launch-video

Launch Video

Make a premium, high-energy 15–60s launch film that stops the scroll and converts. Build the classic arc — hook → tease → reveal → feature montage → end-card CTA — cut to the music, and export for every platform aspect.

When to use

• Product drops, feature announcements, trailers, hype reels (15–60s).
• "Sizzle" hero videos for a landing page.
• Beat-synced reveals where the brand moment lands on the drop.

The arc

Beat	Job	Typical share (of 30s)
Hook (0–3s)	A striking frame/motion that stops the scroll	0–3s
Tease	Hint the product; build curiosity, beat-synced	3–9s
Reveal	Product/logo hits on the music drop	9–13s
Feature montage	Fast, kinetic, one benefit per shot	13–25s
End card	Logo + tagline + CTA, clean hold	25–30s

Scale the same proportions for 15s (tighter) or 60s (longer montage, never a longer hook).

Two non-negotiable rules

1. Sound design leads picture. Lock the track first, mark the beats and the drop, then cut visuals to those marks. Never score a finished cut — the reveal lands on the drop, not near it.
2. Quality over quantity. A few flawless shots beat many mediocre ones. Cut any shot that isn't premium.

Beat-synced reveal on the drop

Find the drop's exact timecode in the audio, then time the reveal so the brand mark snaps to full at that frame, with a micro-overshoot for impact.

import gsap from "gsap";
const DROP = 9.0; // seconds, measured from the track
const tl = gsap.timeline({ paused: true });
// tease builds tension up to the drop
tl.to(".tease", { opacity: 1, scale: 1.05, duration: DROP, ease: "power1.in" })
// reveal SNAPS on the drop frame
  .set(".logo", { opacity: 1 }, DROP)
  .fromTo(".logo", { scale: 1.18 }, { scale: 1.0, duration: .18, ease: "power3.out" }, DROP)
  .fromTo(".flash", { opacity: .9 }, { opacity: 0, duration: .25 }, DROP); // white hit
audio.addEventListener("play", () => tl.play());

Cut on transients, not on a fixed grid: the hardest cuts go on kick/snare hits; ramp speed (time-remap) into the drop, then hard-cut out of it.

Kinetic feature montage

One benefit per shot, ~0.6–1.0s each, hard cuts on the beat. Each shot = a bold keyword + a single supporting visual.

.feature { opacity:0; }
.feature.in .kw   { animation: pop .35s cubic-bezier(.22,1,.36,1) forwards; }
.feature.in .word { display:inline-block; }
@keyframes pop { from { opacity:0; transform:translateY(24px) } to { opacity:1; transform:none } }

// drive shots off beat marks measured from the track
const beats = [13.0, 13.8, 14.6, 15.4, 16.2]; // seconds
beats.forEach((t, i) => scheduleAt(t, () => showFeature(i)));

Keep one motion language across the montage (same enter curve, same exit) so speed reads as confidence, not chaos.

End card

Hold the logo + tagline + CTA still and clean for ≥2s. No busy motion competing with the CTA; let the brand settle. Land the brand moment on the strongest remaining beat, then a crisp button/URL.

Multi-aspect export

Compose with a center safe zone so one master crops cleanly to all aspects.

Aspect	Use	Resolution	Safe zone
16:9	YouTube, landing hero, X	1920×1080	keep key content within center 90%
9:16	Reels, TikTok, Shorts, Stories	1080×1920	text within center 80% h; avoid top 12% / bottom 18% (UI)
1:1	Feed posts	1080×1080	center square of the 16:9 frame

Design the hero/logo/CTA inside the 1:1 center square so it survives every crop. Render the 16:9 master, then reframe (don't just letterbox) 9:16 and 1:1 from the same project.

Output checklist

• Track locked first; reveal lands exactly on the drop.
• Hook earns the first 3 seconds.
• Montage: one benefit per shot, hard cuts on beats, consistent motion language.
• End card holds ≥2s with one clear CTA.
• 16:9 + 9:16 + 1:1 exports, key content in the center safe zone.
• Premium-only shots — nothing mediocre survives the cut.

Deliver & verify (rendered stills → MP4)

Packaged helper (scripts/): tile your stills with scripts/contact-sheet.sh sheet.png f-hook.png f-mid.png f-end.png, then assert the encode with scripts/probe-mp4.sh out.mp4 [WxH] [fps]. See scripts/README.md.

If the launch film is built/rendered in Remotion, treat it as the heavy tier: register a <Composition> (+ zod schema + defaultProps), drive every value off useCurrentFrame() — no GSAP timelines / audio-event callbacks / Date.now() / Math.random() at render time (bake beat + drop timecodes into props). Deliverable = the rendered out/*.mp4 per aspect (plus the project).

Verify loop — render stills → inspect → encode. Sample the arc, with the shipped props (real headline/tagline/CTA), not just defaultProps.

# Frame-exact stills across hook → reveal → end-card
npx remotion still Launch out/f-hook.png   --frame=24  --props=props/launch.json   # hook earns first 3s
npx remotion still Launch out/f-reveal.png --frame=270 --props=props/launch.json   # logo SNAPS on the drop frame
npx remotion still Launch out/f-end.png    --frame=899 --props=props/launch.json   # end card: logo+tagline+CTA, clean hold
# inspect each: fidelity (product/logo, tagline, CTA text exact, brand colors right, reveal at the drop frame)
#   AND artifacts (text overflow, off-canvas, CTA in the 9:16 bottom third, missing font, flash frame stuck on)

Multi-aspect — verify the master in EACH aspect before encoding all of them. A reframe bug (hero pushed off the safe zone) repeats across every aspect; catch it once.

for ar in 16x9 9x16 1x1; do                                 # check reveal + end card per aspect
  npx remotion still Launch "out/reveal-${ar}.png" --frame=270 \
    --props=props/launch.json --props-merge="{\"aspect\":\"${ar}\"}"
done
# stills clean in all aspects? → then encode each:
for ar in 16x9 9x16 1x1; do
  npx remotion render Launch "out/launch-${ar}.mp4" --props=props/launch.json --props-merge="{\"aspect\":\"${ar}\"}"
done
npx remotion render Launch out/demo.gif --codec=gif --props=props/launch.json   # README demo

Before you finish:

1. npx remotion still renders cleanly at hook / reveal / end card — no errors, no missing fonts/assets.
2. Logo/tagline/CTA text exact, brand colors right; reveal lands on the drop frame; key content inside the center safe zone, clear of the 9:16 bottom third.
3. Frame-driven only — no GSAP/audio-callback timing, Date.now(), or Math.random() (beats/drop baked into props).
4. Shipped props render correctly (not just defaultProps); the end card holds ≥2s with one CTA.
5. Master verified in 16:9 + 9:16 + 1:1 before encoding; MP4s play; (optional) GIF for the README.

Reference files

• references/launch-structure.md — a full shot-by-shot template with timecodes for a 30s film (scalable to 15–60s), beat-synced reveal timing, kinetic-montage shot recipes, the sound-design-leads-picture workflow, and detailed multi-aspect safe-area maps for 16:9 / 9:16 / 1:1.