Choosing a Modality for the Task | Visual AI Learning Guide

Start with the goal at the top and follow the questions downward. The first question is what the deliverable actually is: wording, a single appearance, or change over time. The second only matters if you are unsure whether motion is essential. Watch how the path lights up and the other paths dim — that is the routing decision being made. Then look at the node it lands on: it tells you not just which modality to use, but what that modality's output is made of, how it typically fails, and therefore what you need to check. Try a second goal and compare. The point is that the choice of modality already commits you to a particular set of risks.

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Choosing a modality is a matching problem, not a ranking problem. Each modality is good at a different kind of output, and the task usually names which one it needs.

If the deliverable is wording — an explanation, a summary, a draft, a list of options — text generation is the fit, because the output space is language itself. If the deliverable is a single visual appearance — a concept image, a texture, a style reference — image generation is the fit, and the prompt should describe appearance and composition rather than action. If the deliverable is change over time — a shot, a motion study, a short sequence — video generation is the fit, and the prompt has to specify motion, camera behavior, and duration on top of appearance.

Two practical rules follow. First, pick the modality that matches the deliverable, not the one that is most impressive; using video where a still image would do multiplies the failure modes for no gain. Second, when a task spans more than one modality, treat each output as a separate artifact with its own verification needs — a generated script and a generated storyboard fail in different ways and need different checks.