90-second founder update: two 45 s avatar jobs plus a Timeline join

A 90-second founder update fits in two 45-second avatar jobs and one Timeline render, and it costs $16.76 at standard. The video is 90 seconds at $0.184, which is $16.56. Timeline render is $0.10 per output minute rounded up, so a 90-second output is two minutes, or $0.20.

Why two jobs

A single talking video accepts 4 to 60 seconds, so 90 seconds cannot go in one request. Splitting at a sentence boundary gives two jobs near 45 seconds each. Both use the same avatar handle, so the presenter looks identical.

Joining the clips

Timeline takes the two results as video slots in order and renders one MP4. The render is billed on output minutes, not on the number of slots. If you want captions burned across the whole piece, use the inline captions on each avatar job so they match the speech of that part.

• Cut the script where a sentence ends, so neither clip stops mid-thought.
• Send each job with its own Idempotency-Key.
• Poll both jobs, then submit the Timeline once both are complete.
• A failure in one job does not charge you for it; the reservation is refunded.

Alternative: one 60 s and one 30 s job

Splitting 60 and 30 gives the same video cost, since billing is per second. The Timeline render is still two minutes. Pick the split that makes the cut land at a natural pause. See the Timeline docs for the slot format.

What to write for each half

Write the update as two spoken blocks. The first 45 seconds can carry the news and the second the ask or the next step. At a normal speaking pace that is roughly 110 to 130 words per block, though the job length is estimated by Sume from the script, so check the estimate before you submit.

Previews help here. The first-frame preview shows the avatar, framing and background before you pay for full video seconds, and preview stills do not change with the tier. Use the same aspect ratio on both jobs so the Timeline join has matching frames. The default is 9:16 and the options are 1:1, 3:4, 9:16, 4:3 and 16:9 at 720p.

If one half needs a rewrite, regenerate only that half. The other result is untouched, and you pay only for the 45 seconds you redo, $8.28 at standard, plus the Timeline render again at $0.20.