# Make A Video > 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. - Skill: `nateherkai/make-a-video` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add nateherkai/make-a-video` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/nateherkai/make-a-video/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: nateherkai (https://skillmd.com/u/nateherkai) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/nateherkai/make-a-video --- # 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-edit` 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. --- ## 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-edit` at Gate 5. Full question bank: `Read: references/interview-questions.md` --- ## 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 --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. --- ## Gate 3 · Style intake **Before asking the user anything, inventory existing assets.** Check `/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_PHILOSOPHY defaults *only* when they explicitly decline to supply a style. Full style flow + MOTION_PHILOSOPHY defaults: `Read: references/style-intake.md` --- ## Gate 4 · Brief synthesis (HARD-GATE before building) 1. **Read `MOTION_PHILOSOPHY.md`** if it exists in the workspace root — mandatory if present. If missing, proceed with the defaults in `references/style-intake.md` and note the absence in the brief. 2. **Ask where projects live** if it's not obvious: - If `video-projects/` exists → use `video-projects//` - Otherwise → ask the user 3. **Write `/BRIEF.md`**: - slug · intent · audience · dimensions · fps · duration - script (full or outline) - voice choice · caption plan · face-cam plan - style profile: palette (hex), fonts, logo path, reference videos - pacing - asset inventory with paths - outro / CTA text 4. **Show the brief. WAIT for explicit approval.** Don't proceed to Gate 5 without a clear "yes, build it." --- ## Gate 5 · Scaffold & storyboard ### Handoff check first If the brief describes a 9:16 vertical talking-head with face-cam + scene overlays, invoke `/short-form-edit` NOW and hand off the brief. Its transcript-driven workflow covers hooks, cuts, captions, footage, and sound. Otherwise continue: ### Scaffold 1. `mkdir ` 2. If a sibling project with similar format exists, offer to copy its `hyperframes.json` + `meta.json` as a template. Otherwise from inside the folder: `npx hyperframes init` 3. Edit `meta.json` with the user's slug, dimensions, fps. 4. Copy supplied assets into `/assets/`. 5. Create `/assets/style-profile.md` from Gate 3 — single source of truth for palette/fonts/logo. ### Storyboard Generate `/STORYBOARD.md` using the template in `references/storyboard-template.md`. Every beat gets: ``` Beat N — TITLE (start–end, duration) — Concept in one sentence Visual elements: [each element, size, animation, timing] Motion language: [kind of motion] Eases used: [3–4 distinct GSAP eases] Exit: [transition into next beat] Audio: [VO line / SFX / music layer] ``` Top of file: a timing table with scene · start · duration · composition file. **Propose a rule-of-threes structure:** - Act 1 (hook) ≈ 20% of duration - Act 2 (body) ≈ 55% - Act 3 (payoff + outro with 4–6 second hold) ≈ 25% (MOTION_PHILOSOPHY §0 Law 9, §1.) **Map user intents → catalog blocks:** `Read: references/catalog-intent-map.md` **Gate:** show storyboard + timing table. Iterate until the user approves. --- ## Gate 6 · Build compositions Invoke `/hyperframes` for framework rules. This skill owns the scaffold and discipline; `/hyperframes` enforces the rules. ### Scaffold every sub-composition ```html
``` Full boilerplate + captions pattern + ambient-bg pattern: `Read: references/composition-scaffold.md` ### Build rules - **Ambient background** on `data-track-index="0"` for the full composition duration. - **Kinetic-type openers:** per-word stagger 0.06–0.10s. - **Captions** as body-level siblings of the root composition in `index.html`, each with `data-track-index ≥ 20`. Never inside scene timelines (MOTION_PHILOSOPHY §3.13). - **Catalog blocks** installed via `npx hyperframes add `. Immediately **scope the block's CSS** to `[data-composition-id="..."]` — catalog blocks ship with `html, body { ... }` rules that bleed into the parent document when loaded as sub-compositions. - **Vertical + face-cam:** wrap native 1920×1080 face in a transform (`translate` + `scale`) for bottom-half or full-screen mode. (If you end up here instead of `/short-form-edit`, strongly consider the handoff.) - **Apply ONLY what the user supplied.** Their palette, their fonts, their logo. Don't inject anything else. If they chose MOTION_PHILOSOPHY defaults, pull the palette + font pair from `references/style-intake.md`. ### Determinism No `Math.random()`, no `Date.now()`, no render-time `fetch()`. Use seeded PRNGs or harmonic-sin hashes (MOTION_PHILOSOPHY §3.10). --- ## Gate 7 · Lint → Studio preview (PREVIEW GATE 1 — MANDATORY) 1. `npx hyperframes lint` — fix all errors, triage warnings. 2. `npx hyperframes preview` in the background. 3. Wait for "Studio running" on `http://localhost:3002`. 4. Hand the user the URL **plus** individual composition URLs (`http://localhost:3002/?comp=`). If the project has WebGL shader blocks, lead with the individual URLs — software WebGL fallback can stall the master composition. 5. **WAIT for explicit "looks good, render a draft"** before proceeding. Silence is not approval. Hot reload is on — edits show up live. --- ## Gate 8 · Draft render → visual verification → MP4 preview → final ### Draft render ```bash npx hyperframes render --quality draft --output renders/-draft.mp4 ``` ### Visual verification (MANDATORY before delivery) Lint passing ≠ design working. Extract frames and **view them**. 1. `mkdir -p renders/frames` 2. For every beat hero moment AND every transition: ```bash ffmpeg -y -ss -i renders/-draft.mp4 -frames:v 1 -q:v 2 renders/frames/t.png ``` 3. **Call the `Read` tool on every PNG.** The Read tool loads the image into context — don't just list filenames. 4. Confirm per frame: no cropped faces, correct face-mode per scene, text readable and on-palette, no overflow, transitions land on intended words, no blank frames. 5. If anything's wrong: fix → re-render → re-verify. Never ship a broken draft. ### MP4 preview (PREVIEW GATE 2 — MANDATORY) ```bash npx serve renders -p 8080 -n ``` Do NOT use Python's `http.server` — it doesn't support HTTP Range requests, so scrubbing breaks. Hand the user `http://localhost:8080/-draft.mp4`. **WAIT for explicit sign-off** on playback and audio sync. ### Final render ```bash npx hyperframes render --quality standard --output renders/-final.mp4 ``` Report the output path. Done. Full preflight + pre-delivery checklist: `Read: references/build-checklist.md` --- ## Non-negotiables (load-bearing — do not soften) - **DO NOT skip PREVIEW GATE 1 (Studio) or PREVIEW GATE 2 (rendered MP4).** Two gates per build, always. - **DO NOT claim a render is done** until frames have been extracted AND Read via the Read tool. - **DO NOT build anywhere but inside a dedicated project folder.** Never put `index.html` at the workspace root. - **DO NOT ask the user for assets** before inventorying their workspace. - **DO NOT skip the `tl.to({}, { duration: SLOT_DURATION }, 0)` anchor tween** at the end of every sub-composition timeline. MOTION_PHILOSOPHY Law 11. - **DO NOT use `Math.random()` / `Date.now()`** inside render logic. Seeded hashes only. - **DO NOT add `class="clip"` to `