# Runway Aleph 2.0: How to Edit Real Footage in Edit Studio

> How to use Runway Aleph 2.0 in Edit Studio: clip limits, keyframe preview, the six prompt verbs, object removal, Expand Ratio, plugins and credit costs.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/runway-aleph-video-editing — The Professional's Toolkit · updated November 2026_

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Runway Aleph 2.0 is the model behind Edit Studio, the part of Runway that changes footage you already have instead of generating new clips. You upload a video of 2 to 30 seconds at 480p to 1080p, describe one change, approve a preview frame, and Aleph carries that change through the whole clip, across cuts included. It needs a paid plan, starting with Standard at $15 a month, and runs only in the desktop web app or the editing plugins. Each edited second costs 28 credits, with a 56-credit minimum per generation[1]. For targeted fixes on real shots, this is the tool Runway built for the job. It does not do lip-sync.


**28 credits** — Aleph 2.0 cost per edited second in Edit Studio, with a 56-credit minimum per generation.



- **2-30 s** — Input clip length Edit Studio accepts, 480p to 1080p, 24-30 fps
- **10 cuts** — Maximum cuts in one Aleph 2.0 input sequence
- **Standard** — Lowest plan with Edit Studio ($15 a month); not on Free


## What Aleph 2.0 accepts, and which plan opens it

Runway released Aleph 2.0 together with Edit Studio in May 2026, replacing the first Aleph from July 2025. That older version still sits on the pricing page as Gen-4 Aleph, but Runway Dev switched it off in July 2026, so new work belongs on 2.0. Runway calls it an in-context editing model: you change one frame and it rewrites the rest of the video to match, keeping the background and lighting it was not asked to touch. Runway says it works on filmed footage as well as AI clips, so product shoots, campaign assets and raw camera files are all fair input.

The input rules are strict. Clips must run longer than 2 seconds and shorter than 30, at 480p to 1080p and 24 to 30 frames per second, with no more than 10 cuts. **Anything longer is trimmed to 30 seconds**, and footage above 30 fps is down-sampled, so a 60 fps slow-motion take loses its extra frames. Uploads can be MP4, MKV, WebM or MOV, Apple ProRes included, though Runway warns that ProRes support varies by feature. Edit Studio is on every paid plan from Standard up. Free accounts cannot open it. Neither can the iPhone and Android apps.



> ⚠ **ProRes only on Max and Enterprise:** ProRes and PNG sequence output for Aleph 2.0 must be chosen at generation time on Max or Enterprise; timeline-range edits return MP4.

## One edit in Edit Studio, start to finish

Edit Studio currently works through Single edit: it builds an edited keyframe image first, you look at it, and only then does Aleph render the change across the video. That order protects your balance. A weak idea dies as a cheap still rather than a full render, and you see exactly what the model understood before committing. Runway's own guide describes the sequence below, and the same flow runs inside the editing plugins.

1. Upload the clip or pick it from your assets, then set the timeline range you want changed. Only that range is charged.
2. Choose a frame where the subject of the edit is clearly visible.
3. Type the instruction: an action verb plus a description of the change.
4. Generate the keyframe preview and iterate on it until the still looks right.
5. Apply the edit across the sequence, review it, and download the result.

The preview step has its own price. Each keyframe image costs 20 credits with Nano Banana Pro, 8 with Gen-4 Image or 5 with GPT Image 2, so the image model you pick for iterations matters when you try many versions of a sky or a sign. Multi-shot material needs no extra handling. **Aleph applies the edit across every shot in the sequence**, so a logo swapped on a jacket stays swapped after the cut to a wider angle.


> 💡 **Approve the still before rendering:** Iterate on the keyframe preview (5 to 20 credits per image depending on the image model) and only apply the edit once the still shows exactly what you want.


## How to phrase the instruction

Runway's Aleph 2.0 prompting guide asks for two things: an action verb and a description of the transformation[2]. The verbs it lists are add, remove, change, replace, re-light and re-style. Start the instruction with one of them. Then name the object and the result in plain terms, such as *replace the paper cup with a matte black travel mug* or *re-light the room as late golden hour from the left window*. Vague mood words give the model nothing to anchor on, while a named object and a named target do.

Each verb suits a different job. Add and replace insert props or swap products in a shot that was otherwise approved. Change covers attributes like color, weather or season. Re-light moves the time of day or the light source. Re-style turns the whole frame into another look while the motion stays. Runway reports that the World Juggling Federation used Aleph 2.0 to fill empty seats in real broadcast footage without disturbing the rest of the shot. Eggplant Picture and Sound says a one-line edit adding roof damage to a building replaced about four hours of compositing.

### Removing objects and changing the frame

The old mask-based Inpainting tool was retired in July 2026. Removal now runs three ways, none of which needs a mask or manual tracking. In Edit Studio you write a remove instruction and Aleph regenerates the scene behind the object. The Remove from Video app takes out objects, people or logos from clips up to 5 seconds at 15 credits a second. Agent 2.0 handles the same removals from a chat request. Apps need Standard or higher, like Edit Studio itself. Relight Scene and Change Weather also run at 15 credits a second, with Relight Scene capped at 5 seconds. Longer shots, or edits that must hold across cuts, belong in Edit Studio.

**Expand Ratio** solves a different problem: reframing. It changes a video's aspect ratio by generating new picture content beyond the original edges instead of cropping, which suits turning a horizontal master into a vertical cut for social feeds. The input must be 24 to 30 fps, and Runway advises a single shot with no cuts for this mode. One catch: none of the editing plugins can expand yet, so reframing happens in the web app.

## What an edit costs in credits

| Item | Credits |
|---|---|
| Aleph 2.0 in Edit Studio | 28 a second (140 per 5 seconds), 56 minimum |
| Gen-4 Aleph, older version | 75 per 5 seconds |
| Keyframe preview image | 20 Nano Banana Pro · 8 Gen-4 Image · 5 GPT Image 2 |
| Remove from Video, Relight Scene apps | 15 a second, clips up to 5 seconds |

By our arithmetic, the 625 monthly credits on Standard cover four 5-second edits, the 2,250 on Pro cover 16 and the 9,500 on Max cover 67, before any preview images. At the top-up rate of 1,000 credits for $10, one 5-second edit costs $1.40. Those are counts of renders, not of finished shots. An edit that misreads the instruction still spends its credits, so plan on more renders than approved results and judge the cost per usable edit.

Credits come back only when a generation ends in an error, not when you dislike the result, and Standard and Pro credits reset at each billing date; the [Runway pricing guide](/articles/runway-ai-pricing) covers rollover, top-ups and refunds. Aleph is not the only editor in the workspace. Kling 4.0 on Runway can edit one clip up to 30 seconds with sound in the same pass, and Seedance 2.5 has an Edit mode that adds a charge for each second of input video. The total cost shows before you generate either one.


> 💡 **Trim to the edited range:** Edit Studio charges only the timeline range you edit, so set the range tightly around the shot that needs the change.


## Editing from Premiere Pro, After Effects or Resolve

Runway's plugins bring Edit Studio into the timeline. One installer covers Premiere Pro and After Effects on macOS and Windows. The DaVinci Resolve plugin needs Resolve Studio 19 or later, not the free edition and not Linux. All are free downloads, but generating needs Standard or higher and spends plan credits. A Free account can sign in and look around. It cannot generate.

Inside the plugins, Edit Studio restyles anchor frames or up to five keyframes and Aleph 2.0 re-renders the clip at the same duration as the source, so the result drops back without retiming. Resolve shows a before and after comparison. After Effects needs a single footage layer selected in the active composition. Three limits apply: no Expand, no ProRes or image-sequence delivery into After Effects or Resolve, and Resolve imports land at the end of the open timeline. **A plugin generation cannot be canceled** once submitted, so check the range before sending.

## Limits to settle before client work

Runway states plainly that Aleph is not a lip-sync model. If a shot has dialogue and you change the room around a speaker, you may need to run Act-Two again afterwards to restore mouth movement; the [Act-Two guide](/articles/runway-act-two) explains that workflow. Output format is the second check. Edits on a timeline range come back as MP4. ProRes in six profiles and PNG sequences are available for Aleph 2.0 in Edit Studio on Max and Enterprise, chosen at generation time, and they add 5 credits a second[3]. The format cannot be changed afterwards.


> ⚠ **Dialogue shots need Act-Two again:** Aleph 2.0 is not a lip-sync model; after changing the scene around a speaker you may have to rerun Act-Two to restore mouth movement.


Rights and data come next. You keep ownership of what you upload and what Aleph returns, and commercial use is allowed, but you must hold the rights to any footage, music or likeness you bring in. Runway's consumer Terms let it train on inputs and outputs; a no-training commitment is an Enterprise term. Moderation scans every input and output and cannot be switched off, which matters for footage with weapons or injuries. For graded deliveries, Ruby on Max converts an SDR Aleph edit to HDR, and the [model comparison](/articles/runway-ai-models-compared) shows where Aleph sits next to Gen-4.5.


## FAQ

**Is Aleph 2.0 available through the Runway API?**

Yes. Aleph 2.0 reached Runway Dev, Runway's pay-as-you-go API, in June 2026; on self-serve plans its credits are separate from web-app credits, and the older Gen-4 Aleph identifier was removed from the API in July 2026.

**Can I turn an Aleph edit into HDR?**

Yes, on Max and higher. Runway Ruby converts any SDR video up to 30 seconds, including an Aleph 2.0 edit, to HDR10, HLG, ProRes or EXR at 20 credits a second.

**Does Aleph 2.0 work outside Runway's own app?**

Besides the Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve plugins, Aleph 2.0 has been available in Figma Weave since June 2026, where you restyle an extracted frame and connect it back to the Aleph node with a timestamp.

**Can Edit Studio upscale the result to 4K?**

Aleph 2.0 itself works at 480p to 1080p; for 4K, Runway's Upscale Video app (Standard plan or higher) costs 2 credits a second and accepts uploaded videos up to 40 seconds.


## The bottom line

Aleph 2.0 earns its place when the footage already exists and one thing in it is wrong: a product, a sky, a stray passer-by, the wrong time of day. Keep clips under 30 seconds at 24 to 30 fps, preview the keyframe before every render, and budget 28 credits per edited second with failures included. Standard is enough to learn the tool, while ProRes delivery needs Max. Anyone whose job is dialogue should pair it with Act-Two rather than expect a mouth to survive the edit.



## Sources

[1] Runway Help Center: Creating with Edit Studio — https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/51683104370451-Creating-with-Edit-Studio (2026-11)
[2] Runway Help Center: Aleph 2 0 Prompting Guide — https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/52150503729171-Aleph-2-0-Prompting-Guide (2026-11)
[3] Runway Help Center: Exporting Videos in ProRes and PNG Sequence Formats — https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/54396547993491-Exporting-Videos-in-ProRes-and-PNG-Sequence-Formats (2026-11)
[4] Runway pricing (US) — https://runway.com/pricing
[5] Runway Help Center: how credits work — https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/15124877443219-How-do-credits-work
[6] Runway Terms of Use — https://runway.com/terms-of-use
[7] Runway changelog — https://runway.com/changelog