scene-continuity-and-transitions

name	scene-continuity-and-transitions
description	Preserve visual continuity across video scenes with previous-final-frame starts, camera swipes, carryover frames, transition QA, and boundary proofing. Use when a scene must begin from the exact last frame of a previous scene, when adding camera-move transitions, when replacing scene endings, or when debugging stale starting frames.

Scene Continuity And Transitions

Use this skill when scenes must feel like one continuous visual journey instead of separate slides.

Continuity Contract

Before editing a scene, identify:

• Previous scene final frame.
• Current scene first frame.
• Transition direction.
• Camera movement duration.
• Any duplicated chart/table/card/logo/text in the next scene.
• Any approved scene that must not be modified.

Use references/carryover-frames.md for duplicated-frame checks.

Camera Swipe Pattern

For a rightward camera movement:

• Move the current world left.
• Bring the next world in from the right or land on a clean blank field.
• Keep background color, lighting, and scale continuous.
• Use slight blur or parallax only if it improves realism.
• Avoid fading to a new slide unless the user asks for a cut or fade.

For a downward camera movement:

• Move from the hook/top field into the first current-video frame.
• Keep speed high enough to feel like a transition, not a scene pause.
• Match color and scale at the landing frame.

First-Frame Matching

When a scene begins from the previous scene:

• Copy or recreate the previous final frame in the new composition.
• Include all latest text, labels, theme colors, plus symbols, highlights, and annotations.
• Re-render both affected scenes if the final frame is source-driven.
• Extract proof frame just before and after the boundary.

Boundary QA

Always verify:

• No visual pop at the join.
• No stale text from an older render.
• No sudden color shift.
• No missing annotation that was added to the previous scene.
• No unwanted crop or scale change.
• Captions do not cover critical boundary text.

Surgical Change Rule

If the previous final frame changes, assume the next scene may also need a source patch. Search before declaring done.

Output

Provide:

• Changed scene files.
• Re-rendered scene list.
• Final assembly path.
• Boundary proof frames.
• Exact timestamps checked.

Transition Types

Use the transition type that matches the story:

• Camera swipe: same world, different area.
• Camera push: moving deeper into the same object.
• Downward camera move: hook into main video.
• Dot-to-data transition: diagram becomes chart.
• Product landing: abstract scene moves into screen recording.
• Blank field reset: audience needs a breath before new idea.

Avoid hard cuts when the user says "seamlessly," "same object," "continue," or "camera movement."

Timing Guidelines

• Fast scene-to-scene swipe: 0.4s to 1.0s.
• Clean reset hold: 0.5s to 1.5s.
• Product demo landing: long enough to understand first frame.
• Final CTA transition: fast movement, then still hold.
• Chart-to-question transition: leave clean negative space before cards appear.

These are defaults; narration timing wins when explicit.

Carryover Audit

Whenever a final frame changes, search:

• Current scene source.
• Next scene source.
• Any old scene HTML with same title text.
• Inline SVG text.
• Axis labels.
• Table headers.
• CTA copy.
• Theme colors.
• Generated snapshots only for QA, not source.

Boundary Proof Procedure

Extract frames:

• 0.05s before boundary.
• 0.05s after boundary.
• Middle of transition.
• First settled frame.

If a label appears before the boundary and disappears after, the carryover source is stale.

Product Demo Boundaries

For screen recordings:

• Check the recording's first frame.
• Check if there is a canvas/background around the UI.
• Check whether transition should land on full recording or cropped UI.
• Check if the recording contains scroll/zoom before cropping.
• Avoid blank frames at the end.

Common User Corrections

Map corrections to actions:

• "It jumps" means boundary proof and scale/position check.
• "It forgot the text" means carryover source search.
• "It feels like a slide" means replace fade/cut with camera motion.
• "Too fast" means extend transition or add hold after landing.
• "Too empty" may mean add ambient motion, not new panels.

Handoff Format

Report:

• Transition type.
• Boundary timestamps.
• Changed carryover files.
• Proof frames.
• Whether source scene and next scene were both refreshed.