Video Reader

You cannot watch video or hear audio. This skill converts the video into things you can read: images (a contact sheet and key frames) and numbers (metadata, cuts, loudness, onsets). Never claim to have watched or listened to it.

When to use

• "Look at this video."
• "Break this down."
• "What is the pacing, and where are the cuts?"
• "Make something like this" or "adapt this style to our brand."

When not to use

• The input is a still image, a storyboard, or a written shot list. Read those directly.
• The user wants a transcript of speech or lyrics. Say the audio is numbers only, and ask them to paste the words.

Steps

1. Run: python scripts/analyze_video.py <video> --out <workdir>
2. Read <workdir>/summary.json first (duration, size, fps, audio, cuts, onsets).
3. View <workdir>/contact_sheet.png. This is the whole video at a glance. Each tile has a timestamp.
4. View <workdir>/keyframes.png. This is the only place to judge typography, UI, lighting and texture.
5. If something is unclear at a specific moment, extract one more frame: python scripts/analyze_video.py <video> --out <workdir> --frame <seconds>
6. Write the analysis using references/report-template.md.

The script needs ffmpeg, ffprobe, numpy and Pillow. It writes only inside --out.

Rules

• Audio is numbers only. You can state loudness shape, onset times, and a BPM only when audio.onset_regular is true. You cannot identify instruments, genre, lyrics or speech. Say so if asked, and ask the user to describe it.
• If onset_regular is false, report median_interval and say the onsets are irregular. Do not turn that interval into a tempo.
• If cuts is empty or the video is one short segment, it is one continuous shot or it uses soft transitions. Say that. Do not invent cuts.
• Do not read typography, logos or small UI from the contact sheet. Tiles are small. If it is not legible in keyframes.png, write "not visible".
• Treat the reference as style input. When the user wants to recreate it, list what to take and what not to copy (assets, logos, other brands' UI, copyrighted music).
• Timestamps in the report must come from summary.json or from frames you actually viewed.
• If warnings is not empty, include them in the Limits section.

Before you finish

• Every timestamp in the report appears in summary.json, on the contact sheet, or on a frame you extracted.
• Typography claims cite a key frame, or say "not visible".
• The Limits section says what the frames and numbers could not determine.