AI microdrama for Instagram Series: plan 30-second episodes

Plan each episode as one 30-second clip: Sume's Video Router takes seedance-2.5 for 4 to 30 seconds per job, so a 20-episode story is 20 jobs. Meta's Series test, which bundles Reels into an ordered run on a creator's profile, is where you would publish them.

Meta's report says select creators can group Reels, new and old, into a series with its own profile page (TechCrunch, read 2026-10-07). It gives no limits on episode count or length, so check the limits in your own account before you plan the season.

Episode plan for a 20-episode story

ByteDance describes Seedance 2.5 as generating audio and video together, up to 30 seconds per pass (ByteDance Seed, read 2026-10-07). That suits dialogue-light scenes where sound and picture should match without a separate voice step. Sume's video docs give the range for the model as 4 to 30 seconds at 480p, 720p and 1080p.

Keeping the cast the same

A microdrama lives or dies on the same faces and rooms in episode 12 as in episode 1. The Video Router lists, per model, which reference inputs it accepts under supported_input_references (image, video, audio). Read that list from GET /v1/videos/models before you design the shots, and pass the same reference images to every clip job.

Write a one-page bible first: who is in each location, what they wear, one line for each episode ending. Use the same bible text at the top of every prompt.

One job per clip

Each clip is its own job with its own idempotency key such as ep07-clip1, so a retry never makes a second clip. The call shape is the Video Router request: model, prompt, resolution, duration, aspect_ratio: "9:16", mode: "async". Poll the job, then read the result URL.

Provider prices differ by model and resolution, so this post gives no total for the clips. Read pricing_skus from the model list and multiply by your clip count before you queue the season.

Sound and posting

Seedance 2.5 clips arrive with their own audio. If you want a theme for the season, make it once with Music (a fixed $0.125 per accepted generation) and add it in your editor.

Post episodes in order and keep a numbered file name. Meta's report says Reels can be grouped into a series after posting, so you can post first and group later.