# Title Transition

> Animate the title as a COLD OPEN in the TOP banner over the live opening footage — no blocking center card — held until TITLE_SWAP (default 2.0s) so brand-overlays can hand off to the source citation in the same slot. Frame 1 stays content (a face mid-sentence) to protect the swipe-rate / "Stayed to Watch" signal. ONE animation for every short — the glitch style (RGB-split banner + scanline tear, style-matched zap/crackle SFX) — a PIL frame sequence anchored at TITLE_ANCHOR_FRAC (default 0.135).

- Skill: `jperrello/title-transition` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jperrello/title-transition`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jperrello/title-transition/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: jperrello (https://skillmd.com/u/jperrello)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jperrello/title-transition

---


# title-transition

Animated COLD-OPEN title for a short. The title animates in the TOP banner zone
OVER the live opening footage — never a blocking center card — so frame 1 stays
content (a face mid-sentence), protecting the swipe-rate / "Stayed to Watch"
signal. Every short uses the SAME animation — the `glitch` style — so there is no
per-span style pick; the title text comes from `generate-title` (third-person,
≤7 words, ALL CAPS). The title holds
until `TITLE_SWAP` and clears via its own fade-out, then `brand-overlays` fades
the source citation into the same top slot (see that skill).

## Invoke

```
.claude/skills/title-transition/title-transition.sh <input> <title> <out> [ignored] [dur=auto]
```

- `input`: video path (designed for finished 9:16 shorts)
- `title`: title text — rendered UPPERCASE, auto-wrapped to ≤2 lines
- `style`: `slam` | `typewriter` | `glitch` | `bounce` | `cinematic`
  (unknown values warn and fall back to `slam`)
- `dur`: title lifetime in seconds; `auto` uses `TITLE_SWAP` (default 2.0) so
  the title has fully cleared the top banner by the citation hand-off
- env `TITLE_SWAP` (default 2.0) — hold / hand-off point, shared with
  brand-overlays + source-credit
- env `TITLE_ANCHOR_FRAC` (default 0.135) — vertical center of the title block
  as a fraction of height (the top-banner zone). 0.5 restores the centered look
  for demos.

## Styles

| style | genre | animation |
|---|---|---|
| `slam` | hype / beast-style | punches from 2.6x to place, squash settle |
| `typewriter` | true crime / story | Courier chars type in, blinking block cursor |
| `glitch` | tech / AI | RGB-split flicker + slice displacement in, mid-hold re-hit, glitch out |
| `bounce` | comedy | words pop in one-by-one, elastic overshoot + wobble |
| `cinematic` | documentary | Didot serif tracks in from wide letter-spacing, sapphire rule draws out |

The channel default is a SINGLE animation — `glitch` (RGB-split banner +
scanline tear) — in the brand language: Sapphire Glow `#2E6BFF` accent word,
black-stroked type, Platinum white (`brand/BRAND.md`). It carries a synced
glitch SFX bed: `sfx.py` synthesizes (stdlib `wave` only, no assets) the
channel's original glitch sound — stereo-panned digital `zap` bursts
(sample-and-hold noise) + `crackle`, on the fixed event schedule (three intro
zaps + an intro crackle, a mid-burst zap, an outro zap + crackle) timed to
`styles.py`'s glitch keyframes (no `events.json`; driven by `dur`) and mixed
UNDER the live audio. It is bit-identical to the pre-retirement synth (same
`Random(7)` draw order). `TITLE_SFX=0` disables it; `TITLE_SFX_GAIN` (default
1.0 = original level) tunes presence.
This is the animation's own sound, not a card stinger — and there is NO
full-frame bg treatment (the old flash/shake/dim shook the live shot).

## How

The local ffmpeg has no drawtext/libass, so `styles.py` renders the animation
as a full-frame transparent PNG sequence (30fps), anchored at
`TITLE_ANCHOR_FRAC`. `title-transition.sh` overlays it directly on the live
footage (no bg treatment) and folds the synthesized glitch SFX (`sfx.py`) into
the audio — via the fused compositor's `audio.mix` on the plan-only path, or an
amix in the direct-encode fallback; `TITLE_SFX=0` falls back to a plain audio
stream-copy.

## Output

mp4, same dimensions and duration as the input. Idempotent: `<out>.ttmeta`
records `title|style|dur|top<anchor>`; cache hit requires `out` newer than
`input` and a matching signature, so changing title, style, or anchor
re-renders.

Demo all five styles on any clip: `bash demos/title-styles/demo.sh <clip>`.