Video quickstart

export BFL_API_KEY="your-key-here"

import os, re, subprocess, time, requests
from PIL import Image
from IPython.display import Video, display
from imageio_ffmpeg import get_ffmpeg_exe

API_KEY = os.environ.get("BFL_API_KEY")
assert API_KEY, "Set BFL_API_KEY - create one at https://dashboard.bfl.ai"
BASE = "https://api.bfl.ai/v1"
HEADERS = {"x-key": API_KEY}
DONE = {"Ready", "Request Moderated", "Content Moderated", "Error", "Task not found"}
FFMPEG = get_ffmpeg_exe()
os.makedirs("outputs", exist_ok=True)

def generate(payload, path, model="flux-3-preview-high"):
    """The whole client: submit, poll to a terminal status, save the file."""
    task = requests.post(f"{BASE}/{model}", headers=HEADERS, json=payload, timeout=60)
    task.raise_for_status()
    poll = task.json()["polling_url"]
    result = {"status": None}
    while result["status"] not in DONE:
        time.sleep(5)
        result = requests.get(poll, headers=HEADERS, timeout=30).json()
        print(f'  {os.path.basename(path)}: {result["status"]}', flush=True)
    assert result["status"] == "Ready", f'{result["status"]} - Error: resubmit. Moderated: reword.'
    video = requests.get(result["result"]["sample"], timeout=60).content
    open(path, "wb").write(video)          # the result URL expires ~2h after Ready
    return path

clip = generate({
    "prompt": (
        "A single large Venus flytrap stands in a terracotta pot on a workbench in a "
        "humid Victorian greenhouse, condensation on the glass behind it, one fat trap "
        "raised toward the camera. The trap-lobes part like a mouth and it says, in a "
        "slow, honeyed whisper: \"Come closer. I have been so terribly patient.\" The "
        "two lobes and their bristles open and close precisely on each word, a bead of "
        "nectar trembling on the rim. Slow dolly in to a tight close-up on the moving "
        "trap. Audio: dripping condensation, the wet click of the lobes on each "
        "syllable, a lone fly buzzing, distant greenhouse fans. No on-screen text, no "
        "subtitles."
    )
}, "outputs/01_flytrap.mp4")

piano = generate({
    "prompt": (
        "Wide underwater shot of a black lacquered grand piano sinking slowly through "
        "the deep end of an empty swimming pool, tiled walls receding into blue, a "
        "column of silver bubbles streaming from between the keys. It settles upright "
        "on the pool floor, silt lifting around its legs; the keys depress one after "
        "another in a slow, warped chord as the water swallows the sound. Camera drifts "
        "down alongside the falling piano in one continuous move, then holds as it "
        "lands. Audio: the muffled, detuned notes bending underwater, the low groan of "
        "the frame under pressure, a steady hiss of escaping bubbles, no surface sound. "
        "No on-screen text."
    ),
    "aspect_ratio": "21:9",
    "duration": 10,
    "resolution": "720p",
}, "outputs/01_piano.mp4")

described = generate({
    "prompt": "An old typewriter types by itself in an empty office, spooky atmosphere."
}, "outputs/01_typewriter_described.mp4")

directed = generate({
    "prompt": (
        "Close-up of an old black typewriter on a desk in a dark, empty office at "
        "night, lit only by a green banker's lamp. Three keys strike by themselves, "
        "one after another, slow and deliberate. A pause. Then the carriage returns on "
        "its own with a sharp bell ding, and every key fires at once in a frantic "
        "burst. The camera pushes in slowly the whole time. Audio: each key strike as "
        "a dry mechanical clack, the single bright bell, then the clattering burst, "
        "under a low room hum and a faint fluorescent buzz. No on-screen text."
    )
}, "outputs/01_typewriter_directed.mp4")

# The trap: a quoted line, nobody on screen to say it.
bare = generate({
    "prompt": (
        "Wide shot of fog rolling through a pine forest at dawn, pale light between "
        "the trunks. \"Nothing here is asleep. It is all just waiting.\""
    )
}, "outputs/01_speech_trap.mp4")

# The fix: give the line a home. No mouth needed - declare it a voiceover and
# forbid text explicitly.
fixed = generate({
    "prompt": (
        "Wide shot of fog rolling through a pine forest at dawn, pale light between "
        "the trunks, one crow lifting off a branch. A low, calm voiceover says exactly "
        "once: \"Nothing here is asleep. It is all just waiting.\" These are the only "
        "words. Audio: the voiceover, wind through needles, the crow's wingbeats, a "
        "distant creak of wood. No on-screen text, no subtitles, no captions."
    )
}, "outputs/01_speech_fixed.mp4")