Separates creative grammar (renderer_family) from technical engine
(render_runtime) so HyperFrames can stand alongside Remotion as a
first-class runtime instead of masquerading as a Remotion sub-case.
Locks runtime choice at proposal stage and enforces it end-to-end: the
schemas require it, video_compose routes by it, the reviewer fails
closed on silent swaps, and a parametrized contract test walks every
pipeline manifest to ensure each planning-stage skill explains the
conversation to the user. Adds hyperframes_compose (scaffold/lint/
validate/render/doctor/add_block), a playbook -> CSS style bridge, and
vendored HyperFrames Layer 3 skills from commit d291358, pinned via
PROVENANCE.md for future re-sync. Final_review now records
render_runtime_used and runtime_swap_detected so compose lies are
catchable after the fact.
New end-to-end pipeline for building thematic documentary montages from
a locally-indexed corpus of free stock footage (Pexels, Archive.org,
NASA). The agent builds a project-local corpus, CLIP-ranks candidates
per scene slot, edits with motion-aware arc logic, and composes via
ffmpeg. No paid APIs required for the full path.
Pipeline definition and director skills:
- pipeline_defs/documentary-montage.yaml: 5-stage manifest
(idea -> scene_plan -> assets -> edit -> compose)
- skills/pipelines/documentary-montage/: 6 director skills
(executive-producer + idea/scene/asset/edit/compose directors)
Corpus and retrieval infrastructure:
- tools/video/corpus_builder.py: multi-source stock fan-out with
resumable append-only corpus index
- tools/video/clip_search.py: CLIP ViT-B/32 retrieval —
rank_for_slot, find_similar_set, diversify, stats
- tools/video/stock_sources/: base + pexels + archive_org + nasa
adapters with a pluggable BaseStockSource contract
- lib/clip_embedder.py: CLIP wrapper
- lib/corpus.py: corpus schema, jsonl append/read, motion-score
caching
video_compose fix rolled in because any concat-based pipeline depends
on it:
- Replace ambiguous -to with -t duration (was double-trimming cuts)
- Force re-encode + normalize to 1920x1080 @ 30fps (was keyframe-
snapping with -c copy and breaking concat on mixed-source corpora)
- Add silent-audio anullsrc fallback for clips without an audio
stream
README: add Documentary Montage row to the pipeline table and bump
the pipeline count from 11 to 12.
- New: Higgsfield video provider with multi-model routing (Kling 3.0, Veo 3.1, Sora 2, WAN 2.5, Soul Cinema) and Soul ID character consistency
- Updated: Runway provider with gen4_aleph and gen3a_turbo models, proper pixel-ratio mapping, probe_output, watermark param, RUNWAYML_API_SECRET env var support
- Docs: Updated provider counts (12→13), tool counts (51→52), added Higgsfield setup/pricing sections across README, AGENT_GUIDE, ARCHITECTURE, and PROVIDERS
Implements the 2026-04-02 transformation spec (Phases 1-8) and fixes all
critical bugs found during 5-pipeline E2E testing.
Governance & Decision Intelligence:
- Pipeline-specific stage order in checkpoint (replaces global STAGES list)
- Provider scoring engine (lib/scoring.py) with 7-dimension weighted ranking
- Decision log artifact enforced at proposal/idea stage across all 10 pipelines
- Delivery promise classifier prevents silent motion-to-still downgrades
- Structured shot language in scene_plan schema (camera, lens, lighting, DOF)
- Variation checker and slideshow risk scorer block samey output before render
- Creative intake, capability extension, and creative-intake meta skills
- Final self-review artifact with 5 mandatory checks before presenting output
- Source media review contract for user-supplied footage
Render & Theme System:
- Remotion AnimatedBackground now derives colors from playbook (no more hardcoded
dark blue fintech gradient on every video)
- video_compose builds custom ThemeConfig from playbook YAML colors/fonts —
custom playbooks flow through to Remotion automatically
- Explainer component wires theme to all child components (charts, cards, etc.)
- resolveAsset() handles absolute paths on Windows/Unix via file:// URIs
- RENDERER_FAMILY_MAP synced with actual Remotion compositions
Critical Bug Fixes:
- Windows npx subprocess: run_command() resolves .cmd wrappers via shutil.which()
- Silent renderer downgrade: Remotion failure now returns explicit error with
options instead of silently falling back to FFmpeg
- .env inline comment parsing strips trailing # comments from API keys
- concat_path UnboundLocalError in video_compose finally block
- audio_mixer and showcase_card capture=True kwarg bug
- Selector estimate_cost() calls fixed (_select_tool -> _select_best_tool)
- asset_manifest schema expanded with provider, license, subtype fields
- screen-demo subtitle_gen moved from required to optional tools
- Duration drift detection in post-render final review (>25% warns)
Add anime_scene rendering engine (AnimeScene + ParticleOverlay components) with multi-image
crossfade, 9 camera motion types, 5 particle systems, and cinematic lighting overlays.
Fix critical Remotion durationInFrames footgun by passing sceneDurationSeconds from parent.
Add audio offset/loop support in Explainer for skipping quiet music intros.
New tools: audio_energy.py analyzes per-second loudness via ebur128 to find optimal music
offset and detect when looping is needed.
Update all 6 animation pipeline skills (proposal, scene, asset, compose, executive-producer,
remotion.md) with battle-tested image_animation workflow including tool availability scan,
FLUX multi-image generation, composition JSON format, pre-render validation, and post-render
self-review.
Add 3 demo compositions (Candyland, Mori no Seishin, Deep Ocean) and anime-ghibli style
playbook. Update README with 3 anime video showcases and animation prompts. Add Animation
Pipeline section to PROMPT_GALLERY.md.
Replace bash-only commands in Makefile with Python equivalents so
setup, test, lint, and clean work on Windows. Add LUMINA video URL
to README embed and note upcoming Ollama/LM Studio local LLM support.
tools/base_tool.py now auto-loads .env at import time so API keys are
available even when tools are imported directly (fixes silent zero-key
fallback in subagents). Added LUMINA bioluminescent terrarium product
ad embed to README. Two new demo compositions: 37 Trillion (one-key
narrated explainer) and LUMINA (music-driven product ad, no narration).
Prove that adding one API key (OPENAI_API_KEY) to the zero-key foundation
produces dramatically better videos for ~$0.69 each. Two compositions built:
The Abyss (deep ocean visual essay) and VOID (neural interface product ad).
New tools:
- audio_probe: ffprobe wrapper with probe_duration() helper
- composition_validator: pre-render checks (asset existence, audio-video sync)
- pixabay_music: royalty-free music scraper (no API key needed)
- freesound_music: Freesound API search + download
Remotion upgrades:
- BackgroundImageLayer: AI images behind data scenes with ken-burns + dark overlay
- Gradient support: all 9 components changed from backgroundColor to background CSS
- CaptionOverlay: word spacing fix, WhisperX word-level subtitles
- HeroTitle: reduced overlay opacity so background images show through
Process codified in agent skills:
- compose-director: audio acquisition flow (present user with voice/music/subtitle
options), mandatory pre-render validation, post-render self-review (extract
frames + transcribe + inspect + present findings to user)
- scene-director: narration duration budgeting (word budget from video duration)
- remotion skill: pre-render validation section
- TTS tool: now returns audio_duration_seconds in result
README updated with VOID product ad video embed.
Fix ComparisonCard and CalloutBox dark-theme passthrough in SceneRenderer.
Add 8 demo-props JSON files (3 fixed originals + 5 new compositions).
Update scene-director and compose-director skills with all 10 Remotion
scene types and zero-key rendering guidance. Document the proven
all-dark-background formula in remotion.md. Add cinematic renderer,
onboarding skill, prompt gallery, and demo render script.
Remotion is the key fallback when no video gen APIs are configured —
the agent generates images and Remotion animates them into video.
Updated README Composition section and added full Remotion section
to PROVIDERS.md with component list and activation rules.
Two new provider tools following the BaseTool pattern with auto-discovery:
- google_imagen: Imagen 4 image generation via Generative Language REST API
- google_tts: Google Cloud TTS with 700+ voices across 50+ languages
Both share GOOGLE_API_KEY env var. Selectors auto-discover them — no
selector code changes needed. Docs and contract tests updated.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
