio-video synchronization. Seedance 2.0 can generate matching sound effects and music while generating videos, supporting lip-syncing and emotional matching, thus solving the cumbersome post-production issues of audio-visual alignment in traditional processes The fourth is the ability to automatically plan shots and camera movements. The model can automatically plan storyboards and camera movements based on user-described plots, with the system automatically analyzing narrative logic to generate sequences with changes in shot types, camera movements, and coherent time and space. A simple prompt can generate effects comparable to a director's camera work.

Cost Efficiency Revolution Reshapes the Industry Chain

The cost and efficiency transformation brought by Seedance 2.0 is reshaping the AI video industry chain.

In terms of the stability of generated quality, the industry average AI video generation availability is less than 20%, meaning it requires generating more than five times to obtain a satisfactory result. According to media reports, multiple practitioners have reported that Seedance 2.0's availability reaches over 90%. Taking the production of a 90-minute film as an example, the theoretical cost is about 1,800 yuan, but since 80% of the generated results need to be discarded, the actual cost approaches 10,000 yuan. Seedance 2.0 compresses the actual cost to around 2,000 yuan, saving about four-fifths.

A practitioner engaged in theatrical film production for 10 years stated that, in terms of time and cost alone, it is no longer comparable to traditional processes. A 5-second special effects shot traditionally requires senior production personnel nearly a month to complete; assuming a salary of 3,000 yuan, it can now be done in 2 minutes for just 3 yuan, representing a cost reduction of thousands of times and an efficiency increase of tens of thousands of times.

This cost compression poses a direct impact on the video agent industry. In recent months, the business model of video agent companies has been to lower API unit prices through annual large orders, earning the middle margin. However, when the generation quality of Seedance 2.0 is significantly superior to other models, this business model faces challenges. In the future, the value of video agents may need to redesign products around the understanding of Seedance 2.0.

Comic Dramas, Short Dramas, E-commerce... AI Application Scenarios Accelerate Landing

The capability breakthroughs of Seedance 2.0 are accelerating the landing of multiple application scenarios.

In the field of AI comic dramas, the model supports generating single-segment videos of 5 to 15 seconds. By combining with self-developed storyboard workflows, it can produce content that includes multi-angle shooting, character dialogues, and subtitles. The generation cost and technical threshold have significantly decreased, and production efficiency has been effectively improved.

In short drama production, AI can generate sufficiently high-quality live-action effect videos, with costs for actors, venues, and camera teams potentially reduced by over 90%. More importantly, the shortened production cycle means rapid A/B testing can be conducted, driving content iteration with data.

In the fields of e-commerce advertising and pre-shooting, all previously considered production cost display methods will easily become video-based. Although the core aspects of game development have not yet been directly eroded by AI, videos themselves will gradually evolve towards customization, real-time, and gamification Multimodal generation requires significant computing power, which is expected to benefit upstream hardware infrastructure simultaneously. Bank of China Securities believes that after a series of negative factors have been resolved, the current market sentiment is at a low point, and the "Spring Festival" of large models will bring intensive industrial catalysts. Seedance 2.0 will drive the AI multimodal industry chain, and various factors are expected to catalyze a rebound in AI applications.

Currently, Seedance 2.0 has opened a paid membership experience on the Dream AI official website, providing three free trial opportunities in the Xiaoyunque App. The video editing tool developed by ByteDance will also integrate this model. However, the model still shows some stiffness in the facial emotional expressions of animated characters when the prompts are relatively simple or vague, and there is still room for improvement in the presentation of Chinese text