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Start with the assets you have and the result you need. A product photo, an existing speaker video and a text-only brief require different workflows. Magic Hour offers a web application for manual creation, an API for application integrations and a creation MCP for connected assistants. Their catalogs can differ; check the specific endpoint before committing to an integration. This guide is published by Magic Hour. It explains how to evaluate fit, not a measured comparison with another provider.

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Match the workflow to your inputs

For developer tooling, begin with API authentication and the quickstart. For an assistant that creates media, connect the Magic Hour creation MCP. The separate API Docs MCP searches documentation and does not generate media.

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Product ads: preserve what must be exact

Use image editing to prepare a source asset, then image-to-video to experiment with motion. Check each output against the original product: packaging, proportions and labels can change during generation. Add exact prices, legal copy and final logos with deterministic editing or compositing. Start with the product-video starter recipe. Review one short output before scaling to a catalog. A completed job is not automatically an accepted ad.

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Localization: existing footage or a still portrait?

Choose lip sync when you already have a video and replacement audio. Choose talking photo when you start with a still portrait. Translating a script and producing the approved voiceover are separate decisions from matching a speaker’s mouth to audio. For client work, follow the agency lip-sync pilot. Test difficult shots separately rather than assuming results on a clear front-facing speaker transfer to cuts, multiple speakers or large head turns.

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Commercial delivery and cost

Use assets, likenesses and voices you have permission to use. Check the current terms of service and your plan before commercial delivery. Commercial use requires a paid subscription, credit-pack purchase or separately agreed paid usage-based arrangement, subject to the terms and applicable rights. Assets created without one of these paid arrangements are limited to personal, non-commercial use. Do not present generated testimonials as real customer experience. Model access, supported duration, resolution, audio and credit charges vary. Read the current model and credit matrix, then compare providers using the same inputs and acceptance criteria. Track cost per accepted output, including charged retries and rejected outputs, rather than relying on the cheapest advertised generation.

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Production integrations

Keep credentials server-side, save the returned project ID and wait for a terminal state with a bounded timeout. Download successful output before signed URLs expire. A polling timeout must not silently create another billable job. Use the input/output guide and production integration checklist when moving beyond a pilot.