Animated Video Philosophy

---
name: animated-video-philosophy
description: >-
  Story-first motion design philosophy for animated video: motion must earn its
  place; arc (establish, complicate, resolve); show vs tell; shots as units of
  thought; quiet vs loud motion; Disney principles with restraint; timing
  heuristics; composition; grammar by medium (product demos, logos, data viz,
  explainers); technical commitments (deterministic time, scrubbability, refs);
  cutting discipline; explicit anti-patterns. Use when planning, storyboarding,
  critiquing, or implementing programmatic or motion-driven video (Helios,
  Remotion, explainers, loops, UI capture, logo reveals), or when the user asks
  for motion direction, pacing, or visual-story structure.
---

# Animated video philosophy

Read [philosophy.md](philosophy.md) start to finish before giving creative direction, critiquing a cut, or structuring scenes. That file is the verbatim working philosophy.

## How to apply it

- Gate work on the five questions at the end of `philosophy.md`. If they are not clear, prioritize script and intent over more keyframes.
- When reviewing builds, check **IX. The technical commitments** and **XI. What I won't do** explicitly.
- When timing or rhythm feels wrong, use **VI** (including the ~30 viewings rule) before tuning easing alone.