Hosted video instead of a GPU: a Python submit-poll-download script

If you only need the clip, the hosted version of an open-weights pipeline is three HTTP calls: POST /v1/videos to submit, GET on the returned polling URL until the status is completed, then download from unsigned_urls[0]. The script below does that for minimax-h3 at 768p for five seconds, which Sume prices at $0.375 (5 x $0.06 list x 1.25). It uses the requests package and your SUME_API_KEY. Fields are from the Sume video docs as of 2026-10-08.

The script

It sends an Idempotency-Key so a retried submit returns the original job, polls every 30 seconds as the docs suggest, and stops on failed or cancelled.

import os, time, requests

KEY = os.environ["SUME_API_KEY"]
H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}",
     "Idempotency-Key": "h3-clip-001"}
body = {"model": "minimax-h3", "resolution": "768p",
        "duration": 5, "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
        "prompt": "A paper boat drifts down a rain gutter"}

r = requests.post("https://api.sume.com/v1/videos",
                  headers=H, json=body, timeout=60)
r.raise_for_status()
job = r.json()
print(job["id"], job["status"])

while True:
    time.sleep(30)
    s = requests.get(job["polling_url"], headers=H, timeout=60).json()
    print(s["status"])
    if s["status"] == "completed":
        break
    if s["status"] in ("failed", "cancelled"):
        raise SystemExit(s.get("error", s["status"]))

v = requests.get(s["unsigned_urls"][0], headers=H, timeout=300)
open("clip.mp4", "wb").write(v.content)
print("saved clip.mp4")

Job states and what the script does

The docs list five statuses.

Limits to know before you scale it

Sume says minimax-h3 accepts 5 to 15 seconds at native 480p or 768p. A seed field is rejected, since no v1 model accepts one, and size returns a 400, so use resolution plus aspect_ratio. A non-empty provider.options is also rejected. The docs say video generation usually takes 30 seconds to several minutes depending on model and parameters, so the loop above is built for waiting, not for an interactive request.

For many jobs, send a callback_url (HTTPS) and let Sume POST a signed webhook when a job reaches a terminal state instead of polling. The signature is in the x-sume-webhook-signature header with a timestamp header; refuse to verify with an empty secret.

Swapping the model

Change model and resolution and the same script works for another listed id, provided the duration is in range.

• wan-3.0: 2 to 30 seconds, 720p at $0.125 per second.
• minimax-h3-max: 5 to 15 seconds, 768p at $0.10 per second.
• Not listed on Sume: Wan 2.2, HunyuanVideo and LTX models.

What to change for production

Store the job id before you start polling, so a crashed process can resume with GET /v1/videos/{jobId}. Use a new Idempotency-Key per distinct clip, because a replay with the same key returns the original job rather than starting a new one. Catch requests errors around the poll loop, and cap the number of polls so a stuck job cannot hold a worker forever.

Why not a GPU for this

A local H3 or Wan 2.2 pipeline needs a download of tens of gigabytes, a CUDA machine and a license check; the script above needs none of those. It also bills only for jobs you submit: at $0.075 per second on minimax-h3 at 768p, ten clips of five seconds cost $3.75 (10 x 5 x $0.06 x 1.25). Sume documents that the price is reserved at submit, so a loop that submits in error is visible in your balance.