Replace Character
Replacing a character in a video means putting a different person into an existing shot while the original performance stays: the movement, the timing and the camera are kept, and the body, clothing and face are regenerated as someone else. You upload the clip and a reference image of who should appear instead.
This is the heavier of our two swap tools and not always the one you want. If only the face needs to change, video face swap is faster, cheaper and holds the rest of the frame exactly. This route is not connected yet — the controls and prices are real, the Create button is not.
Replace character or face swap?
These two jobs get confused constantly, and picking the wrong one wastes both time and credits. The difference is how much of the frame gets rebuilt.
Face swap replaces the face region and composites it back onto the original footage. Everything else — hair, body, clothing, hands, background — is your untouched original. It is the right answer whenever the body in the shot can stay as it is.
Character replacement regenerates the whole person. That is necessary when the new character has a different build, different clothing, or is not a person at all, and it is overkill when they do not.
| Face swap | Replace character | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes | The face only | Face, body, hair and clothing |
| Keeps | Body, clothing, background untouched | Movement, timing and camera |
| Use when | The body in the shot works as-is | Build or wardrobe must change too |
| Cost | From 5 credits per segment | Full generation price per clip |
| Status | Running today | Not connected yet |
What the reference image needs
The reference decides who appears, and a weak reference is the most common cause of a disappointing swap. The model needs to understand the person from one picture, so give it the clearest possible statement of who they are.
- A full-body shot when the clip shows a full body. A head-and-shoulders reference forces the model to invent the build, and it will invent a generic one.
- Even, front-facing light. Heavy shadow on one side means the model guesses at half the face.
- Neutral expression and an unobstructed face — no sunglasses, no hand across the jaw, no hair over the eyes.
- Similar framing to the target shot where you can manage it. A reference standing upright matches a clip of someone standing far better than a seated portrait does.
What survives the swap and what does not
The performance survives: where the subject goes, when they turn, how fast they move, how the camera follows. That is the whole reason to use this rather than generating a new clip from scratch — you are keeping choreography that would be hard to specify in a prompt.
Fine identity detail does not survive reliably. The new character is recognisably the person in your reference in a good result and recognisably a relative of them in a mediocre one, and the difference between those two outcomes is mostly reference quality and clip length.
Hands and contact points are the weakest area, as they are in every generative video tool. A shot where the subject handles an object is much harder than one where they walk across frame.
When not to use this
- Putting a real person into footage they were never in. Use this with the consent of the person in the reference image — this is the limit that matters most on this page, and it is not negotiable.
- Anything intended to deceive: fake testimony, fabricated evidence, a public figure appearing to do something they did not.
- Shots where only the face needs changing. Video face swap keeps the rest of your footage intact, costs less and works today.
- Clips where the subject handles objects closely. Hands at contact points are the least reliable part of the output.
- Long takes. As with everything generative here, the last seconds are the least stable.
- Crowd scenes. The model targets one subject; several people in frame produces unpredictable results.
Questions people ask
What is character replacement in video?
It regenerates the person in an existing shot as somebody else while keeping the original movement, timing and camera. You supply the clip and one reference image of the replacement, and the model rebuilds the body, clothing and face to match the reference while following the original performance.
How is this different from face swap?
Face swap changes only the face region and composites it onto your untouched footage, so the body, clothing and background are exactly as you filmed them. Character replacement regenerates the whole person. Choose face swap unless the build or the wardrobe also has to change — it is cheaper, more faithful to the rest of the frame, and it works today.
What makes a good reference image?
A sharp, evenly lit, front-facing shot with the face unobstructed, framed the way the clip frames its subject — full body for a full-body clip. A head-and-shoulders reference used on a full-body shot leaves the model to invent the build, and it invents a generic one.
Will the replacement look exactly like my reference?
Close, not exact. Expect a recognisable likeness rather than an identical one, and expect it to hold better over a short clip than a long one. If exact likeness is essential, this is not the right tool.
Can I replace someone in a video I did not film?
Only if you have the rights to the footage and the agreement of the person whose likeness you are adding. Both conditions, not one.
How much does it cost?
The full per-clip price of whichever model you pick, shown on the Create button before you spend anything. Unlike face swap, which bills per segment, character replacement regenerates every frame, so it is priced like a generation.
Related tools
Checked 20 September 2026.