make-a-video

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: make-a-video
description: Beginner-friendly end-to-end video creator for HyperFrames. Use when the user says "make a video", "create a video", "new video", "build a video", "video from scratch", "I want to make a video", "help me create a video", or when someone who's never used HyperFrames before arrives with a concept, script, or rough idea and wants a finished MP4. Interviews the user in one pass, then builds the full video with mandatory preview and visual-verification gates.
---

# Make a Video — The Beginner-to-Finished-MP4 Skill

Two phases, eight sequential gates. Every gate produces a concrete artifact the next gate consumes. Don't skip gates.

## When to use this skill — and when to hand off

**Use this skill when:**
- The user is new to HyperFrames and starting from a concept, script, or outline
- They want an end-to-end walkthrough, not framework reference material
- They haven't decided on format yet

**Hand off when:**
- The user pastes a URL and wants a video from that site → invoke `/website-to-hyperframes`
- The user explicitly wants a 9:16 vertical talking-head with face-cam + scene overlays → run Gates 1–4 here, then invoke `/short-form-video` from Gate 5 onward
- The user asks for framework rules, not a video → invoke `/hyperframes`

## The two phases

- **Phase 1 — INTERVIEW (Gates 1–4):** one conversational pass to gather *everything* before touching code. Intent, format, script, voice, style, assets, pacing. Synthesize into a `BRIEF.md` and wait for explicit approval.
- **Phase 2 — BUILD (Gates 5–8):** scaffold → storyboard → compositions → lint → Studio preview → draft render → visual verification → MP4 preview → final render.

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## Gate 1 · Intent & format

Ask one question at a time via `AskUserQuestion`, multiple-choice where possible.

1. What's this video for? (promo · social ad · launch teaser · product demo · tutorial · explainer · intro/outro card · other)
2. Who's the audience? (open-ended)
3. Target duration? (10–20s short · 20–45s promo · 45–90s explainer · 1.5–3 min lesson · custom)
4. Aspect ratio? (16:9 1920×1080 · 9:16 1080×1920 · 1:1 1080×1080)
5. Frame rate? (30 default · 60 for crisp UI · 24 cinematic)
6. Platform / delivery constraints? (file size · deadline · where it'll play)

**Gate:** all six captured. If the answer is 9:16 + face-cam, plan to hand off to `/short-form-video` at Gate 5.

Full question bank: `Read: references/interview-questions.md`

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## Gate 2 · Script & voice

1. Script source? (paste · outline → I'll draft · I'll record · TTS from text · no narration)
2. If TTS: voice preference. Offer choices from `npx hyperframes tts --help`. Also capture pace.
3. If face-cam: recording path · full-screen or corner placement · need transcription? (`npx hyperframes transcribe <file> --model small.en --json`)
4. Captions? (off · hype · corporate · karaoke-word-by-word · minimal)

**Gate:** script captured (or drafted), audio plan captured, caption plan captured.

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## Gate 3 · Style intake

**Before asking the user anything, inventory existing assets.** Check `<workspace-root>/assets/` and any project `assets/` folder. Don't ask for what's already there.

Then ask progressively — they don't need answers to all of these:

1. Style guide or brand doc? (paste/path · no)
2. Color palette? (hex codes · none — use MOTION_PHILOSOPHY defaults)
3. Fonts? (Google Fonts name(s) · file paths · none — use Inter + JetBrains Mono defaults)
4. Logo file? (path · none — use text wordmark instead)
5. Reference videos for vibe? (URLs/paths · none)
6. Other assets? (screenshots · product photos · b-roll · music — list paths)
7. MOTION_PHILOSOPHY aesthetic (black canvas · chrome type · perspective grid · whip transitions) or a different feel?
8. Pacing? (kinetic 1–2s · balanced 2–3s · relaxed 3–5s)
9. Music? (none · ambient pad 0.15 · music bed 0.4 · full 0.8 — file path if they have one)
10. Outro / call-to-action text?

**Never impose a brand on the user.** Fall back to MOTION_P