Avatar video script over 60 seconds: what Sume does and how to split

Sume will not render it as one video. A script or multi-scene plan is accepted only when Sume estimates the video at 4 to 60 seconds inclusive, and the docs tell you to shorten the script or split it into multiple jobs. Inline captions have their own cap: an estimated duration above 60 seconds is rejected for them.

How to split a 3-minute script

A 3-minute script at about 150 spoken words a minute is roughly 450 words. Four parts of about 112 words each land near 45 seconds.

• Cut at topic changes, not at word counts. Aim for parts of 45 to 55 seconds so a slow read still fits.
• Give every part the same avatar_handle, aspect_ratio and quality so the parts match.
• Use a different Idempotency-Key per part.
• Join the parts afterward in a timeline render.

Use scenes for pacing inside 60 seconds

With video_inputs you can order scenes for hook, demo and close. A scene with voice.type silence is a non-speaking beat: duration is required, script is not allowed. Total planned duration must still fit the 4 to 60 second window. Current execution supports one avatar per final video and scene backgrounds that resolve to one shared scene.

What four parts cost

Four 45-second parts on plus without a product image: 4 x 45 x $0.245 = $44.10. On standard it is 4 x 45 x $0.184 = $33.12. Add $0.10 per output minute for a Timeline 1.0 render to join them, rounded up to the minute: three minutes adds $0.30.

A silent beat in the request

{
  "avatar_handle": "your_avatar",
  "aspect_ratio": "9:16",
  "video_inputs": [
    { "id": "hook", "voice": { "type": "text", "script": "Here is the problem in one sentence." }, "background": { "type": "prompt", "prompt": "Bright home office" } },
    { "id": "beat", "voice": { "type": "silence", "duration": 2 }, "background": { "type": "prompt", "prompt": "Bright home office" } },
    { "id": "fix", "voice": { "type": "text", "script": "And here is the fix." }, "background": { "type": "prompt", "prompt": "Bright home office" } }
  ]
}