What the first two episodes cost
Recorded through October 1, 2026. Development includes rejected attempts, revisions and reviews—not just the clips in the finished edit.
$84.17 in recorded OpenRouter charges
| Production | Recorded USD | ElevenLabs credits |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | $40.08 | 1,459 |
| Episode 2 | $40.16 | 2,369 |
| Shared tests and setup | $3.93 | 100 |
The recorded job charges reconcile with the provider account total within rounding. ElevenLabs usage is reported in credits; a subscription or overage dollar allocation has not been added.
Other tools and costs
EAW reported these costs for this production on October 1, 2026.
| Tool | Reported cost | Role |
|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | $22 per month | Saved cast voices and audio work |
| ChatGPT / Codex | $200 per month | Astra 6 for the AI-assisted editing and technical production work |
| DaVinci Resolve Studio | $295 one-time purchase | Editing software purchase |
$222 per month in these subscriptions, plus $295 once for the software. These are separate from the $84.17 in recorded episode and shared OpenRouter charges. They support work beyond these two episodes and have not been allocated to an individual episode. ElevenLabs credits are plan usage, not an additional dollar charge in this accounting. Labor, music subscription costs, local compute/storage and taxes remain unallocated. Prices describe EAW’s setup, not a guarantee of future vendor pricing.
Each production and edit round
| Round | Incremental USD | Voice / effects credits |
|---|---|---|
| Early model/resolution tests | $3.9140 | 0 |
| Music selection / reusable setup | $0.0152 | 0 |
| Voice casting / reusable setup | $0.0000 | 100 |
| E1 initial production / first cut | $9.3054 | 0 |
| E1 second cut · internal v004 | $11.6426 | 159 |
| E1 tighter third cut · internal v005 | $1.0256 | 0 |
| E1 expanded fourth cut · internal v006 | $9.7100 | 457 |
| E1 fourth-cut repairs · internal v007 | $3.0824 | 314 |
| E1 voice/Tina revision · v008 | $0.7275 | 71 |
| E1 previous accepted polish · v009 | $0.5919 | 127 |
| E1 approved clip rebuild · v010 | $3.9927 | 331 |
| E2 initial full cut and repairs | $14.4394 | 713 |
| E2 Catherine performance test | $1.0383 | 66 |
| E2 Clip 02 | $1.8838 | 121 |
| E2 Clip 01 and opening assembly | $4.3251 | 275 |
| E2 Clip 03 and join | $6.0020 | 385 |
| E2 Clip 04 and join | $4.6555 | 297 |
| E2 Clip 05 and join | $3.6148 | 226 |
| E2 Clips 06–07 / complete assembly | $4.1917 | 286 |
| E2 louder knock revision · v002 | $0.0077 | 0 |
| Final separate/back-to-back delivery | $0.0000 | 0 |
How to read these numbers
- Each provider job is counted once. Reusing footage or exporting another aspect ratio does not create a second generation charge.
- Episode 1’s latest approved rebuild used $3.91 of new video generation; with recorded reviews, the round totaled $3.9927 plus 331 ElevenLabs credits.
- The final back-to-back assembly added no generation charge. Local editing and rendering still consumed time and computing resources.
- The early tests were approximately $4. They are included in shared setup, not added twice.
- Some failed requests lack an individual price record. Their estimates are not treated as spending; the recorded charges nevertheless match aggregate account usage.
- Software purchases, subscriptions, labor, local storage/compute, taxes and unmetered image tooling are excluded. These are provider costs, not fully loaded business costs or a guaranteed price for future episodes.
The result is 153.375 seconds of finalized film, delivered in two compositions. Production cost depends on performance quality, failed takes and the number of revisions.