short-form-studio

The repeatable loop for shipping one short-form video. You record and cut the footage yourself and hand back the edited file. The agent's job is the script, the storyboard, the Hyperframes build, and a clean high-quality render. Read GUIDELINES.md for the craft detail; this skill is the orchestration and the gates.

Non-negotiables (always)

• Research and verify first. Web-verify every named repo, tool, or stat before locking a script. Do not scaffold a whole pipeline on turn one.
• Teleprompter format. The final script is pure-prose .txt, zero symbols or headings. Lead with it in chat.
• Hooks are direct. No metaphors, no decoding, no ambiguous verbs ("install", not "drop"). Use a news-drop for real launches ("X just released Y..."); otherwise the conditional-identity workhorse ("If you're doing X without Y, you're [literal pain]").
• Ask before publishing or posting. Show the work first.
• Don't overcomplicate. Smallest correct step. This is a sequential, gated process, not a multi-agent fan-out.

The loop

script (agent) -> record (you) -> cut (you) -> storyboard (agent) -🚦-> assets (you) -> Hyperframes build + quiet SFX + render (agent) -🚦-> deliver to folder

Step 1 — Script

Research the topic, verify resources, write the script in the creator's voice. Deliver the teleprompter .txt (lead with it) plus a structured .md for archive. On approval, ask before pushing anywhere. -> You record.

Step 2 — You hand back the edited cut

You deliver the already-cut video (mistakes, silences, retakes, and speed all done). The agent does not cut footage. Note its resolution, fps, and bitrate. That is the delivery-quality target for the final render. (A local whisper + ffmpeg fallback lives in edit/ for when you explicitly ask the agent to cut.)

Step 3 — Storyboard ⟶ 🚦 GATE 1

Break the cut into scenes. For each scene: the spoken line, the timing, the planned overlay or animation, and the asset it needs. Decide which assets you screenshot versus which the agent generates (stat cards, mock terminals, counters, CTA). Build a one-page HTML storyboard (real video frames + planned overlays + timing + the spoken line). This minimizes back-and-forth. STOP. Show the storyboard. Wait for the green light plus the assets.

Step 4 — Hyperframes build

With approval and assets in hand, build the composition in hf/<name>/ (read the hyperframes skill first). House style: glass bubbles (not branded cards), lower-third clear of the face, a hook title at the top, a single accent color, a distinctive serif + grotesque font pairing via local @font-face (Inter is banned as an AI design tell). Sync each overlay to the 1x spoken moment. npx hyperframes lint must report 0 errors.

Step 5 — Add SFX (quiet!)

Layer subtle SFX synced to entrances and animations (a whoosh on takeovers, a soft pop on cards, a rising tick on counters, a chime on a green or success beat) on their own audio track. Keep them quiet. Whooshes and ambient data-volume around 0.05 to 0.15, accents at or below 0.3. The voice-over always sits on top.

Step 6 — Render and deliver ⟶ 🚦 GATE 2

Open Hyperframes Studio, show the creator for review. On approval, render at delivery quality and place the file in the folder:

• Feed the highest-quality source (do not pre-downscale; the camera's native resolution is the ceiling).
• Re-encode only if needed for reliable seeking, near-lossless: -crf 15 -g 30 -keyint_min 30.
• npx hyperframes render --crf 15 (--fps, --quality high, --video-bitrate, --resolution also available).
• The delivered file must match the quality you handed over. Do not delete the source cut until delivery is confirmed.

After the build, the only two jobs are

1. Storyboard -> approve -> assets -> build the video -> approve.
2. Deliver the video into the folder at the same quality you handed over.

Gotchas

• Studio re-serializes index.html on drag and can corrupt dynamic elements (it can break a counter). Re-read and re-lint after Studio edits; prefer editing the HTML directly for position tweaks.
• Double compression softens footage. Feed high quality, render high-bitrate, deliver matching. Never delete the source cut first.
• Hyperframes does not cut footage. It only layers overlays on the already-cut video.
• Do not use data-playback-rate for speed inside the composition. It desyncs overlays. Speed the final export instead.