Seedance 2.5 API

Introduction

Seedance 2.5 Reference-to-Video builds a new sequence from materials that guide its appearance, movement or soundtrack. Choose this mode when a character image, a location, a camera reference or an audio track should each contribute a different part of the brief.

ByteDance introduced Seedance 2.5 in its July 31, 2026 launch article, with flexible reference-based creation as a central capability. This endpoint is for composing that guidance into a new video, not fixing a supplied photograph as the first frame.

Choose the starting point for your Seedance 2.5 sequence

Key features

Longer stories in a single generation

Seedance 2.5 supports clips up to 30 seconds, giving a sequence room for a setup, development and ending. Its storytelling capabilities include connected shots and scene transitions rather than simply extending one gesture.

Flexible multimodal references

Images, footage and audio can guide different elements of the same production. The expanded reference workflow supports more complex casts, settings and shot plans while separating appearance from movement and sound.

Clay-render and storyboard guidance

Rough 3D planning footage can communicate spatial structure, blocking and camera movement, while visual references supply the final look. Storyboards and ordered keyframes offer additional ways to convey a sequence.

More detailed visual and sound direction

The model's development emphasizes materials, lighting, skin and eye detail, along with coordinated audio and motion. Prompts can specify dialogue, effects and ambience separately, and use whole-second timestamps to organize events.

Targeted editing and continuation

The model family includes time-targeted video edits, background changes and continuation of existing footage. These are distinct video-input workflows; their availability and settings depend on the selected task, not on a text-to-video or image-to-video request.

Request parameters

Pricing

Prices are in credits, the same credits you use on the website (1 credit = $0.01). The hold is taken when the task is accepted and settled to the actual charge when it finishes; failed tasks are refunded.

Each task is rounded up to whole credits, so one run at the lowest tier costs 56 credits for a 5-second clip ($0.56).

For an exact number before you run, send the same body to POST /jobs/quote.

Use cases

Combine a character, a set and a camera plan

Provide authorized subject imagery, an environment reference and a short clip showing the desired move. Evaluate the three contributions separately: identity, placement and camera behavior.

Develop a rough camera rehearsal into a styled scene

Use simple planning footage for movement and a look reference for materials and light. Explain which parts of the planning footage to ignore. Review spatial relationships rather than assuming the generated geometry is exact.

Sketch visuals for an authorized audio track

Upload a sound reference and describe the imagery, mood and actions that should accompany it. Check the relation between musical or spoken cues and the visuals; the result is not a guaranteed beat-perfect edit.

Prompt guide & pro tips

How to map multiple references in Seedance 2.5

Bind each uploaded image, clip or track to a role in text; a name printed inside a reference image is not enough to establish that mapping.

1. Upload the visual and audio assets in a deliberate order.
2. Use the endpoint's labels: @Image1, @Video1, @Audio1.
3. Say precisely what to borrow from each asset.
4. Follow the asset map with a scene summary and shot order or timestamps.

For a backpack image, a campsite image and a camera-arc clip, choose 12 seconds:

How to use a rough 3D camera rehearsal

Upload a clay-render clip as a video reference. State whether to borrow its camera path, subject movement, blocking or lighting.

Remove visible editor overlays, coordinate axes and camera guides from the clip. Describe the finished scene as well as the reference roles, keeping the requested action compatible with the rehearsal.

Choose a storyboard or separate keyframes

A storyboard grid communicates overall shot order; separate images can communicate individual keyframe compositions. For a grid, use clear panels and fill in missing motion and sound in the prompt.

Assign voices and actions without ambiguity

For multiple characters, give each a stable name and map appearance and voice separately. If an audio track guides the sequence, say whether @Audio1 supplies voice, rhythm or ambience. Do not rewrite a precise motion reference into contradictory step-by-step action; specify the reference's role and add only the missing information.

API quick start

Call the Seedance 2.5 API in three steps

1. Create an API key. Sign in to PopNow and create a key in the API console. Keys start with sk-popnow- and use the same credits as the website.
2. Send the request. POST /jobs/createTask with model bytedance/seedance-2.5/reference-to-video and an input object that follows the parameter table. The response returns a task ID straight away.
3. Get the result. Poll GET /jobs/recordInfo with the task ID, or pass a callBackUrl and we post the result to it. Download the output links when the task succeeds.

# 1. Create the task. Keep the Idempotency-Key if you retry after a network error.
export IDEMPOTENCY_KEY="$(uuidgen)"
curl -X POST https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "model": "bytedance/seedance-2.5/reference-to-video",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "A slow aerial shot drifting over a misty pine forest at sunrise",
    "reference_image_urls": [
      "https://media.popnow.ai/influencer/examples/ava.webp"
    ],
    "aspect_ratio": "adaptive",
    "resolution": "720p",
    "duration_seconds": 5,
    "generate_audio": true
  }
}'

# 2. Copy data.taskId from the response, then poll until state is succeeded, failed, canceled or expired.
TASK_ID="TASK_ID_FROM_RESPONSE"
curl "https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY"

Replace the prompt and any links with your own. The API tab has the response, polling and callback reference.

Seedance 2.5 API questions

All Seedance models

Seedance 2.0 reaches 4K but stops at 15 seconds, and costs less per second. Seedance 2.5 runs up to 30 seconds per take and takes the largest reference sets.

• Seedance 2.5 APIByteDance's newest: 30-second clips with native audioFrom 56 credits for a 5-second clip
• Seedance 2.0 Mini APILightweight Seedance for quick 720p drafts with soundFrom 9 credits for a 5-second clip
• Seedance 2.0 APICinematic clips up to 4K with native audioFrom 33 credits for a 5-second clip
• Seedance 2.0 Fast APIFaster Seedance 2.0 with sound at 720pFrom 17 credits for a 5-second clip
• Seedance 1.5 Pro APINative-audio clips with an optional locked cameraFrom 9 credits for a 5-second clip

Other video APIs

• MiniMax H3 APIExpressive clips with audio, up to 2KFrom 28 credits for a 5-second clip
• Kling 3.0 API4K clips, multi-shot cuts and motion controlFrom 51 credits for a 5-second clip
• Vidu Q4 Preview APIUp to 4K clips with sound and spoken dialogueFrom 34 credits for a 5-second clip
• Wan 3.0 APIUp to 30-second clips with synced audioFrom 34 credits for a 5-second clip
• Kling O3 APIKling’s unified model: create, animate, reference and edit up to 4KFrom 51 credits for a 5-second clip
• MiniMax H3 Max APIFast clips with ambience, effects and musicFrom 38 credits for a 5-second clip

More about Seedance 2.5

Try it

Seedance 2.5 AI Video Generator onlineCreate videos with Seedance 2.5 in PopNow

Compare

Kling 3.0 vs Seedance 2.5Seedance 2.5 vs Wan 3.0Seedance 2.0 vs Seedance 2.5

Docs

Seedance 2.5 model ID and input schema in the API docsPopNow API quickstart: your first request in five minutesImage to video guide for the PopNow APIWebhooks: get Seedance 2.5 results without polling