Animated explainer

Produce a finished, watchable video from a single request, with no check-ins: the user expects to get an MP4 back, not a draft or a question. Honor an explicit request for a script, storyboard, or shorter clip. Missing credentials or material source gaps need a focused clarification; never invent them. Two things make it good, and both matter equally. First, a script that teaches one idea through a character the viewer follows. Second, design polished enough to look like a motion studio made it: consistent layout, clear hierarchy, illustrations built for the concept. A strong script with amateur visuals still fails, because clumsy design distracts from the lesson.

Current edition: internal training. The tone is a smart colleague explaining something useful, warm and concrete, not a lecture or an ad.

For a script or storyboard request, complete the topic and storyboard steps and deliver those artifacts; skip runtime setup, credentials, narration, and rendering.

Pipeline at a glance

storyboard.json --tts.py--> audio/*.mp3 + timings.json --scenes.py (Manim + kurz.py)--> rendered acts
     --frames.py--> visual QA stills --assemble.py--> explainer.mp4 + captions.srt

This packaged setup supports macOS with Homebrew. It needs FFmpeg, uv, and an ElevenLabs account/key; narration consumes ElevenLabs credits. Set SKILL_DIR to the absolute directory containing this loaded SKILL.md, resolving any installation symlink. It may be under .agents/skills, .codex/skills, or .claude/skills. Keep the whole folder together. The supplied training-video style uses Avenir Next, available on macOS.

Paths: PY=~/.local/share/animated-explainer/venv/bin/python, MANIM=~/.local/share/animated-explainer/venv/bin/manim. Always run the scripts with $PY; the system Python does not have Manim installed.