luma

luma

The cinematic video-generation tool skill — define the shot, reference with stills + frames, economize with drafts, assemble the sequence, and mind the rights. The agent briefs (and can drive the API where connected); the human judges every clip; WoopSocial publishes. (Ships with tools/integrations/luma.md.)

The POV: shots, not films — and drafts, not gambles

Dream Machine's 2026 edge is per-shot cinematic quality: Ray3 was the first "reasoning" video model (it interprets, generates, self-evaluates, retries), with 16-bit HDR, keyframes, character reference, and Modify (restyle real footage, keep the performance). The top-1% operator holds four truths the marketing softens. (1) Generations are shots, not films: 5–10 seconds each, Extend degrades past the initial clip — a brand film is a shot list, generated shot-by-shot and assembled in an editor with sound added in post (no native audio; that's Veo/Kling territory). (2) Draft first, always: iterate cheap in Draft Mode, Hi-Fi master only the winner — because HDR at 1080p runs ~16× standard credits and monthly credits expire at reset. (3) Variance is real: the same prompt differs run-to-run more than half the time (independent testing) — so client-grade consistency comes from references (still-first image-to-video, character reference on base Ray3, keyframes), never from luck. (4) The rights fine print: free = watermarked non-commercial, the commercial floor is the Plus-level plan (tier tables genuinely conflict — verify in-app), and Luma keeps a marketing license on your generations — the clause client work needs to know about.

Read these first

1. ai-video — the model-agnostic router/craft above the video tools.
2. brand-profile + design-and-templates (the brand feel) + short-form-video-script (the beats).

The framework: DREAM

(Depth: references/the-dream-framework.md.)

• D — Define the shot: a director's shot brief (subject + action + setting + light + mood + camera move); one shot per generation; vague prompts pay the variance tax.
• R — Reference with stills + frames: still-first image-to-video (brand-true frames from flux/Photon); keyframes for transitions; character reference (Ray3) for identity; Modify for real footage; never an unpermitted likeness.
• E — Economize with drafts: Draft Mode → Hi-Fi the winner; ~3 attempts per usable clip budgeted; HDR only for graded finals; credits expire — plan sessions.
• A — Assemble the sequence: shots → capcut (pace to the beats), sound in post (ai-music-and-sound), keyframe-matched cuts; drift review on sets.
• M — Mind the rights: commercial tier confirmed; Luma's license-back understood (Enterprise for NDA); AI-disclosure (EU AI Act; C2PA); then the human judges and WoopSocial publishes.

The reality (verify-quarterly)

2026 Luma: Ray3 (reasoning model; 16-bit HDR + EXR; keyframes; character reference; visual annotation; Modify V2V) · Ray3.14 (Jan 2026 — native 1080p, ~4× faster, ~3× cheaper at 720p; drops character reference + HDR) · a newer Ray already on the official pricing page (the line moves) · Photon (images) · Luma Agents (multi-model bundle incl. Veo/Kling/ElevenLabs — worth it if you'd pay for 2–3 bundled models; overpaying for one) · official Python SDK (create → poll → download); API credits are a separate wallet. Economics: Draft→Hi-Fi is the signature workflow; HDR 1080p ≈ 16× standard 720p; 3 attempts/usable clip; monthly credits expire, top-ups roll over; Trustpilot skews negative on billing. Rights: free = non-commercial; commercial floor = Plus-level ($30/mo; tier tables conflict — two plan generations coexist; verify in-app); Luma's marketing license-back; Enterprise = data-privacy guarantee. Variance: same prompt differs

50% of runs (goenhance). Sora's consumer shutdown (Apr 2026) made Luma a migration target. Attribute all; verify-quarterly. Full detail: references/luma-2026-reality.md. The model table, shot-brief pattern, the sequence workflow, the credit worksheet, and two worked examples: references/shot-patterns-and-templates.md.

Honest scope (never violate)

• The agent briefs shots, plans references/keyframes/credits, and drives the SDK where connected (exact human steps otherwise; no unreviewed auto-publish); the human judges every clip (no fabricated "that shot works"; drift reviews on sets); WoopSocial publishes the exports — it does not generate or edit video.
• Rights spine: free tier never for client/commercial work; verify the current tier in-app; Luma's license-back disclosed to clients where relevant; Enterprise for NDA; counsel for high-stakes (not legal advice). Likeness/misinformation: no unpermitted real-person likeness (real or AI lookalike); no photoreal fake-event footage of real entities ("satire" doesn't launder defamation); AI-disclosure where required. Sound in post with proper licenses. Never fabricate rates, tiers, benchmarks, capabilities. (Full scope: references/scope-and-connections.md.)

Distinct from its siblings (route correctly)

luma (this) = the Dream Machine lane (cinematic shots, HDR, references, Modify) · ai-video = the model-agnostic router (read first) · veo-3 / kling / runway = sibling skills (runway = the control-focused/edit-grade lane) — sound-native generation routes to Veo/Kling (Luma = silent + post) · flux / image-prompt = the brand-true stills this animates · heygen / synthesia = avatar presenters (a different job) · capcut = where shots become films · ai-music-and-sound = the audio Luma doesn't generate.

Where this connects

Reads first: ai-video + brand-profile + design-and-templates + short-form-video-script. Pulls stills from: flux / image-prompt. Feeds: capcut (assembly), ai-music-and-sound (audio), tiktok- video-publishing / instagram-reels-publishing / youtube-shorts (the finished clip). Publishes via: export → scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial. Tool file: tools/integrations/luma.md. Measure with: native + analytics-and-reporting — never fabricated.

Definition of done

A Luma workflow that ships shots on-budget and on-rights: every generation briefed as a director's shot (one shot, concrete subject/action/light/camera), brand control achieved still-first (image-to-video from canonical flux/Photon frames; character reference on Ray3 for identity; keyframes for transitions; Modify for real footage; no unpermitted likeness), credits governed by the draft-first loop (Draft iterations → one Hi-Fi master; HDR reserved for graded finals; ~3-attempt budget; sessions planned around expiring credits; API wallet funded separately where used), sequences assembled in capcut to the script's beats with licensed sound added in post and a side-by-side drift review, and rights closed before publishing (commercial tier verified in-app; Luma's license-back known; AI-disclosure where required; no fake-event footage of real entities); the human judging every clip and WoopSocial publishing the finished file; no fabricated rates/tiers/benchmarks, no one-generation "film" promises; and correctly distinguished from ai-video, veo-3/kling, flux, heygen/synthesia, and capcut.