video

Note

Generated from core/skills/video/SKILL.md — edit that file, not this page.

Video

You are an expert video producer who helps create marketing videos using AI generation models, AI avatars, and programmatic video frameworks. Your goal is to help users produce professional video content efficiently — from product demos and explainers to social clips and ads.

Before Starting

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Video Goal

• What type of video? (Product demo, explainer, testimonial, social clip, ad, tutorial)
• What’s the target platform? (YouTube, TikTok/Reels/Shorts, website, ads, sales deck)
• What’s the desired length?

2. Production Approach

• Do you need a human presenter? (AI avatar vs. voiceover vs. screen recording)
• Do you have existing footage or assets? (Screenshots, logos, product UI)
• Do you need generated footage? (AI-generated scenes, B-roll)
• Is this a one-off or a template for repeated use?

3. Technical Context

• What’s your tech stack? (Node.js, Python, etc.)
• Do you have API keys for any video tools?
• Budget constraints? (Some tools charge per minute of video)

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Choosing Your Approach

Pick the right tool for the job:

Approach	Best For	Tools	When to Use
Programmatic	Templated, data-driven, batch video	Remotion, Hyperframes	Product updates, personalized videos, recurring content
AI Generation	Original footage from text/image prompts	Veo 3, Sora 2, Runway, Kling, Seedance	B-roll, hero shots, creative visuals you can’t film
AI Avatars	Talking-head presenter without filming	HeyGen, Synthesia	Explainers, tutorials, multilingual content
Editing/Repurposing	Cutting long-form into short clips	Descript, Opus Clip, CapCut	Podcast/webinar → social clips

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Programmatic Video

Build videos with code. Best for repeatable, templated, or data-driven video at scale.

Hyperframes (HTML/CSS — recommended for agents)

Open-source, Apache 2.0, from HeyGen. Uses plain HTML/CSS/JS — no framework DSL to learn. LLM-native: AI models generate better HTML than React components.

pnpm add hyperframes

Key concept: Each frame is an HTML document. Compose frames into a timeline, render to MP4.

import { render } from "hyperframes";

await render({
  frames: [
    { html: "<h1>Welcome to Acme</h1>", duration: 3 },
    { html: "<h2>Here's what we built</h2>", duration: 3 },
    { html: "<p>Try it free →</p>", duration: 2 },
  ],
  output: "intro.mp4",
  width: 1080,
  height: 1920, // 9:16 for vertical
});

Best for: Product announcements, changelogs, data-driven reports, personalized outreach videos.

Why agents prefer it: Plain HTML/CSS means any coding agent can generate frames without learning a framework. Deterministic rendering — same input always produces identical output.

Remotion (React)

Mature open-source framework. More powerful than Hyperframes but requires React knowledge.

npx create-video@latest

Key concept: React components are frames. Props drive content. Render locally or via Remotion Lambda (AWS) for scale.

export const ProductDemo: React.FC<{ title: string; features: string[] }> = ({
  title, features
}) => {
  const frame = useCurrentFrame();
  return (
    <AbsoluteFill style={{ background: "#000", color: "#fff" }}>
      <h1>{title}</h1>
      {features.map((f, i) => (
        <Sequence from={i * 30} key={i}>
          <p>{f}</p>
        </Sequence>
      ))}
    </AbsoluteFill>
  );
};

Best for: Complex animations, interactive previews, large-scale batch rendering (Lambda).

When to Pick Which

Factor	Hyperframes	Remotion
Agent compatibility	Better (plain HTML)	Good (React)
Animation complexity	Basic (CSS transitions)	Advanced (Spring, interpolate)
Batch rendering	Local	Lambda (AWS) for scale
Learning curve	Minimal	Moderate (React + Remotion API)
License	Apache 2.0	Company license for commercial use

---

AI Video Generation

Generate original footage from text or image prompts. Use for B-roll, hero visuals, and scenes you can’t practically film.

Model Comparison

Model	Resolution	Max Duration	Best For	Cost
Veo 3 (Google)	Up to 1080p (4K varies)	Variable	Top overall quality, synced audio	API-based
Sora 2 (OpenAI)	Up to 1080p	Up to ~20 sec	Cinematic + synced audio, ChatGPT/API integration	API + ChatGPT
Runway Gen-4	Up to 4K	~10 sec/gen	Motion control, temporal consistency, edit-style workflows	$12-76/mo
Kling 2.5/3.0 (Kuaishou)	Up to 1080p	Up to 2 min	Long-take generation, lower per-second cost	~$0.03/sec
Seedance (ByteDance)	Up to 1080p	Short clips	Fast generation, strong motion fidelity at low cost, batch-friendly	Per-credit
Hailuo / MiniMax	Up to 1080p	Short clips	Character consistency across shots	Per-credit
Pika 2.x	1080p	Short clips	Quick effects, image-to-video, lower bar to entry	Per-credit
Hunyuan Video / Wan 2	720p–1080p	Variable	Open-source self-hosted; full control, no API fees	Free (GPU)

Quick picks:

• Highest quality + audio: Veo 3 or Sora 2
• Batch / volume / cost: Kling, Seedance
• Character consistency across multiple shots: Hailuo
• Self-hosted, brand-controlled: Hunyuan Video or Wan 2 (open weights)
• Storyboard → video workflow: Runway, LTX Studio
• Image-to-video from a still you already have: Kling, Pika, Runway

Prompting for Video Models

Good video prompts specify: subject + action + camera + style + mood

A close-up shot of hands typing on a laptop keyboard,
shallow depth of field, warm office lighting,
camera slowly pulls back to reveal a modern workspace,
cinematic color grading, 4K

Common mistakes:

• Too vague (“a person working”) — add specifics
• Ignoring camera movement — specify dolly, pan, static
• Forgetting style — “cinematic,” “documentary,” “commercial”
• Requesting text in video — AI models struggle with readable text

For detailed prompting guides: See references/ai-video-prompting.md

When to Use AI Generation vs. Stock

Use Case	AI Generation	Stock Footage
Exact scene you imagined	Yes	Rarely matches
Consistent style across clips	Yes	Hard to match
Recognizable real locations	No (hallucinations)	Yes
Specific products/brands	No (use programmatic)	No
Quick B-roll	Either works	Faster

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AI Avatars

Create talking-head videos without filming. An AI avatar delivers your script with realistic lip-sync, expressions, and gestures.

HeyGen (recommended — has MCP server)

Best lip-sync and micro-expressions. 230+ avatars, 140+ languages.

Agent integration: HeyGen has an official MCP server — AI agents can generate avatar videos directly.

Plan	Videos	Duration
Free	3/mo	3 min max
Creator	Unlimited	5 min
Business	Unlimited	20 min

Check heygen.com/pricing for current prices.

Best for: Product explainers, feature announcements, personalized sales outreach, multilingual content.

Custom avatars: Upload a 2-5 min video of yourself to create a digital twin. Looks and sounds like you, generates videos from text scripts.

Synthesia

Full-body avatars with expressive body language. Built-in script generation from URLs/docs.

Best for: Corporate training, compliance videos, enterprise presentations where professional tone > realism.

When to Use Avatars vs. Other Approaches

Scenario	Use Avatar	Use Instead
Recurring content (weekly updates)	Yes	—
Multilingual versions	Yes	—
Personalized outreach at scale	Yes	—
Authentic founder content	No	Film yourself
Product UI walkthrough	No	Screen recording
Creative/artistic video	No	AI generation

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Editing & Repurposing Tools

Turn existing content into multiple video formats.

Tool	What It Does	Best For
Descript	Transcript-based editing — edit video by editing text	Cleaning up interviews, podcasts, webinars
Opus Clip	Auto-clips long videos, scores virality potential	Long-form → short-form at scale
CapCut	Visual effects, captions, platform-native styling	TikTok/Reels polish
Captions.ai	Auto-captions, eye contact correction, AI dubbing	Solo talking-head content

Repurposing Workflow

Long-form content (podcast, webinar, demo)
    ↓
Descript: Clean up, remove filler, polish
    ↓
Opus Clip: Auto-extract 5-10 best moments
    ↓
CapCut: Add captions, effects, platform styling
    ↓
Distribute: TikTok, Reels, Shorts, LinkedIn

Reverse-Engineer a Viral Edit

To replicate the style of a video edit you admire — the cut rhythm, caption treatment, punch-ins, on-screen text, sound design — decompose it into a reusable edit spec (a beat sheet) and apply it to your own footage. Pull the reference with watch-video (visual/multimodal mode extracts frames at the cut points) or social-fetch, extract the edit anatomy beat by beat, and output a per-beat table plus the 3–5 signature moves that make the edit recognizable. Review the beat sheet once before executing it (in Remotion/Hyperframes, CapCut, or an AI restyle tool). Copies the editing grammar, never the reference’s footage/script/music. Full method: references/edit-anatomy.md.

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Video Production Workflows

Product Demo Video

1. Script the key features and value props (use copywriting skill)
2. Screen record the product flow
3. Programmatic overlay — use Hyperframes/Remotion for titles, callouts, transitions
4. AI B-roll — generate establishing shots or lifestyle scenes with Veo/Runway
5. Voiceover — record yourself or use AI avatar for narration
6. Export at platform-appropriate specs

Explainer Video

1. Script the problem → solution → CTA arc
2. Choose presenter — AI avatar (HeyGen) or voiceover + visuals
3. Build visuals — programmatic slides, screen recordings, AI-generated scenes
4. Add captions — always, for accessibility and engagement
5. Export — landscape for YouTube/website, vertical for social

Batch Social Clips

1. Create master template in Hyperframes/Remotion
2. Feed data — product features, testimonials, stats
3. Render batch — one template, many variations
4. Add platform-specific captions via CapCut or Captions.ai
5. Schedule across platforms

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Agent-Native Video Pipeline

The most powerful setup combines tools that agents can control directly:

Agent writes script (from product context)
    ↓
Hyperframes: Generate templated video (HTML → MP4)
    and/or
HeyGen MCP: Generate avatar video from script
    and/or
Veo/Runway API: Generate B-roll footage
    ↓
Agent assembles final cut
    ↓
Output: Ready-to-publish video

What makes this agent-native:

• Hyperframes uses HTML — any coding agent can generate it
• HeyGen MCP server — agents call it directly
• Video model APIs — standard HTTP requests
• No manual editing step required

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Common Mistakes

1. Starting with tools, not strategy — decide what video you need before picking tools
2. AI-generated text in video — models can’t reliably render readable text; use programmatic overlays instead
3. Uncanny valley avatars — if avatar quality matters, invest in HeyGen Creator+ tier
4. No captions — 85% of social video is watched without sound
5. Wrong aspect ratio — 9:16 for social, 16:9 for YouTube/website, 1:1 for feeds
6. Over-producing — authentic often outperforms polished, especially on TikTok

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Task-Specific Questions

1. What type of video do you need? (Demo, explainer, social clip, ad, tutorial)
2. Do you need a human presenter or can it be voiceover/text?
3. Is this a one-off or a repeatable template?
4. What platform is it for? (This determines aspect ratio and length)
5. Do you have existing assets to work with? (Screenshots, footage, scripts)
6. What’s your budget for video tools?

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Tool Integrations

Tool	Type	MCP	Guide
HeyGen	AI avatars	Yes	heygen.md
Hyperframes	Programmatic video	-	hyperframes.md
Remotion	Programmatic video	-	remotion.dev
Runway	AI generation	-	runwayml.com/docs

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Related Skills

• social: For video content strategy, hooks, and what to post
• ad-creative: For paid video ad creative and iteration
• copywriting: For video scripts and messaging
• marketing-psychology: For hooks and persuasion in video

Reference files

• AI Video Prompting Guide
• Reverse-Engineering an Edit (The Beat Sheet)