# Cosmos Luminosity Reels production workflow

Use this workflow when Margarita provides raw video and asks for finished Instagram Reels rather than scripts alone.

## Deliverable standard

Produce actual, verified MP4 artifacts plus publication copy. Do not stop at concepts, edit instructions, or a shot list.

Default output for each Reel:

- vertical `1080 × 1920`, H.264, `yuv420p`, 30 fps;
- approximately 12–20 seconds unless the material calls for longer;
- English-first screen text when the campaign targets the English-speaking audience;
- typography and color consistent with Cosmos Luminosity;
- separate cover image;
- caption, pinned comment, sound direction, and recommended publication order;
- no baked-in commercial/trending music unless Margarita explicitly asks for it. Add current Instagram audio natively at publication time.

## Editorial strategy

Create five genuinely different emotional mechanisms, not five paraphrases of one quote. Strong recurring territories:

1. **Outgrown success** — life still works but no longer holds all of her.
2. **Between identities** — she is not lost; the next chapter is not material yet.
3. **Choose a season** — focus without reducing a multidimensional self.
4. **Visibility before confidence** — becoming visible before perfect clarity.
5. **Intuition without fantasy** — honesty, action, feedback, and material testing.

Each Reel should have one job: recognition, permission, reframing, borrowed courage, or grounded discernment.

## Source intake

For a public Google Drive folder:

1. Fetch the public folder page and extract file names and Drive file IDs.
2. Download original files anonymously when sharing is `Anyone with the link / Viewer`.
3. For large-file virus-scan interstitials, parse the confirmation form and submit its hidden `confirm`/`uuid` fields.
4. Verify every downloaded file with `ffprobe`; do not infer success from HTTP status alone.
5. Keep originals unchanged in a `source/` directory.

For large source sets, run long downloads/renders as tracked background processes with completion notification.

## Visual selection workflow

1. Run `ffprobe` to catalogue duration, codec, dimensions, frame rate, and orientation.
2. Generate 12-frame contact sheets across every source.
3. Build finer timestamped contact sheets around promising regions.
4. Select 2–4 second ranges based on real movement, gesture, light, gaze, composition, and thematic fit.
5. Map clips to distinct narrative arcs before rendering.

Contact sheets are faster and more reliable than scrubbing every long source sequentially, but final ranges still require visual inspection.

## Editing principles

- Hook with simultaneous visual movement and on-screen language in the first second.
- Keep no more than two short lines on screen.
- Use a high-contrast translucent box or strong outline so text survives changing footage.
- Favor editorial pacing over effects. A few meaningful cuts are stronger than generic transitions.
- Crop horizontal sources to 9:16 around the active face/body/action; inspect the result rather than using one crop blindly.
- A Reality Glitch treatment may be used when conceptually relevant, but should not overwhelm the human material.
- Preserve the person as whole and resourced; avoid crisis-bait and artificial before/after transformation.

## Instagram safe zones

On a `1080 × 1920` canvas:

- keep headline text below the top interface area; upper-middle is safer than the top edge;
- keep branding well above the bottom caption/music interface;
- keep essential faces, hands, and actions away from right-side engagement controls;
- inspect a 3×2 final contact sheet for every Reel after subtitles are burned in.

A practical starting point is to keep primary text roughly 300–400 px from the top and branding at least 250–320 px above the bottom, then verify visually on the actual frames.

## Verification gate

Before calling the work ready:

1. Decode every final file end-to-end with FFmpeg (`-f null -`) and require no errors.
2. Confirm H.264, `1080 × 1920`, 30 fps, and `yuv420p` with `ffprobe`.
3. Confirm duration and file size.
4. Generate final contact sheets and inspect text legibility, safe zones, crops, transitions, and brand placement.
5. Create covers from representative frames.
6. Package MP4s, covers, and a caption/posting guide in a ZIP and test the archive.
7. Deliver individual MP4s as well as the bundle so Margarita can preview without unpacking.

## Publication copy

For every Reel include:

- a caption that adds depth rather than repeating on-screen text;
- a non-binary, reflective pinned comment;
- concise sound direction (e.g. restrained piano build, intelligent downtempo, tactile minimal electronic);
- only a few precise hashtags when useful;
- a recommended sequence based on audience breadth and strategic depth.

Prefer soft invitations and questions beginning with “What…” or “How…” over yes/no CTAs.