Articles on: Story Videos

Rendering scenes — per-scene vs Generate All

Once your script is approved and reference images are ready, you can turn any scene into video. There are two ways to do it: render one scene at a time or use Generate All to kick off a batch.


For credit costs and the pre-charge / reconcile model, see Story Video credits and costs. For the studio tabs and the approval flow that precedes rendering, see The Video Studio: tabs and approvals. For editing scenes before you render, see Editing the script and scenes.



Your first scene is free


Your first scene render is free — so you can see your story in motion before spending any credits.


  • It renders automatically. On a new video, once you approve your characters you land on the Video tab and the opening scene starts rendering on its own, at no credit cost — you don't need to click anything.
  • It's one free scene per account, not per video. After you've used your free scene, every render from then on — including on future videos — is charged at the normal per-second rate.
  • You only lose it if it works. The free render is consumed only when it succeeds. If it fails or you cancel it, your free scene is returned and you can try again.
  • Then render the rest. When the free scene finishes, the Generate All button is highlighted to guide you to render the remaining scenes (which costs credits — see Generate All below). The estimate for "the rest" never includes the scene you already got free.



Rendering a single scene


Every scene tile in the Video tab has its own Render button showing the estimated credit cost for that scene. Click it, confirm the cost in the dialog, and that one scene is queued.


When to use per-scene renders:


  • You want to preview one clip before committing to the whole video.
  • You edited a scene after a full render and need to re-render only that scene.
  • You have just enough credits for one scene and want to top up before doing the rest.


What to expect while a scene renders:


  • The scene tile shows a progress indicator with the current status (queued, rendering, or uploading).
  • The estimated credit hold (~1,500 cr for a 720p scene at the 10-second estimate) is deducted immediately when you confirm.
  • Once the clip finishes, the charge is reconciled to the actual footage length — you're refunded the difference if the clip is shorter, and a small additional amount is charged if it runs longer (bounded by the difference between the 15-second maximum and the 10-second estimate).
  • If the render fails for any system reason, the pre-charged credits are refunded automatically within a minute or two.


Re-rendering an already-rendered scene: clicking Render on a finished scene queues a fresh render. The current clip is archived as a version you can restore later via the scene's version history. You are charged for the new render.



Generate All


Generate All renders all your unrendered scenes in one batch. The button is in the Video tab header and shows the total estimated credit cost for the batch.


Which scenes are included


Generate All only renders scenes that do not yet have a finished clip. Scenes you have already rendered — with a visible clip — are skipped. Scenes that are currently rendering as individual per-scene renders are also skipped (they are already in progress and charging separately).


The greedy-prefix affordability rule


When you click Generate All, the system checks your credit balance against the cost of each unrendered scene in scene order. It renders the longest consecutive run of scenes from the beginning that your balance can cover — stopping permanently at the first scene whose cost would exceed your remaining balance.


For example, if you have 8 unrendered scenes and can afford scenes 1–5 but not scene 6, the batch renders scenes 1–5. Scenes 6–8 are not rendered and are not charged. To render the remaining scenes, top up your credits and run Generate All again (or render them individually).


This means Generate All never partially charges a scene and never skips ahead to a cheaper scene later in the list. It always starts from scene 1 and works forward in order.


Credit deduction in a batch


Credits are not deducted all at once at the start. Each scene's credits are deducted individually as that scene's render job is submitted. Scenes render a few at a time — if a scene fails, its credits are refunded and the batch continues with the next scene.


Stopping a batch mid-run


While Generate All is running, a Stop button appears in the Video tab. Clicking Stop cancels scenes that have not yet started rendering — they are not charged. Scenes already sent to the AI render to completion and are charged normally.


Running Generate All again on a partially rendered video


After a partial batch (stopped, or some scenes failed), you can click Generate All again. Only the remaining unrendered scenes are included — already-rendered scenes are skipped so you are never charged twice for the same scene.



Frequently asked questions


Can I run Generate All and also render individual scenes at the same time?


Not for scenes that are unrendered. If a Generate All batch is in progress, the per-scene Render button is disabled for any scene that hasn't rendered yet (the batch is already handling those). You can, however, re-render a scene that has already finished — that per-scene render runs alongside the batch without conflict.


What if my balance changes while a batch is running?


Credits are deducted atomically, one scene at a time. If your balance drops mid-batch so that the next scene's cost can't be covered, that scene and any later ones are not rendered. Already-completed scenes are not affected.


I clicked Generate All but only some scenes rendered. What happened?


Either your balance covered only those scenes (greedy prefix), or some scenes failed and were refunded. Check your credit balance and the scene tiles for any error indicators. If scenes failed, you can re-render them individually or run Generate All again after topping up.


Does re-rendering a scene cost the same as the first render?


Yes — each render is priced the same way: by scene duration at the active rate. Re-renders also use the pre-charge / reconcile model, so the initial hold is the same ~1,500 cr estimate and the final charge settles to the actual clip length.




Updated on: 28/06/2026

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