Dawnwood / Workshop / Seedance Draft
SEEDANCE 2.5 DRAFT · FOR FIGHTS, EFFECTS AND CROWDED SHOTS

Preview at 480p. Keep the take. Get the same shot in 1080p.

Shots that need many tries, like a fight, a transformation or a hall full of people, render as cheap Seedance 2.5 Draft previews. When one works, Dawnwood turns that exact take into a 1080p final with the same composition, blocking and motion.

Try Draft on a group See the test →
Previews 4 cr per second · the 1080p final 18 cr per second · failed finals refunded
The same frame of three men entering a candle-lit hall: on the left the 480p Draft preview with blurred faces, on the right the 1080p final with sharp faces in the same positions.
480p DRAFT1080p FINAL
DRAFT, PLAINLY 4 cr per preview second 18 cr per 1080p second Same seed for the final 7 days to decide
THE ANSWER

What Draft mode does.

What is Seedance Draft in Dawnwood? Draft is a render mode for a storyboard group. Each try renders as a 480p Seedance 2.5 preview at under half the price of a 720p render. You watch the previews, pick the one that works, and Dawnwood sends that preview back to Seedance, which renders it again at 1080p from the same seed, prompt and references. The final keeps the preview's framing, blocking and motion, and draws the detail the preview blurred.

It is for the shots you expect to re-roll: fights, effects, crowds and wide shots where faces are small. A dialogue group that lands on the first try is cheaper rendered normally.

HOW IT WORKS

Set, preview, pick, finish.

01 · SET
Choose Draft for a group
In the group inspector, set the resolution to Draft. The group switches to Seedance 2.5. You can also make Draft the default for a whole series.
02 · PREVIEW
Render as often as it takes
Every render is a 480p preview at 4 cr per second. Previews join the group's takes like any other, marked Draft.
03 · PICK
Judge the action, not the pixels
Watch for the blow landing, the effect timing and where everyone stands. Small faces are soft in a preview; the final draws them.
04 · FINISH
Make 1080p final
One button on the take. The 1080p render arrives as a new take and is picked for the group automatically.
THE TEST

Three groups, preview against final.

We rendered three groups from The Alpha’s Bought Bride as Draft previews, turned each into a 1080p final, and compared them frame by frame: a close-up dialogue shot, a wide hall with three men entering, and a fight in the snow. Every final had the same number of frames as its preview.

0.96
Close-up: average frame similarity (SSIM) between preview and final. Same expressions, eyelines and gestures.
0.90
Wide hall: same entrances and blocking. Faces that are smears in the preview are drawn in the final, matched to the cast.
0.88
Fight: same moves, hits and falls. In the fastest second one figure sits slightly to the right of where the preview had her.

LEFT: 480p DRAFT PREVIEW · RIGHT: 1080p FINAL

TOP ROW: DRAFT PREVIEW · BOTTOM ROW: 1080p FINAL

Four moments of a snowy fight, the Draft preview above and the 1080p final below: the same grab, shove, pin and fall in each pair.
The fight group at four points. Each move lands in the same place in the final; the redraw adds detail to faces, leather and snow.

TOP ROW: DRAFT PREVIEW · BOTTOM ROW: 1080p FINAL

Four moments of a close-up scene, the Draft preview above and the 1080p final below, with matching framing and expressions.
The close-up group. Framing, eyelines and the frost on her lashes carry over; skin texture is what the final adds.
WHEN TO USE IT

Draft pays off when you re-roll.

Fights

The blow has to land on the right person at the right beat. Try until it does at preview prices, then finish once.

Effects and transformations

A shift, a spell, a door made of light: timing is everything and the first try is rarely it.

Wide shots with small faces

At 720p, faces in the back row blur. A Draft final redraws them at 1080p from the cast references instead of guessing.

Not for easy dialogue

A two-shot that works on the first or second render costs less at 720p. Leave those groups on the series default.

PRICING

Cheap tries, one paid finish.

4 cr per preview second
Each Draft preview costs 4 cr per second of footage, charged when it renders and kept even if you throw the preview away. Turning a preview into the final costs 18 cr per second, and a final that fails is refunded. An 8-second fight that takes five tries comes to 160 cr of previews and 144 cr for the final, 304 cr in all, against 400 cr for five Super-mode renders at 720p. See every rate on the pricing page.
QUESTIONS

Before you switch a group.

Is the 1080p final the same shot as the preview?
Yes in composition, blocking, motion and camera move: the final is rendered from the preview's own seed, prompt and references, frame for frame the same length. It is redrawn at 1080p, not upscaled, so detail the preview blurred (small faces, hands, fabric) comes out sharp. It is not pixel-identical: in fast action a figure can land a few dozen pixels off, so check timing-critical cuts on the final.
Can the final be 720p?
No. ByteDance only renders Draft finals at 1080p. If you want 720p, render the group normally; that is a new take and will not match the preview.
What does it cost?
Previews are 4 cr per second of footage, charged when they render and kept even if you discard them. Turning a preview into the final is 18 cr per second. A final that fails to render is refunded.
When is Draft cheaper than rendering at 720p?
When a group needs about four or more tries. Super mode at 720p is 10 cr per second for every try. With Draft, an 8-second fight that takes five tries costs 160 cr of previews plus 144 cr for the final: 304 cr, against 400 cr for five 720p tries, and you get 1080p. A dialogue group that lands on the first or second try is cheaper at 720p.
How long do I have to decide?
Seven days. After that ByteDance discards the preview's render data and the group has to be rendered again.
Which engines support it?
Seedance 2.5 (Super mode) only. Choosing Draft for a group switches its render to Seedance 2.5.

Stop paying full price for the tries you throw away.

Set your next fight to Draft, preview until it lands, and finish the one you keep in 1080p.

Try Draft on a group