Paper Collage Remotion

Build depth from independently movable layers, not by applying camera motion to a single flattened illustration. Use Imagegen or another image model only for source assets; use Remotion as the timing, compositing, and rendering system.

For a new project, copy assets/remotion-starter/ into the project root. Fill script.json, add public assets at the declared paths, and run scripts/validate_project.py script.json public before opening Remotion Studio. Use examples/tang-dynasty/ only as a concrete visual reference, never as a required subject or style.

1. Establish the edit before generating assets

Turn the script into a shot list. For every shot, record: narrative beat, duration, focal subject, viewpoint, subject order, layer list, and caption/audio cue. Design around one dominant subject per shot.

Use this depth order unless the shot has a deliberate exception:

1. background plate: paper texture, landscape, architecture
2. distant layer: remote figures and small environment details
3. middle layer: supporting characters and props
4. primary layer: story-critical person or object
5. foreground layer: kneeling figures, petals, tape, torn-paper edges
6. captions and graphic accents