How to produce 30 episodes for a YouTube Shorts series

To produce 30 episodes for a Shorts series, fix the episode template first, then run the same job 30 times: one Timeline 1.0 call per episode, each with its own Idempotency-Key. If every episode's output is 60 seconds or less, each render rounds up to one minute, so the Timeline fee is 30 times $0.10, or $3.00, before the clips and voice that go into them.

The series fact is from the Made on YouTube post for viewers and creators, read 2026-09-29; for YouTube's series rules see the Shorts series rules page. Sume facts are from the docs pages under Sources.

What does YouTube say about series?

The post says Shorts are "organized into dedicated seasons and episodes, making it easier than ever to watch microdramas and series". The page was marked coming soon when read, so confirm you have the feature before you plan a season around it.

What should the episode template fix?

Decide once: length, shape, opening, and closing. Avatar videos for a recurring presenter run 4 to 60 seconds and default to 9:16 at 720p, so a 60-second ceiling keeps the same job shape from first episode to last.

How do I render all 30?

Import each episode's clips and voice into your workspace first, since Timeline takes only media.sume.com files. Then loop, putting the episode number in the key so a retry never creates a second render. The audio spine accepts 1 to 1,800 seconds, and the video list takes 1 to 200 slots.

for n in $(seq -w 1 30); do
  curl -s -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/render \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Idempotency-Key: series-s1e$n" \
    -d "{
      \"audio\": { \"url\": \"https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/ep$n.wav\", \"duration_seconds\": 45 },
      \"video\": [ { \"source_url\": \"https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/ep$n.mp4\", \"start\": 0, \"duration\": 45 } ]
    }"
  echo
done

What if an episode fails or needs a fix?

Re-run only that episode. Give the corrected render a new key such as series-s1e07-v2, so it is a separate request from the first attempt, and leave the other 29 alone.`, so it is billed as the new render it is.

Keep the source clips and voice files for every episode until the season is published. Timeline reads only your workspace's media.sume.com files, and a fix usually means swapping one input and rendering again.

How do I check episodes before publishing?

Timeline has an unbilled /plan preflight, so run one on episode 1 and reuse its shape. Watch the first and last renders in full and skim the rest. Upload and season assignment happen in YouTube Studio; Sume does neither.