You want the clip, not the GPU
The searches around MiniMax H3 split cleanly between people who want to run it and people who want to use it. The first group is downloading open weights and reading GPU requirements. The second group — much larger, judging by "minimax h3 online," "use online," "no install" in several languages — wants the clips without the setup.
This guide is for the second group. Running H3 in the browser means someone else handles the hosting, the 2K regeneration stage, and the updates; what you handle is the creative part — references, shot descriptions, and the decision of what to generate. Inside ArcLoop, MiniMax H3 is one of the generation models, so the whole path lives in one project. Here is what that path looks like, and what to know before you spend a credit.
What "online" actually gives you
Three things you get by running H3 hosted instead of self-hosting, and one thing you give up:
The 2K output. H3's open weights produce 768p; the stage that lifts a clip to 2K (2560×1440) is hosted only. Online is the only way to get the model's full resolution.
Reference generation without a pipeline. Nine images, three clips, three audio files per generation, cited in the prompt — set up by attaching files, not by building a workflow graph.
No hardware ceiling. A 15-second 2K clip with stereo audio is not a laptop job. Hosted, it is a wait, not a requirement.
What you give up: the ability to fine-tune the base model yourself. For most creators that is no loss — references do the style-locking job, as the anime prompt guide explains — but it is the honest trade.
Things to have before you open a project
- One clean image of your character. The single most valuable input. If you do not have one yet, generate it first as a still; do not start with video.
- A style reference if the look matters — one image showing the exact rendering you want.
- A shot in mind. One action, one camera position, one lighting idea. "A cool scene with my character" is not a shot; "she turns from the window and says his name" is.
- An ArcLoop account. Generation runs on credits; check the current plan details in the app rather than relying on any article — pricing changes faster than guides do.
Six steps from a blank project to a clip
- Create an IP project and set the Story Brief. Language, aspect ratio (16:9 for landscape, 9:16 for vertical shorts), and style — pick Anime if that is the target. These settings shape everything generated downstream.
- Build the character in My Assets. Create a character asset, upload your clean image to the Library, and bind it to the asset as the Main image. Add a second angle or an expression as a Reference image if you have one. This is where identity lives from now on.
- Open an Episode and generate shots. Write the beat you want in plain language and hit Generate Shots; the storyboard breaks it into shot cards. Or add a single shot card yourself for a one-off clip.
- Write the shot description with an
@reference. Reference the character asset —@Mira walks out of the rain into the doorway light, shakes water from her hair, looks up— and describe only this shot: action, camera, light, sound. Do not re-describe the character; the asset carries that. - Generate the image, then the video. Confirm composition, style, and face on the still first. Then generate the video with MiniMax H3 selected as the model. The clip comes back with audio already in place.
- Review, revise one thing, or move on. If the face drifted, the fix is usually in the asset's references, not in the prompt. If the action was wrong, change one line on the shot card and regenerate. When it holds, the next shot card is already waiting on the storyboard.
For batches, the AI Chat Panel takes plain instructions — "Generate videos for Shots 1, 2, and 3." — and keeps the same assets and settings across all of them.
Start with a 6-second character moment, not your best scene
Do not start with your most important scene. A good first clip is a 6-second character moment with one action and a clear sound — a turn, a line of dialogue, a laugh. It tests the three things that matter in order: does the face hold (references), does the action read (prompt), does the sound land (H3's native audio). Once those three pass, everything longer is just more shot cards.
Ways the first clip usually goes wrong
- Starting with video before a still. The still shows style and identity problems for a fraction of the cost.
- Describing the character in the prompt after binding it as an asset. The two sources compete and the face drifts.
- Asking for a scene instead of a shot. Fifteen seconds holds one beat; the scene is assembled on the Edit timeline, shot by shot.
- Uploading references into every prompt. Bind them to the asset once; every shot that references it reads them.
- Treating the first clip as final. Plan one revision pass on the shot card; that is the normal workflow, not a failure.
MiniMax H3 specs at a glance
Before you set up the project, the numbers that decide how you plan shots — the same ones people search as "MiniMax H3 specs" or "how fast is H3":
| MiniMax H3 (hosted in ArcLoop) | MiniMax H3 Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Clip length | 4–15 seconds per generation | 5–15 seconds |
| Resolution | up to 2K (2560×1440) | 480p or 768p |
| References per shot | up to 9 images, 3 clips, 3 audio | image-to-video and text-to-video; reference-to-video stays with H3 |
| Audio | generated with the picture, 32 kHz | generated with the picture |
| Speed | standard | roughly twice as fast, about half the cost |
| Best for | character-exact shots from your references, 2K delivery | fast drafts, blocking, timing tests |
Two consequences for how you work online: a shot is at most 15 seconds, so an episode is a chain of short clips cut in Edit rather than one long take; and the 2K tier is where the hosted model earns its cost, so draft at a lower resolution and promote only the shots that ship. Both tiers are picked per project in Story Settings, and both land on the same Edit timeline.
FAQ
Can I use MiniMax H3 online for free?
Hosted access generally runs on credits or a plan. Check the current terms inside the app you use; this guide avoids quoting prices because they change.
Do I need a GPU to use MiniMax H3?
Not online. Hosting handles generation, including the 2K stage that self-hosted setups cannot run.
Is there anything to install?
No. In ArcLoop the whole path — project, assets, storyboard, generation, editing — is in the browser.
How long does a clip take?
The hosted H3 is a queue-and-wait for long 2K clips; the H3 Max tier returns short 768p clips in seconds. The tier guide covers how to split drafting and finishing between them.
Build the character, then generate
Using H3 online is not about finding a button; it is about giving the model a character it can recognize and a shot it can execute. Open a project, bind one clean image, write one shot, and generate the still first — the clip that follows will be the first of many.
