---
title: Quickstart
description: Deploy Blockbuster Studio on Runpod, create your password, and make your first image.
sidebar:
  icon: rocket
---

This guide takes you from nothing to your first image. You'll need a [Runpod](https://www.runpod.io) account with some credit on it.

1. **Choose a preset**

    Go to [blockbuster.studio](https://blockbuster.studio) and pick what you want your studio to do. Each preset downloads only the models it needs, so smaller presets are ready sooner.

    | Preset | What you get | Storage |
    |---|---|---|
    | **Full studio** (recommended) | Everything: images, video, films with consistent characters and locations, character voices, Perform, text-to-video | 200 GB |
    | **Storyboard** | Films from scripts, with images, video, text-to-video, camera angles, consistent characters and locations, and character voices | 160 GB |
    | **Video** | Images, image-to-video and text-to-video, and simple films without edits, camera angles or voices. The quickest start | 120 GB |
    | **Perform** | Record yourself and become any character, plus images and edits | 100 GB |

    Then click **Deploy on Runpod**.

2. **Deploy the pod**

    On Runpod's deploy page, **click a GPU card** if none is selected. The **RTX 4090** is the cheapest card that fits everything. An **RTX 5090** is faster but costs more per hour.

    Next, **click Add volume**. It already shows your preset's size. This is where your models and films live, so don't skip it.

    You don't need to change anything under **Set overrides**. `STUDIO_PASSWORD` shows `change-me`, which the studio ignores: you'll create your password in the studio, and API keys go on its Settings page.

    Then click **Deploy Pod**.

    :::warning
    Without a volume, your models and projects have nowhere to live. If you forget it, the studio shows a banner asking you to redeploy with one.
    :::

3. **Open your studio**

    When the pod is running, click **Connect**, then **HTTP Service**. The studio opens in a new tab.

    Your studio's address looks like `https://<POD_ID>-3000.proxy.runpod.net`. Bookmark it.

4. **Create your password**

    On the first screen, choose a password of at least 8 characters and click **Create password & enter**.

    Your studio is on the public internet, and this password is the only thing that keeps others out. Let your browser save it.

    :::note
    For safety, a new studio can only be claimed in the **first 15 minutes** after the pod starts. If you miss the window, restart the pod from Runpod to reopen setup.
    :::

5. **Wait for the models**

    The first boot downloads the models in the background. An amber banner at the top of the studio shows each download's progress.

    Features unlock as their models arrive. On an RTX 4090, images are ready in about **3 minutes** and everything else in about **6–18 minutes**, depending on the machine's network. Until a feature's models are ready, its **Generate** button is disabled. Hover over it to see *Model files still downloading*.

    This only happens once. The models stay on your volume when you stop and restart the pod.

6. **Make your first image**

    On the **Create** page, make sure **Image** is selected at the bottom, describe a shot, and press **Generate** (or <kbd>⌘</kbd>/<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>Enter</kbd>). Your image appears in the gallery a few seconds later.

:::tip[Save money]
You pay for the GPU the whole time the pod is running, even when you're not generating. When you're done for the day, [stop the pod](/manage/stop-and-back-up). Don't terminate it: terminating deletes everything.
:::

## Next steps

**[Create images and video](/guides/create)**

Video, edits, camera angles and Perform.

**[Make a film](/guides/make-a-film)**

Turn an idea into a storyboard and an exported film.