Can one avatar UGC ad change location mid-video? One scene only
Sume's avatar video renders one avatar and one shared scene per final video. For a second location, make two jobs and join them with a Timeline 1.0 render.
No: a single Sume avatar video does not move the creator between locations. The docs say current execution supports one resolved avatar per final video and expects scene backgrounds to resolve to one shared scene. Multi-scene video_inputs give you hook, demo and call-to-action beats in one composed video, but they share that one background. To show a second location, render two avatar videos and join them with Timeline 1.0.
This is from Sume's Generate avatar video page, with the join steps from Timeline 1.0 and Audio detach, all read on 2026-10-02.
What does `video_inputs` give me, then?
Ordered scenes with their own voice lines. Each scene has an id, a voice (type: text with exactly one of script or input_text, or type: silence with a required duration) and a background. Total planned duration must land in the 4 to 60 second window. The docs' example uses the same background prompt on all three scenes, which is the supported shape. For first-frame review, Avatar video previews say a multi-scene preview with a shared scene continues later stills from the first frame's pose.
What is the join recipe for two locations?
The scene for each clip is set with scene: { "type": "prompt", "prompt": "..." } or a photo scene with a public HTTPS image_url. Timeline 1.0 needs an audio spine, which is why the voice is detached first. Timeline is priced per output minute and audio detach per job; the docs say to confirm both live in GET /v1/catalog.
| Step | Call | Docs note |
|---|---|---|
| Render clip A | POST /v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video with scene A | Same avatar_handle for both clips |
| Render clip B | Same call with scene B | Each has its own Idempotency-Key |
| Pull each voice | POST /v1/audio-detach per clip | Returns audio_url; wav by default |
| Join | POST /v1/timeline-1.0/render | audio.parts[] gapless slices plus ordered video[] slots |
What does the render call look like?
audio.duration_seconds is the output length. Declared part lengths must not sum to less than it (audio_parts_shorter_than_duration). video[0].start must be 0, and later starts must increase. The URLs below are placeholders; use your own artifact URLs.
# 1) Two avatar jobs, same avatar_handle, different scene.prompt, each with its own Idempotency-Key.
# 2) POST /v1/audio-detach for each finished clip -> audio_url (wav).
# 3) Join them:
curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/render \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: ugc-two-locations-001" \
-d '{
"audio": {
"duration_seconds": 18,
"parts": [
{ "url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_a/voice-a.wav", "duration": 8 },
{ "url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_b/voice-b.wav", "duration": 10 }
]
},
"video": [
{ "source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_a/clip-a.mp4", "start": 0, "duration": 8 },
{ "source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_b/clip-b.mp4", "start": 8, "duration": 10 }
]
}'What should I watch for?
Three things to check before you publish the joined clip:
- Whether the creator looks the same in both clips. The avatar handle is the same, but the docs make no promise about identical framing across separate jobs, so review both before joining.
- Use a hard cut or a short
fadetransition; Timeline transitions go on slots after the first. - If only one beat needs a change, regenerate that part rather than the whole video.
Sources
Related posts
More in Use cases
- Avatar UGC ad: captions.status failed but the video is fine, now what
Inline captions on a Sume avatar video soft-fail: the job can succeed with a clean video_url and captions.status failed. Re-caption it standalone for $0.20.
- Black Friday audio ad read: a TTS voice over a music bed
Produce a 30-second Black Friday ad read: write to character count, generate with Sume TTS, add a short music bed and mix. Costs and limits included.
- Build a 3-minute YouTube Short from clips with Sume Timeline
Stitch several clips into one Short of up to 180 seconds with Timeline 1.0: fades, a looped music bed with ducking, and the $0.30 render for three minutes.
- Bulk run says completed: re-queue only the failed holiday SKUs
A Sume bulk queue is completed once every item is terminal, not once all succeed. Read counts.failed, then re-queue only those under a new idempotency key.
Written by Sume