Veo 3.1 clip older than 2 days: it cannot be extended

If a Veo 3.1 clip is older than 2 days, you cannot extend it through the Gemini API: Google's Veo page says generated videos are stored for 2 days at most, and that only Veo-generated videos are eligible for extension. The page describes no route for extending a file you re-upload. Your options are to regenerate the opening, or to continue the story with a new clip in another model. Facts below were read on 2026-10-08.

Sume does not list Veo 3.1, so it has no Veo extension. What it lists for the same job is Gemini Omni Flash 1.1, which generates 3 to 10 seconds per request and has a separate video_url edit mode.

What Google's Veo page says about extension

The numbers come from the Veo 3.1 page. They are the reason the 2-day window matters.

Three ways to continue an expired clip

First, regenerate. Write the prompt of the lost clip again and extend within the window this time. The cost is the original generation again; Google's pricing page lists Veo 3.1 Fast at $0.10 per second for 720p, so an 8-second redo is $0.80, and Standard is $0.40 per second, $3.20 for 8 seconds.

Second, treat the last frame as a new first frame. Export the final frame of the downloaded clip and use it as the first frame of a new clip. On Sume, gemini-omni-flash-1.1 accepts image_url for that and returns 3 to 10 seconds with native audio, billed at provider list times 1.25 per second: $0.125 at 720p, so $1.00 for 8 seconds.

Third, edit instead of extend. Sume's Omni row has a video_url mode: the prompt is the instruction, resolution is optional and defaults to 720p, and you do not send aspect_ratio or duration for it. That changes what is in the clip, but it does not add running time.

Cost comparison for an 8-second continuation

Using the same 8 seconds at 720p, the numbers are close enough that the deciding factor is the join, not the price.

Keep the next one safe

Download every Veo clip the day you make it, and keep the prompt with it. On Sume, a finished job gives you a media.sume.com artifact URL; save the file if it is a deliverable. If you need the join to look continuous, use the last frame as the first frame and describe the same camera move in the prompt. Both models add native audio, so check the seam by ear.

A habit that avoids the problem

Download every Veo file the day you make it. Google's Veo page says videos are stored for 2 days and that extending resets the timer, so a clip you plan to extend should be extended inside that window. For a clip that has expired, regenerate it, since the page describes no other route.

Veo 3.1 Lite is $0.05 per second at 720p, which makes a 8-second redo $0.40.