Tips and prompts

What separates a decent video from one people share: a precise brief, a proven style, stills approved before anything moves, and a few rounds of demanding critique. It is all here, ready to copy.

#The recipe for a good brief

One sentence per point is enough. /umd:go asks what is missing, but the more you say up front, the fewer questions it asks.

Describe references in your own words: shot length, camera position, how things enter the frame. Never ask to copy someone's video.

#Prompts ready to copy

Replace what is in brackets.

Product launch

/umd:go a 30-second launch video for [product], [what it does in one sentence]. Audience: [who]. Mood: dark and precise, the interface is the star, one hero moment when [the key feature] appears. End on the logo and [the call to action]. 16:9 and 9:16. Music, no voice.

Company presentation video

/umd:go a 60-second presentation video for [company]. Message: [the promise in one sentence]. Three parts: the problem, what we do, the proof ([real figures]). Calm English voice-over, burned-in captions, discreet music. Brand: [colours, font, logo].

Explainer

/umd:go a 45-second explainer of [the concept] for [audience]. One idea per shot, diagrams that build in front of the viewer, no on-screen text longer than 6 words. Voice-over and word-by-word captions.

Vertical short for social media

/umd:go a 20-second 9:16 short for [platform] about [topic]. Hook in the first second, new information every 2 seconds, karaoke captions inside the safe area, a looping end. Rhythmic music, cuts on the beats.

Logo animation

/umd:go a 4-second logo animation from [path to the SVG logo]. The logo builds from [a shape or idea tied to the brand], one gesture, a clean end, a short sound logo. Light and dark background versions, plus a transparent WebM.

Data story

/umd:go a 40-second video telling these figures: [data or CSV file]. A chart that draws itself, counting numbers, a handwritten note on the key figure. Data-journalism style.

Animated web page or 3D hero

/umd:go the animated hero section of [site] in [framework]. References: [2 or 3 sites described in words]. A subtle shader background, the title revealed word by word, 60 fps on mobile, prefers-reduced-motion respected.

Short film

/umd:go a 45-second animated short: [character] wants [something small], tries, [something unexpected happens], and ends looking at the camera. Style [chosen style]. Music and sound effects, no dialogue.

#Choose a style

Starting from a proven style is the shortest path to a high-end result. /umd:storyboard offers you three. To choose by eye, browse the Style library: each style has a preview of the result and its prompt. You can also search in a terminal, at no token cost:

node <plugin>/scripts/umd.mjs styles luxury dark launch

Previews are in the lemo-opuscar and mg-styles-15 galleries. More than 700 other prompts are in awesome-opus5-5-videos.

#During production: what to say

When /umd:go shows you stills or a draft, be precise: a moment, a problem, what you want.

• "At 2.4 s the title arrives with the image: bring the image in first, the title 8 frames later."
• "The hero moment is missing: I want a real high point when [X] appears."
• "Too tame: keep the style but push the contrast and the title size."
• "The accent colour is everywhere: keep it for the product."
• "One more round of critique, target 9."
• "It looks like a template: change style, show me three others."

For a precise correction, give four things: where (a moment or a frame), what you see, the change, what must not move. Claude then changes one thing and checks the frames around it.

At 7 s (frame 210) the cursor covers the file label.
Change only the cursor's path after the click: stop 24 px away from the label.
Keep the click at 6.5 s, the file reveal and the copy as they are.

#Beat the template look

What separates a launch film people share from a run of animated slides. The "Motion grammar" reference has the detail; the essentials:

• One persistent actor: a cursor, a card or a shape leads the eye from shot to shot.
• Every action produces a result: the start state, the cursor on the button, the press, the result, then time to read it.
• The foreground carries the transition: the title or logo travels through the camera while the next scene is already in place.
• Speed changes: an arrival that slows so you can read, a quick exit. Never a constant drift.
• The subject fills 60 to 85 % of the frame in product shots, and frame 0 is already a finished composition.
• The music ends with the film: its real ending lands on the end card (umd mix --backtime) instead of a fade or a cut.

#Sell a video

The plugin is enough to offer a small service. The simplest format to sell: a 20 s launch clip for one feature.

• One feature, one approved script, one square video (1080 × 1080), one cover image taken from the film, one revision round (timing, copy, sound).
• Make a complete sample first, with your own product or one whose owner agrees. Show it with its three key frames (opening, result, ending).
• Time the real job (preparation, feedback, rendering, delivery) before setting a price. Public anchors gathered in September 2026 by motion-video-kit: AI tools around $30, reels around $150, a 15 to 30 s product video around $455. Generic clips compete with AI tools; what sells is accuracy to the client's real product and quality control. Check your market.
• Before starting, agree in writing on: script, supplied files, date, payment, number of revisions, where the client may use the video and whether you may show it in your portfolio.
• During production: the three key frames to approve the direction, then the draft, then the final render. Feedback is given by moment ("at 7 s…"), which keeps the revision round clear.
• .motion/LEDGER.md (each critique round, what changed, the measures) and the audit report show the care taken: attach them to the delivery if the client values it.
• Another format that sells: a series with the same character and a short episode every day or week, sold monthly to an app or a brand (pilot of 3 to 5 episodes, then a subscription). The method is in the "A recurring animated series" reference: series bible, locked hero, episodes drawn from the product's reviews and releases, human approval before each post.
• Remotion, if you use it, needs a paid licence above 3 people in the company: umd capture and HyperFrames have no such limit.

#What gives away an AI-made video

The automatic checks catch a good part of this (motion tells and hollow wording); the critic agent catches the rest.

#Spend fewer tokens

• Approve the look on stills before animating: one more round on stills costs far less than one on the video.
• While iterating, /umd:render draft: half resolution, 15 fps.
• /umd:audit quick between iterations; the full audit before delivery.
• Set "audit_model": "sonnet" in .motion/project.json for the auditors.
• Target 7 for everyday content, 8 for an ad, 9 only if it is worth the extra rounds.
• Check /umd:tokens after each big step.
• /umd:go states the cost of each step before running it and waits for your go-ahead on the expensive ones. Set a token_budget in .motion/project.json if you want a ceiling.

#A 20-minute real test

To check that everything works on your machine, end to end:

1. In a new folder, open a new Claude Code session and install the plugin (see Install).
2. /umd:doctor: everything should be ready; otherwise accept the proposed install.
3. /umd:go a 4-second logo animation for a made-up coffee roaster called Brûlerie, warm mood, with a sound logo.
4. At the stills step, look at them and approve them.
5. Let /umd:go chain through to the audit, then read .motion/AUDIT.md.
6. /umd:tokens to see what each step cost.

If a step gets stuck, copy the error message and the output of node <plugin>/scripts/umd.mjs next, and open an issue on GitHub.