Content Creator

Content Creator

Configuration

MAX_ITERATIONS: 5
DEFAULT_RESOLUTION: 1280x720
DEFAULT_FORMAT: landscape
ASSET_COLLECTION_NAME: content_creator_assets

Format Selection

Each video format is defined in its own recipe file under reference/formats/. Read the selected format file before Phase 2 — it defines persona, pacing, narrative arc, sourcing strategy, and quality criteria.

If ambiguous, default to briefing for short requests and fireship-explainer for anything that implies depth or multiple topics.

Production Method Diversity (CRITICAL)

No single production method may dominate. AI image generation (generate_image) is the easiest tool to reach for, but using it for every segment produces a narrated slideshow.

Hard Rules (all formats)

1. No single production method may be used for more than 50% of segments.
2. At least 3 different production methods per video (from: real-sourced assets, Remotion, Playwright, AI video, AI image, TextAsset).
3. code_editor MUST NOT use generate_image. AI hallucinates code. Use Remotion or Playwright (local HTML+highlight.js).
4. diagram_animation MUST NOT use generate_image. No animation. Use Remotion SVG.
5. split_screen MUST NOT use generate_image. Layout unreliable. Use Remotion.
6. kinetic_text MUST use VideoDB TextAsset. Don't generate an image of text.
7. Code screenshots MUST use local HTML+highlight.js (see browser-recording.md capture_code_display). Never ray.so/carbon.sh URL encoding.

Recommended Production Method Per Visual Type

The self-review phase will automatically fail any video where >50% of segments use a single production method.

Asset Sourcing Hierarchy

Before producing any visual, follow this priority. See recipes/sourcing/asset-library.md for details.

1. SEARCH the asset library collection (instant, free, pre-indexed)
      ↓ not found
2. SOURCE from external APIs (Pexels, Imgflip, GIPHY, Simple Icons, etc.)
      ↓ not available
3. GENERATE with AI (generate_image, generate_video, TextAsset)
      ↓ after sourcing/generating
4. UPLOAD to asset library for future reuse

Each sourcing channel has its own recipe:

Parallel Execution

This skill supports parallel runs. Every run must generate a unique slug and namespace all local temp files under it.

Slug Generation

import uuid

SLUG = uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]
WORK_DIR = f"/tmp/vb_{SLUG}"

What the slug isolates

Rules

1. Never use bare /tmp/ paths. Always use {WORK_DIR}/....
2. Create WORK_DIR early. Run Path(WORK_DIR).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True) in Phase 0.
3. Pass WORK_DIR to all functions.
4. Clean up on completion. shutil.rmtree(WORK_DIR, ignore_errors=True).
5. Log the slug. print(f"Video run: {SLUG}").

Dependencies

Required: VideoDB — handles all media generation (images, video, voice, music, sound effects), timeline composition, indexing, search, and streaming. Install: pip install videodb python-dotenv. Get a free API key at console.videodb.io.

Optional tools (use if available, fall back gracefully if not):

• Remotion — code-rendered animations: charts, code editors, diagrams, logos, split-screen. Fallback: Playwright or AI generation.
• Playwright — browser recording and screenshots. Navigate to real websites, capture code displays. Install: pip install playwright && playwright install chromium. See browser-recording.md.

Optional API keys (set in environment for richer sourcing):

• PEXELS_API_KEY — stock footage and photos from Pexels
• GIPHY_API_KEY — reaction GIFs and animated memes from GIPHY
• PIXABAY_API_KEY — stock footage fallback from Pixabay
• IMGFLIP_USERNAME / IMGFLIP_PASSWORD — captioned meme generation via Imgflip

If any key is missing, that sourcing channel is skipped gracefully. The video will still work — just with fewer real-world assets.

Visual Types

The skill supports 11 visual types. Pick based on what communicates best:

Pipeline

0. Pre-flight       → verify tools, bootstrap asset collection, read format file
1. Research         → parallel subagents investigate the topic
2. Script           → structure findings into a video script (format-driven)
3. Asset Production → source/create visuals (search → source → generate)
4. Composition      → arrange on timeline, generate stream
4.5 Captions        → (optional, user-requested) index spoken words, add auto-synced animated captions
5. Self-Review      → index draft, critique, identify fixes
6. Iterate/Deliver  → fix and recompose, or deliver final URL

Phase 0: Pre-flight Checks

1. Generate slug and create WORK_DIR (with subdirs: captures, screenshots, frames, scripts, remotion, sourced, review_frames).
2. Connect to VideoDB. Find or create the content_creator_assets collection (see sourcing/asset-library.md).
3. Check and install Playwright if missing (pip install playwright && playwright install chromium).
4. Set up Remotion (MANDATORY ATTEMPT). Follow recipes/remotion-setup.md for full bootstrap instructions, component library, and test render. Set REMOTION_AVAILABLE = True/False based on result.
5. Check which API keys are available (PEXELS_API_KEY, GIPHY_API_KEY, IMGFLIP_USERNAME, IMGFLIP_PASSWORD, PIXABAY_API_KEY).
6. Read the selected format file (reference/formats/{format}.md).
7. Print capability summary including REMOTION_AVAILABLE, PLAYWRIGHT_AVAILABLE, and which API keys are set.

Remotion Bootstrap (Phase 0, Step 4)

Remotion enables animated code, diagrams, transitions, split-screens, data viz, and kinetic text — visual types that are static/broken without it. You MUST attempt this setup. Only skip if it fails after the retry.

Full setup instructions, component library (CodeEditor, KineticText, DiagramFlow, BarChart, SplitCompare, WhipTransition, CounterReveal), and rendering commands are in recipes/remotion-setup.md.

Quick summary:

1. Check node --version && npm --version
2. Scaffold project: npm init -y && npm install remotion @remotion/cli react react-dom
3. Write Root.tsx and component files from the recipe
4. Test render: npx remotion still src/Root.tsx CodeEditor test.png --props='{"code":"const x=1;","language":"javascript"}' --frame=0
5. If test render succeeds → REMOTION_AVAILABLE = True

REMOTION_AVAILABLE = False  # set to True after successful test render
REMOTION_DIR = f"{WORK_DIR}/remotion"

If REMOTION_AVAILABLE = False: visual types diagram_animation, split_screen, and data_viz MUST be downgraded to Playwright-rendered alternatives or replaced with a different visual type in the script. Do NOT silently fall back to generate_image for these types.

Phase 1: Research

Launch 3-5 parallel subagents to investigate different angles of the topic.

See reference/research.md.

Phase 2: Script

Convert research into a video script. Follow the narrative arc and pacing defined in the format file.

See reference/scriptwriting.md for the JSON schema and visual type guidance.

Phase 3: Asset Production

For each segment, follow the sourcing hierarchy: search asset library, source from external APIs, then generate.

See reference/asset-production.md for the visual type → recipe router. Each visual type has a dedicated recipe file. Each sourcing channel has a dedicated recipe under recipes/sourcing/.

Also generate per-segment narration audio and one background music track using the videodb skill.

Phase 4: Composition

Arrange all assets on a multi-track timeline. Follow the pacing and transition rules defined in the format file.

See reference/composition.md.

Present the stream URL: https://console.videodb.io/player?url={STREAM_URL}

Phase 4.5: Add Captions (Optional)

If the user explicitly requests captions, add speech-synced animated captions as a post-processing pass after the main stream is composed. Upload the stream, index spoken words, and recompose with a CaptionAsset(src="auto") overlay.

See reference/recipes/captions.md for the full caption config, animation styles, and color presets. Only run this phase if the user asks for captions.

Phase 5: Self-Review (mandatory)

Always runs at least once. Upload the draft, index it, compare intended vs actual. Critique as a director.

See reference/self-review.md.

Phase 6: Iterate or Deliver

If issues remain and under MAX_ITERATIONS, fix and recompose. Otherwise deliver the final stream URL and player URL with a segment breakdown.

Quick Reference

Visual Recipe Files

Sourcing Recipe Files