Prices are Poiema's credit prices on 1 October 2026 for an 8-second shot at 720p with sound. The Generate button always shows the exact price for your settings before anything runs.
The short answer
A two-minute AI short film usually costs 3,000 to 8,000 credits in Poiema, about $30 to $80 at credit-pack rates, once you include character images, voice-over and a reasonable number of retakes. The video model you choose decides most of that: the same film costs about six times more on Veo 3.1 at full quality than on Veo 3.1 Lite.
What one shot costs, by model
An 8-second shot at 720p with generated sound:
| Video model | Credits per 8-second shot | At 1080p |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 100 | 160 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 200 | 240 |
| Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 | 203 | Not available |
| Runway Gen-4.5 | 240 | 240 |
| Seedance 2 Fast | 242 | Not available |
| Kling 3 | 252 | 336 |
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 | 280 | 500 |
| Seedance 2 | 303 | 749 |
| Veo 3.1 | 800 | 800 |
Shorter or silent shots cost less: a 5-second silent shot is 38 credits on Veo 3.1 Lite and 105 on Kling 3.
What the rest of the film costs
| Item | Typical amount | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Character, location and prop images | About 30 images with Nano Banana 2 at 2K (26 each) | About 800 |
| Voice-over | 2 minutes of narration, about 2,000 characters with ElevenLabs (25 per 1,000) | About 50 |
| Music | A 30-second ElevenLabs track | 19 |
| Pip, the Copilot | Planning the cast, locations and shots | A small amount, based on how much it writes |
Cheaper image models cut the image line further: GPT Image 2 is 14 credits an image and Seedream 5 is 9.
A two-minute film, model by model
Fifteen 8-second shots at 720p with sound, plus half as many again for retakes, plus about 850 credits of images and voice-over:
| Video model for every shot | Video, 15 shots | With retakes | Whole film | About, at pack rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 1,500 | 2,250 | About 3,100 | $31 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 3,000 | 4,500 | About 5,350 | $54 |
| Kling 3 | 3,780 | 5,670 | About 6,500 | $65 |
| Seedance 2 | 4,545 | 6,820 | About 7,670 | $77 |
| Veo 3.1 | 12,000 | 18,000 | About 18,850 | $189 |
Credit packs work out at $1 per 100 credits and need an active plan; plans include credits every month. Compare plans on the pricing page.
The retake allowance is an assumption. Well-planned shots with consistent characters need fewer; complex action and dialogue need more.
How to spend less
- Plan before you generate. A shot list with camera, lighting and action for every shot, which Pip writes from your script, avoids paying for shots you throw away.
- Mix models. Use Veo 3.1 Lite or Fast for establishing shots and quiet moments, and keep premium models for the shots that carry the film.
- Lock your cast first. Consistent character references mean fewer retakes for a wrong face or costume. See consistent AI characters.
- Generate at 720p, upscale later. Most models cost more at 1080p, and some cost more than twice as much.
- Check the price on the button. Every Generate button in Poiema shows its credit price before anything runs.
Bottom line
A short AI film no longer needs a big budget. With a fast model and a planned shot list, a two-minute film costs about the same as a takeaway for two; with a premium model on every shot, it costs more like a weekend's camera hire. Start with the $1 trial to test the models on your own story, then read how to make an AI short film.