Skip to main content

Kling 3 Motion Control integration

Transfer motion patterns from a reference video to a character image, preserving the character’s appearance while applying realistic movement.
Kling 3 Motion Control is a video generation API that transfers motion from a reference video to a character image. It preserves the character’s appearance while applying the motion patterns from the reference video, producing realistic character animation. Available in Pro and Standard tiers, it supports reference videos from 3-30 seconds with optional text prompts for guiding the motion transfer.

Key capabilities

  • Motion transfer: Extract motion from a reference video and apply it to a character image
  • Character preservation: Maintains the character’s visual identity, face, and clothing throughout the video
  • Orientation modes: video mode for complex motions (up to 30 seconds output) or image mode for camera movements (up to 10 seconds output)
  • Text guidance: Optional prompt up to 2500 characters to refine the motion transfer
  • CFG scale control: Adjust prompt adherence from 0 (creative) to 1 (strict), default 0.5
  • Flexible input: Reference videos from 3-30 seconds in MP4, MOV, WEBM, or M4V format
  • Image support: Character images in JPG, JPEG, PNG, or WEBP format (min 300x300px, max 10MB)
  • Async processing: Webhook notifications or polling for task completion

Pro vs Standard

FeatureKling 3 Motion Control ProKling 3 Motion Control Standard
QualityHigher fidelity, richer detailGood quality, cost-effective
SpeedStandard processingFaster processing
Best forPremium content, marketingHigh-volume, testing

Use cases

  • Character animation: Animate product mascots or brand characters with realistic dance or gesture movements
  • Social media content: Create engaging short videos by transferring trending motions to custom characters
  • E-commerce: Showcase apparel on virtual models by transferring real model movements
  • Gaming and entertainment: Generate character motion previews from reference footage
  • Marketing campaigns: Produce personalized character videos at scale with consistent branding

Generate with Kling 3 Motion Control

Create motion control videos by submitting a character image and reference video to the API. The service returns a task ID for async polling or webhook notification.

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
image_urlstringYes-Character/reference image URL. Min 300x300px, max 10MB. Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP.
video_urlstringYes-Reference video URL with the motion to transfer. Duration: 3-30 seconds. Formats: MP4, MOV, WEBM, M4V.
promptstringNo-Text prompt to guide motion transfer (max 2500 characters)
character_orientationstringNovideoOrientation mode: video (complex motions, up to 30s output) or image (camera movements, up to 10s output)
cfg_scalenumberNo0.5Prompt adherence: 0 (creative) to 1 (strict)
webhook_urlstringNo-URL for task completion notification

Frequently Asked Questions

Kling 3 Motion Control is an AI video generation API that transfers motion from a reference video to a character image. You provide a character image and a reference video containing the desired motion. The model extracts the motion patterns and applies them to the character while preserving its visual appearance. Processing is asynchronous: you receive a task ID immediately, then poll for results or receive a webhook notification.
The character_orientation parameter controls how the model interprets spatial information. In video mode (default), orientation matches the reference video, which works better for complex motions and supports output up to 30 seconds. In image mode, orientation matches the character image, which is better for following camera movements but limits output to 10 seconds maximum.
Reference videos must be publicly accessible URLs in MP4, MOV, WEBM, or M4V format with a duration between 3 and 30 seconds. Character images support JPG, JPEG, PNG, and WEBP formats with minimum 300x300 pixel resolution and maximum 10MB file size.
Motion control tasks have dedicated retrieval endpoints for each tier. Use GET /v1/ai/video/kling-v3-motion-control-pro or GET /v1/ai/video/kling-v3-motion-control-std to list tasks, and append /{task-id} to get a specific task’s status and results.
CFG scale controls how closely the model follows your text prompt during motion transfer. Use 0 for maximum creative freedom, 0.5 (default) for balanced results, or 1 for strict adherence to the prompt. When no prompt is provided, cfg_scale has minimal effect.
Pro delivers higher fidelity with richer detail, ideal for premium content and marketing videos. Standard offers good quality with faster processing, suitable for high-volume generation and testing. Both tiers share the same parameters and capabilities.
Rate limits vary by subscription tier. See Rate Limits for current limits and quotas.
Pricing varies based on model tier (Pro vs Standard) and output duration. See the Pricing page for current rates.

Best practices

  • Character image quality: Use high-resolution images with clear subjects and good lighting for best character preservation
  • Reference video selection: Choose reference videos with clear, well-defined motions. Avoid heavily occluded or blurry footage.
  • Orientation mode: Use video mode for dance or full-body motions; use image mode when camera movement matters more than body motion
  • Prompt guidance: Add a text prompt to refine the motion transfer, especially when the reference video has ambiguous movements
  • CFG tuning: Start with 0.5, decrease for more creative interpretation, increase for strict prompt following
  • Production integration: Use webhooks instead of polling for scalable applications
  • Error handling: Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for 503 errors
  • Kling 3: Text-to-video and image-to-video generation with multi-shot support
  • Kling 3 Omni: Multi-modal video generation with element consistency and video references
  • Kling 2.6 Motion Control: Previous generation motion control
  • VFX: Apply visual effects to generated videos