Video, short or voiceover failed: retry and credits

This page covers Magic Video, Shorts and Voiceovers, which fail the same way. To choose between them, see choosing a video product. For podcast episodes, see episode generation failed.

Why does my card say Needs attention?

A generation that fails shows a red status on its card in the Videos library, with a short line saying what went wrong. Status labels and card actions are listed with the library.

• Needs attention: another attempt could succeed. The card offers Retry generation. Most causes are temporary: a provider timed out, a step stopped before it finished, or another generation was already working on the visuals.
• Needs attention with a fix link: something has to change first. Add credits appears when the generation needs more credits than you have, Review sources when a source could not be processed, and Choose a voice or Create a character when a character has no usable voice or a script names a speaker that is not a saved character. Make the change, then use Retry generation.
• Cannot be finished: there is no Retry generation, because the same request would fail again. This covers refused wording, an unimportable script and lines that could not be voiced.
• Needs visuals: production finished but the visuals did not, and the draft is saved. Retry generation finishes the visuals.

A render failure keeps the video editable. To fix refused wording, open the item if it opens and follow Edit narration: edit the lines or switch the character, then regenerate.

Can I retry?

Click Retry generation when the card offers it. A retry continues from where the generation stopped:

• If it failed while rendering and the composition was already built, the retry only renders again.
• If a script already exists, the retry uses the saved script instead of writing a new one.
• If it failed before there was a script, the retry starts from your original prompt, sources and settings.
• A voiceover retry reuses the files you already uploaded, so you do not upload them again.

Was I charged for a failed generation?

Credits are held when generation starts. If the generation fails before the narration and visuals are finished, the hold is released and nothing is charged. Once narration and visuals are finished, generation is charged and the editable draft is ready. Rendering happens when you download or share. A later render failure keeps the generation charge, and retrying the render costs nothing. If some visuals or lines could not be produced, you are charged only for the narration and visuals that were generated, and the draft opens for you to finish.

A retry is charged only for what it generates. Narration is charged on a video's first voicing, so a retry does not pay for it twice. See understanding credits for reservation and rates.

Do not delete to fix a failure

Deleting a failed item and creating a new one repairs nothing. The replacement is a new generation, charged in full, and it runs the same pipeline with the same settings, so whatever stopped the first one is likely to stop it again. A retry pays only for what it still has to produce. Delete and start over when you want a different result, such as a new prompt, orientation or Visual Style.

Voiceover file errors

A voiceover can fail because one of your uploaded files could not be processed. Generate does not wait for uploads to finish, so you see the error when the voiceover fails, not when you add the file.

Retry from the card first. If it fails again, the file itself is probably the problem: export it again and create a new voiceover from the new file. Voiceovers lists supported formats.

If retry keeps failing

If Retry generation fails twice, stop retrying and contact support. The same applies to a Cannot be finished card where the fix it suggests does not help. The card shows the short version, not the technical error, so include the link to the failed item and roughly when you first tried to generate it. Support can then find the run and its error.

Open Help & Support in the Studio sidebar to chat with the team, or email support@jellypod.com. See get help and support.