# Replace a Person in a Video

> To replace a person in a video with AI, upload the clip and an image of the new character, then choose Replace person mode. On Kenerate AI, SCAIL 2 and Wan 2.2 Animate swap the whole person — body, clothes and face — while the scene, camera and timing stay, on clips up to 2 minutes.

URL: https://kenerateai.com/replace-person-in-video
Publisher: Kenerate AI (https://kenerateai.com)
Last updated: 3 October 2026

## Key facts
- Engines with Replace: SCAIL 2 · Wan 2.2 Animate
- What changes: The whole person
- What stays: Scene, camera, timing
- Clip length: Up to 2 min
- Sound: Kept on SCAIL 2
- Characters per job: One image
- SCAIL 2 (WaveSpeed): Clip up to 2 min + character image → 480p or 720p · keeps sound. First choice: swaps the person, keeps the scene, camera and the original sound.
- Wan 2.2 Animate (Alibaba): Clip up to 2 min + character image → 480p or 720p · silent. Second opinion on the swap — silent output, so add the audio back afterwards.
- Wan 2.2 Animate 2 (Alibaba): Image + video up to 2 min · motion prompt → 480p or 720p · silent. Not a replacer: animates your image on its own background with the clip's motion.
- Kling 3.0 Pro Motion (Kuaishou): Image + 3–30 s video → Follows the source · sound switch. Not a replacer: realistic close-ups of your character copying a 3–30 s clip, sound kept.

## Steps
1. Choose the clip — One main person, clearly visible, no cuts. MP4, MOV, WEBM, M4V or MKV, around 100 MB at most, up to 2 minutes.
2. Prepare the character image — A JPG or PNG with the same framing as the clip — full body for a walking shot. Similar build and lighting blend best.
3. Pick SCAIL 2 and switch to Replace person — Or Wan 2.2 Animate for a second take. Both have the Animate / Replace switch.
4. Describe and set resolution — Add a short description of the character's look if you like, choose 480p or 720p, and set a seed to repeat a result.
5. Generate and check the edges — Watch hands, hair and moments when something passes in front of the person; try the other engine or a new seed if they slip.

## In depth

### Replace vs animate: where the background comes from
In Replace person mode the engine treats your clip as the stage: the scene, light, camera path and timing stay, and only the performer changes. In Animate character mode your image is the stage: the background in your photo stays, and the character copies the clip's movement in front of it. The Wan2.2-Animate release describes these as its two modes, with replacement matching the scene's lighting and colour tone.

### Choosing a replacement image
A character image that already 'belongs' in the clip leaves the engine less to invent.
- Same framing as the clip — full body for full body.
- Similar build and height to the original person.
- Lighting direction and warmth close to the clip's.
- Clear hands and face, no props covering them.
- JPG or PNG, not WEBP.

### Where replacement still struggles
Occlusion — a car, a door or another person passing in front — forces the engine to guess what's hidden. Very fast motion blurs the original body, and long loose hair or capes change shape every frame. Shorter, cleaner shots give the best swaps; for difficult clips, compare SCAIL 2 and Wan 2.2 Animate with the same seed.

## FAQ
Q: Can AI replace a person in a video?
A: Yes. Character replacement models swap the person in a clip for a character from an image while keeping the original motion, camera and background. In Kenerate AI's Motion Transfer tool, SCAIL 2 and Wan 2.2 Animate do this when you set the mode to Replace person, for clips up to 2 minutes at 480p or 720p.

Q: Does it keep the background and camera movement?
A: Yes — that's the difference between Replace person and Animate character. Replace keeps the clip's scene, lighting, camera move and timing and only changes the person. Animate does the opposite: it moves the character in your image on your image's own background, following the clip's motion.

Q: Can it replace several people in one video?
A: Not in one job. The tool takes one character image per job and is built around one main person, so a clip with several people may not swap the one you want. For multi-character replacement, choose clips where one person dominates the frame; some other services, such as Viggle's Multi-Track, are built for several characters at once.

Q: Will the voice change when I replace the person?
A: No. SCAIL 2 keeps the clip's original audio, so the voice, music and timing stay exactly as they were; Wan 2.2 Animate returns silent video. If you need the replaced character to speak another language, the result's 'Dub into another language' hand-off sends the clip to Kenerate's dubbing tool.

Q: Is replacing a person the same as a face swap?
A: No. A face swap changes only the face and keeps the original body, hair and clothes. Replace person swaps the whole figure — face, body, outfit and proportions — for your character, which is why it works for cartoon, 3D or costumed characters that a face swap couldn't handle.

Q: What makes a replacement look fake?
A: Mismatched light and build are the usual giveaways: a studio-lit character dropped into a sunset clip, or a short character replacing a tall actor. Objects passing in front of the person, very fast motion and loose long hair are also hard. Choosing a matching character image fixes most of it; trying the other engine helps with the rest.

Q: Is it legal to replace someone in a video?
A: It depends on rights and consent, and you are responsible for both. Only use footage you own or are licensed to edit, and only replace people who agreed to it — never celebrities, strangers or anyone in a way that could mislead or harm them. Label edited clips as AI-made when you publish them.

## Related pages
- AI Motion Control: https://kenerateai.com/ai-motion-control
- SCAIL 2 motion transfer: https://kenerateai.com/scail-ai
- Wan 2.2 Animate: https://kenerateai.com/wan-2-2-animate
- Viggle AI alternative: https://kenerateai.com/viggle-ai-alternative
- AI character animation: https://kenerateai.com/ai-character-animation

## Sources
- Kenerate Motion Transfer tool: https://kenerateai.com/app/tool/motion
- Wan-Video/Wan2.2 — Wan2.2-Animate replacement mode: https://github.com/Wan-Video/Wan2.2
- zai-org/SCAIL on GitHub: https://github.com/zai-org/SCAIL
- Viggle — pricing (Multi-Track): https://viggle.ai/pricing