# Iterate AI video by conversation — “the same, but vertical” > Refine a clip one message at a time: “the same, but vertical”, “rather with Kling”, “make it 5 seconds”. What carries over, when to restart, what drafts cost. Published 2026-09-29 · eroq.ai — canonical: https://eroq.ai/blog/iterate-ai-video-by-conversation The first version of a clip is rarely the one you keep. The framing is wrong for where it is going, the action runs long, the engine was only ever a draft. In [Ask](/ask), the bar at the top of [the studio](/studio) home, you do not retype the request to fix any of that. You answer it: "the same, but vertical". The thread keeps what you already said, changes the one thing you named, and opens the tool page again with the new settings. New to Ask? [Start with one sentence](/blog/make-an-ai-video-by-describing-it). ## A thread, not a form Your first message turns the studio home into a chat: your message on the right, the reply on the left, written out word by word. From then on, each message is read against the thread — what you said earlier still counts, so you describe the change, not the whole clip. Under each reply, a grey line says what is being set up — for example **Setting up Video · Kling 3.0 · 10 s · 9:16 with your parameters…** — and about a second later the tool page opens with everything filled in. When a message reads as a question, or is ambiguous, Ask proposes instead: an **Open Video →** button in place of the jump. ## One change per message These are the follow-ups the thread is built for. Each one changes one thing and keeps the rest. - **"The same, but vertical."** The format moves to 9:16. "Square" gives 1:1; "landscape", "horizontal" or "YouTube" give 16:9; "cinema" or "ultra-wide" give 21:9, on video only. - **"Rather with Kling."** The engine changes, the prompt stays. A family name means that family's standard engine — Kling means [Kling 3.0](/models/kling-3), not the Pro, unless you say Pro. An engine your plan does not include is proposed with its plan badge, and the page opens with its Unlock button. - **"Make it 5 seconds."** The length changes. The page then snaps to what the engine renders and what your plan allows — longer clips unlock with a plan: up to 15 s on Hobby, 20 s on Creator, 30 s on Studio. - **"Now as an image."** The same subject moves to [the Image tool](/studio/image). Images take 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16 and 16:9. - **"Add @Mina."** Mina joins the cast. She appears in renders once she has her look sheet, made in her Identity tab in [Characters](/studio/characters); without one she is flagged "Needs a look sheet". Places and objects work the same way; styles need no sheet. More in [casting by name](/blog/cast-characters-by-name-with-ask). You can change two things at once — "vertical, 5 seconds" sets both. One change per message is a habit, not a rule: when two versions differ by one thing, you know which change made the difference. ## A session, message by message A whole session, from rough draft to final render and a still: ```text You: Make a 10 s clip: a woman in a red coat walks along a rainy boulevard at night, neon reflections on the wet street, slow tracking shot. Grey line: Setting up Video · 10 s with your parameters… ``` No engine named, so the page keeps the engine it is on — the last one you used, or Seedance 2.0 Mini on a new account. Here it is [Seedance 2.0 Mini](/models/seedance-2-0-mini), the cheapest engine, and the camera move is set to tracking. You render it. The motion is right; the framing is wrong for a phone. ```text You: The same, but vertical. Grey line: Setting up Video · 10 s · 9:16 with your parameters… ``` Same prompt, same ten seconds, new format. You render again. The walk reads in half the time; the second half is filler. ```text You: Make it 5 seconds. Grey line: Setting up Video · 5 s · 9:16 with your parameters… ``` Still vertical, now five seconds. The timing works — time for the engine you want for the final. ```text You: Rather with Kling. Grey line: Setting up Video · Kling 3.0 · 5 s · 9:16 with your parameters… ``` Only the engine changed. Kling 3.0 comes with a Hobby plan or higher — without it, this is where you get the button and the plan badge instead of the jump. ```text You: Now as a vertical image. Grey line: Setting up Image · 9:16 with your parameters… ``` The Image tool opens on the same woman and the same boulevard. The format is said again on purpose: clips and images do not take the same set of formats, so when you change tools, name the one you want. ## What carries over, and what to repeat Each follow-up starts from the version before it: the subject and its prompt, the engine you named, the seconds, the format. That is why "rather with Kling" arrived vertical and five seconds long without you saying so again. Two habits keep a long thread honest: - **Read the grey line.** It lists what was set — engine, seconds, format — before the page opens. If something you asked for is missing, say it again. A follow-up costs nothing. - **Unsaid means unchanged.** Ask only sets what you asked for. Anything you never mentioned stays as the tool page has it, in the first message as in the fifth. ## When to start a New chat **New chat** starts a fresh one: the button at the top of the chat list, or the **+** beside **Ask** in the studio's left rail. Use it when the subject changes: in the same thread, what you said earlier still counts, so a new idea would start from the last clip's engine and format. A fresh chat starts from nothing: only what you say in it is set. Your chats are listed newest first in a column beside the chat (on a phone, behind **Chats**). After Ask opens a tool, the browser's back button returns to the chat, the **Ask** row in the left rail goes back to the one in progress, any row in the list picks a chat up where you left it, and the **Home** link stays the plain home. Chats are kept in this browser for 30 days, up to 30 of them, and are not synced across devices: the thread on your laptop is not on your phone. You don't need to walk back to the chat for each follow-up. From the Video page, press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows), type "the same, but vertical" and pick the last row, **Ask eroq: “…”**. It goes to the chat in progress. ## Every version is a page, not a render Each follow-up opens [the Video tool](/studio/video) — or whichever tool you named — again, with the new settings filled in. Nothing renders by itself: Generate on the page stays your click, with the usual credit check and plan unlock. Asking is free, so the five messages above cost nothing; the renders are what you pay for, which is why the engine you draft on matters. ## What drafting on Mini saves The session rendered three drafts on Seedance 2.0 Mini, then the final on Kling 3.0. Here it is next to the same four renders on Kling 3.0 from the first message: | Render | Drafts on Mini, final on Kling | All on Kling 3.0 | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 · 10 s | 90 | 340 | | 2 · 10 s, vertical | 90 | 340 | | 3 · 5 s, vertical | 45 | 170 | | 4 · final | 170 | 170 | | **Total credits** | **395** | **1,020** | Same final clip. The three drafts that told you what to change cost 225 credits on Mini instead of 850 on Kling. Draft where it is cheap; change engines once the framing and the length are settled. [How Ask picks the engine, length and format](/blog/which-ai-video-engine-ask-picks) covers the settings side; [batching takes](/blog/batching-takes-without-burning-credits) and [pricing](/pricing) cover the rest of the arithmetic. ## FAQ ### Does Ask remember what I said earlier in the chat? Yes, within a chat. Follow-ups like "the same, but vertical" or "rather with Kling" build on the messages before them. Every chat stays in the chat list for 30 days, so you can pick one up later. **New chat** starts a fresh one, and chats are kept in this browser, not synced across devices. ### Do follow-up messages cost credits? No. Asking is free, however many follow-ups you send. Credits are spent only when you click Generate on the tool page, after the usual credit check. ### How do I switch engines without retyping the prompt? Name the engine in a follow-up: "rather with Kling", "on Veo 3.1". The prompt, the length and the format stay. A family name picks one engine — Kling means Kling 3.0, Veo means Veo 3.1, Seedance means Seedance 2.0 Mini — and Pro, Fast, Lite or Max pick those variants: "Kling 3.0 Pro" comes with a Creator plan or higher. ### Can I turn a video request into an image in the same chat? Yes. "Now as an image" opens the Image tool with the same subject. Name the format again when you switch: images take 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16 and 16:9, and 21:9 is for video only. ### Why did my follow-up show a button instead of opening the page? Ask only proposes when you asked a question, when the request was ambiguous, or when you named an engine your plan does not include. Click **Open Video →** to go anyway; a locked engine opens with its Unlock button. [Open the studio](/studio), ask for a rough first draft, then tell it what to change.