Remove a small object

You give it a still and a box around the object; you get the still with the object gone and every pixel outside a small feathered circle unchanged (a badge removal changed about 9k px). A whole-frame edit for the same removal comes back 0.5–1% zoomed with every pixel nudged (PSNR ~23–26 dB against the approved still), and a still that video is pinned to must not move. This leaf runs on python-crop-and-paste-back; load it for the script.

Inputs

The still, at 2K (2752×1536) when you have the edit's original; otherwise the 1080p.
A square box of about 256 px (at 2K) centred on the object.
What the object sits on, for the prompt ("the knit of her sweater").

Run it

Crop and enlarge 4×, in the still's own pixels: exec python crop_paste.py crop --image <still> --no-conform --box 1180,940,1436,1196 --scale 4 --out <job>/refs/shot12_pin_crop.png

Edit, two or three takes, one call each (call describe first in a job):

run(model="fal/google/nano-banana-2.1/edit",
    input={"prompt": <the removal prompt>,
           "image_urls": ["<job>/refs/shot12_pin_crop.png"],
           "aspect_ratio": "1:1", "resolution": "2K", "num_images": 1, "seed": 1000,
           "output_format": "png", "safety_tolerance": "5", "thinking_level": "high"},
    into="<job>/refs", unit="shot12_pin_edit")

Paste back a feathered circle: exec python crop_paste.py paste --image <still> --no-conform --box 1180,940,1436,1196 --edit <job>/refs/shot12_pin_edit_a.png --mask circle --out <job>/stills/shot12_c.png
Conform to 1920×1080 with python-conform-to-1080p.

If the removal was already made as a whole-frame edit, keep it only inside a box instead: exec python crop_paste.py patch-box --original <approved still> --edited <full-frame edit> --box x0,y0,x1,y1 --out <patched> (aligns the edit first, 12 px feather).

Prompt

Short, and about the surface that continues. The proven edit asked for little more than "remove it, continue the knit"; spelled out:

This is an enlarged close crop of a still from a live-action film. Remove the small enamel pin on her sweater and continue the knit through where it was: the same stitch, colour, folds, light and fine grain as the knit around it. Change nothing else. Same framing and crop.

Do this too

Edit the character's reference pictures the same way (sheet views, any image the video model gets). If a reference still has the badge, the video model puts it back.
Never name the object in the video prompt. With "no pin or badge" in the scene, H3 Max grew a small dark pin within 1 s. Describe the clean surface instead: "a plain, unadorned knit, the same from the first frame to the last" rendered clean on 2 seeds.
A still that video is already pinned to means every clip pinned to it renders again after the edit. Make removals before animating.

Check it

paste prints changed_px: a few thousand to ~10k for a badge. Look at the patch at 100% for a seam or a change in grain. After animating, check every 0.75 s of every clip by eye for the object coming back: a colour scan misses a pin of another colour.

How removals fit with the other small-detail fixes: guide-keep-small-details.

Hypernatural