Documentation
Instructions
Everything from your first render to advanced multi-scene storyboards. Quick links below.
Your first render
1. Open the Creation Studio
Sign in and click Create in the top nav. Old /canvas links land here too — the tldraw canvas was retired in favour of the Studio, which covers the same brief-to-video flow more reliably.
2. Pick your format
Choose Music video, Ad creative, Short video, Square post, Commercial, or Product photos. The format sets the aspect ratio for you (9:16 for shorts, 16:9 for commercials, 1:1 for square posts), so you don't have to spell it out in the brief.
3. Brief the director
Describe what you want in plain English — e.g. "A cinematic drone shot sweeping over a fog-covered mountain range at golden hour, 4K HDR". The director picks the right model from 20+ across 4 providers. Each Generate button shows what it costs in credits and dollars before you click.
4. Watch it render, then download
The job card shows which provider and model the director picked, with live progress. Finished renders drop in inline and are saved to your Generations log — nothing to drag or arrange.
Make a UGC ad with an AI actor
1. Open UGC ads
It's under your avatar menu → UGC ads. This is the creator-style talking-head format that performs on TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. It writes the script — filming it is a separate step in the Creation Studio (step 6), so budget two stops, not one.
2. Describe the product, or just paste its URL
Switch to "Paste product URL" and give it a link: it reads the page and pulls the name, benefits, audience, price, and product images, then writes around what's actually there. Everything it extracted shows in a card first, so you can correct it before generating. Or stay in "Describe it" mode and type the product yourself.
3. Pick a format and a framework
Six creator formats — Testimonial, Unboxing, Before / After, Demo, Honest review, Storytelling — crossed with three copywriting frameworks: PAS, AIDA, and Problem → Solution. Pick a length too: 15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds. Generate script costs 2 credits.
4. Test angles instead of guessing (optional)
Hit Batch angles for 5 or 10 scripts in one go, each attacking a different angle — pain-point, social proof, curiosity, cost-of-inaction. 1 credit per variant, and anything the model doesn't deliver is refunded automatically. Expand each card to compare hooks.
5. Cast an AI actor
Open AI actors (avatar menu, or "Pick an AI actor" from a finished script) and filter 48 photorealistic spokespeople by gender, age range, and look. "Add to my cast" saves one as a Character — so Character Lock and lip-sync treat it exactly like a face you'd uploaded.
6. Film it in the Creation Studio
Copy your script first — then hit "Film it with lip-sync". That opens the Creation Studio on the Commercial format, but it does NOT carry the script or your actor across yet: paste the script in, pick your cast member, and generate. Hedra Character-3 does the lip-sync (14 credits). All in, a scripted-and-filmed ad is about 16 credits: 2 for the script, 14 for the lip-sync.
Setting up your Brand Kit
Go to Settings → Brand Kit
Create a kit per brand or per campaign. The director auto-applies the default kit (marked with a star) to every prompt.
Upload a logo
Drag in your logo (PNG or SVG, < 10 MB). It gets stored in your user-scoped blob namespace — no other user can access it.
Set primary + secondary colors
Hex codes (e.g. #0066FF). The director references these in prompts so renders stay on-brand.
Write your voice prompt
Free-text describing your brand voice — "professional, warm, energetic" or "playful but trustworthy". This shapes ad copy when relevant.
Upload a character reference
For product brands: the hero product shot. For personal brands: a spokesperson photo (used by Hedra for lip-sync). Optional but improves consistency across renders.
Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK)
Why BYOK?
Track spend directly on your fal / Hedra / OpenAI account, use your own provider quota, or stay within your team's enterprise contract.
Settings → API Keys
Paste each provider key. Keys are encrypted with AES-256-GCM (per-user IV) and decrypted only at dispatch time. Click Test to verify each key works.
Generation precedence
If you have a BYOK key for a provider, the system uses it. If not, the system uses our default key and bills you in credits.
Credits, plans, and billing
What costs what
Image: 2 credits · Video: 20 credits · Lip-sync: 14 credits · Director brief: 2 credits. Audio split is free.
Free trial & monthly allowances
Free is a one-time trial — enough for a single ~20-second Director video (no credit card, no monthly refill). Paid plans refill every renewal: Plus ($29) 800 · Pro ($79) 2,400 · Ultra ($199) 7,000 credits (no rollover). When the trial is spent, upgrade to keep creating.
Failed renders
If the provider returns an error, your credits are auto-refunded. You only pay for renders that actually started.
Manage subscription
Settings → Subscription → Manage. You'll be sent to the Stripe Customer Portal to upgrade, downgrade, change billing, or cancel.
Multi-scene Director
Storyboards beyond a single shot
The Director can produce 3-30 scene storyboards from a single brief, with consistent characters and style across scenes.
Two modes
Music-video mode (timed to a song duration) and Ad mode (timed for a target aspect ratio + duration). Switch via the mode selector.
Lip-sync integration
Enable Lip Sync in the Director and the spokesperson scenes will route through Hedra Character-3 with your Brand Kit's character reference.
Generate & share a lead funnel
Generate a landing page
Open /funnel and describe your offer. An AI builds a complete landing page for you — headline, copy, and call-to-action — tailored to the campaign you brief.
It publishes to a public link
Each funnel goes live at a public /p/{slug} link. Open it in any browser or send it straight to your audience — no extra hosting or setup needed.
Share it anywhere
Drop the link in an ad, an email, a social post, or a DM. Anyone with the link can view the page.
Capture leads
The page collects visitor leads and email addresses for you. Optionally attach a lead magnet so visitors get something in return for signing up.
Reply to mentions with the engagement agent
It's opt-in
The engagement agent is off by default. Turn it on in Settings → Engagement when you want help responding to people who mention you.
It drafts replies to real mentions
The agent watches for genuine mentions of your brand and drafts a suggested reply for each one. It works best on X, where mention data is richest.
Nothing sends without your approval
Every draft waits for you. You review, edit, and approve each reply before it goes out — the agent never auto-sends on your behalf.
Rate-limited for compliance
Replies are rate-limited to stay within platform rules and keep your account in good standing, so the agent paces itself rather than blasting responses.
Troubleshooting
Render stuck on "Rendering"
Most providers terminal within 2 minutes. If it stays in progress past 5 min, refresh — the job tracker polls server-side and will reflect the latest state.
An old Canvas link doesn't work
The tldraw canvas was retired — the blank/black canvas was a snapshot-persistence bug, and the Studio replaces it. Any /canvas link now lands in the Creation Studio, and every past render is still in your Generations log.
Provider key fails
Settings → API Keys → Test. If a key returns 403, the provider account is locked or out of balance. Top up at the provider's billing page, then test again. For fal, grab the key from fal.ai/dashboard/keys.
Charged but plan didn't upgrade
Stripe webhooks usually process within 60 seconds. Refresh once. If it persists, contact support with your Stripe receipt for manual reconciliation.
Connect your socials & turn on autopilot
Connect your accounts
Go to Settings → Social connections and connect LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Bluesky. Each provider runs through its own OAuth flow (Bluesky uses an app password) — approve the permissions and the account shows up as connected.
How the weekly autopilot works
Once a week a CMO agent reads your Brand Kit and drafts a strategy for the week, then a Writer agent turns that strategy into ready-to-publish posts. The weekly autopilot covers your text-and-image channels: LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Bluesky.
Pick your cadence
Choose how many posts the autopilot produces per week — 7, 14, 30, 70, or 140. Higher cadences fan out across your connected channels. Set it once and the schedule keeps running.
Tune it with thumbs up / down
Give each generated post a thumbs up or thumbs down. That feedback feeds back into next week's strategy and writing, so the autopilot drifts toward the angles and tone you actually approve.
Choosing a Facebook / Instagram Page
If your Facebook or Instagram account manages multiple Pages, use the "Posting to" dropdown to pick which Page each post publishes to. The selected Page is remembered for that connection.
YouTube & TikTok are on-demand
YouTube and TikTok are not part of the weekly autopilot. They're for on-demand video publishing — when you've finished a Director film, you can push that video to your connected YouTube or TikTok account directly.