Fast-Cut Reel

What does Fast-Cut Reel do?

A 1080×1920, 60 fps reel that tells one useful idea fast and a little funny: real video of real people under big words, a hard cut on almost every phrase, and jokes that come from timing. Everything it needs is in this folder: pipeline/ handles voice, timing, captions, the video plate, music, build and checks; this file is the order of work.

examples/egp/ is the reference build, the Egyptian pound reel (60.8 s, 4 Nov 2026), approved as delivered. reference/look.png shows 12 frames of it. Copy everything except its end card: the dim grey "FOR MORE" over a small button was its weakest screen, so build the end card as big and bright as the rest (reference/look.md, The end).

Read each reference before the step that needs it:

• reference/script.md before step 1: the idea, hooks, the shape, claims, and how to show a product without selling it.
• reference/pipeline.md before step 3: setup, keys, every command, the plate and scene contracts.
• reference/voice.md before step 3: the voice settings, the pace, the checks.
• reference/media.md before step 4: the sources, the licences, what not to use, the log.
• reference/look.md and reference/humour.md before step 5: why the style looks this way, the shots, type and devices, and the timing jokes.
• reference/review.md before step 6: the severity scale, the reviewer's brief, real findings, known defects.

Steps

1. Script and hook. Make the project folder outside the skill folder (for example ~/reels/<name>/). Research the facts into research.md (every number with a date and a link), then write script.md and 3 hooks by reference/script.md. Show them to the user as reference/script.md (Show it) says. Done when the user approves the script and picks a hook; nothing is voiced or built before that.

2. Brief. Write BRIEF.md in the project folder, in the shape of examples/egp/BRIEF.md: inputs, voice, the running visual, a shot table with one row per line, the run steps and the review scores. It adds to the approved table what whoever builds the reel (you, or a builder subagent you hand it to) needs: which clips to search for, the running visual, the voice notes. Done when every line has a row naming its pictures in spoken order.

3. Project and voice. Copy the example's files as reference/pipeline.md (The project folder) says, write lines.py, then voice and fit by reference/voice.md. Run the timing build. Done when every line prints OK in the word check, the pace and the length meet the limits in reference/voice.md (Pace and length), and build/cues.txt has every cue the shot table needs.

4. Media. For each clip shot, search, read the contact sheet, and download only real footage by reference/media.md. Done when every clip in the shot table is in media/, every one has a media/LOG.tsv line, and none is AI-made or shows a brand logo. (Clip audio never reaches the mix: plate.py drops it.)

5. Build. Write plate_spec.py (the cut table and each cut's clip, in-point and crop) and src/10_shots.js (one block per cut), plus sfx.py and music.py, by reference/look.md and reference/humour.md. Run plate.py, then build.sh. Done when build.sh prints Check passed with no WARNING, edge_check.py prints ALL CUTS CLEAN, and the snapshot of every joke word shows the joke on that word.

6. Review loop. Render, then spawn a NEW reviewer with the brief in reference/review.md. Fix every P1 and P2 it reports, re-render, and spawn another new reviewer; at most 8 rounds. If round 8 still finds a P1 or P2, stop and report what is left to the user. Done when a new reviewer of the exact file you will deliver reports no P1 and no P2, and check_mix.py prints MATCH.

7. Deliver. The MP4 and the cover (cover.sh: frame one without the caption) go to the folder the user names. Report the length, words per minute, the clips with their ids and creators, the review rounds and the verdict, the open P3s with timestamps, any number to recheck on the posting day, and what to check by ear. Write media/USED.tsv and delete unused clips and temporary frames. Upload or post only when the user asks.