The one rule
The still is the picture. The brief and style only move the camera.
CutLab is image-to-video. Agents animate one still, then mix audio. Seedance cannot invent a different scene on top of a photo you attached. If you need a new location, extra people, or a clean UI that is not in the pixels, attach a different still — or attach none, and let Art Director draw from the brief first.
Make your first video
- Sign in and open Create Video.
- Decide whether a photo should be the movie (attach it), generate an optional scene still, or leave attach empty so Art Director draws from the brief.
- Write the brief as camera and motion for that still — see examples below.
- Pick visual style, duration, aspect, quality, and render tier. Read the live credit estimate.
- Generate. Keep the tab open until the job finishes. Download the MP4 when it is ready.
When to attach a photo
- Attach a product shot, logo lockup, or screenshot you want to animate. That file is the video. The brief cannot replace it.
- Do not attach if you want the brief to invent the scene. Optionally tap Generate scene on Create Video to preview a Stability still (small credit hold). Or leave attach empty: Art Director draws from the brief (Stability Core when keyed, else DALL·E/stock), then Animator moves that still.
- Skip photoreal faces, celebrity likeness, and dense UI with tiny letters if you need Seedance. Safety filters can skip I2V; baked-in text often warps.
How to write a brief
Describe what already in the frame should do. Keep it short.
Photo attached
Slow cinematic dolly-in on this still. Keep identity. Soft light moves. No new people or objects.
No photo
10-second cinematic intro of a mountain cabin at sunrise, slow push-in, filmic color, no people.
Style, length, and size
- Visual style (cinematic, documentary, social short, …) changes camera energy. It does not restyle the still into a new illustration.
- Duration is how long that motion lasts (5–15 seconds on Create).
- Aspect is the frame (16:9 landscape, 9:16 vertical, and so on).
- 1080p is native AI motion on Standard and Premium. Economy always uses 720p. 4K does not make Seedance render 4K.
Tiers and credits
- Draft — Ken Burns zoom of the still. Lowest cost. Not real animation.
- Economy — Seedance 2.5 at 720p (same 2.5 family as Standard, cheaper SKU). About 2–3 of these per 1200 starter credits versus one Standard 1080p job.
- Standard — Seedance 2.5 at 1080p when available, then Ken Burns, then stock.
- Premium — same motion path as Standard, plus 10 credits for priority.
Seedance 2.5 bills 30 credits per second at 720p or 68 at 1080p, with an 80-credit minimum, then FrameShift fee and tax are folded into the rounded total. Check the estimate on Create Video before you generate. If Seedance skips, unused motion credits refund and you are billed closer to Draft.
Pack sizes and checkout live on Pricing.
After you generate
- The results line names AI motion (Seedance) or Photo motion (Ken Burns). Ken Burns means the same still, slow crop — not a new scene.
- If Seedance is blocked, you still get a video so the job finishes. The amber note shows the skip reason.
- Continuity PASSED (1 issues) is usually mixed sources (photo + clip + FFmpeg mix). That is normal. The job only fails Continuity on high-severity problems (missing or corrupt video).
The agent pipeline
- Prompt Refiner. Parses your brief and creates production-ready instructions.
- Art Director. Keeps your attached photo, or generates a still if you did not attach one.
- Audio Ingest. Processes voiceover, transcribes audio, and syncs captions.
- Animator. Animates that still. The brief and style move the camera, not a new scene.
- Diagnostics & Repair. Checks temporal continuity and flags clips that need regeneration.
- Editor. Assembles the final cut, audio mix, and pacing.
- Continuity Checker. Validates media integrity, resolution, and audio levels via FFprobe.
- Renderer. Coordinates agents and exports the final file to your queue.
If it looks wrong
- Wrong scene — you attached a photo. Remove it, or attach the still that actually matches the brief.
- Slow zoom, no life — Ken Burns ran. Use Economy/Standard/Premium, a no-people still, and a motion brief. Photoreal faces often skip Seedance.
- Melted letters — I2V warps baked-in UI text. Use a simpler graphic or accept that small type will not stay sharp.
- Not enough credits — open Pricing for a refill. A Standard 10s 1080p Seedance job is hundreds of credits, not tens.
Questions: info@103softwaresolutions.com