# Composition — product-launch visual-design judgment

> The composition-judgment layer for **Step 4 (Visual design)**. You read it while enriching `STORYBOARD.md` frames: which layout, how much frame the hero fills, how many depth layers — **director decisions**. Concrete px (safe margins 96-150), scale (1.05 / 0.92), three-layer `box-shadow`, `perspective` values are the **frame worker's** job; you name the intent in the frame's composition note. Video composition is closer to film / poster design than webpage layout — no scrolling, no reflow; every frame is a fixed canvas, every pixel matters. Default canvas **1920×1080**; portrait `1080×1920` / square `1080×1080` per the storyboard `format`.

## Squint test

Squint (or blur the frame). Can you still pick out the most important element, the second, and clear spatial groups? If everything has equal weight after blur, hierarchy is broken — redesign before writing the note. The strongest frames pass this: one dominant block + one supporting structural element, everything else demoted.

## Canvas zones (conceptual)

```
+--------------------------------------------------+
|         Optional top chrome                       |
|  +----------------------------------------------+ |
|  |         Safe margin                          | |
|  |  +----------------------------------------+  | |
|  |  |       Primary content area             |  | |
|  |  |     (center 65-75% of frame)           |  | |
|  |  +----------------------------------------+  | |
|  |  | Caption band (bottom ~17%, HARD w/ captions) | |
|  |  +----------------------------------------+  | |
|  +----------------------------------------------+ |
+--------------------------------------------------+
```

- **Top chrome** — only for workspace-mockup frames; otherwise skip.
- **Safe margin** — key content stays off the edges; hero / editorial frames need more air.
- **Primary content area** — the center 65-75% is where the eye rests; body text never presses the edge.
- **Caption band (bottom ~17%, HARD-reserved when captions are on)** — when the film has captions enabled (the frame's `Captions:` flag), the bottom ~17% of **canvas height** is reserved (landscape 1080h → bottom 180px, y 900-1080; portrait 1920h → bottom 320px, y 1600-1920): primary content and key visuals **cap at the band top**, and a centered hero anchors at **y ≈ 0.42 × height** (landscape ≈454, portrait ≈806), not the canvas midpoint. Background / ambient / surface layers are exempt and may stay full-bleed. Captions disabled → the zone is usable, but keep it clear anyway for bottom-edge consistency across frames.

You write "hero word centered with generous safe margins"; you do not write `padding: 150px 120px 92px`.

## Portrait & square (non-16:9 canvases)

The zones, density, hierarchy, and depth principles all still apply; the **aspect ratio** changes, and a wide-frame layout does not transplant into a tall one. Design for the storyboard's `format` from the start — never plan landscape and "crop."

- **Stack vertically, not side-by-side.** Portrait has little horizontal room: split-screen / triptych / 60-40 asymmetry become **top/bottom stacks**, vertical step lists, stacked bands. Square tolerates side-by-side only for two compact items.
- **Vertical center moves with the canvas** — anchor a centered hero around **y ≈ 0.42 × height** (portrait ≈806, square ≈454), not a fixed 540.
- **Type runs larger, fewer words per line** — narrow frames wrap long headlines badly; prefer short kinetic lines, bigger type, more vertical rhythm.
- **Travels well to portrait:** Centered, Layered Depth, Full-Width Strip (now a stacked band), vertical Rule-of-Thirds. **Avoid** wide Split Screen and Triptych — use stacked equivalents.
- **Density still rules** — primary visual ≥ 40% of canvas, ≥ 3 depth layers, measured against the tall frame; an empty top or bottom third reads as placeholder.
- **Real 16:9 screenshots don't fit a tall frame** — never letterbox with dead bars, never stretch-distort. Instead: crop to the salient region; seat it as a top/bottom band with kinetic type filling the rest; or scale it inside a device / browser-frame mock.

## 7 composition templates

Use ≥3 different templates per video (5 frames → 3+, 9 frames → 4+). **Don't default every frame to centered**; never use the same layout class twice in a row.

1. **Centered (hero / climax)** — one dominant element, generous breathing room. Brand reveal, key metric, CTA, climax.
2. **Rule of thirds** — anchor on a thirds intersection; remaining space carries support or negative space. Feature showcase, demo + description.
3. **Split screen (comparison / dual focus)** — left/right halves carry separate elements. Before/after, comparison, problem/solution.
4. **Layered depth (immersive)** — foreground / midground / background differ in scale + opacity. Opening hooks, atmosphere, workbench beats.
5. **Asymmetric (editorial)** — primary content pushed to one side (60/40, 70/30); intentional imbalance → tension + sophistication. Feature focus, dense info, editorial proof.
6. **Triptych (three-panel)** — three equal zones for three capabilities / beats at once.
7. **Full-width strip** — one horizontal band (ticker, logo chain, marquee), usually ~20% of canvas height.

## Frame density — avoid empty frames

Common failure: small elements floating in the center with empty space around them. Every frame must feel **intentionally filled**.

- **Primary visual occupies ≥ 40% of canvas** — hero text 50-75% height × 60-80% width; a centered card 30-50% × 50-70%.
- **≥ 3 visual layers** — background (gradient / particles / grid) + midground (main content) + foreground (emphasis / decoration).
- **Openings and closings** are prone to emptiness — black background + a lonely line of text reads as placeholder. Add environmental layers: dual-radial swell, floating particles, brand-color ambient texture, low-opacity scanlines.
- **Text-only frames still need visual elements** — logo, an asset, icon decoration, halftone field, brand-derived geometry.
- **Feature the frame's `asset_candidates`** — story already chose the real assets for this frame (they're the highest-value material); a product screenshot at 60% + supporting text + an ambient layer feels full; the text alone feels empty.

**Fullness test:** could this frame stand as a poster or social graphic? If it looks like a sparse slide → add layers.

## Negative space

Whitespace directs attention, it isn't waste. Tight grouping (icon + label) → small spacing; unrelated groups → large separation; asymmetric outer margins feel more designed than equal padding; a hero word keeps large side whitespace so one word carries the weight. **Failure modes:** everything equidistant (no grouping); unintended overlap; text tight against an edge; captions colliding with bottom visuals; the framework's default padding everywhere.

## In-frame visual hierarchy

Visual weight, strong → weak: **large image** › **motion** (moving beats static) › **high contrast** › **type scale** › **position** (center + upper third are golden). Combine **at least two** — an element that is large, moving, and upper-third is unquestionably primary.

A title that is only _larger_ (sharing weight/color/spacing with body) reads weak. Stack dimensions:

| Dimension | Strong contrast                             |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Size      | 3:1 ratio or larger                         |
| Weight    | 800-900 vs 400                              |
| Color     | high contrast against background            |
| Motion    | one element moving vs all else static       |
| Position  | top / left = primary                        |
| Space     | large surrounding whitespace vs equidistant |

## Cards and grouping

Spacing + alignment can group without a card container. **Use cards** when content is genuinely distinct, when a UI-demo group is independently actionable (command row, feature card), or when shadow-stacking communicates "lifted." **Don't** card for mere separation (use whitespace) or for a continuous list. **Never nest cards** — claustrophobic, muddy hierarchy. You write "comparison-split: left/right dual cards, three-layer shadow stack"; the worker writes the `box-shadow`.

## Asset prominence

The frame's assets (logos, product images, screenshots) are real and strongly brand-related — feature them, don't shrink them into decoration. A focal product screenshot fills **40-60% of the frame**; a logo stays recognizable at playback size; use the highest-quality version. **Never** replace a real asset with a generic decorative graphic when a real one exists.

## Depth on a 2D canvas

Layer **2-3 depth techniques** per frame to avoid a flat poster (concrete perspective / rotate / scale values are the worker's):

| Technique        | Effect                                                                                     |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Size difference  | larger = nearer, smaller = farther                                                         |
| Blur             | blurred = background, sharp = foreground                                                   |
| Opacity gradient | low = receding, full = primary                                                             |
| Overlap          | foreground partially covers background                                                     |
| Shadow stacking  | three-layer shadow = lift + brand feel                                                     |
| Motion speed     | faster parallax = closer                                                                   |
| Counter-scale    | camera pushes toward focus → background appears larger, focal CSS scale <1 but fills frame |

You write "3 depth layers: background swell + midground product + foreground CTA glow; background counter-scales for the push"; the worker writes the scale values.

## What should not appear

Nav bars, footers, cookie banners, scrollbars, cursor arrows, browser chrome, unclickable buttons, generic decorative shapes replacing real assets, floating bokeh / purple-to-blue AI gradients (the "default AI cliché," banned). **Exception:** an intentional product-interface reconstruction for a UI-demo frame — nav bars, command panels, timeline tracks, CTA buttons give real context, making it read as a real workflow.

## Composition note example

> "Composition: asymmetric 60/40 — product screenshot occupies left 60%, copy + CTA right 40%. Generous safe margin; text capped inside the primary content area. 3 depth layers: background swell + midground screenshot + foreground CTA glow. Density: primary visual ~55%, ambient adds 5% scanline + architectural grid."

One line per frame; never concrete px / scale / shadow recipes (the worker writes those).