Storyboard: 12 rough and 3 hero frames on three Sume image models
A 15-frame storyboard with 12 rough frames and 3 hero 4K frames costs $0.9645 on GPT Image 2.5, $1.50 on Nano Banana 2.1 and $3.375 on Nano Banana Pro.
A storyboard of 12 rough frames and 3 hero frames costs $0.9645 on GPT Image 2.5 (low quality for the roughs, high 4K for the heroes), $1.50 on Nano Banana 2.1 (0.5K and 4K) and $3.375 on Nano Banana Pro (1K and 4K). All three are cheap next to video, where a single 8-second Seedance 2.5 clip at 720p is $4.6224.
The split pricing
Rough frames only need composition, so price them at the smallest tier the model offers. Hero frames are the images a client or a video model will actually see. Nano Banana Pro has no 0.5K tier in the catalog, so its roughs are 1K.
| Model | Roughs | Heroes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| nano-banana-2.1 | 12 x 0.075 (0.5K) | 3 x 0.20 (4K) | $1.5000 |
| nano-banana-pro | 12 x 0.1875 (1K) | 3 x 0.375 (4K) | $3.3750 |
| gpt-image-2.5 | 12 x 0.02475 (low, 1K) | 3 x 0.2225 (high, 4K) | $0.9645 |
Rerolls on the heroes
Heroes get redone. Three rerolls of every hero frame on Nano Banana 2.1 add 9 x $0.20 = $1.80, more than the whole first pass. On GPT Image 2.5 they add 9 x $0.2225 = $2.0025. Rerolling at 2K ($0.15) and then generating the three finals at 4K costs 9 x 0.15 + 3 x 0.20 = $1.95, which is more than rerolling at 4K ($1.80), because the 4K price is only $0.05 above 2K.
If you animate the heroes
Suppose each hero frame becomes a 5-second Wan 3.0 clip at 720p, if the model accepts a reference image (check supported_input_references on the model row). Three clips cost 3 x 5 x $0.125 = $1.875, which is more than the whole $1.50 Nano Banana 2.1 storyboard.
The 15 frames cost $1.50 to $3.375 depending on the model, and 3 animated clips cost $1.875, so the full pipeline on Nano Banana 2.1 and Wan is $3.375. At Seedance 2.5 480p the three clips would be 3 x 5 x $0.268677 = $4.03.
The point is order: the image stage is the cheap place to change your mind. A reroll of a hero frame is $0.20; a reroll of its clip is $0.625 on Wan at 720p.
How to use it
Generate the 12 roughs first, pick the 3 that carry the story, then spend the 4K budget on those. The saving over doing all 15 at 4K on Nano Banana 2.1 is 12 x ($0.20 - $0.075) = $1.50: all-4K costs 15 x 0.20 = $3.00 against $1.50. The price list is in the image models doc.
Keeping the board cheap
Three habits keep a storyboard near its first-pass price.
A 12-frame board shares one style line, so write it once and append the scene line; shorter prompts also make rerolls easier to compare.
- Decide the 3 hero frames from the roughs before you spend any 4K budget.
- Use the same prompt skeleton for all 12 roughs so that you compare composition, not wording.
- Cap rerolls at 2 per hero frame: 6 x $0.20 = $1.20 on Nano Banana 2.1.
Sources
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Written by Sume