/create-short

name: create-short
description: Create a short-form vertical video (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts). Optimized 9:16 pipeline with a live Studio preview, auto-captions, hook-first structure, and background music mood selection; renders to MP4 only when you ask.

Create Short — Vertical Short-Form Video Pipeline

You are creating a short-form vertical video optimized for TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

**Load the `remotion-production` skill** for the MCP steps and the `captions-workflow` rule, plus the official `remotion-best-practices` skill for all Remotion markup, preview and render (it routes to `remotion-create`, `remotion-markup`, `remotion-captions`, `remotion-render`). The official skills win on Remotion APIs.

Key Differences from `/create-video`

• **Aspect ratio**: 9:16 (1080x1920) — ALWAYS vertical
• **Duration**: 15–60 seconds max (sweet spot: 30s)
• **Hook first**: First 2-3 seconds must grab attention
• **Captions required**: Always add TikTok-style word-by-word captions
• **Background music**: Always include — with mood tags
• **Pacing**: Fast cuts, 2-5 seconds per scene, no slow moments

Pipeline

Phase 0: Project and Preview

1. Use the existing Remotion project, or scaffold one exactly as official `remotion-create` says (`npx create-video@latest --yes --blank --no-tailwind`, after inspecting the folder). 2. As soon as it runs, start Studio and keep it open: `npx remotion studio` (or `npx remotion studio --no-open` with an in-app browser). Open the exact URL it prints, then `/<composition-id>` once the composition exists.

Phase 1: Concept (Keep It Simple)

Ask the user what the short is about, then structure it:

📱 Short Video Plan

Platform: [TikTok / Reels / Shorts]
Duration: [15-60 seconds]
Format: 1080x1920 (9:16 vertical)
FPS: 30

Structure:
  🪝 Hook (0-3s): [attention grabber — question, bold claim, visual shock]
  📖 Body (3-Xs): [main content — 2-4 fast scenes]
  📣 CTA (last 3-5s): [call to action — follow, link, comment]

Voiceover: [yes/no] — [style: energetic, conversational, dramatic]
Music Mood: [upbeat, chill, dramatic, inspiring, dark, funny]
Caption Style: [TikTok bold / karaoke / minimal]

**Get the user's approval on this plan before generating assets.**

Phase 2: Generate Audio (voiceover drives everything)

Audio comes from the **official ElevenLabs skills** (`text-to-speech`, `music`, `sound-effects`), all in one script, `scripts/generate-audio.ts` (`@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js`, `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY`), run with `node scripts/generate-audio.ts`. See the `production-pipeline` rule (Step 4) for the file table.

2a. Voiceover

Write a TIGHT script — every word must earn its place in a short. Generate one file per part with `eleven_v4`:

text-to-speech (official skill):
- text: [short, punchy hook line — no filler words]
- voice: [an energetic voice ID]
- model: eleven_v4
→ public/vo-hook.mp3

Repeat for `vo-body`, `vo-cta` (or `vo-body1`, `vo-body2` for several body scenes).

Nothing returns a duration: measure each file in `calculateMetadata` (see the `voiceover-sync` rule and official `remotion-multimedia`).

2b. Background Music

music (official skill):
- prompt: "[mood] background music for social media short, energetic, [genre], instrumental"
- length: the short's length
- model: music_v2_5
→ public/music-bg.mp3

**Good short music prompts:**

• "upbeat trendy pop beat for TikTok, energetic, no vocals"
• "dark cinematic bass, dramatic tension, no vocals, short form"
• "chill lofi beat for educational content, relaxed, no vocals"

Eleven Music is cleared for commercial use on paid plans. For quick drafts you can use remotion-media's `generate_speech` / `generate_music` (KIE) with the same `output_name`s, but Suno and the other KIE-resold models aren't licensed by their owners through KIE. Use KIE audio for drafts and internal work, and generate final commercial audio with ElevenLabs.

Phase 3: Source Visuals

Search for VERTICAL footage:

Use Pexels pexels_search_videos:
- query: [keywords]
- orientation: portrait  ← IMPORTANT: portrait for 9:16
- size: medium           (Full HD is enough for 1080x1920)
- per_page: 5

Get the renditions with `pexels_get_video` (`id`) and download the closest one into `public/footage/` (`mkdir -p public/footage`, then `curl -L -o`). Download only the clips you'll use. Pexels doesn't require attribution, but it's appreciated.

Or generate images/clips with `aspect_ratio: "9:16"`:

Use remotion-media generate_image / generate_video_from_text (or generate_video_from_image to animate an image; image_urls must be public URLs)
- output_name: img-hook / clip-body1 / ...
- aspect_ratio: 9:16

If a KIE call fails, fall back to Replicate (the `replicate-models` rule: `search_models`, read the schema with `get_models`, `create_models_predictions`, download into `public/images/` or `public/footage/`).

Phase 4: Build the Composition Live

Build each part while Studio is open, so the user sees the hook as soon as it exists. Follow official `remotion-markup` for all markup (`multi-scene-video.md`, `audio.md`, `embedding-videos.md`) and `remotion-create/video-layout.md` for layout:

• Register the composition at **1080x1920, 30 fps**, with `calculateMetadata` summing the measured voiceover durations (`Math.ceil`)
• **Hook → Body → CTA** as three adjacent scenes (`<TransitionSeries.Sequence>` items), each holding its own `vo-*` audio
• Music (`music-bg.mp3`) runs under everything with `loop`, ducked under the voice (see the `audio-integration` rule)
• `<Audio>`/`<Video>` from `@remotion/media`

**Typography for vertical** (above official video-layout.md minimums):

• Title text: 84-96px bold (fills width)
• Body text: 48-64px
• Captions: 64-80px bold with outline
• Keep key text in the center ~60% of the screen; platform UI covers the bottom ~15% and the right ~15%

Phase 5: Add Captions

Captions are MANDATORY for shorts. Use the s