Complete five handoff items first
- Name the locked master: an MP4-family H.264 file with a zero-origin constant frame rate,
yuv420p, and explicit BT.709 / TV limited-range color metadata. - Confirm that the complete adopted mix is already AAC
a:0in that master; this path copies only that stream. If the adopted sound is another stream, pair or remux it upstream into a new locked master first. - Name the rendered animation: contiguous
frame_%06d.pngfiles beginning withframe_000000.png, each an RGBA full-canvas image matching the master exactly, with no missing or extra entries. - Cover the full clock: the sequence runs from output frame zero through the half-open
[0, total_frames)range measured from the master. Spans with no visible graphic still contain fully transparent frames inside the continuous sequence. - Retain the master and create a new-candidate review sheet. Give every check or render a fresh nonexistent output directory and list the boundaries that require viewing and listening.
This Video Recap composition path consumes caller-finished RGBA animation frames and overlays those existing pixels on a locked master. Font choice, copywriting, logo drawing, and motion design remain upstream. The handoff therefore separates “the layer content is approved” from “the real composited candidate has passed review.”
Author-designed two-column production worksheet
This is an author-designed production worksheet derived from the cited boundaries. It organizes handoff and human review; it is not the tool’s private plan format.
| Production item | What to record for this pass |
|---|---|
| Locked master | Unique version identifier; MP4/H.264, zero-origin CFR, yuv420p, explicit BT.709 / TV limited range; actual canvas and total frames. |
| Adopted sound | Complete mix already present as master AAC a:0; if it began on another stream, record the new locked master prepared upstream. |
| Transparent animation | Delivering party; contiguous numbering from frame_000000.png; full-canvas RGBA; complete [0, total_frames) coverage; fully transparent frames through visually empty spans. |
| Creator intent | What each animated element helps the viewer understand; people, actions, evidence, and on-picture text that must remain visible. |
| Boundary frames | Frame before entry, entry frame, stable passage, frame before exit, exit frame, plus the program’s first and last frames. |
| Output and audio review | Record separate planning-check directory, real-render directory, and candidate name; listen before, across, and after the change, then through the whole program. |
Fix version relationships before playback. Sample bright scenes, dark scenes, close-ups, action near the canvas edge, and information-dense shots. Representative frames expose transparency and obstruction quickly; complete playback exposes brief flashes, ghosts, and audio interruptions.
Original paper example: an animated guide layer for a tide-pool film
Tide Pool in One Minute is an original paper example designed for this article. It creates no assets, renders no video, runs no composition, and performs no listening. Every observation remains pending until a real candidate exists.
The creator has locked a landscape short showing an anemone contracting, a hermit crab changing shells, and tidewater crossing the rock. Narration, location sound, and light music are adopted. A designer delivers a complete full-canvas transparent animation sequence: a program logo eases in at the opening; a fine line moves from a safe edge toward each species; its label then fades away. The layer helps viewers locate the animals while keeping the tentacles, claw, shell opening, and waterline visible as evidence.
| Passage and intent | Review decision after composition |
|---|---|
| Opening logo entry | Inspect the frame before entry, first visible frame, and stable frame. The transparent field preserves the shot, and the logo clears the sea horizon. |
| Moving anemone pointer | Step through the movement and check whether the line crosses the tentacles. If it blocks the contraction, shorten the line or revise its designed motion in the sequence. |
| Hermit-crab label hold | Play the passage and confirm that the label clears the shell opening and claw and remains stable across alternating light and dark rocks. |
| Label exit | Inspect consecutive frames around the exit. If a translucent edge remains after the final intended frame, correct the sequence's exit frames and make a new candidate. |
| Whole-program sound | Listen before and after the logo entry, across both species transitions, and at the ending, then play the full program. Narration, water sound, and music should continue from the adopted version. |
The example returns each correction to its proper stage. Transparent pixels, motion boundaries, and obstruction go back to the animation sequence; the master cuts and adopted mix stay locked. Each revision becomes another candidate for comparison with the master and prior candidate.
Correct the stage indicated by the failure
| Failure shape | Correction |
|---|---|
| The animation pops on at its first frame | Review the preceding frame and first visible frame, then repair the sequence entry while leaving the master unchanged. |
| A translucent rim remains after exit | Locate the final occupied layer frame, correct trailing alpha pixels and exit frames, and produce a new candidate. |
| A label blocks the subject during one action | Mark the corresponding master frames and obscured evidence. Move, shorten, or hide the layer locally while retaining approved passages. |
| The whole layer is stretched, displaced, or cropped | Reject that input and hand off a complete sequence against the master's actual canvas and frame clock. |
| Narration, source sound, or music breaks or changes version | Reject the candidate and compose again from the locked master carrying its adopted sound, then repeat boundary and full-program listening. |
| Mechanical checks pass while playback reveals flicker or obstruction | Repair from actual playback observations. File validation establishes media relationships; creative approval comes from viewing and listening to this candidate. |
A revision record names the candidate, affected frames or passage, obscured content, transparent-sequence revision, and review points that remain. Concrete observations replace vague notes such as “the effect feels wrong” and protect passages that have already passed.
Hand optional execution to Video Recap
| Optional execution condition | Requirement at the cited revision |
|---|---|
| Locked master | MP4-family H.264; zero-origin CFR; yuv420p; explicit BT.709 / TV limited range; declared canvas, frame rate, and total frames matching the measured file. |
| Complete adopted mix | Already present as master AAC a:0 and compatible with the picture clock; composition copies only this stream. When adopted sound lives elsewhere, pair or remux it upstream into a new master first. |
| Transparent animation | Zero-based contiguous frame_%06d.png names; every PNG is full-canvas RGBA at the exact dimensions; complete [0, total_frames) coverage with no missing or extra files and fully transparent frames through empty spans. |
| Output discipline | Use a fresh nonexistent directory for every planning check and real render. A planning check writes only its run report, produces no candidate, and updates no current pointer. A failed render retains the report and available logs while removing staged and final media. |
Once these conditions hold, hand real input locations, creator intent, and the review sheet to $video-recap. Composition re-encodes only the overlaid H.264 picture, so visually preserved regions require tolerance-based review rather than a pixel-identity promise; master AAC a:0 is copied. Only a real render that completes mechanical verification enters candidate review, followed by normal-speed viewing and complete listening.
When cuts are still changing, the animation remains incomplete, or canvas and frame clock differ, prepare those inputs upstream. This task covers only composition of a complete animated transparent foreground onto a locked master.
FAQ
Why play the whole video when sampled frames look correct?
Sampled frames check canvas, transparency, and representative obstruction. Full playback reveals brief flicker, entry or exit ghosts, obstruction during movement, and audio breaks at boundaries. The checks cover different failures.
Can the composition overwrite the locked master?
Retain the locked master and write a new candidate. This preserves picture, sound, and boundary comparisons and supports another candidate after a layer revision without losing the adopted version.
Do it with the skill
Use $video-recap to overlay my completed full-canvas RGBA animation sequence on this locked master. The master is MP4/H.264, zero-origin CFR, yuv420p, with explicit BT.709 / TV limited range, and its complete adopted mix is already AAC a:0; copy only that audio stream. The sequence runs contiguously from frame_000000.png through the complete [0, total_frames) range with no missing or extra files and fully transparent frames in empty spans. Use separate fresh nonexistent output directories for the planning check and real render. Treat only a real render that passes verification as a candidate. Retain the master and list motion-boundary, obstruction, first/last-frame, and whole-program audio review points.
Read the method: Rendered transparent foreground composition · Packaging order and review after picture lock · Assembly stage for animated transparent layers · Public Video Recap packaging handoff