Seedance 2 guide
How to use Seedance 2
Seedance is ByteDance's video model, and Root runs four versions of it: Seedance 2.5, Seedance 2.0, Seedance 2.0 Fast and Seedance 2.0 Mini. Pick one, write the shot, choose the length, size and sound, and add a first frame or reference images if you have them. Here is what each setting really allows, and how to write a prompt that uses it.
Updated
First month free on the Beginner plan, with 650 credits to try any model.
AI video made in Root
Seedance settings, model by model
What each Seedance model on Root can take and make in one run.
| Model | Length | Sizes | Reference images | Reference videos | Reference audio | First and last frame |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 | 4 to 30 s | 480p, 720p, 1080p | Up to 30 | Up to 10 | Up to 10 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 | 4 to 15 s | 480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K | Up to 9 | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 4 to 15 s | 480p, 720p | Up to 9 | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 4 to 15 s | 480p, 720p | Up to 9 | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Yes |
Which Seedance to pick
- Seedance 2.5: Long takes, and shots built from many reference images, clips or audio tracks.
- Seedance 2.0: The Seedance to use for 4K output, on clips up to 15 seconds.
- Seedance 2.0 Fast: Quicker, cheaper takes while you work out the shot.
- Seedance 2.0 Mini: The cheapest way to test a prompt or a camera move.
Each setting, and what it does
- Length. From 4 seconds up to each model's longest. Ask for less and the clip is made, and priced, at 4 seconds. Price goes up with every second.
- Size. 480p, 720p, 1080p and 4K. 4K is on Seedance 2.0 only. Bigger costs more.
- Shape. 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 1:1 and 21:9. With a first frame, a last frame or a reference video wired in, the clip follows the shape of that source instead.
- Sound. On unless you turn it off. Seedance makes dialogue, effects and music in one track. Choose No music and Root asks the model for dialogue and effects only; it usually listens, but it isn't guaranteed. Sound does not change the price.
- First and last frame. Wire in the image the shot opens on, and if you like the one it ends on. The clip moves from one to the other.
- References. Images, video clips or audio tracks for the model to work from, such as a character or a place. It frames the shot itself.
Limits worth knowing before you run
- Use either first and last frames or references in one clip, not both. Seedance doesn't allow the two together.
- Images must be at least 300 and at most 6000 pixels on each side, and no wider than 2.5 times their height or narrower than 0.4 times.
- Reference videos add to the price: Seedance counts their length as well as the clip's.
- On Seedance 2.5, a reference audio track longer than 30 seconds is cut to its first 30.
How to write a Seedance prompt
- Start with the shot. Wide, medium or close-up, and where the camera is. “Low wide shot from across the street.”
- Say who and what. The subject and one clear action, start to end. One shot, one idea.
- Move the camera on purpose. A slow push in, a pan to follow, a handheld walk behind. Say how fast.
- Set the light and the place. Time of day, weather, what lights the scene.
- Write the sound. The line of dialogue in quotes, and the sounds around it. Leave it out if sound is off.
- Name your references. Call them by their place in the order you wired them: @Image1, @Image2, @Video1, @Audio1.
Seedance 2 prompt examples
- “Medium shot, a fisherman hauls a net onto a small boat at dawn, spray in the low sun, the camera rocks with the swell. We hear gulls and the engine idling.”
- “@Image1 walks into the diner from @Image2 and sits at the counter. Slow push in from the door. Neon light, rain on the window. She says: ‘Coffee. Black.’”
- “Close-up of a match being struck in a dark room, the flame lights a face, then the camera pulls back to show the empty warehouse. Only the hiss of the match.”
- “Wide shot, @Image1 runs along a rooftop at night, the city lights behind her, the camera tracking beside her at the same speed.”
A worked example, priced
One 10-second shot at 720p with sound, built from two reference images: a woman (@Image1) and a diner (@Image2). The prompt is the second example above.
- Draft it on Seedance 2.0 Mini at 480p until the action and the camera move are right: $0.61 a take.
- Make the final take on Seedance 2.5 at 720p: up to $4.03.
- Three drafts and one final: up to $5.86 in all.
- Every take is saved in your project, so you can compare them and keep the best.
- “Up to” is the most it can cost; you are charged what the model reports it used.
Related guides
Seedance 2 questions
How do I use Seedance 2?
In Root, open a project, add a Video Gen node and choose a Seedance model. Write the shot, set the length (4 seconds and up), the size and the sound, and wire in a first frame or reference images if you have them. The price shows before you run it, and every take is saved to the project.
Why doesn't my Seedance clip have the shape I picked?
With a first frame, a last frame or a reference video wired in, the clip follows the shape of that source, not the shape you picked. Crop the image or the video to the shape you want before you wire it in.
Can a Seedance clip be shorter than the minimum?
No. The shortest Seedance clip is 4 seconds. Ask for less and the clip is made, and priced, at 4 seconds.
Can I use a first frame and reference images together?
No. Seedance takes either a first frame (and a last frame) or references in one clip. To keep a character and control the opening, make the opening frame with the character in it first, then use that as the first frame.
How do I point to a reference in a Seedance prompt?
By its place in the order you wired it: @Image1 for the first reference image, @Image2 for the second, @Video1 for the first reference video, @Audio1 for the first audio track.
Can Seedance make sound without music?
Yes, usually. Choose No music under sound and Root asks the model for dialogue and effects only. Seedance makes all its sound in one track, so it's a request it normally follows, not a guarantee.
Can I try Seedance 2 for free?
For a month, yes. The first month of Root's Beginner plan is free and comes with 650 credits, enough for ten Seedance 2.0 Mini drafts of the example above (10 s, 480p, with sound). After that the plan is $9 a month, and you can cancel whenever you like.
Try Root free for a month
The first month of the Beginner plan is free and comes with 650 credits to spend on any model. After that it's $9 a month, and you can cancel whenever you like.