Credits and the real cost of a show

Here's the napkin math for shipping an 8-shot vertical drama episode end-to-end.

Stills

8 shots × 10 credits each = 80 credits. Iteration adds 10 credits per regenerate; budget 1.5× for two passes per shot → 120 credits.

Narration

8 scenes × 5 credits (Google Neural2-D) = 40 credits. ElevenLabs Multilingual costs the same on our side; the per-character upstream price differs but the user pays the same flat 5 credits.

Video coverage (optional)

For shots that earn the cost: 100 credits per clip × N shots. A pure-still episode is free on this line. A fully animated 8-shot episode = 800 credits. A "key shots only" approach (3 of 8 shots get video) = 300 credits.

Render

Project-level render through Remotion: free. We absorb the CPU cost; you only pay for the inputs.

Total budgets

| Pass | Stills | Narration | Video | Total | |---|---|---|---|---| | Lean (stills only) | 120 | 40 | 0 | 160 | | Mid (3 key animated) | 120 | 40 | 300 | 460 | | Full coverage | 120 | 40 | 800 | 960 |

A new account starts with 100 credits. Pilot pack (free) brings you to 150. Creator pack ($29) gets you to 650 — enough to ship the lean pass and start iterating.