claude-video-create

claude-video-create — Programmatic Video via Remotion

Pre-Flight

1. Check Node.js: node --version (requires 18+)
2. Check if Remotion is available: npx remotion --version 2>/dev/null
3. If no Remotion project exists, scaffold one first

When to Use Remotion vs FFmpeg

Use Remotion for:

• Complex text animations (spring physics, staggered reveals, typewriter effects)
• Data-driven videos (charts, graphs, dashboards from JSON/CSV)
• React component-based templates (reusable, parameterized)
• Branded intros/outros with motion graphics
• Content that updates from data (weekly reports, scorecards)

Use FFmpeg for (route to other sub-skills):

• Transcoding, trimming, concatenation
• Simple text overlay (drawtext is sufficient)
• Audio processing
• Anything that doesn't need programmatic rendering

Scaffold a New Project

# Create new Remotion project
npx create-video@latest --template blank my-video-project
cd my-video-project
npm install

This creates a standard Remotion project with:

• src/Root.tsx — Composition registry
• src/ — Component directory
• remotion.config.ts — Rendering configuration
• package.json — Dependencies

Core Concepts

Composition: A video definition with width, height, fps, and duration. Component: A React component that receives useCurrentFrame() and renders for that frame. Sequence: A timed sub-section within a composition. Spring: Physics-based animation for natural motion.

Example: Title Card

Claude should generate this component:

// src/TitleCard.tsx
import { AbsoluteFill, useCurrentFrame, useVideoConfig, spring, interpolate } from 'remotion';

export const TitleCard: React.FC<{ title: string; subtitle?: string }> = ({ title, subtitle }) => {
  const frame = useCurrentFrame();
  const { fps } = useVideoConfig();

  const titleScale = spring({ frame, fps, config: { damping: 12 } });
  const subtitleOpacity = interpolate(frame, [20, 40], [0, 1], { extrapolateRight: 'clamp' });

  return (
    <AbsoluteFill style={{ backgroundColor: '#0a0a0a', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
      <h1 style={{
        color: 'white',
        fontSize: 80,
        fontFamily: 'Inter, sans-serif',
        transform: `scale(${titleScale})`,
      }}>
        {title}
      </h1>
      {subtitle && (
        <p style={{
          color: '#888',
          fontSize: 32,
          opacity: subtitleOpacity,
          marginTop: 20,
        }}>
          {subtitle}
        </p>
      )}
    </AbsoluteFill>
  );
};

Register in Root.tsx:

import { Composition } from 'remotion';
import { TitleCard } from './TitleCard';

export const RemotionRoot: React.FC = () => (
  <Composition
    id="TitleCard"
    component={TitleCard}
    durationInFrames={90}
    fps={30}
    width={1920}
    height={1080}
    defaultProps={{ title: "My Video", subtitle: "A subtitle" }}
  />
);

Render to Video

# Render a specific composition
npx remotion render src/index.ts TitleCard output.mp4 \
  --props='{"title":"Hello World","subtitle":"Made with claude-video"}' \
  --codec h264 --crf 18

# Render as transparent (for overlays)
npx remotion render src/index.ts TitleCard output.webm \
  --props='{"title":"Overlay Text"}' \
  --codec vp8 --image-format png

# Render specific frames (for thumbnails)
npx remotion still src/index.ts TitleCard thumbnail.png \
  --props='{"title":"Thumbnail"}' --frame 45

Common Patterns

Data-Driven Video (JSON input)

// Claude generates this based on user's data
const data = [
  { label: "Q1", value: 100 },
  { label: "Q2", value: 200 },
  { label: "Q3", value: 150 },
  { label: "Q4", value: 300 },
];

// Render with:
npx remotion render src/index.ts BarChart output.mp4 \
  --props='{"data":[{"label":"Q1","value":100},{"label":"Q2","value":200}]}'

Animated Text Sequence

import { Sequence } from 'remotion';

// Show text lines one by one
const lines = ["First line", "Second line", "Third line"];
return (
  <AbsoluteFill>
    {lines.map((line, i) => (
      <Sequence from={i * 30} durationInFrames={60} key={i}>
        <AnimatedLine text={line} />
      </Sequence>
    ))}
  </AbsoluteFill>
);

Branded Intro/Outro Template

Claude generates a reusable template with:

• Logo animation (scale + fade in)
• Title text with spring animation
• Subtitle with delayed fade
• Background gradient or solid color
• Configurable via props (logo URL, colors, text)

Rendering Options

Flag	Purpose	Example
--codec	Output codec	h264, h265, vp8, vp9
--crf	Quality (lower = better)	18
--image-format	Frame format	jpeg, png (png for transparency)
--scale	Resolution multiplier	0.5 (half), 2 (double)
--every-nth-frame	Skip frames (preview)	2
--concurrency	Parallel rendering threads	4
--props	JSON props to composition	'{"title":"Hello"}'

Workflow Integration

After Remotion renders a video, pipe it into other claude-video sub-skills:

1. Create title card with Remotion → concat with main video (edit sub-skill)
2. Create data viz with Remotion → add captions (caption sub-skill)
3. Create intro + outro → sandwich around edited content → export for platform

Limitations

• Requires Node.js 18+ and Chrome Headless Shell
• Rendering is slower than FFmpeg (screenshot per frame)
• First render downloads Chrome Headless (~200MB)
• Remotion licensing: free for individuals, paid for companies with 4+ employees
• Not suitable for simple operations (use FFmpeg directly for those)

Reference

Load references/remotion.md for Remotion API patterns, component architecture, and rendering configuration.