Discussions

Hello HeyGen Engineering Team,

I was directed here by support for technical API questions about Avatar IV.

Workflow:

1. Upload image: https://upload.heygen.com/v1/asset
2. Generate video: https://api.heygen.com/v2/video/av4/generate

Current Setup:

{
"image_key": "image/xxx/original",
"voice_id": "0c2151d538844c70a",
"script": "Hello world!",
"speed": 1.1,
"pitch": 50,
"emotion": "Excited",
"expressive": true,
"aspect_ratio": "9:16",
"video_title": "Test",
"test": false
}

Questions:

1. Background Preservation
   How can I keep the original photo background in the generated video? Avatar IV currently removes it.
2. Vertical Format (9:16)
   The aspect_ratio parameter doesn't work. How do I generate Reels/TikTok format videos?

Should I crop images to 1080x1920 before uploading via /v1/asset?
What source image specs are recommended?

3. Gesture/Emotion Control
   Besides expressive: true and emotion parameter, are there other ways to control:

Hand movement intensity
Facial expressions
Script-based commands?

Avatar IV quality with expressive: true is amazing! Just need clarification on these API parameters.

Thanks!