Skip to main content
Every generation (image, clip, voice, music, portrait, cover) costs credits. Only what happens locally is free: stitching clips together, placing a media from your library, re-editing a shot, rendering a still image, importing an intro or outro.

​
The estimate before paying

The app shows an “Estimated cost” before launching, with your balance. For a video, it distinguishes two stages: the writing of the story goes out right away, the images, voices and clips are only billed after your review. The announced figure is that of a run with no touch ups: every shot redone is paid on top. Spending is confirmed in several cases: above a threshold, the first time you spend, when the spend takes more than a quarter of your balance, or when the whole video restarts. Below these thresholds, the spend goes out after a short delay during which you can cancel. In the tools, the assistant holds back an expensive request and asks for your confirmation with the amount.
Canceling stops the work, but a task already sent to the provider is still billed.

​
The method

1

Test short

A short length, a single part, one image, a clip of a few seconds. If you don’t like the result, you lost little. Only then, launch the full length.
2

Review the story before the images

When you create a video, the story is written first and stops at your review. This is the moment to fix things: one character too many, a weak payoff, a useless shot. Redoing a sentence costs much less than redoing ten clips. See Revising the story.
3

Set a cap

In the advanced settings, “Spending cap” (in credits, for this project only). A series’ autopilot also has a monthly cap.
4

Recycle what exists

Reuse before regenerating: a track from “My music” is reused at no cost, an imported intro or outro is free, a library media is placed without generating anything. A series reuses its characters and portraits without paying for them again. See Creating a series.
5

Redo a piece, not the whole video

A failed shot is regenerated on its own from the editor. See Regenerating in the editor.

​
What costs more than you think

  • Length: clips and avatars are billed per second.
  • A clip’s native sound: it adds to the image price on some engines.
  • Several images at once: the price is per image.
  • Animated shots: a still image with the voice over costs less than a clip. The “Animated shots” setting (a few, half, all) doses the cost.
  • A higher quality or a more powerful engine: see Choosing an engine.

​
Common mistakes

  • Launching the maximum length the first time: test short.
  • Approving the story without reviewing it: mistakes are paid for in images.
  • Redoing an image by changing everything: change one thing at a time.
  • Regenerating a music track or a portrait that is already good: reuse the one from your library.
  • Ignoring the price shown on a button: it is calculated for your exact request.

​
Settings that go with it

  • Images only: the story and one image per scene, with no voice or editing. You animate later if you like the result.
  • Spending cap, Quality, Animated shots.
  • To know what to write in each field: The rules of a good prompt.

​
A test plan for a full video

​
When the confirmation appears

The message says why: the amount reaches the threshold, it is your first spend, the spend takes more than a quarter of your balance, or the whole video restarts. It is not an error: it is the moment to check the length, the engine and the number of shots. You can choose to no longer be prompted below a certain cap, but keep the confirmation while you are testing new settings.