# Questions

What people ask first.

**Is it free?**
Yes. Studio charges nothing for an account or a film. The AI you connect bills you the way it always does.

**Does it use image or video generators?**
No. Every picture is drawn by code that the director writes, and rendered frame by frame. The narration is read by a speech model.

**Which AI writes the film?**
The one you connect: Claude through Claude Code or an Anthropic key, or OpenAI models through Codex or an OpenAI key.

**Who owns the film?**
You do. Download it, share it, use it.

**Can I start from my own footage or a link?**
Yes. Add footage, a link, or the sign-in details of a site the film should show, with or without words.

**Why does it take so long?**
The director writes the story, the drawing code and the motion, then the kit renders and checks every frame. A 30 second film takes about 35 to 55 minutes today.

**What does Studio keep?**
Your account, your films and what you gave each film. See the [Privacy Policy](https://surfstudio.app/privacy).

**Who makes Studio?**
Surf Platforms, which also makes Surf and Helio. See [About](https://surfstudio.app/about).

Canonical page: https://surfstudio.app/docs/questions