Remotion — Toolkit Extensions

Core Remotion knowledge lives in .claude/skills/remotion-official/ (synced from the official remotion-dev/skills repo). This file covers toolkit-specific patterns only.

Shared Components

Reusable video components in lib/components/. Import in templates via:

import { AnimatedBackground, SlideTransition, Label } from '../../../../lib/components';

Component	Purpose
AnimatedBackground	Floating shapes background (variants: subtle, tech, warm, dark)
SlideTransition	Scene transitions (fade, zoom, slide-up, blur-fade)
Label	Floating label badge with optional JIRA reference
Vignette	Cinematic edge darkening overlay
LogoWatermark	Corner logo branding
SplitScreen	Side-by-side video comparison
NarratorPiP	Picture-in-picture presenter overlay
Envelope	3D envelope with opening flap animation
PointingHand	Animated hand emoji with slide-in and pulse
MazeDecoration	Animated isometric grid decoration for corners

Custom Transitions

The toolkit includes a transitions library at lib/transitions/ for scene-to-scene effects beyond the official @remotion/transitions package.

Using TransitionSeries

import { TransitionSeries, linearTiming } from '@remotion/transitions';
// Import custom transitions from lib (adjust path based on your project location)
import { glitch, lightLeak, clockWipe, checkerboard } from '../../../../lib/transitions';
// Or import from @remotion/transitions for official ones
import { slide, fade } from '@remotion/transitions/slide';

<TransitionSeries>
  <TransitionSeries.Sequence durationInFrames={90}>
    <TitleSlide />
  </TransitionSeries.Sequence>
  <TransitionSeries.Transition
    presentation={glitch({ intensity: 0.8 })}
    timing={linearTiming({ durationInFrames: 30 })}
  />
  <TransitionSeries.Sequence durationInFrames={120}>
    <ContentSlide />
  </TransitionSeries.Sequence>
</TransitionSeries>

Available Custom Transitions

Transition	Options	Best For
glitch()	intensity, slices, rgbShift	Tech demos, edgy reveals, cyberpunk
rgbSplit()	direction, displacement	Modern tech, energetic transitions
zoomBlur()	direction, blurAmount	CTAs, high-energy moments, impact
lightLeak()	temperature, direction	Celebrations, film aesthetic, warm moments
clockWipe()	startAngle, direction, segments	Time-related content, playful reveals
pixelate()	maxBlockSize, gridSize, scanlines, glitchArtifacts, randomness	Retro/gaming, digital transformations
checkerboard()	gridSize, pattern, stagger, squareAnimation	Playful reveals, structured transitions

Checkerboard patterns: sequential, random, diagonal, alternating, spiral, rows, columns, center-out, corners-in

Transition Examples

// Tech/cyberpunk feel
glitch({ intensity: 0.8, slices: 8, rgbShift: true })

// Warm celebration
lightLeak({ temperature: 'warm', direction: 'right' })

// High energy zoom
zoomBlur({ direction: 'in', blurAmount: 20 })

// Chromatic aberration
rgbSplit({ direction: 'diagonal', displacement: 30 })

// Clock sweep reveal
clockWipe({ direction: 'clockwise', startAngle: 0 })

// Retro pixelation
pixelate({ maxBlockSize: 50, glitchArtifacts: true })

// Checkerboard patterns
checkerboard({ pattern: 'diagonal', gridSize: 8 })
checkerboard({ pattern: 'spiral', gridSize: 10 })
checkerboard({ pattern: 'center-out', squareAnimation: 'scale' })

Transition Duration Guidelines

Type	Frames	Notes
Quick cut	15-20	Fast, punchy
Standard	30-45	Most common
Dramatic	50-60	Slow reveals
Glitch effects	20-30	Should feel sudden
Light leak	45-60	Needs time to sweep

Preview Transitions

Run the showcase gallery to see all transitions:

cd showcase/transitions && npm run studio

Toolkit Best Practices

1. Frame-based animations only — Avoid CSS transitions/animations; they cause flickering during render
2. Use fps from useVideoConfig() — Make animations frame-rate independent
3. Clamp interpolations — Use extrapolateRight: 'clamp' to prevent runaway values
4. Use OffthreadVideo — Better performance than <Video> for complex compositions
5. delayRender for async — Always block rendering until data is ready
6. staticFile for assets — Reference files from public/ folder correctly
7. All projects use 30fps — Timing: frames = seconds × 30
8. playbackRate must be constant — For variable/extreme speeds, pre-process with FFmpeg

Project Timing Conventions

Scene Type	Duration	Notes
Title	3-5s (90-150f)	Logo + headline
Overview	10-20s	3-5 bullet points
Demo	10-30s	Adjust playbackRate to fit
Stats	8-12s	3-4 stat cards
Credits	5-10s	Quick fade

Pacing: ~150 words/minute for voiceover. Voiceover drives timing.

Advanced API

For detailed API documentation on all hooks, components, renderer, Lambda, and Player APIs, see reference.md.

License Note

Remotion has a special license. Companies may need to obtain a license for commercial use. Check https://remotion.dev/license

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Feedback & Contributions

If this skill is missing information or could be improved:

• Missing a pattern? Describe what you needed
• Found an error? Let me know what's wrong
• Want to contribute? I can help you:
  1. Update this skill with improvements
  2. Create a PR to github.com/digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit

Just say "improve this skill" and I'll guide you through updating .claude/skills/remotion/SKILL.md.