REA Video & Animation Reverse-Engineering Workflow

When a user provides a reference video, YouTube/Higgsfield/Apple/Linear showcase, live website URL, or application binary and says "make a video with this exact motion/VFX":

1. Deconstruct Reference Video Files (FFmpeg Scene & Frame Probe)

1. Detect exact scene cuts and transition timestamps:

   ffprobe -v error -show_frames -of compact=p=0 -f lavfi "movie=reference.mp4,select=gt(scene\,0.25)" | grep -o "pkt_pts_time=[0-9.]*"
   

2. Extract high-cadence frame strip around a transition seam (to measure velocity curve, blur radius, and Z-scale direction):

   ffmpeg -y -ss 00:00:02.00 -t 1.0 -i reference.mp4 -vf "fps=30,scale=640:-1,tile=6x5" seam-analysis.png
   

3. Translate into a Vector Ledger (ledger.json): Record every cut timestamp, outgoing vector (x, y, z + scale sign), incoming vector, carrier element, and blur peak.

2. Reverse-Engineer Live Web Animations, Shaders & Apps with REA (rea/)