A draft pass: generating cheap before generating final
A draft pass generates every shot at a low resolution so that mistakes are found at the cheap rate, then generates or enhances only the kept shots at the final resolution. It costs one extra pass, and it saves money only when enough shots would otherwise have been retaken at the expensive rate. As of 2026-10-13.
| Vendor | Draft rate | Final rate | Final over draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway, Seedance 2.5 | 20 credits a second | 68 credits a second at 1080p | 3.4 times |
| SceneMixer, Wan 3.0 to 1080P | 10 credits a second | 38 credits a second | 3.8 times |
| SceneMixer, Wan 3.0 to 720P | 10 credits a second | 19 credits a second | 1.9 times |
Inclusion rule. Vendors that document drafting at one resolution and finishing at another, with a published rate for each pass. The last column is the ratio of the two published rates. Order. Alphabetical by vendor, then by final resolution, highest first.
1The ratio is the whole decision
When the final rate is several times the draft rate, a handful of retakes pays for the extra pass. When it is less than twice, the draft pass rarely pays at all. The third column is therefore more useful than either rate on its own: at 3.4 or 3.8 times, drafting is a saving for any shot likely to need a second attempt; at 1.9 times it is mostly a way of working.
2What a draft can and cannot show
A low-resolution take shows composition, action, faces, timing and dialogue, which are the things that cause retakes. It does not show fine texture. A face that drifts at 480p will drift at 1080p, so the draft catches the expensive mistakes and misses only the cheap ones.
3Enhancing versus generating again
A final pass can be an enhancement of the draft or a fresh generation from the same inputs. The first keeps the approved motion. The second may move slightly differently. The rates can be identical and the deliverable still differs, so the workflow page matters as much as the price page.
4Keeping both takes
Where every take is kept as a version, the draft and the final can sit side by side, and an episode can be assembled while some shots are still at draft resolution. That turns the draft pass from a one-off cost into a review tool, which is how most productions end up using it.
5Pages these figures were read from
A definition entry: what the term means, and the figures vendors put in public about it, each figure read on 2026-10-13. Related: Credit billing, Resolution tiers.