Video Duration & Pacing

Choosing video length

On a project's first message, Melodious picks for you: a 30-second Clip. It's the cheapest thing worth looking at and it's available on every plan, so the first run costs the least and fills the screen fastest. See One-message storyboards.

To get something longer, ask in the composer once you've seen the storyboard — "make it 60 seconds" — and the plan is rebuilt at the new length. Judging a length against a storyboard you can see is easier than picking one before anything exists. The options are calculated from your actual song duration:

| Tier | Duration | Scenes | Best for | Available to | |------|----------|--------|----------|-------------| | Clip | 30s | 4 | TikTok, Reels, Shorts | Everyone — it's what the $19 First Video buys | | Standard | ~60s | 7-8 | Extended social posts | Full Video pack or Pro | | Extended | ~2 min | 14-15 | YouTube videos | Full Video pack or Pro | | Full song | Entire track (up to 6 min) | Varies | Complete music videos | Pro |

For shorter songs (under 30 seconds), the AI automatically covers the full track with no need to choose.

Pacing control

Pacing controls how fast scenes change. The first run uses Balanced; ask in the composer to change it. Pacing changes how many scenes you get, not what the video costs — every pacing packs to the same total length.

| Pacing | Shot length | Feel | |--------|-------------|------| | Slow & cinematic | 8s shots | Dramatic, fewer cuts, contemplative | | Balanced | 6-8s shots | Natural flow, default choice | | Fast cuts | 4-6s shots | High energy, music video feel, more scenes |

Fast pacing produces more scenes for the same duration, giving you a more dynamic video with frequent visual changes.

How credits work

Credits scale linearly with video duration at 20 credits per second:

| Duration | Credits | |----------|---------| | 30s (Clip) | 600 | | 60s (Standard) | 1,200 | | 2 min (Extended) | 2,400 | | 3 min (Full) | 3,600 |

Credits are reserved in two stages:

1. Image generation (~8% of total) — on a project's first message this runs automatically when you press send, with the cost stated under the composer beforehand
2. Video generation (~92% of total) when you click Generate Videos

This lets you review keyframes before committing to the more expensive video stage.

What your purchase covers

There is no free tier, so length is a question of how many credits you hold. The $19 First Video (750 credits) covers one finished Clip at 30s — keyframes, render and a regeneration included. The $97 Full Video (5,200 credits) covers a complete release video of up to 4 minutes, and Pro plans from $147/month cover full-song videos up to 6 minutes plus higher resolutions. See Credits & plans.