Motion Video Director

Own the decisions that happen before animation code: what the audience should feel, what moves, what holds, and how every shot proves the same idea. Implementation belongs to the renderer layer (Remotion in this stack).

Operating contract

• Duration, aspect ratio, and fps come from the brief; never silently change them.
• Direction first: write the five artifacts below, then build.
• Every beat must change state, not only fade/slide. Text is an anchor, not the carrier.
• One hero per frame. Density comes from contrast, not constant motion.
• A segment that fails review is re-directed, not covered with more effects.
• A piece is not done until it has a rendered file and a timecoded review.

Phase 1 — Brief

Capture: audience, platform, exact duration, fps, ratio, audio policy (voice/music/SFX), factual standard, delivery constraints, and what the viewer should do or remember afterwards.

Phase 2 — Motion thesis

Write one sentence:

This piece moves by showing <one visual metaphor> changing from <start state> to <end state>, proving <claim>.

If the sentence is weak, invent a stronger metaphor before writing shots. The metaphor must be drawable with the available assets and code.

Phase 3 — Emotional / beat graph

Lay out a single continuous timeline, not pages. For each beat record:

Mark 1–3 impact beats and the real holds after them. Silence is part of rhythm.

Phase 4 — Motion language

Define a small, repeatable system:

• Tone & energy: three adjectives, then what they forbid.
• Easing vocabulary: one signature ease plus one impact ease.
• Timing scale: quick / standard / slow durations in frames.
• Entry / exit grammar: how objects arrive and leave (mask, draw, rise, cut).
• Transition family: match cuts, same-object transforms, or hard cuts.
• Type behavior: how titles and captions enter relative to the visuals.

If a new element cannot fit the language, change the element, not the language.

Phase 5 — Shot list

For each shot: intent, composition (where the hero sits), start/end state, camera move, transition logic, asset list, and fallback if an asset is missing. Prefer one strong motion over three decorative ones.

Phase 6 — Timecoded review

Render, then inspect frames at every scene boundary and every claim. Check:

• the motion thesis is visible within the first 10 seconds;
• no beat is a static slide with a fade;
• titles do not wrap into orphan characters;
• captions do not cover the evidence;
• audio and captions share the same timeline;
• the end state is legible and held.

Record each check with timecode, frame path, verdict, and the fix. Do not substitute code review for looking at frames.

Handoff to production

• content/scenes.json + content/narration.json + content/cues.json are the editable sources.
• scripts/build_timeline.py compiles them into public/timeline.json.
• The Remotion layer reads only that timeline; it does not invent timings.
• scripts/assemble.py renders, mixes (if audio exists), and muxes.

See references/beat-graph-template.md and references/acceptance-rubric.md.