Video Editing Skill

Edits, processes, and renders videos using FFmpeg and Remotion.

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Intelligent Editing Workflow

This skill enables Claude to act as a smart video editor. Before executing commands:

1. Analyze - Examine videos (duration, resolution, audio) using ffprobe
2. Transcribe - Get speech content for smart cuts (if needed)
3. Ask - Clarify user intent and preferences
4. Plan - Propose edit approach for approval
5. QA Test - Run automated tests before user preview (see references/qa-testing.md)
6. Preview - Only show to user after QA passes
7. Iterate - Refine based on feedback

See references/intelligent-editing.md for detailed workflow, questions to ask, and quality checks.

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Tool Selection

Task	FFmpeg	Remotion
Stitching	Same codec, no effects	Transitions, overlays, programmatic
Transitions	Simple crossfades	Multiple types, custom timing
Captions	SRT burn-in	TikTok-style word highlighting
Teasers	Quick clips	Text overlays, branded elements

General guidance:

• FFmpeg: Fast CLI operations, batch processing, format conversion
• Remotion: Styled content, animations, preview before render, React components

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Reference Files

Read these files as needed using the Read tool:

Intelligence Layer

File	Contents
references/intelligent-editing.md	Smart editing workflow, questions, quality checks
references/video-analysis.md	Analyze videos with ffprobe
references/transcription.md	Whisper transcription for speech analysis
references/qa-testing.md	QA tests before user preview

Core Editing

File	Contents
references/stitching.md	Combine multiple clips into one video
references/transitions.md	Add fade, slide, wipe between clips
references/captions.md	Add subtitles and TikTok-style captions
references/teasers.md	Create 30-second teasers/trailers
references/title-cards.md	Add chapter headers, bumpers, section titles
references/graphics-generation.md	Generate thumbnails, overlays, social graphics

Technical Reference

File	Contents
references/ffmpeg-basics.md	Common FFmpeg patterns and troubleshooting
references/remotion-setup.md	Remotion project setup and workflow
references/remotion-tips.md	Animations, timing, springs, sequences, and captions
references/reference-implementation.md	Complete working code to recreate the project

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Quick Start

Transcription (Fast)

# 1. Setup whisper.cpp (one-time)
npx ts-node scripts/setup-whisper.ts

# 2. Transcribe all videos (GPU accelerated)
npx ts-node scripts/transcribe-fast.ts

FFmpeg (CLI)

# Check installation
which ffmpeg || brew install ffmpeg

# Basic concat (same codec)
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c copy output.mp4

# Burn in subtitles
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vf "subtitles=captions.srt" output.mp4

Remotion (React)

# Start preview (always do this first)
npm run dev

# Render (only when user requests)
npx remotion render CompositionName out/video.mp4

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Key Lessons Learned

Transcription (IMPORTANT)

• Use @remotion/install-whisper-cpp - NOT Python whisper (10x faster with GPU)
• Use base.en model for speed, medium.en for final quality
• Required parameter: whisperCppVersion: '1.5.5' in transcribe() call
• Enable tokenLevelTimestamps: true for word-level captions
• Whisper.cpp uses Metal GPU on Mac - 8.5min video in ~85 seconds

Teasers

• Never start clips with: "But", "And", "So", "Now", "It", "This", "That", "They"
• Each clip must have an explicit subject - not pronouns or references
• Aim for 3-4 clips totaling 25-30 seconds
• Playback speed: 1.3x for energy (1.5x is too fast)
• Transitions: Smooth fade (0.4s) between clips
• First clip: Must NOT overlap with intro start (avoid repetition)

Captions

• Active word: Yellow #FFD700
• Spoken words: White #FFFFFF
• Upcoming words: Light gray #E0E0E0
• Font: Roboto at 48px for 1080p
• Black stroke outline (works on ANY background):

  WebkitTextStroke: '3px black',
  paintOrder: 'stroke fill',
  textShadow: '0px 0px 4px rgba(0,0,0,1), 0px 0px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.8)'

Remotion Video Trimming

• Use OffthreadVideo component
• Set BOTH startFrom AND endAt props
• Convert ms to frames: Math.round((ms / 1000) * fps)

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Edge Cases & Gotchas

File Naming

• Avoid spaces in video filenames: use intro.mp4 not Intro Video.mp4
• Remotion Folder names can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens

Ports

• Remotion Studio may start on port 3001 if 3000 is in use

Codec Mismatch

• FFmpeg concat demuxer (-c copy) fails silently with mismatched codecs
• Use ffprobe to check codecs before concatenating
• Use filter_complex for different codecs/resolutions

Workflow

• Always preview in Remotion Studio before rendering
• Never render automatically - wait for user approval
• Copy videos to public/ folder for Remotion projects