Seedance 2.5 Draft: Review Client Website Videos Before Paying for 1080p

Imagine you’re building a homepage for a furniture retailer. The client wants a short living-room scene behind the main headline. One version has the right lighting, but as the camera moves, a chair fills the space reserved for the copy. Another keeps that space clear, but the movement feels too busy.

Neither problem calls for more pixels. Agree on the shot before spending more.

The Seedance 2.5 Draft workflow on APIXO lets you generate 480p previews, choose a result, and produce its 1080p Final. For a freelancer or small web agency, that gives you a practical opportunity to get client feedback before paying for full-resolution videos that may never reach the site.

Give the Client Something Specific to Approve

For the furniture-store example, the question isn’t whether the video looks impressive on its own. It is whether it works behind the headline and beside the rest of the page.

Agree on the intended duration, aspect ratio, and whether to generate audio before the first round. For this example, a usable candidate keeps the furniture recognizable, leaves the headline readable throughout the shot, and has no distracting motion. A successful generation can still fail that brief.

Decide what the first review should settle. You might need to compare a static shot with a gentle sideways camera move, or find a composition that leaves enough quiet space for the copy. Keep the subject and other instructions similar so the difference is easier to discuss.

Then show the candidate in a page mockup with the proposed text in place. Ask whether the subject stays visible and whether the movement competes with the message. This makes the feedback specific to the page.

If the copy or layout is still changing, say so. There’s little value in approving a shot around a headline that will be replaced tomorrow.

Create 480p Drafts for Client Review

If you’re looking for a place to try Seedance 2.5, APIXO is one option.

Start with Draft mode to refine the composition and motion, then generate a 1080p Final from the version the client approves. This keeps revisions at the lower Draft rate and reserves the full-resolution charge for the selected result.

Draft mode produces a 480p preview. Review the full clip rather than judging it from the thumbnail. In the homepage example, the first frame might leave plenty of room for text while the camera movement fills that space two seconds later.

Label the candidates clearly when sharing them for feedback. Ask the client to select a version or identify one change that would make a version usable. If the feedback changes the composition or action, use it to make another Draft before proceeding.

Compare Draft-to-Final and Direct 1080p Costs

At the time of writing, APIXO’s published API rates are $0.14 per second for 480p generation without video references and $0.80 per second for 1080p under the same conditions. The Final is a separate charge, not a free upgrade included with the Draft.

Using those rates, a four-second Draft costs $0.56. Its four-second Final costs an additional $3.20.

Suppose the client needs just one finished clip. The first four attempts do not meet the brief, so you revise the prompt or composition after each review until the fifth version is approved. Generating directly at 1080p means paying the full-resolution rate for all five attempts. With Draft mode, you start with a 480p preview and generate a new Draft after each of four revisions. Only the approved fifth Draft proceeds to a 1080p Final. With each generation exactly four seconds long and no video references, the comparison looks like this:

Production plan	Generation cost
Five 1080p attempts, with the first four rejected	$16.00
Initial 480p Draft plus four revised Drafts	$2.80
One 1080p Final from the approved fifth Draft	$3.20
Total for five Drafts and one Final	$6.00

That is $10 less, or a 62.5% reduction in this particular example. The four rejected attempts are billed at the Draft rate, and the full-resolution charge applies only to the approved version’s Final. Reviewing and revising the Drafts helps refine the composition and motion before that final step.

This example covers generation charges only, excluding preparation, review, and editing time. Video-reference inputs use different pricing and add reference-video duration to the billable length. Check the quote for your actual setup, especially if you need more Drafts or Finals.

Generate a Final from the Approved Draft

Once the client has chosen a successful Draft, generate a 1080p Final from that Draft. The Final carries over the prompt, reference assets, mode, duration, aspect ratio, and sound setting. There is no need to fill them in again.

That saves you from rebuilding the request, but it also means the Final step isn’t the place to ask for a new camera move. If the client changes the brief, make and approve a revised Draft first.

A successful Draft remains eligible for Final generation for seven days after creation, so allow time for client feedback and revisions within that window.

Keep a note of the selected Draft and its task ID so you can generate the Final from the right version.

Keep Approval in the Loop Before Automating

For one homepage, the browser workflow may be enough. If video production becomes a repeat assignment across client projects, the Seedance 2.5 API documentation explains how to create a Draft and use the successful Draft’s task ID as draft_task_id to generate a Final.

If you automate the workflow, keep client approval as a separate step. Generate Finals only for approved Drafts, and set a limit on additional attempts so the process stays within budget.

Check the Final in the Page Layout

The 1080p output still needs a review. Inherited settings do not promise identical frames, and a 480p preview cannot settle every question about fine detail.

For a furniture retailer, compare any depicted products with the approved product imagery. Watch for changes in shape, fabric, or proportions. Then put the Final back into the intended layout and inspect the whole clip, including the space around the headline and button.

Keep editable website copy in the page rather than asking the generated scene to carry essential wording. That way, a copy revision doesn’t have to become another video request.

Before publishing, check the crop, file size, and playback behavior in the actual theme. A suitable video still needs to fit the page and load well.

Know When to Skip the Draft

Draft-first is most useful when you expect to reject some options. It isn’t automatically cheaper for every assignment.

At the same four-second rates, one Draft plus one Final costs $3.76, compared with $3.20 for one direct 1080p generation. Finishing all five Drafts would cost $18.80, rather than $16 for five direct 1080p clips.

A preview may still be worth paying for if it helps a client make a decision. Just don’t count it as a saving when every candidate will need a Final anyway.

For the homepage project, the practical plan is straightforward: agree on what the shot needs to do, set a limit for the first round, get feedback on the Drafts, and finish the chosen result within its eligibility window. The budget goes further when the client can reject the wrong shot before you’ve paid to finish it.