2026-10-02 · OkayPic

How We Make AI Video for About a Cent a Second with MiniMax H3

Short version: MiniMax H3 costs $0.007 per second at 480p and $0.010 at 768p on OkayPic. Our 64-second demo drama, “The Last Table”, cost about $1.03 end to end — and most of the savings come from how we use the model, not just its price.

Why the per-second price is what matters

A single 8-second shot is cheap on any model. A story is not: a 10-minute short drama is 600 seconds of finished video, and every shot you have to redo costs the same again. At $0.010 per second, 600 seconds is about $6; the same minutes at $0.10–$0.20 per second would be $60–$120 before a single retry. That difference decides whether AI video is a toy or a production tool.

What our one-minute drama actually cost

All five clips passed our automatic check on the first try, so there were no retries to pay for. Here is the result:

Six habits that keep the bill small

1. References instead of re-rolls. H3 accepts up to 9 reference images and 3 voice samples per clip. A $0.03 character sheet that keeps a face consistent is far cheaper than regenerating a clip until the face matches.
2. Keyframes for complex shots only. Group shots, props and precise staging get a $0.03 still first; you check and fix it before paying for video. Simple close-ups go straight to video.
3. Lock the first frame when it matters. H3's okay mode pins the opening frame to an approved image, so the shot starts exactly where you want instead of drifting.
4. Pack shots into longer clips. H3 clips run 1–15 seconds and can contain several cuts, so one request covers a whole beat of the scene.
5. Draft at 480p, deliver at 768p. $0.007/s for trying ideas, $0.010/s for the final cut; 1080p ($0.021/s, up to 10 s) only where you need it.
6. Check automatically, fix with adjustments. Every finished clip is checked for a person appearing twice or someone who shouldn't be there; a failing clip is redone once with a keyframe and a clearer prompt — not blindly re-rolled.

Doing it yourself through the API

The same model and prices are available through one REST call:

curl -X POST https://api.okaypic.com/api/video/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKAYPIC_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "model": "minimax-h3", "prompt": "…", "duration": 10,
        "ratio": "9:16", "resolution": "480p" }'

Then poll GET /api/video/tasks/<id> until it completes. Failed generations are refunded automatically. See the API docs and the price comparison.

Or let Flow do it

Everything above — sheets, keyframes, references, voices, checks — is what Flow does for you: paste a script, approve each step, get a finished film. Watch the whole process in under two minutes: