Quick vs Advanced: Which Lane to Use
Quick is template-first and fast. Advanced is prompt-first and flexible. Here's how to pick the right lane for each video.
Quick lane — template-first
The Quick lane starts with an archetype. You pick a template that matches the style of video you're making (tutorial, reaction, listicle, talking-head, etc.) and the system injects structured style guidance around your prompt.
Under the hood, the Quick lane uses the structured generation engine: a 4-block composition scaffold (Foreground → Style → Supporting Object → Background). The template fills in the Style block with archetype-specific framing, so you don't have to describe the visual style from scratch.
Best for:
- Repeatable content formats (you publish the same type of video every week)
- Creators who want a polished result with minimal prompt writing
- Podcast Mode (rotating guests, locked host style)
- New users getting familiar with the tool
Advanced lane — prompt-first
The Advanced lane (also called the Studio) gives you full control. You write the entire prompt yourself, then optionally layer in panels:
- Person — lock a face for identity consistency
- Style References — supply inspiration images to borrow a visual mood
- Images — include a specific element from an uploaded image
Under the hood, the Advanced lane uses the freeform engine: the FOREGROUND identity-lock and the inspiration mood-board framing remain identical to Quick, but the forced Supporting Object and opinionated Background blocks are dropped. Your prompt and references drive composition directly, which is the thumbfast behavior for maximum flexibility.
Best for:
- One-off thumbnails that don't fit a template
- Creators who have a clear visual concept and want to express it precisely
- Testing novel styles or breaking from your usual format
Switching mid-session
The lanes share the same credit system and the same output format (1280×720 PNG). There is no lock-in — you can generate in Quick for rapid iteration, then switch to Advanced for a custom variant, and compare results side-by-side.
Podcast Mode
Podcast Mode lives inside the Quick lane. It locks the host Person across episodes and lets you swap in a guest Person per generation. See the Podcast Thumbnails guide for the full walkthrough.