Archicad rendering to video: a Cineware fly-through, Twinmotion Direct Link, AI Visualizer or six stills

Your project lives in Archicad, the renderings are approved, and a client or your marketing lead now asks for a short video. Archicad gives you more than one way to get there, and they produce very different results: a fly-through rendered inside Archicad, a camera path in Twinmotion fed by Direct Link, AI Visualizer images that look finished but don't move, and six exported stills sent to an image-to-video service. This guide walks through each route as it works in Archicad 30, with the menu paths, how to get a vertical 9:16 file, and which audience each one suits.

Key takeaways

• Archicad's own fly-through is at Document > Creative Imaging > Create Fly-Through and needs a camera path with at least two cameras, or at least two parallel projection pre-sets.
• Rendering the fly-through from the PhotoRendering Window with the Cineware engine gives finished-looking frames; rendering from the 3D Window gives a fast working preview.
• Twinmotion receives the model through the Datasmith Exporter's Direct Link and renders camera paths in real time, far faster than a frame-by-frame Cineware fly-through.
• Archicad 30's AI Visualizer generates and upscales still images from model views; Graphisoft's product page doesn't list video output.
• Six stills sent to an image-to-video service give a 30-second vertical film without a camera path, at the cost of AI interpretation rather than model accuracy.

Four routes from Archicad to a video

For Archicad rendering to video, you have four routes. Build a camera path and render it with Archicad's Create Fly-Through command, sync the model to Twinmotion with Direct Link and render a camera path there, use AI Visualizer to make polished stills, or export six renderings and send them to an image-to-video service that returns a finished vertical film. Only the first two follow your actual model through space.

Route 1: a fly-through rendered inside Archicad

Graphisoft's Fly-Through help page for Archicad 30, read as of October 2026, describes the feature as a way "to create a movie of the project." It's included with Archicad, needs no add-on, and renders through the same engines as your stills.

Build the camera path

Place cameras with the Camera Tool on the floor plan. Graphisoft explains that "placed cameras along this path are defined as key frames, and the number of images between each camera is set by the in-between frames (defined at Camera Path Options)." Only one path is active at a time. The command stays grayed out until you have either a camera path with at least two cameras or at least one parallel projection pre-set.

Keep the path short and the turns gentle. A 30-second film has room for one or two moves, and every extra in-between frame is another frame to render.

Create Fly-Through settings

Open Document > Creative Imaging > Create Fly-Through and set:

1. Source. 3D Window uses the current 3D style, which renders quickly and suits a working review. PhotoRendering Window uses a PhotoRendering Scene; Graphisoft's note is to "choose a PhotoRendering Scene to generate the photorealistic images before creating the Fly-Through."
2. Route. Perspectives from Camera Path, or Parallel Projections Pre-sets for animated transitions between axonometric views.
3. Content. Keyframes Only, With in-between Frames, All Frames, or a Frames range. Use a short range for tests.
4. Result. "Select a file format, such as a single movie file or set of images," then the color depth and the Frame Rate. Total Length shows the running time, frames divided by frame rate.
5. Show previews the frames without saving, so you can check the path before the long render.

Graphisoft's own warning applies: "a large number of frames means a smoother movie but also a much larger file." For any render longer than a coffee break, save a set of images rather than one movie file, so a crash costs you a frame, not the run, and assemble the MP4 in a video editor.

Getting a vertical 1080 × 1920 file

When the source is the PhotoRendering Window, the frame size comes from the PhotoRendering Settings palette's Size view. The PhotoRendering Settings page explains that the size isn't saved with the rendering scene, so set it each time: enter 1080 by 1920 pixels and "click the chain icon to keep these values proportionally constant." Compose the camera for a tall frame; a path designed for a wide screen loses the sides of every view.

The same page lists the engines as of October 2026. The Cineware Engine "is based on Maxon Cinema4D version R21" and creates "very high-quality, highly realistic images, with more exact texture and light reproduction than the other engines." The Basic engine suits "draft-quality or simple renderings." Redshift, Maxon's GPU renderer, "is included in Archicad as a Technology Preview, with limitations." Time one final-quality Cineware frame and multiply it by your frame count before promising a date: 30 seconds at 25 fps is 750 frames.

Route 2: Twinmotion through Direct Link

If the studio already presents in Twinmotion, a camera path there usually gives a finished-looking result for the least rendering time, because Twinmotion renders in real time instead of computing every frame the way a Cineware fly-through does.

The connection runs through the Datasmith Exporter plugin for Archicad. Epic's Datasmith Direct Link workflow page, read as of October 2026, gives the steps:

1. In Archicad, click Synchronize with Direct Link on the Datasmith Exporter toolbar.
2. In Twinmotion, open the Import dock from the footer, click the Import icon and select the Direct Link tab.
3. Confirm the source file in the Direct Link settings, set the options and click Import.

Epic says the import retains "group hierarchy and organization, components, objects, and materials," and "if your design application supports the Direct Link Auto Sync feature, syncing is automatic. Otherwise, syncing is a one-click operation." Before installing, check that the exporter version you download lists your Archicad release.

Then build a camera path in Twinmotion and export the clip. The custom-resolution settings, keyframe timing and safe zones for a 9:16 file are in how to export vertical video from Enscape, Lumion, Twinmotion and D5.

Route 3: AI Visualizer makes stills, not motion

Archicad 30 includes an updated AI Visualizer. Graphisoft's AI solutions page, read as of October 2026, lists it for "Archicad 30 (Archicad Studio, Archicad Collaborate and Archicad Max plans)," with "three AI engines, from fast and lightweight to more advanced models," image generation that can "turn a sketch, diagram, or model view into a rich visual by guiding AI with a simple text prompt while keeping your original layout," targeted edits, and an upscale that boosts "image resolution by 4×." It also says that in Archicad 30 you can generate concept images in the AI Assistant "powered by top-tier AI image models such as Nano Banana Pro."

The page lists images, textures, isolated objects and upscaling. It doesn't list video, so AI Visualizer is a source of stills for one of the other routes, not a video tool. Two cautions if you use its images for a film: the AI can change materials and details between views, so check that six images still show one building, and label the result as concept imagery. What AI rendering inside CAD tools changes covers what to fix in an AI still before you animate it.

Route 4: six stills to an AI film

The fourth route skips the camera path and the render queue. You export six finished views, Cineware PhotoRenderings, Twinmotion stills or AI Visualizer images, and get back a film.

Arch2Video takes exactly six images from one project (JPG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF or WebP, up to 30 MB each; long side at least 512 px, and 1,500 px or more gives the sharpest scenes) and delivers a 1080 × 1920 vertical H.264 MP4 of about 30 seconds: six connected five-second AI-generated scenes, an original soundtrack (Still Air by default, or Quiet Piano, Concrete, or none) and an optional studio logo. The AI director plans the scene order, so it may not follow your upload order. Generation usually takes an hour or more; you're emailed when it's ready. It costs USD 15 per video as a one-time card payment with no subscription; uploading is free and the price appears after the upload. There is no free trial and no free video, but example films are on the homepage.

It works from images, not from your Archicad model, so there's no measured walkthrough, no prompt box and no API. Every film includes a small cast of original, fictional adults in at least one scene, and people in your renderings are not animated. A floor plan can be one of the six; it's treated as a document and given a slow pan. Pick the six as a set covering context, approach, main space, a second space, a detail and a closing view, as in the six roles a project video needs.

Which route for which audience

Coordination and internal design review. Create Fly-Through from the 3D Window. It's fast, exact, and nobody needs it to look finished.

Client presentation or planning board. Twinmotion through Direct Link, or a Cineware fly-through if you have the render time. Either one follows the model, so it holds up when someone compares it with the drawings. Using a rendering video at a planning commission covers running time and disclosure for the public record.

Instagram, LinkedIn and the website. Six stills to an AI film, or a vertical Twinmotion export if you want control over every frame. Review any AI motion before posting and present unbuilt work as concept work.

Studios on several platforms make the same choice in other tools; the Revit version of this guide covers Revit's walkthrough export, Enscape and Veras.

Frequently asked questions

Can Archicad export a fly-through as an MP4?

Archicad's fly-through saves "a single movie file or set of images," and the formats on offer appear in the Result section of the Create Fly-Through dialog in your version. For a long PhotoRendering fly-through, save a set of images instead and assemble the MP4 in a video editor: a crash then costs one frame, and you control the codec and quality of the final file.

Does Archicad's AI Visualizer make videos?

Not according to Graphisoft's product page as of October 2026, which lists image generation from sketches and model views, textures, isolated objects, targeted edits and a 4× upscale, but no video. Use AI Visualizer images as stills for an image-to-video tool or a slideshow, and check that the six images still describe one consistent building before you animate them.

Do I need Twinmotion to make a good Archicad video?

No. A Cineware fly-through from the PhotoRendering Window can look finished; it just takes longer because every frame is a full rendering. Twinmotion renders in real time, which makes a camera path much quicker to produce, but it's a second application to learn and to keep in sync through Direct Link.

How many Archicad renderings do I need for a 30-second video?

For a six-image AI film such as Arch2Video, exactly six: each becomes one connected five-second scene. For a fly-through, the count is frames, not renderings: 30 seconds at 25 frames per second is 750 frames, which is why a fly-through rendered with Cineware is a long job and a 3D Window fly-through is a quick one.