An opening image and a closing image can settle where a shot starts and finishes. The movement between them remains to be directed. Google’s 27 August Flow announcement adds start- and end-frame controls for Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash alongside new draft and export resolutions.
The announcement describes 1080p and 4K output options and a lower-credit 360p draft mode. Those options concern different parts of a production decision. A reference frame describes an intended image; a draft helps select an idea; a higher-resolution file provides more pixels for delivery. None, on its own, establishes that the motion or the depicted product is accurate.
Directing the space between two frames
Google’s Flow instructions separate the opening and ending images from the prompt describing the intervening action. Model, aspect ratio, duration and output count are settings of their own. The current model-support page lists frame generation at four, six, eight or ten seconds for Omni Flash 1.1, with start/end frames available on the web. Google lists extension as forthcoming for this model.
Consider a hypothetical fashion film that opens on a jacket in profile and ends on its front. The two approved stills can establish framing and the desired final pose. A reviewer would still need to inspect the turn: whether buttons shift, a lapel changes shape or a sleeve crosses the body implausibly.
For a director and client, agreeing those endpoints could make a brief more concrete than a prompt alone. The useful handoff would include both frames, the motion instruction and the selected take. Approval of a still should remain distinguishable from approval of the resulting sequence.
Choose a draft before choosing a delivery file
The model-support documentation says 360p generation costs half as many credits as 720p. It also limits the no-additional-credit upgrade from 360p to 720p to Pro and Ultra. That is narrower than reading the launch announcement as a promise of free higher-resolution downloads for every account. Exact account access and regional availability should be checked in the workspace being used.
A small draft is useful for rejecting a weak camera move or an unsuitable composition. It is a poor basis for signing off a fine textile pattern. A practical review would first select the movement, then inspect the larger output at its intended display size, with particular attention to the details the client is buying the image to show.
Google’s announcement includes 4K exports, but its download help describes only the general asset menu, without a 4K-specific procedure. Before committing a delivery specification to a client, confirm that option in the account being used and inspect the actual exported file.