How Much Does an AI Video Cost? 80% Is Still People

On November 13, 2026, American director PJ Accetturo published an animated episode made with artificial intelligence and, along with it, a piece of information almost nobody shares: what it cost. It took US$ 102,725 and 45 days of work for the first four and a half minutes of a story. And, according to him, 80% of that money went to people, not to AI. For anyone thinking of using AI for their company's video, this calculation is worth more than any polished demo. Below, what it shows and how to use the same reasoning to budget your business video.

The numbers he published

Accetturo owns the studio Genre.ai and became known in 2025 for an AI-made commercial that aired during the NBA Finals. The new episode, a tribute to the film “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” was published on X with a thread explaining the process. The numbers, all provided by him:

• Cost: US$ 102,725 for the first part, which runs 4 minutes and 40 seconds. The full episode will run about 15 minutes, in three parts.
• Timeline: 45 days.
• Breakdown: 80% on labor and 20% on the cost of generating the images and video.
• Attempts: each 30-second segment was generated 3 to 7 times, and each attempt cost between US$ 15 and US$ 25.
• Team: a director, two screenwriters, a lead animator, two other animators and an editor, in addition to him as creator and producer.

These are the author's own numbers, not an audit, and the episode was sponsored by the video tool he used. Even so, it is rare to see someone in the business open the spreadsheet, and the breakdown matches what we see in our own projects.

A year earlier, the same director spent US$ 2,000

The contrast with his earlier work is what makes this story useful. In June 2025, Accetturo made a commercial for the betting platform Kalshi that aired during the NBA Finals. According to him, it cost about US$ 2,000, one person and two to three days of work. To arrive at 15 usable 8-second segments, he generated between 300 and 400 videos.

In a little over a year, the same professional went from US$ 2,000 to more than US$ 100,000. AI did not become 50 times more expensive. What changed was what he wanted to deliver: instead of a short, chaotic commercial full of cuts, a story with characters that stay the same from one scene to the next, a consistent voice, cinematic framing and a plot that continues in the next episode. Each of these items is work done by people, and that is why 80% of the bill went to people.

The lesson for a small business is straightforward: the cost of an AI video does not depend on the AI, it depends on the level of finish you want. The tool made the camera, the set and the wardrobe cheaper. It did not make the idea, the script, the direction or the review cheaper.

Where the money goes in an AI video

Accetturo's numbers work as a map. Setting aside the cinema scale, the same items show up in a 30-second commercial for a store or a clinic:

1. Script. What the video says, in how many seconds and in what order. He used Claude to split the script into 30-second scenes and build the list of characters and objects, but the story is his and another screenwriter's.
2. Fixed references. Before generating any scene, he made sheets for each character, object and vehicle, and images of each setting. This is what makes the character's face the same in scene 1 and scene 12. In a company's video, these references are the product, the storefront, the uniform, the brand color.
3. Attempts. Each segment was generated 3 to 7 times until it came out right. This is not waste: it is how the tool works today. In our projects, the first version almost always has a detail that needs to change, such as an object that moves for no reason or a hand with extra fingers.
4. Sound. He devoted the entire first part of the thread to audio, and called keeping the same voice for the same character a breakthrough. A video with good images and bad sound looks amateur right away.
5. Editing. Joining the segments, cutting, setting the pace, adding text and logo. It is still an editor's job.
6. Review. Every adjustment requested after the video is finished may require generating the scene again, with a new cost in attempts.

The cost of attempts, in numbers

This is the point that surprises people the most when they budget an AI video for the first time. Using his numbers: if each 30-second segment is generated 3 to 7 times and each attempt costs US$ 15 to US$ 25, generation alone for 30 seconds comes to between US$ 45 and US$ 175, before a single hour of labor.

In our own production, the calculation has the same shape, even at a smaller scale. On the video platform we use, the final high-definition 10-second version from a top-tier model consumes 160 credits. That is why we first make a low-resolution draft, which costs a fraction of that, approve the motion and only then pay for the final version. Whoever skips the draft pays for high definition with every mistake.

Two practical consequences for anyone hiring:

• Price per second is misleading. Two quotes for a “30-second AI video” can differ by a factor of ten, and both can be right. One includes script, fixed references, multiple attempts and sound; the other delivers the first generation that came out.
• Revisions have a real cost. Changing the script after the scenes have been generated is more expensive than it seems, because the adjustment is not just an editing one.

Three levels of AI video, and how much work each requires

1. What you do yourself. A product photo that gains motion, a background scene for a reel, a short intro. It takes a tool subscription and a few hours of your time. It works for social media and tests. The limit is consistency: making the same product or the same person look identical across several scenes already requires a method.

2. The short commercial made by a professional. 15 to 30 seconds, with a script, a product faithful to the real one, multiple attempts per scene, soundtrack, voice and editing. This is the Kalshi commercial case: cheap compared to a shoot, but with days of work from someone who knows how to direct the tool. It is the level that makes sense for most companies that want to advertise.

3. The narrative piece. Recurring characters, a story in chapters, minutes of running time. This is the Accetturo episode case: a team, weeks and a budget in which AI is the smallest part. For a brand, this equals a series of videos with its own character.

Knowing which level your request falls into avoids the two most common frustrations: paying a level 3 price for a level 1 video, or expecting level 3 results while paying for level 1.

What to ask before signing a quote

• How many versions of each scene are included? If the answer is “one,” the risk of error is yours.
• How many rounds of adjustments after it is finished? And what happens to the price if an adjustment requires generating the scene again.
• Will the product look identical to the real one? Ask to see how the product references will be used. AI tends to “improve” labels and packaging, swapping letters and colors.
• Where does the sound come from? Soundtrack, voice and effects must be licensed for commercial use.
• In what resolution and formats? The same video for the feed, for stories and for the website means three different framings. A vertical version made later is usually a different generation, not a crop.
• Who keeps the files? The references and generated segments are useful for the next videos and reduce their cost.

The mistakes we see most

• Starting with the tool, not the script. AI generates anything you ask for. Without knowing what the video needs to say, it comes out beautiful and doesn't sell.
• Expecting success on the first attempt. Not even people who do this every day manage it, as Accetturo's 3 to 7 attempts per scene show.
• Forgetting that the brand must be recognizable. A character whose face changes, a product whose color shifts and a distorted logo are the flaws that most undermine customer trust.
• Treating AI video as cheaper by definition. It is cheaper than a shoot with a crew, set and actors. It is not cheaper than doing nothing, and it does not replace the people who think through the video.

What this means for your business

AI changed what is expensive in a video. It made cheap what used to require a camera, a location and special effects, and it made more evident what was always the hardest part: knowing what to say, keeping the brand consistent and reviewing until it is right. The 80% spent on people is not a flaw of the technology. It is the place where the video is still decided.

If you want an AI video for your business and don't know which of the three levels it falls into, our promotional video production team starts with the script and shows you the draft before the final version, so you can approve the motion before paying for high definition. To understand what AI already does well and where it still fails, also see AI advertising video: what works and what goes wrong and how to write a good request for AI, the lesson from a film.

Sources

• PJ Accetturo, thread on X about the episode and the production process, November 13, 2026, with his replies about cost, breakdown and attempts.
• Business Insider, report on the AI-made Kalshi commercial for the NBA Finals, June 2025, with confirmation from the company.
• Agência Primeira Página's experience producing AI videos for clients and for its own website.