video-design

Video Design (craft → Spectra render settings)

The CRAFT companion to product-marketing (strategy). Product-marketing decides WHAT to make, for WHOM, and WHERE it ships; this skill decides HOW it should look, sound, and move so it lands. Full source playbook: references/SOURCE-GUIDE.md.

The one rule that governs everything

Every frame is doing one of three jobs: create an emotion, build a cognitive model, or motivate an action. 95% of purchase decisions happen unconsciously — design for emotion first, logic second, action third. This is the science behind the product-marketing story spine; this skill amplifies each beat of that spine.

Emotion arc — within a single video (Feel → Think → Do)

1. Recognition (0–5s): viewer identifies with the pain — "yes, that's me."
2. Tension (5–20s): amplify stakes — mild discomfort demanding resolution.
3. Relief (20–40s): show the solution working — release the tension.
4. Conviction (40–60s): proof/social validation — ratify with logic.
5. Direction (final 10s): one clear CTA — frictionless next step.

Target emotion also shifts by funnel stage: TOFU = curiosity/recognition; MOFU = confidence/intrigue; BOFU = trust/urgency; retention = pride/belonging.

Design philosophy selector

Philosophy	Pick when	Fails when
Minimalist (Apple)	Consumer apps, Watch, macOS native, premium AI; website hero, App Store	Complex B2B (10+ features); dev tools where terminal/IDE chrome IS the product
High-design (Vercel/Linear)	Dev tools, AI platforms, startup launches — design signals product quality	Consumer mass-market (exclusionary); non-technical enterprise buyers
Lo-fi/authentic (Loom)	Founder-led social, Product Hunt, dev demos, social/tight-cut channels	Website hero, App Store, paid acquisition, enterprise committees

Full selector + anti-patterns: references/philosophies-antipatterns.md.

Color

60-30-10 per frame (60% neutral background, 30% brand, 10% accent/CTA). Dark mode default for dev tools/AI/native macOS; light mode for long-form text and non-technical B2B. Vary saturation by funnel moment: vibrant at awareness, clean at demo, single high-contrast accent at the CTA frame. Full color→emotion map: references/color.md.

Typography (concrete floors)

• Max words/frame: 5–15 social, 10–20 demo overlay, 20 ideal/40 max slide.
• Font-size floor (1080p): body 40–60px, headline 60–90px; +20–30% for 9:16.
• Dwell: ≥1s per 13 characters, clock starts AFTER animate-in finishes.
• Safe zones: keep text out of platform chrome (exact px per platform in the ref card).
• Redundancy rule: on-screen text must NOT verbatim-repeat the VO — keyword highlights are fine; callouts spatially integrated on the UI element are good even when redundant. Full specs: references/typography.md.

Sound

Music BPM + direction by audience (80–100 BPM sparse/ambient for dev tools, up to 115–130 punchy for Product Hunt). Mix music at -15 to -20 dBFS under VO, VO at -6 to -3 dBFS, instrumental only. VO pace: 150 WPM ≈ 1 minute of natural narration (110–120 deliberate, 130–150 conversational, 150–170 up-tempo, 170–200 commercial ceiling). Add 0.5–1s of silence around the video's key metric. Voice tone matches the audience's self-image, not the founder's preference. Full tables: references/sound.md.

Pacing / cut rate

Cuts-per-minute by channel (30–60 TikTok/Shorts down to 6–12 YouTube tutorial). The 3-second social rule: hook must land by second 3, first cut by 1.5–2s. Pattern interrupts every 20–40s, timed to content boundaries (never mid-demo). One idea per beat — never overlap explain + demonstrate + prove in a single segment. Full rules + Tight-Edit-vs-Breathe resolution: references/pacing.md.

Channel quick reference

Channel	Text min size	Cut rate	Max words/frame	Voice pace	Design register
LinkedIn feed	60px (vert) / 36px (16:9)	15–25/min	15	140–160 WPM	Conversational, warm professional
YouTube tutorial	36px	8–15/min	20	130–150 WPM	Deliberate, structured
YouTube Shorts	60px	25–40/min	10	160–180 WPM	Energetic, fast payoff
TikTok/Reels	64px	30–60/min	8	150–175 WPM	Authentic, punchy
App Store preview	no text allowed	~1 scene/5–8s	0	N/A	Clean, product-forward
Website hero	48px (desktop)	6–12/min	15	130–150 WPM	Premium, confident
Product Hunt	56px	15–25/min	12	150–170 WPM	Authentic, founder-energy

Route to Spectra for production

Once the design choices are set, turn them into render parameters — references/spectra-design-map.md maps font-size/dwell/safe-zone to the caption banner geometry, cut-rate/one-idea-per-beat to DemoScript beat structure, and philosophy/color to the style (cool/warm/bold) preset used by spectra_demo action=polish-clip/polish-script.

Those demo actions are part of the current Spectra build — if spectra_demo isn't in your live tool list, the plugin needs a rebuild + Claude Code restart (MCP restart boundary) before producing.

References (load on demand)

• references/SOURCE-GUIDE.md — the full playbook (canonical source).
• references/color.md — 60-30-10, color→emotion map, dark/light, funnel-moment color.
• references/typography.md — word-density, font-size floors, dwell time, safe zones, kinetic text.
• references/sound.md — music BPM/mixing, VO pace, silence, voice tone.
• references/pacing.md — cut rate by channel, 3-second rule, pattern interrupts, one-idea-per-beat.
• references/philosophies-antipatterns.md — minimalist/high-design/lo-fi selector + anti-pattern fixes.
• references/spectra-design-map.md — design rules → Spectra polish/render parameters (the integration glue).

This skill AMPLIFIES product-marketing — that skill decides what/when/where; this one decides how it feels. For the strategy layer (video type, length, channel, story spine, funnel), load Skill("spectra:product-marketing").