Migrate from runway to luma-dream-machine.
1 documentation-derived translation pattern — what carries over and what to watch for. Cited to the Feature Parity Map; the audit tells you whether the move is worth it.
Both tools do the same core job: short cinematic clips from a text prompt or from a text prompt plus a first-frame image. To consolidate a Luma Dream Machine seat into an existing Runway subscription, recreate the generation workflow on Runway Gen-4 / Gen-4.5: text-to-video and image-to-video (first-frame reference) map directly. Re-author prompts in Runway (prompt structure differs but the intent transfers), and rebuild image-to-video by uploading the same reference image as the Gen-4.5 first frame. For programmatic users, swap Luma's API (model ray3) for Runway's developer API (gen4.5 endpoint). Keep finished Luma renders as flat MP4s; only the prompt recipes and reference images need to move.
- Warning: Luma Ray3 can natively generate and export HDR as 16-bit EXR; Runway Gen-4/Gen-4.5 outputs SDR video (with 4K upscaling on Pro+), so an HDR/EXR finishing step does not carry over and must be replaced with an external grade.
- Warning: Luma's start-and-end-frame keyframing (frame0/frame1, plus Ray3 Modify start/end frame control) is more granular than Runway's first-frame image conditioning; transitions that relied on a specified end frame may need Runway's separate motion/camera controls instead.
- Warning: Credit economics differ: Luma meters in its own credits (e.g. ~800 for a 10s 1080p SDR clip), while Runway's published pricing works out to ~25 credits/sec for Gen-4.5 (625 credits buys 25s), so re-estimate per-clip cost in each tool's currency rather than assuming parity.