Set up the story
Import a script or develop one with the Writers' Room or Drama Builder. ShowMaker pulls out the characters, locations, props and wardrobe.
Hailuo AI alternative
A Hailuo AI alternative for scripted episodes
Hailuo AI is MiniMax's video and image generation platform, built around its own models, with reference images and ready-made templates. ShowMaker Studio is a drama production pipeline, and MiniMax is one of the video models available inside it per shot. So you can keep using MiniMax and still get the script, cast and edit around it.
How it works01 02 03
Three steps in ShowMaker.
Approve the references
Lock character sheets, outfits, location stills and voices. Every shot cites them by @slug.
Render with MiniMax or another model
Watch the free animatic first, then choose the video model per shot: MiniMax, Seedance, Wan, Veo or Kling.
Side by side
Hailuo AI (MiniMax) vs ShowMaker Studio
| Hailuo AI (MiniMax) | ShowMaker Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | MiniMax's video and image generation platform, built around its own models | A scripted drama pipeline using several video models, MiniMax included |
| Using MiniMax models | Directly, on Hailuo | Available per shot |
| Starting point | A prompt, an image or a template | A premise or an imported screenplay |
| Characters across episodes | Reference images, per Hailuo's site | Character sheets, wardrobe and fixed voices shared across a series |
| Dialogue | See Hailuo's site for audio features | Voices per character, delivery tags, lip-synced via native audio |
| Editing and publishing | Generation and editing of clips | Timeline editor, captions, B-roll, score, export and publish to social |
What Hailuo AI is built for
Hailuo AI is MiniMax's consumer platform for AI video and images, with an audio section. Its site highlights its own models, multimodal generation and editing, reference images, and photo-to-video templates for effects and trends.
It's a direct way to use MiniMax's models: you write a prompt or upload an image and get a clip. That works well for a lot of short-form work.
MiniMax's models are also available on other platforms, ShowMaker included. Going direct gives you the newest features of their own app, like its templates and reference tools, in the form MiniMax designed them.
What ShowMaker is built for
ShowMaker Studio wraps video models in a production process for scripted drama. A project holds the screenplay, the cast and the locations; scenes are broken into shots with sizes and camera moves; dialogue lines are attached to the shots that speak them.
Every shot sends the same character and location references, so a cast holds across a scene, an episode and a series. Before paying for video you can watch a narrated animatic of the whole episode, and when you render, the model is a per-shot choice.
- MiniMax, Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0, Veo 3.1 and Kling, chosen per shot
- Multishot panels: several shots of a scene in one take, cut on dialogue
- Voices for every character, including child voices and accents designed from a description
- Editor with captions in several styles, B-roll, score and sound
How to decide
If you want MiniMax's models with nothing in between, or you're making trend and template content, use Hailuo directly. If you're producing a drama with recurring characters and dialogue, ShowMaker gives you the script, cast, voices and edit, and you can still send shots to MiniMax.
The cost of a drama is driven by how many attempts each shot takes. Approving the script, stills, voices and animatic first cuts those attempts down, whichever model renders the final shot.
A good test is a two-character scene with dialogue. Render it on MiniMax inside ShowMaker, with the cast and location references attached, and compare it with the same scene prompted directly. Then do the next scene in the same room, to see whether the cast and the room stay the same from one scene to the next.
When Hailuo AI (MiniMax) is the better pick
- You want MiniMax's models directly, with nothing in between.
- You're making trend or template-driven clips from a single photo.
- Your project is a handful of standalone shots with no recurring cast.
Questions
What people ask first.
Can I use MiniMax models in ShowMaker?
Yes. MiniMax is one of the video models you can choose per shot in ShowMaker, along with Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0, Google Veo 3.1 and Kling.
What does ShowMaker add on top of a video model?
The production around it: a screenplay, a cast stored as reusable references, a storyboard, voices for every character, a free narrated animatic, checks on every shot, and an editor with captions and score.
Will my characters look the same in every shot?
Each shot cites the same character sheet, wardrobe and location stills, so the model gets the same references every time. That's how a cast holds across scenes and episodes.
How much does a ShowMaker episode cost?
It depends mostly on attempts per shot. As a real example, a 67-second vertical micro drama episode with 8 multishot panels and a consistent cast cost under $7 in credits.
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