@aicopycoders/exodus 2026.7.200-beta.6 → 2026.7.200-beta.7

package/assets/references/cast-video.md

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 # CAST — a generative grammar for video ad formats
 
+> **SUPERSEDED (2026-07, map #528):** the 4-axis CAST grammar below is superseded by the
+> 5-knob **CASTS** system — **Conceit · Actor · Style · Terrain · Setup** — whose canonical
+> terms live in the repo-root **`CONTEXT.md`** glossary. CASTS adds the **Setup** knob (frame
+> arrangement / opening / pacing / overlays) and restructures **Actor** as Role × Look; the
+> product's shelf registry and Rig entity (#538) are built on those terms. This file's
+> thinking still carries forward — conceit = the engine room, novelty vs diversity knobs,
+> and the conceit-primer idea (now the registry's per-value `promptGuidance`) — but for
+> terminology and knob shapes, defer to `CONTEXT.md`.
+
 > Part of the creative-strategy framework set; compact index lives in `exodus-strategist`.
 > A faceted system for **decoding any video ad** into its parts and **generating infinite new
 > ones** — while staying human-readable. This is a *thinking* framework: the base Exodus CLI

package/assets/references/kie-video-models.md

@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+# Kie.ai Video Model Catalog — Research Findings
+
+**Research date:** 2026-07-13
+**For:** Wayfinder ticket #529 (map #528 — video in the Workflow Builder)
+**Author:** research agent
+**Method:** Primary sources = https://kie.ai + https://docs.kie.ai (model + API-reference pages). Marketing pages under `kie.ai/*` (pricing, market) return **HTTP 403 to automated fetch**, so capability facts come from the `docs.kie.ai` model pages (fetchable) and pricing comes from Kie-published/secondary sources anchored to Kie's stated **$0.005/credit** rate. Anything I could not pin to a primary Kie page is flagged **[verify]**. Local code claims come from reading this repo + the `archive/pixar-v2` git tag.
+
+> **Caveat on pricing precision:** Kie updates model prices frequently and the canonical `kie.ai/pricing` / `kie.ai/market` pages block automated fetch. The per-clip USD figures below are directionally correct (and internally consistent with the $0.005/credit anchor), but **confirm the exact credit cost on the live pricing page / each model's doc page before hard-coding any number in the app.**
+
+---
+
+## 1. Executive summary + recommended v1 list
+
+Kie.ai is a **unified multi-model gateway**: one API key, one async job pattern (`/api/v1/jobs/createTask` → poll `recordInfo` or receive a `callBackUrl` webhook), 30+ video models switchable by a `model` slug. It exposes today (video): **Google Veo 3 / 3.1**, **Kling (2.1, 3.0)**, **ByteDance Seedance (2.0, 2.0 Fast, 2.5, 1.5 Pro)**, **OpenAI Sora 2 / Sora 2 Pro**, **Hailuo/MiniMax (2.3 Pro/Standard)**, **Wan (2.6 family)**, **Runway**, plus Grok Imagine. All four "big" families now support **image-to-video** and most now support **native audio** — a material change since the pixr era.
+
+**Recommended v1 model list for the Video-node picker** (criteria: image-to-video quality, native audio, price, reliability):
+
+| Rank | Model | `model` slug | Why | Native audio | I2V |
+|------|-------|--------------|-----|:---:|:---:|
+| **Default** | **Veo 3.1 Fast** | `veo3_fast` | Best price/quality with native dialogue+SFX audio; first-frame + first/last-frame + reference I2V; 9:16 & 16:9; battle-tested endpoint. ~$0.30–0.40 / 8s. | ✅ | ✅ |
+| 2 | **Seedance 2.0** | `bytedance/seedance-2` | Strongest multimodal keyframe control (first/last frame + up to 9 reference images + reference video/audio), native audio default-on, cheap, and it's the exact model family the old pixr clip stage already drove. | ✅ | ✅ |
+| 3 | **Kling 3.0** | `kling-3.0/video` | Multi-shot storytelling + `@element` character-consistency (2–4 ref images/element, max 3), up to 15s, native sound, up to 4K. Best for character-driven multi-shot ads. | ✅ | ✅ |
+| 4 (premium) | **Veo 3.1 Quality** | `veo3` | Highest fidelity when budget allows (~$1.25–2.00 / 8s). Same param surface as Fast. | ✅ | ✅ |
+| 5 (premium) | **Sora 2 / Pro** | `sora-2` / `sora-2-pro` | Best physics/realism + synced native audio; pricier, no free tier. Good "hero clip" option. | ✅ | ✅ |
+
+**Default = Veo 3.1 Fast (`veo3_fast`)**: it is the sweet spot of native-audio quality, image-to-video support (single keyframe *and* first/last frame *and* reference), vertical-native output for ad formats, and low cost, on Kie's most mature video endpoint.
+
+**Native-audio landscape:** Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Sora 2, and Hailuo 2.3 all generate audio natively now. This is the single biggest shift vs. the pixr pipeline, which ran Seedance **silent** and overlaid ElevenLabs VO. For v1 the native-audio toggle should default **on** for models that support it, with a clear "silent (BYO audio)" option that maps to each model's `generate_audio:false` / `sound:false` flag.
+
+**Pricing ballpark:** credits bill at **$0.005/credit (200 credits = $1)**. An 8s Veo 3 Fast clip ≈ $0.30–0.40; Veo 3 Quality ≈ $1.25–2.00; Kling ≈ $0.07/s; Seedance 2.0 Fast ≈ $0.02/s; Hailuo 2.3 1080p ≈ $0.40/clip. Sora 2 is the priciest household name.
+
+**API pattern:** async job — `POST /api/v1/jobs/createTask` returns a `taskId`; then either poll `GET /api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=...` (states: `waiting → queuing → generating → success|fail`) or supply `callBackUrl` for a webhook. Rate limit ~**20 create requests / 10s / account**. Errors: 401 unauthorized, 402 insufficient credits, 429 rate-limited, 500 server error (Veo also has a dedicated `/api/v1/veo/generate` endpoint).
+
+**Biggest change vs the pixr Kie client:** (1) Seedance now defaults to **native audio on** and adds first/last-frame + up to 9 reference images + reference video/audio (pixr hard-coded `generate_audio:false` and one `reference_image_urls`); (2) the whole modern video roster (Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Sora 2, Hailuo, Wan) is available through the *same* unified `createTask` the pixr client already spoke — so adding models is mostly a slug + param-map change, not a new transport.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Per-model capability table
+
+All models are invoked through `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask` with `{ model, input, callBackUrl }` **unless noted** (Veo also has a dedicated endpoint). "Upstream" = capability from the provider's own docs, not confirmed on Kie's page (Kie's exposed params may be a subset).
+
+### Google Veo 3.1 — `veo3` / `veo3_fast` / `veo3_lite`
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/veo3-api/generate-veo-3-video , https://docs.kie.ai/veo3-api/quickstart , https://docs.kie.ai/veo3-api/extend-video
+
+- **Endpoint:** dedicated `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/veo/generate` (also surfaced in the Market). Extend endpoint exists for lengthening clips.
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅ `imageUrls` array (**1–3 images**). `generationType`: `TEXT_2_VIDEO`, `FIRST_AND_LAST_FRAMES_2_VIDEO`, `REFERENCE_2_VIDEO`. So it supports single keyframe, first+last frame, and reference-image (character/style) modes.
+- **Native audio:** ✅ "All videos ship with background audio by default." Veo 3 is known for synced dialogue + SFX (upstream).
+- **Duration:** `4`, `6`, or `8` s (default 8).
+- **Aspect ratio:** `16:9`, `9:16`, `Auto` (default 16:9).
+- **Resolution:** `720p`, `1080p`, `4k` (default 720p).
+- **Other params:** `watermark`, `enableTranslation` (auto-translate prompt to EN), `callBackUrl`, `seeds` [verify].
+- **Tiers:** `veo3` (quality), `veo3_fast` (default, cheaper), `veo3_lite` (cheapest/high-volume).
+
+### Kling 3.0 — `kling-3.0/video`
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/market/kling/kling-3-0 , https://docs.kie.ai/market/kling/motion-control-v3
+
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅ `image_urls` = first/last frame images (optional when using element references).
+- **Reference / character consistency:** ✅ `@element_name` syntax in the prompt; **max 3 elements** per task; image elements accept **2–4 image URLs** (JPG/PNG, ≤10MB each) for character consistency across shots. Also a dedicated **motion-control** variant.
+- **Native audio:** ✅ `sound` boolean (defaults **true** in multi-shot mode); native audio up to 15s.
+- **Multi-shot:** ✅ `multi_shots` boolean → pass an **array of prompts** for multi-shot storytelling.
+- **Duration:** integer **3–15** s.
+- **Aspect ratio:** `16:9`, `9:16`, `1:1` (auto-adapts when `image_urls` given).
+- **Resolution (`mode`):** `std` = 720p, `pro` = 1080p, `4K` = 2160p (per AR: 16:9 / 9:16 / 1:1).
+
+### ByteDance Seedance 2.0 — `bytedance/seedance-2` (+ `-fast`, `2.5`, `1.5-pro`)
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/market/bytedance/seedance-2 , https://docs.kie.ai/market/bytedance/seedance-2-fast
+
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅ `first_frame_url` and/or `last_frame_url` (URL or `asset://{assetId}`). Three mutually-exclusive modes: first-frame I2V, first+last-frame I2V, or multimodal reference generation.
+- **Reference / character consistency:** ✅ `reference_image_urls` (**max 9**; jpeg/png/webp/bmp/tiff/gif), `reference_video_urls` (**max 3**, 2–15s, mp4/mov), `reference_audio_urls` (**max 3**, 2–15s, wav/mp3). This is the richest keyframe/reference surface of any model here.
+- **Native audio:** ✅ `generate_audio` boolean, **default `true`** (was run silent by pixr).
+- **Duration:** **4–15** s (default 5).
+- **Aspect ratio:** `1:1`, `4:3`, `3:4`, `16:9`, `9:16`, `21:9`, `adaptive` (default 16:9).
+- **Resolution:** `480p`, `720p`, `1080p`, `4k` (default 720p).
+- **Other:** `nsfw_checker`, `web_search`, `prompt` 3–20,000 chars, `callBackUrl`.
+- **`bytedance/seedance-2-fast`:** cheaper/faster variant, same param family.
+
+### OpenAI Sora 2 — `sora-2` / `sora-2-pro` (+ Characters)
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/market/sora2/... (index confirmed via search; individual pages render as SPA and 404'd to automated fetch — **capability confirmed, param names [verify] on live docs**)
+
+- **Variants:** `sora-2` (standard), `sora-2-pro` (higher quality), plus **Characters** and **Image-to-Video** / **Text-to-Video** modes.
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅ (dedicated Image-to-Video page).
+- **Native audio:** ✅ synced dialogue + ambient (Sora 2's headline feature, upstream).
+- **Strength:** best physics/realism. No free tier; priciest of the household names.
+- **Duration / AR / resolution:** [verify on the specific `sora2` doc pages].
+
+### Hailuo / MiniMax 2.3 — `hailuo/...` (e.g. `2-3-image-to-video-pro`)
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/market/hailuo/2-3-image-to-video-pro (via search)
+
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅ dedicated I2V Pro + Standard tiers.
+- **Native audio:** ✅ (2.3 generation) [verify exact flag].
+- **Strength:** character animation + facial expression / talking-head, avatar content.
+- **Pricing:** ~80 credits (~$0.40) for a 1080p clip [verify].
+
+### Wan 2.6 — `wan/2.6-*`
+Source: https://kie.ai/market/image-to-video (via search)
+
+- Variants: `Wan 2.6 Image-to-Video`, `Text-to-Video`, `Video-to-Video`, `2.6-flash-image-to-video`, `2-6-flash-video-to-video`.
+- **Image-to-video:** ✅. Native audio / duration / AR: [verify on live docs]. Budget option.
+
+### Runway — `runway/...`
+Source: https://docs.kie.ai/runway-api/quickstart
+
+- Dedicated Runway API surface for high-quality I2V/T2V. Params (Gen-3/Gen-4 family) [verify on live docs]. Traditionally **no native audio** (upstream). Lower priority for v1.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Pricing (credits → USD)
+
+**Credit rate (primary anchor):** Kie bills at **$0.005 per credit** → **200 credits = $1.00**. Different models bill per-second, per-clip, or per-image; the unit is shown per model on the pricing page.
+Source: https://kie.ai/pricing (403 to fetch), corroborated by https://skywork.ai/... and https://kie.ai/v3-api-pricing.
+
+| Model | Kie price (per clip / rate) | Credits | Notes |
+|-------|------------------------------|---------|-------|
+| **Veo 3 / 3.1 Fast** | ~**$0.30–0.40** / 8s w/ audio | 60–80 | Recent update lowered Fast to ~60 cr ($0.30) [verify] |
+| **Veo 3 / 3.1 Quality** | ~**$1.25–2.00** / 8s w/ audio | 250–400 | Recent update lowered to ~250 cr ($1.25) [verify] |
+| **Kling 2.1** | Std **$0.125**/5s · Pro **$0.25**/5s · Master **$0.80**/5s | 25 / 50 / 160 | Kling 3.0 similar tiered ($0.07/s cited) [verify] |
+| **Seedance 2.0 Fast** | ~**$0.022**/s (~$0.11 for 5s) | ~4.4/s | Cheapest production-grade [verify] |
+| **Seedance 2.0** | between Fast and premium [verify] | — | Native audio default-on |
+| **Hailuo 2.3** | ~**$0.40** / 1080p clip | ~80 | [verify] |
+| **Sora 2 / Pro** | priciest household name [verify] | — | No free tier |
+| **Runway / Wan** | budget–mid [verify] | — | — |
+
+> Kie claims ~30% below official API pricing on most models, up to 60–70% on select high-demand models. **Treat every USD figure above as [verify] against the live pricing page before hard-coding.**
+
+---
+
+## 4. API shape
+
+**Unified async job pattern** (all Market models):
+
+1. **Create:** `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask`
+   Headers: `Authorization: Bearer <KIE_API_KEY>`, `Content-Type: application/json`
+   Body: `{ "model": "<slug>", "input": { ...model params... }, "callBackUrl": "<optional webhook>" }`
+   Returns: `{ code, msg, data: { taskId } }`.
+2. **Get result — two options:**
+   - **Poll:** `GET https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=<id>` → `data.state` ∈ `waiting | queuing | generating | success | fail`; on `success`, `data.resultJson` is a JSON string containing `resultUrls[]` (video URL). On `fail`, `data.failCode` / `data.failMsg`.
+   - **Webhook:** supply `callBackUrl` in createTask; Kie POSTs completion, "eliminating the need for polling" (recommended for production).
+3. **Credit check:** `GET https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/chat/credit`.
+
+**Veo exception:** Veo 3.x also has a **dedicated endpoint** `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/veo/generate` (+ get-details + extend), separate from the generic jobs endpoint.
+
+**Rate limits:** ~**20 generation requests per 10 seconds per account** (from the Getting-Started guide).
+
+**Error / status semantics:** `401` unauthorized (bad key), `402` insufficient credits, `429` rate-limited, `500` server error. Job-level failures surface as `state:"fail"` + `failCode`/`failMsg` (Kie relays upstream provider errors, incl. safety blocks, in `failMsg`). HTTP 200 on createTask means **accepted, not complete**.
+
+Sources: https://docs.kie.ai/ , https://docs.kie.ai/market/quickstart , https://docs.kie.ai/market/common/get-task-detail
+
+---
+
+## 5. Diff vs the prior integration (pixr client, `archive/pixar-v2`)
+
+The torn-out pixr pipeline's Kie client lives at **`archive/pixar-v2:scout/src/pixar/kie-client.ts`** (also `archive/pixar-v2:scout/src/image-ads/image-gen.ts` and the PowerShell reference `archive/pixar-v2:contrib/mcastelli99/2026-05-13/code/generate_videos_daily_glide.ps1`).
+
+**What the pixr client used:**
+- **Same transport** we'd reuse today: unified `POST /api/v1/jobs/createTask` + poll `GET /api/v1/jobs/recordInfo`, Bearer auth, `resultJson.resultUrls[0]`. Confirmed identical to the current image stack.
+- **Video model:** `bytedance/seedance-2` (`MODEL_VIDEO_SEEDANCE`), called via `buildClipRequest` with:
+  `{ prompt, aspect_ratio: "9:16", resolution: "720p", duration, generate_audio: false, reference_image_urls: [<one image>] }`.
+  **Audio was hard-coded OFF** — with defense-in-depth throwing if a caller passed `generateAudio !== false` — per Mario's "AUDIO_ARCHITECTURE.md" (Seedance audio drifted pacing). Audio came from a **separate ElevenLabs direct call** (`kieGenerateVoiceover` hits `api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/{voice_id}` directly, **not** Kie — an earlier attempt at ElevenLabs-via-Kie 422'd on the slug `elevenlabs/text-to-speech-multilingual-v2`).
+- **Image models:** `gpt-image-2-text-to-image` (T2I) and `gpt-image-2-image-to-image` (I2I, via `input_urls: [refUrl]`), with `aspect_ratio`, `output_format:"png"`, `resolution:"1K"`.
+- **Retry/robustness:** exponential backoff on transient 5xx / "try again later" / rate-limit, each retry minting a fresh task; video poll timeout 20 min, image 7 min.
+
+**What has changed in Kie's current API vs that client:**
+1. **Seedance native audio is now default-ON.** Current `bytedance/seedance-2` defaults `generate_audio:true`; the pixr "silent + overlay ElevenLabs" architecture is now **optional**, not required. v1 can drop the separate VO stage for models with native audio (or keep silent mode as an explicit toggle).
+2. **Seedance keyframe/reference surface expanded dramatically.** Then: one `reference_image_urls[]`. Now: `first_frame_url` + `last_frame_url` (true first/last-frame I2V) **plus** `reference_image_urls` (max 9), `reference_video_urls` (max 3), `reference_audio_urls` (max 3), `web_search`, `nsfw_checker`. Duration widened to 4–15s, resolution adds 480p/1080p/4k, AR adds 1:1/4:3/3:4/21:9/adaptive.
+3. **The whole modern roster is now on the same endpoint.** pixr only ever drove Seedance for clips. Today Veo 3.1 (also its own `/veo/generate`), Kling 3.0, Sora 2, Hailuo 2.3, Wan 2.6 are all reachable via the same `createTask` + slug the pixr client already spoke — so the Video-node picker is largely a **slug + input-schema map**, not new transport code.
+4. **Webhook callbacks** (`callBackUrl`) are now first-class and recommended over polling for production; pixr was poll-only.
+5. **ElevenLabs-via-Kie** remains awkward (pixr went direct); if the storyboard ever needs standalone VO, prefer the model's native audio or a direct ElevenLabs call rather than routing TTS through Kie.
+
+---
+
+## 6. Current image-node render stack (Scene Frames will likely reuse this)
+
+The **working tree** (not the archive) drives Kie for images in two places, both via the identical unified `createTask` + `recordInfo` poll pattern:
+
+- **`src/lib/modules/providers/image-generator/kie-nano-banana.ts`** — `KieNanoBananaProvider`, slug `"nano-banana-pro"` but **actually targets `gpt-image-2-text-to-image`** (`DEFAULT_MODEL`). Input: `{ prompt, nsfw_checker:false }` only — it does **not** send aspect_ratio/size (comment: model ignores them). createTask → poll `recordInfo` (2s interval, 120s timeout) → `resultJson.resultUrls[0]`. Maps safety failures to `SafetyFilterError`.
+  ⚠️ **Naming mismatch worth flagging:** the provider is called "nano-banana-pro" but sends the `gpt-image-2-text-to-image` slug. Kie *also* offers real `nano-banana` and `seedream-4` image models — if Scene Frames wants Nano Banana quality, it must send the actual nano-banana slug, not this provider as-is.
+- **`src/lib/meme/kie.ts`** — meme generator's image client. Same `gpt-image-2-text-to-image` slug, but sends `{ prompt, aspect_ratio:"1:1", resolution:"1K", output_format:"PNG" }`. Strict BYOK (member's own Kie key, no env fallback), 5-min poll timeout, one-shot 429 backoff.
+
+**Endpoint shape confirmed in-repo:** `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask` + `GET https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=...`, Bearer auth, `resultJson.resultUrls[0]`. **This is the same transport a Video-node would use** — the Scene Frames stage can reuse this createTask+poll helper wholesale and only swap the model slug + input schema (and should pass `aspect_ratio`/`image_size` to models that honor them, unlike gpt-image-2).
+
+Other Kie touch-points in the working tree (for reference): `convex/pipelineKeys.ts`, `convex/userKeys.ts`, `convex/lib/byok.ts` (BYOK key storage/resolution), `convex/doctor.ts` (key health check), `src/app/(dashboard)/settings/_components/pipeline-keys-tab.tsx` (Settings → Keys UI).
+
+---
+
+## Sources
+
+Primary (Kie):
+- https://docs.kie.ai/ (Getting Started — API pattern, rate limit 20/10s)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/quickstart (unified createTask / recordInfo / callBackUrl)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/common/get-task-detail
+- https://docs.kie.ai/veo3-api/generate-veo-3-video , /veo3-api/quickstart , /veo3-api/extend-video (Veo 3.1)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/kling/kling-3-0 , /market/kling/motion-control-v3 (Kling 3.0)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/bytedance/seedance-2 , /market/bytedance/seedance-2-fast (Seedance 2.0)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/sora2/... (Sora 2 — index confirmed; per-page params [verify])
+- https://docs.kie.ai/market/hailuo/2-3-image-to-video-pro (Hailuo 2.3)
+- https://docs.kie.ai/runway-api/quickstart (Runway)
+- https://kie.ai/ , https://kie.ai/market , https://kie.ai/pricing , https://kie.ai/v3-api-pricing (403 to automated fetch — pricing via secondary corroboration)
+
+Pricing corroboration (secondary, anchored to Kie's $0.005/credit):
+- https://skywork.ai/skypage/en/Kie.ai-API...1976113187525816320 (credit rate $0.005; error codes 401/402/429/500)
+- https://devtk.ai/en/blog/ai-video-generation-pricing-2026/
+- https://fluxnote.io/guides/ai-video-model-pricing-comparison-2026
+- https://evolink.ai/blog/best-ai-video-generation-models-2026-pricing-guide
+
+Local code (this repo):
+- Working tree: `src/lib/modules/providers/image-generator/kie-nano-banana.ts`, `src/lib/meme/kie.ts`
+- Archive tag: `archive/pixar-v2:scout/src/pixar/kie-client.ts`, `archive/pixar-v2:scout/src/image-ads/image-gen.ts`

package/assets/references/lipsync-alternatives.md

@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+# Lip-Sync Alternatives — getting a CHOSEN voice out of the on-screen actor's mouth
+
+**Research date:** 2026-07-14
+**For:** Unblocking voice-paired talking-head scene clips after Kie's `gemini-omni-video` `audio_ids` path started returning "flagged by Website as violating content policies" on every render (GitHub issue #561).
+**Goal:** A chosen voice — ideally an ElevenLabs voice the user already uses — spoken by the on-screen actor, lip-synced, in each per-scene clip (usually 9:16, 720p, 4–10 s), then stitched as today.
+**Method:** Primary sources = first-party API docs (ai.google.dev, sync.so/docs, fal.ai model pages, developers.heygen.com, d-id.com, hedra.com, replicate.com) plus Kie's own pages. Kie's marketing pages (`kie.ai/*`) and `kie.ai/market` return **HTTP 403 to automated fetch**; several `docs.kie.ai/market/...` model pages 404 at the guessed path, so some Kie-specific slugs/prices are corroborated from mirror hosts (fal, WaveSpeed, Replicate, Atlas Cloud) that run the same upstream model and are flagged accordingly. Anything not pinned to a first-party doc in this session is marked **[unverified]**.
+**Confidence labels:** `[docs]` = first-party API doc · `[mirror]` = same upstream model on another host's doc (fal/Replicate/WaveSpeed) · `[vendor]` = vendor marketing/help page · `[unverified]` = could not confirm from a primary source this session.
+
+---
+
+## TL;DR — recommendation table
+
+The two integration shapes matter more than the model list:
+
+- **RETARGET** = feed an *already-rendered* scene clip (video) + an audio track → model reanimates only the mouth, preserves background/body/camera. **Drops into the existing per-scene render → stitch flow as a new post-render step. No change to the video model.** This is the fit for our pipeline.
+- **GENERATE** = feed an *image* (a portrait / first frame) + audio → model animates a talking head from scratch. This **replaces** the Kie video model for talking scenes (loses the motion/scene the video model produced).
+
+| Rank | Path | Shape | Existing BYOK? | ~Cost, 9:16 720p, ~8 s | Voice source | Moderation risk | Verdict |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| **1** | **Kie `volcengine/video-to-video-lip-sync`** (retarget rendered clip) | RETARGET | ✅ **Kie BYOK exists — same jobs API** | not documented — surfaces via `creditsConsumed` `[docs]` | any audio file (our Voiceover node's ElevenLabs MP3s, ≤10 MB) | Low (edits our own footage) — **live-probe before building** | **Zero new provider; verified post-research (see addendum). Try first.** |
+| **2** | **sync.so `lipsync-2`** (retarget rendered clip) | RETARGET | ❌ new provider (but built-in ElevenLabs TTS) | ~**$0.32** ($0.04/s) `[docs]` | video's own audio **or** ElevenLabs voiceId+script native in-API | Low (edits our own footage) | **Best quality reputation; fallback if Volcengine quality/pricing disappoints** |
+| **2b** | **Kling Lip-Sync A2V** (`kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync`, retarget) via fal/Replicate | RETARGET | ❌ new provider (NOT in Kie's catalog — verified via docs index) | ~**$0.11–0.15**/run ($0.014/input-s, 5 s increments) `[mirror]` | any audio file (drop in ElevenLabs MP3) | Low | Cheapest retarget, but needs fal/Replicate BYOK |
+| 3 | **fal `veed/lipsync`** / **`fal-ai/latentsync`** (retarget) | RETARGET | ❌ new provider | veed ~$0.24 ($0.15/5 s); latentsync **$0.20 flat ≤40 s** `[docs]` | any audio file | Low | Cheap retarget fallbacks; latentsync is the price floor |
+| 4 | **Kie InfiniteTalk** (`infinitalk/image-to-talking-video`) | GENERATE | ✅ **Kie BYOK exists** | ~**$0.30**/clip (10 credits/5 s @720p) `[vendor]` | uploaded audio (ElevenLabs MP3), ≤15 s | Low–med | **Only option that reuses existing BYOK — but replaces the video model, image-driven** |
+| 5 | **Kie OmniHuman 1.5** (`bytedance/omni-human`) | GENERATE | ✅ Kie BYOK exists | ~$0.12/s upstream `[mirror]` | uploaded audio | Low–med | Higher-fidelity generate-from-photo on existing BYOK |
+| 6 | Hedra Character-3 | GENERATE | ❌ new provider | subscription credits, ~$15–75/mo | uploaded audio / text+TTS | Low | Best-in-class generate quality; sub model, not per-clip PAYG |
+| 7 | HeyGen / D-ID photo-avatar | GENERATE | ❌ new provider | ~$0.05/s ($3/min) `[vendor]` | uploaded audio or TTS | Low | Presenter/UGC avatars; least "our footage" |
+| — | **Google Gemini Omni direct** (bypass Kie) | GENERATE, **no audio input** | ❌ new provider | ~$0.10–0.75/s (Veo tiers) `[docs]` | **none — cannot supply a voice** | n/a | **Ruled out: API explicitly forbids audio upload & voice editing** |
+| — | Seedance `reference_audio_urls` (Kie) | (not lip-sync) | ✅ Kie | — | voice-style *reference*, not spoken content | — | **Not a lip-sync/voice-content lever — see note** |
+
+**Bottom line:** the goal ("chosen ElevenLabs voice, lip-synced, on the actor already in our rendered clip") is a **RETARGET** problem, and the video-generation APIs (including Gemini Omni direct) don't solve it. Rank 1–3 keep the Kie video model exactly as-is and add one post-render lip-sync call per scene, then mux/stitch. **sync.so is the standout** because it retargets our rendered clip *and* has ElevenLabs TTS built into the same request. If avoiding a brand-new provider is paramount, Kie InfiniteTalk (rank 4) is the only path on existing BYOK — but it's generate-from-image, so it changes what the talking scenes look like.
+
+---
+
+## Branch 1 — Google Gemini / Omni video API directly (bypass Kie)
+
+**Source (first-party):** https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/omni · pricing https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing
+
+### Does it accept audio input for the generated speech / lip-sync? **No.**
+The Gemini Omni video docs state plainly `[docs]`:
+- *"Uploading audio references is unsupported in the current version of the API."*
+- *"Voice editing is not supported."*
+
+The documented request accepts only: **text** (`{"type":"text","text":"…"}`), **images** (`{"type":"image","data":<base64>,"mime_type":"image/jpeg"}`), **videos for editing** (`{"type":"document","uri":<video_file_uri>}`), and **prior generated-video references** via a `previous_interaction_id` parameter. **There is no audio input parameter anywhere in the schema.** `system instructions`, `temperature`, `top_p`, and `negative prompts` are also unsupported (negatives must be embedded in the prompt). `[docs]`
+
+**Consequence:** the first-party API **cannot** take an ElevenLabs voice, an uploaded audio file, or a voice character to drive speech/lip-sync. It generates whatever voice it wants natively. This is the same capability gap that Kie's `audio_ids` param was papering over — and going direct removes the param entirely. **Branch 1 does not meet the goal.**
+
+### Moderation — and why Kie's flag is Google-side
+The Omni docs document these safety controls `[docs]`:
+- *"Content safety filters are applied to both input prompts and generated video (and depend on your region)."*
+- *"Prompts that violate usage policies will be blocked."*
+- *"Uploading and editing images containing certain recognizable people is not supported."*
+- *"Uploading and editing images containing minors is not supported in [the] EEA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom."*
+- English is *"fully supported"*; other languages *"have not been evaluated."*
+
+The "flagged by **Website**" wording our probes saw, combined with "prompts that violate usage policies will be blocked" applying to the *underlying Gemini/Omni model*, is consistent with a **Google-side content-policy block on the audio/voice pathway**, not a Kie quirk — Kie's `audio_ids` (preset voice characters) likely routes into a voice feature Google's safety layer rejects for this prompt class, or Kie is bolting on a voice step the first-party model doesn't sanction. Since the first-party API forbids audio input outright, there is **no direct-API config that re-enables voice-paired renders**. `[docs]` + reasoned inference.
+
+### Access, pricing, availability
+- **Video models on the Gemini API are the Veo family**, billed per second of output. Google's list rate for **Veo 3.1** is **$0.75/s** (~$6.00 / 8 s clip) on the Gemini API and Vertex; **Veo 3.0** was $0.50/s video-only / $0.75/s with audio (deprecated, shutdown 2026-06-30). A **standard-tier 720p** path bills ~**5,792 tokens/s of 720p video ≈ $0.10/s** [unverified exact tier mapping]. `[docs]` (pricing page) + `[vendor]` calculators.
+- **Vertex AI vs Gemini API:** same Veo models, same "no audio upload" capability for generation; Vertex adds enterprise auth/quota but does **not** add an audio-input lip-sync mode [unverified beyond Veo parity].
+- **vs Kie:** Kie's ~63 credits (~$0.32) per 4 s 720p clip is competitive with — often cheaper than — Google-direct Veo, and Kie's unified async job API is already integrated. Going direct means a **new "Google AI" BYOK provider**, a Files API upload step for image inputs, and Google's own async long-running-operation polling — **material new surface for zero gain on the voice goal.**
+
+**Branch 1 verdict: ruled out.** The capability we need (supply-your-own-voice / lip-sync to given audio) is explicitly not in the first-party API. Do not build a Google-direct integration to solve #561.
+
+---
+
+## Branch 2 — lip-sync-to-audio models (render clip → ElevenLabs MP3 → retarget the mouth)
+
+Ordered by fit. **RETARGET** models take our rendered clip; **GENERATE** models take a still image.
+
+### 2a. sync.so (Sync Labs) — `lipsync-2` / `lipsync-2-pro` / `sync-3` — **RETARGET** ✅ best fit
+**Source (first-party):** https://sync.so/docs/api-reference/api/generate-api/create · https://sync.so/docs/models/lipsync · https://sync.so/docs/introduction
+
+- **Shape:** retargets an **existing video** with new audio — *"retargets existing video with new audio, applying lipsync synchronization to match speaker mouth movements."* `[docs]`
+- **Inputs (`CreateGenerationDto`):** an array requiring **exactly one visual input** (video `url` **or** `assetId`; image also accepted) **and one audio-or-text input** `[docs]`:
+  - Audio as `{ "url": … }` or `assetId`, **or**
+  - **TTS**: `{ "provider": "elevenlabs", "voiceId": <ElevenLabs voice id>, "script": <text>, "stability", "similarityBoost" }` — **native ElevenLabs integration in the same request.** `[docs]`
+- **Models:** `sync-3`, `lipsync-2`, `lipsync-2-pro`, `lipsync-1.9.0-beta`, `react-1`. `[docs]`
+- **Options:** `sync_mode` (bounce/loop/cut_off/silence/remap for duration mismatch), `temperature` (0–1, default 0.5, expressiveness), `active_speaker_detection`, `occlusion_detection_enabled`, `webhookUrl`. `[docs]`
+- **API pattern:** **async** — POST returns `status: PENDING` → `PROCESSING` → `COMPLETED|FAILED|REJECTED`; poll or webhook. Long videos auto-chunked into 30–40 s segments (irrelevant for our 4–10 s clips). `[docs]`
+- **Pricing:** **`lipsync-2` = $0.04/s**, `sync-3` = $0.133/s (at 25 fps). ~**$0.32 for an 8 s clip** on lipsync-2. `[docs]` (pricing page / cost-estimation endpoint available).
+- **Moderation:** `REJECTED` state exists for policy violations [unverified what triggers it]; editing our *own* generated footage is far lower risk than generating a likeness.
+- **Fit:** ⭐ Perfect. Keep the Kie video model; after each scene renders, call sync.so with `video_url = <rendered clip>` and either the ElevenLabs MP3 we already generate **or** `provider:elevenlabs, voiceId, script` and skip our own TTS step. Output replaces the scene clip pre-stitch.
+
+### 2b. Kling Lip-Sync — Audio-to-Video (`kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync`) — **RETARGET** ✅ cheap
+**Sources:** fal API doc https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/kling-video/lipsync/audio-to-video/api `[docs]` · Replicate https://replicate.com/kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync `[mirror]` · WaveSpeed https://wavespeed.ai/models/kwaivgi/kling-lipsync/audio-to-video `[mirror]`
+
+- **Shape:** *"give it a clean voice track plus a video and it reanimates the mouth region… preserves the original background, body motion, and camera work."* Works on Kling-generated **or other-source** video. `[mirror]`
+- **Inputs:** `video_url` + `audio_url` (also a text→TTS variant). `[docs]`
+  - **Video:** .mp4/.mov, ≤100 MB, **2–10 s** (some hosts list 2–60 s), **720p/1080p only**, width/height 720–1920 px. `[docs]`
+  - **Audio:** 2–60 s, ≤5 MB, MP3/WAV/AAC/OGG. `[docs]`
+- **API pattern:** async queue + webhooks. `[docs]`
+- **Pricing:** ~**$0.15/run minimum**, or **$0.014 per input-video-second rounded to the nearest 5 s** → ~$0.11 for a 4–8 s clip. `[mirror]` (WaveSpeed/fal)
+- **Moderation:** marked "Commercial use / Partner"; no documented person-restriction policy. `[docs]`
+- **Kie hosting:** **[unverified]** — Kie hosts multiple Kling models (`kling-3.0/video` etc.) but I could **not** confirm this session that Kie exposes the *video-to-video* `kling-lip-sync` retarget slug (its `docs.kie.ai/market/kling/lip-sync` path 404'd). **If BYOK-Kie already exposes it, this becomes the top pick** (existing provider + cheap + retarget). Worth a live probe against the Kie account.
+- **Fit:** ⭐ Excellent and cheapest solid retarget. 10 s cap suits our clip length.
+
+### 2c. fal.ai catalog (retarget options)
+**Source:** https://fal.ai/models/veed/lipsync · https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/latentsync · https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/sync-lipsync
+- **`veed/lipsync`** — RETARGET (video→video), *"realistic lipsync from any audio."* **$0.15 / 5 s** (~$0.24/8 s). `[docs]`
+- **`fal-ai/latentsync`** (ByteDance LatentSync, audio-conditioned latent diffusion) — RETARGET. **$0.20 flat for ≤40 s**, then $0.005/s → cheapest for our clip lengths. Real-life + anime. `[docs]`
+- **`fal-ai/sync-lipsync` (1.9)** — RETARGET, **$0.70/min ≈ $0.012/s** (sync.so model, older). `[docs]`
+- **`fal-ai/kling-video/lipsync/audio-to-video`** — the Kling retarget above, on fal. `[docs]`
+- **Fit:** all RETARGET, all take our rendered clip + any audio (drop the ElevenLabs MP3). fal is a single BYOK that unlocks several — good hedge if we want to A/B lip-sync engines. latentsync is the price floor; veed is a quality step up.
+
+### 2d. Kie InfiniteTalk (`infinitalk/image-to-talking-video`) — **GENERATE** ✅ only path on existing BYOK
+**Sources:** https://kie.ai/infinitalk `[vendor]` (403 to fetch; corroborated) · integration guide https://www.fromdev.com/2025/11/how-to-integrate-infinite-talk-api-using-kie-ai-a-step-by-step-guide.html · FairStack model index (price)
+- **Shape:** MeiGen-AI InfiniteTalk — turns an **image + audio** into a talking avatar (sparse-frame video-dubbing framework, identity-preserving, "infinite" length). **Generate-from-image, not retarget-a-clip.** `[vendor]`
+- **Inputs (via `POST https://api.kie.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask`):** `image_url` (JPEG/PNG/WebP), `audio_url` (MP3/WAV/AAC/OGG, **≤15 s**), `prompt`, `resolution` **480p or 720p only**, `seed` (10000–1000000). `[mirror]` (integration guide reflecting Kie's schema)
+- **Pricing:** first 5 s = **5 credits @480p / 10 @720p / 15 @1080p**, then per-second at the same rate → ~**$0.30/clip @720p** (FairStack lists "InfiniteTalk (Kie.ai) — $0.300/clip"). `[vendor]`
+- **Fit:** ✅ **Only option that reuses the existing Kie BYOK key.** BUT it's image-driven: we'd feed a scene *frame* (or actor portrait) + the ElevenLabs MP3, and it **regenerates** the talking head — we lose whatever motion/scene the Kie video model produced. Good if talking scenes can be "portrait talks to camera"; wrong if the scene needs the video model's action. 15 s audio cap fits our 4–10 s clips.
+
+### 2e. Kie OmniHuman 1.5 (`bytedance/omni-human`) — **GENERATE**
+**Sources:** https://kie.ai/omnihuman-1-5 · https://kie.ai/omni-human-api `[vendor]` (403; corroborated) · fal/upstream pricing `[mirror]`
+- **Shape:** ByteDance OmniHuman 1.5 — single portrait **image + audio** → realistic talking video with natural lip-sync, expressions, lifelike/full-body motion. Generate-from-image. `[vendor]`
+- **Pricing:** upstream ~**$0.12/s** (fal listing for OmniHuman). Kie bills by generated duration; exact Kie credit/s [unverified]. `[mirror]`
+- **Fit:** Higher-fidelity generate-from-photo than InfiniteTalk, on existing Kie BYOK. Same caveat: replaces the video model for talking scenes. Kling AI Avatar 2.0 is a third Kie generate-from-image option (audio-driven, multilingual, up to 5 min; Kie benchmarks it above OmniHuman-1.5 and HeyGen). `[vendor]`
+
+### 2f. Runway (Act-Two / Lip Sync / Characters API)
+**Sources:** https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/42311337895827 · https://runwayml.com/apps/add-dialogue · changelog `[vendor]`
+- **Act-Two:** performance-capture (driving video → target character), auto audio-visual sync; you can **change the voice** within the interface. **Lip Sync** app extended to **45 s** (from 20 s). Characters API is **live for developers at dev.runwayml.com**. `[vendor]`
+- **Shape:** closest Runway analog to retarget is Lip Sync / "Add Dialogue" (animate a video/image with a voice). API is available (Gen-4/Characters on dev.runwayml.com) but **per-second API pricing for Act-Two/Lip Sync was not published** this session. `[vendor]` / [unverified pricing]
+- **Fit:** Plausible RETARGET/talking-photo path, but pricing opacity and a heavier API make it a second-tier choice vs sync.so/fal/Kling.
+
+### 2g. Hedra Character-3 — **GENERATE**
+**Sources:** https://www.hedra.com/docs/pages/getting_started/quickstart · https://www.hedra.com/video-models/hedra-character-3 · https://www.hedra.com/plans `[vendor]`
+- **Shape:** omnimodal — processes **image + text + audio simultaneously** → talking avatar with strong lip-sync, micro-expressions (blinks, eye shifts, head tilts), full-body motion. Generate-from-image. `[vendor]`
+- **Access/pricing:** requires a **paid subscription** (API key + purchased API credits). Free (100 cr, watermarked); Basic $15/mo (1,500 cr); Creator $30/mo (5,400 cr); Professional $75/mo (14,400 cr). **Credit/subscription model, not clean per-clip PAYG.** `[vendor]`
+- **Fit:** Best-in-class *generate* quality for talking heads, but subscription billing fits a per-user BYOK-PAYG pipeline poorly, and it's still generate-from-image (replaces the video model).
+
+### 2h. HeyGen API / D-ID — **GENERATE** (presenter avatars)
+**Sources:** https://developers.heygen.com/ · https://help.heygen.com/en/articles/10060327 · https://www.d-id.com/pricing/api/ `[vendor]`
+- **HeyGen:** Photo Avatar from a still → animates face, **syncs lips to your script or an uploaded audio file** ("dub or replace audio on a video with a provided audio file"). Pay-as-you-go since Feb 2026: **~$1 = 1 min @720/1080p**; engines from **$0.0167/s** (Avatar III Digital Twin) to **$0.05/s** (Avatar IV Photo Avatar) to $0.0667/s. Min top-up $5. `[vendor]`
+- **D-ID:** talking-head from a photo + audio/TTS, API **~$0.05/s ($3/min)**. `[vendor]`
+- **Fit:** These are *presenter/spokesperson* generators from a photo — they don't retarget our rendered scene, and outputs read as "avatar tool," which is off for naturalistic UGC scene action. Use only if a talking-portrait scene is acceptable and we want a polished presenter look. HeyGen's "replace audio on a video" mode is worth a second look as a possible retarget-ish path [unverified whether it accepts arbitrary external video].
+
+### 2i. Replicate-hosted options
+**Source:** https://replicate.com/collections/lipsync `[docs]`
+Replicate's lipsync collection hosts the same upstream models as first-party, each with a documented JSON schema and PAYG billing: **`sync/lipsync-2-pro`**, **`kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync`** (retarget), **`bytedance/omni-human`** (generate), **`pixverse-ai/lipsync`**, **`zsxkib/multitalk`** (multi-person conversational lipsync — multiple audio clips → back-and-forth). Good single-BYOK hedge (one Replicate key → several retarget + generate engines) but generally pricier/less predictable than fal for the same models.
+
+---
+
+## Seedance `reference_audio_urls` note (Kie `bytedance/seedance-2`)
+
+Per Kie's Seedance 2.0 doc (already captured in `native-audio-dialogue.md`, source https://docs.kie.ai/market/... Seedance page): `reference_audio_urls` accepts **≤3 clips, 2–15 s, wav/mp3** and is a **voice/style *reference* lever — NOT a documented dialogue-content or lip-sync-to-given-audio field.** `[docs]` It biases the *character/timbre* of the model's natively-generated speech; it does **not** make the model speak a supplied MP3 verbatim, and it does not lip-sync to an external audio track. **It does not solve the goal** (a chosen ElevenLabs voice saying our exact lines, lip-synced). Treat Seedance native audio as "model invents a voice, loosely style-guided," same class of problem as gemini-omni — not a voice-control solution.
+
+---
+
+## Recommended path + integration sketch
+
+### Primary recommendation: add a post-render **RETARGET lip-sync step**, keep the Kie video model
+The pipeline already produces per-scene clips and per-scene ElevenLabs MP3s (George default) — they're just not muxed/synced. The clean fix is a new stage between "scene clip rendered" and "stitch":
+
+```
+storyboard → [Kie video model renders scene clip (silent or discard native audio)]
+           → [ElevenLabs TTS: scene.dialogue → MP3]  (already exists)
+           → [LIP-SYNC RETARGET: clip + MP3 → mouth-synced clip]   ← NEW
+           → [ffmpeg stitch]  (already exists, now with real synced VO)
+```
+
+This is **additive** — no change to the storyboard, the video-model picker, or the stitch stage — and it finally makes the existing ElevenLabs Voiceover node pay off.
+
+**Engine choice, in order:**
+1. **sync.so `lipsync-2`** — retargets the rendered clip and can take **either** our ElevenLabs MP3 **or** an inline `provider:elevenlabs, voiceId, script` TTS block (letting us drop our own TTS call). Async job pattern mirrors Kie's (create → poll/webhook), so it slots into the existing async render machinery. ~$0.32/8 s clip. New BYOK: a sync.so API key. **Start here.**
+2. **Before committing to a new provider, live-probe whether BYOK-Kie already exposes `kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync` (video-to-video).** If yes, it's the cheapest retarget (~$0.11–0.15/clip) on the *existing* Kie key — zero new provider surface. `[unverified]` this session; a 1-call probe settles it.
+3. **fal (`veed/lipsync` or `fal-ai/latentsync`)** as a fallback/second engine — one fal BYOK unlocks several retarget models for A/B'ing quality; latentsync at $0.20/≤40 s is the price floor.
+
+### If a new provider is a hard no (must stay on existing Kie/ElevenLabs BYOK only)
+Use **Kie InfiniteTalk** (`infinitalk/image-to-talking-video`) or **OmniHuman** (`bytedance/omni-human`): feed a **scene frame/portrait + the ElevenLabs MP3** → talking clip, on the existing Kie key (~$0.30/clip @720p, 720p cap, ≤15 s audio for InfiniteTalk). **Accept the tradeoff:** these *generate* the talking head from a still, so talking scenes become "portrait speaks to camera" and lose the video model's motion/action. Fine for direct-address UGC beats; wrong for scenes that need staged action.
+
+### Integration considerations (both paths)
+- **Async + polling/webhook**, same as the current Kie render loop — reuse it. sync.so and Kie share the create→poll shape; sync.so adds a cost-estimation endpoint.
+- **Resolution/duration:** retarget models cap at 720p/1080p and ~10 s (Kling) or auto-chunk (sync.so) — fine for our 4–10 s 9:16 720p clips. InfiniteTalk caps at 720p + 15 s audio.
+- **Cost delta:** retarget adds ~$0.04/s (sync) or ~$0.014/s (Kling) *on top of* the ~$0.32/4 s Kie render — call it +$0.15–0.35/scene. A 6-scene ad adds roughly $1–2.
+- **Moderation:** retargeting **our own rendered footage** is materially lower policy-risk than the gemini-omni `audio_ids` path that #561 hit, and far lower than uploading a real person's likeness — the whole reason this route dodges the block.
+- **Voice fidelity:** all retarget engines take an arbitrary MP3, so the **user's exact ElevenLabs voice** is preserved end-to-end (we generate it, they lip-sync to it) — directly satisfying "a chosen ElevenLabs voice out of the actor's mouth."
+
+---
+
+## Source list (primary first)
+- Gemini Omni API (no audio input, safety): https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/omni
+- Gemini/Veo pricing: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing
+- sync.so create-generation schema: https://sync.so/docs/api-reference/api/generate-api/create · models https://sync.so/docs/models/lipsync · intro https://sync.so/docs/introduction
+- fal Kling lipsync A2V: https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/kling-video/lipsync/audio-to-video/api
+- fal veed/lipsync: https://fal.ai/models/veed/lipsync · latentsync: https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/latentsync · sync-lipsync: https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/sync-lipsync
+- Replicate lipsync collection: https://replicate.com/collections/lipsync · kling-lip-sync: https://replicate.com/kwaivgi/kling-lip-sync
+- WaveSpeed Kling lipsync (specs/price): https://wavespeed.ai/models/kwaivgi/kling-lipsync/audio-to-video
+- Kie InfiniteTalk: https://kie.ai/infinitalk · integration guide: https://www.fromdev.com/2025/11/how-to-integrate-infinite-talk-api-using-kie-ai-a-step-by-step-guide.html
+- Kie OmniHuman: https://kie.ai/omnihuman-1-5 · https://kie.ai/omni-human-api
+- Hedra Character-3: https://www.hedra.com/video-models/hedra-character-3 · quickstart https://www.hedra.com/docs/pages/getting_started/quickstart · plans https://www.hedra.com/plans
+- HeyGen API: https://developers.heygen.com/ · pricing https://help.heygen.com/en/articles/10060327-heygen-api-pricing-explained
+- D-ID API pricing: https://www.d-id.com/pricing/api/
+- Runway Act-Two: https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/42311337895827-Performance-Capture-with-Act-Two · add-dialogue https://runwayml.com/apps/add-dialogue
+- Seedance `reference_audio_urls`: see workspace/references/native-audio-dialogue.md (Kie Seedance 2.0 doc)
+
+---
+
+## Post-research verification addendum (main session, 2026-07-14)
+
+Two load-bearing claims were re-verified against primary sources after the research pass:
+
+### Kie DOES host a video-to-video lip-sync retarget model — `volcengine/video-to-video-lip-sync` `[docs]`
+Found via Kie's docs index (https://docs.kie.ai/llms.txt); full doc: https://docs.kie.ai/market/volcengine/video-to-video-lip-sync.md
+
+- **Shape:** RETARGET — required inputs are `mode` (`lite` = single-person frontal, faster; `basic` = complex scenes + scene segmentation), `video_url`, `audio_url`. Runs on the SAME `POST /api/v1/jobs/createTask` transport the pipeline already speaks, on the existing Kie BYOK key.
+- **Fit:** our scene clips are single-person frontal talking heads (→ `lite`); audio accepts MP3 ≤10 MB — exactly what the existing Voiceover node's ElevenLabs synthesis produces per scene. `align_audio` loops video if audio outruns it; output is mp4 25 fps with duration matched to the audio.
+- **Video constraints:** 360p–1080p (ours: 720p ✓), H.264, ≤500 MB, 24–60 fps.
+- **Unknowns:** pricing is NOT documented (Kie convention: real cost surfaces via `creditsConsumed` on the record — live-probe it) and output quality is unassessed. Given the #561 surprise, run a live probe (rendered clip + ElevenLabs MP3) before building the pipeline leg.
+- This supersedes the earlier "[unverified] Kie hosting of Kling lip-sync" row: Kie's docs index shows NO Kling A2V lip-sync slug — the Kling entries are `kling/ai-avatar-standard|pro` (GENERATE-from-image), plus `omnihuman-1-5` and `infinitalk/from-audio` (both GENERATE).
+
+### sync.so ElevenLabs TTS input — confirmed `[docs]`
+https://sync.so/docs/api-reference/api/generate-api/create — generation request accepts `{type: "text", provider: {name: "elevenlabs"}, voiceId: <ElevenLabs voice id>, script}` alongside a `{type: "video", url}` retarget input; models `sync-3`, `lipsync-2`, `lipsync-2-pro`, `lipsync-1.9.0-beta`, `react-1`. (Note: our pipeline already synthesizes ElevenLabs MP3s in the Voiceover node, so the built-in TTS is a convenience, not a requirement — which strengthens the case for trying Kie/Volcengine first.)
+
+### Revised recommendation
+1. **Live-probe Kie `volcengine/video-to-video-lip-sync`** (existing BYOK, existing transport, existing ElevenLabs VO): render one talking-head clip (native audio OFF, mouth policy suppressed), synthesize one ElevenLabs line, submit lite-mode retarget, judge quality + read `creditsConsumed`.
+2. If quality or price disappoints → **sync.so `lipsync-2`** (new BYOK provider, ~$0.04/s, strongest reputation).
+3. Integration shape either way: Video node gains a "voiceover lip-sync" mode = per-scene silent-ish render → Voiceover MP3 → retarget call → retargeted clip replaces the raw clip in the stitch. The storyboard's speech-fit budget already paces voText to scene durations.