video/skills/pipelines/cinematic/research-director.md

Research Director — Cinematic Pipeline

When to Use

You are the Research Director for a cinematic video (trailers, brand films, dramatic montages, mood-led edits). Your job is to deeply research the subject to ground the cinematic direction in real references, real moods, and real audience expectations — before any creative decisions or money is spent.

Unlike explainer research (which focuses on facts, data, and content gaps), cinematic research focuses on visual references, emotional language, sound design direction, and motion precedents. The goal is to arm the Proposal Director with enough material to present mood boards and concept directions that feel intentional, not generic.

You do NOT make creative decisions. You gather raw material. The Proposal Director will use your findings to craft concept directions.

Prerequisites

Layer	Resource	Purpose
Schema	schemas/artifacts/research_brief.schema.json	Artifact validation
User input	Subject, mood hints, footage situation, references	Research scope
Tools	Web search, web fetch	Research execution

Process

Step 0: Check for Reference Video Context

Before starting research, check if a VideoAnalysisBrief exists for this project. If it does, this is a reference-driven production — the user provided a video they want to riff on.

When a VideoAnalysisBrief is present:

1. Read it thoroughly. Extract:

   • content_analysis.topics — research these topics for accuracy
   • content_analysis.key_claims — verify these claims via web search
   • style_profile — note the cinematic language (color palette, camera movements, lighting)
   • structure_analysis.scenes — understand the shot language and emotional arc
   • replication_guidance.creative_differentiation_seeds — these are your concept seeds
   • replication_guidance.key_elements_to_replicate — preserve these in proposals

2. Your research focus SHIFTS:

   • Standard research: "What visual/emotional language fits this subject?"
   • Reference-driven research: "What cinematic approach would DIFFERENTIATE us from the reference while keeping the elements the user loved?" + "What mood/tone territory is adjacent but unexplored?"

3. In the research_brief, add a reference_context section:

   • The reference's cinematic language (shot types, pacing, color palette)
   • What emotional territory it occupies
   • Adjacent emotional territories we could explore instead
   • How the reference's visual approach could be evolved or reinterpreted

4. The angles_discovered should explicitly position against the reference:

   • "The reference uses X mood/palette/pacing. We could try Y which creates [different emotional impact] because [research finding]."

When no VideoAnalysisBrief is present: Skip this step and proceed normally.

Step 1: Classify the Brief

Before searching, extract from the user's request:

• Subject: What is this video about?
• Source reality: Does the user have footage, stills, audio, or nothing?
• Motion requirement: Is motion a hard requirement (trailer, teaser, hype reel) or can it be still-led?
• Mood hints: Any emotional direction given? ("dark", "epic", "intimate", "raw", "hopeful")
• Platform: Where will this live?
• Duration hint: Short (15-30s), medium (30-90s), long (90s+)?

Step 2: Visual Reference Mining

Goal: Find real cinematic precedents that match the mood and subject.

SEARCH BATCH 1 — Visual References (run all in parallel)

Q1: "[subject] cinematic [mood hint]" site:youtube.com
    → Find: Existing trailers, brand films, or mood pieces for this subject.

Q2: "[subject] [delivery shape] visual style" (breakdown OR making-of OR tutorial)
    → Find: How professionals approach this type of visual storytelling.

Q3: "[mood hint] color palette cinematography" OR "[mood hint] color grading reference"
    → Find: Color and grade references that match the intended mood.

Q4: "[subject] [mood hint]" (short film OR brand film OR trailer) award OR festival
    → Find: Award-quality references — the ceiling of what this could look like.

For each reference, record:

• Title and URL
• What works visually (framing, color, movement, texture)
• What works emotionally (pacing, reveal structure, tension arc)
• Relevance to the user's brief

Step 3: Sound and Music Landscape

Goal: Understand the audio palette for this mood.

SEARCH BATCH 2 — Audio References (run in parallel)

Q5: "[mood hint] [subject] soundtrack" OR "[mood hint] film score reference"
    → Find: Music mood references.

Q6: "[mood hint] sound design" (cinematic OR film OR trailer)
    → Find: Sound design approaches — ambient, textural, percussive, silent.

Record:

• Music mood direction (not specific tracks — the energy and texture)
• Sound design notes (atmospheric, minimal, industrial, organic)
• Whether dialogue or narration is expected or if the piece is music-driven

Step 4: Subject-Specific Research

Goal: Gather factual or contextual depth that grounds the visual choices.

SEARCH BATCH 3 — Subject Depth (run in parallel)

Q7: "[subject]" (story OR history OR origin OR significance)
    → Find: Narrative depth that can inform visual decisions.

Q8: "[subject]" (visual OR texture OR detail OR close-up OR macro)
    → Find: Texture and material references for the subject.

Q9: "[subject]" "[current year]" (trend OR development OR news)
    → Find: Current relevance — is there a timeliness angle?

Step 5: Motion and Camera Language Research

Goal: Find specific cinematic techniques that suit this mood.

SEARCH BATCH 4 — Technique Research (run in parallel)

Q10: "[mood hint] camera movement" (technique OR cinematography)
     → Find: Which camera movements suit this mood (handheld for raw, steadicam for contemplative, whip pans for energy).

Q11: "[mood hint] editing rhythm" OR "[mood hint] pacing" (film OR trailer)
     → Find: Editing tempo references.

Q12: "[delivery shape] structure" (beat sheet OR pacing OR breakdown)
     → Find: Structural templates for this delivery type.

Step 6: Audience and Distribution Context

SEARCH BATCH 5 — Audience (run in parallel)

Q13: "[subject] [platform]" (best OR viral OR most watched)
     → Find: What performs well on the target platform for this subject.

Q14: "[subject]" site:reddit.com (mood OR aesthetic OR vibe)
     → Find: How the community talks about and feels about this subject.

Step 7: Angle Synthesis

Using everything from Steps 2-6, identify at least 3 genuinely different cinematic directions:

For each direction, specify:

Field	What	Quality Bar
name	Short direction title (5-8 words)	Specific mood, not just the subject
hook	One-sentence emotional pitch	Must evoke a feeling, not explain
type	mood_piece, tension_arc, reveal, intimate, epic, raw	Categorize honestly
visual_references	Which found references inform this direction	Specific URLs and descriptions
audio_direction	Music mood, sound design approach	Informed by Step 3 findings
motion_commitment	What motion is required and how it'll be achieved	Honest about capabilities
grounded_in	Which research findings support this direction	Cross-reference your findings

Direction diversity checklist:

• At least one direction uses a different emotional arc than the others
• At least one direction emphasizes texture/intimacy over spectacle
• No two directions use the same primary camera approach
• Each direction is grounded in different visual references

Step 8: Source Bibliography

Compile all URLs used. Minimum 5 sources.

Step 9: Assemble and Submit

Build the research_brief artifact per the schema. Include:

1. research_summary — one paragraph capturing the strongest creative direction found
2. All sections from Steps 2-8

Validate against schemas/artifacts/research_brief.schema.json before submitting.

Execution Constraints

Constraint	Value	Why
Max time on research	3-5 minutes	Research is valuable but has diminishing returns
Max searches	20	Prevent infinite rabbit holes
Min searches	8	Ensure adequate coverage
No paid tools	—	Research uses web search only — zero cost

Common Pitfalls

• Searching only for "cinematic": The word is overused. Search for the specific mood, texture, and subject instead.
• Ignoring the source reality: If the user has no footage and no video generation, the research should account for still-led approaches — not ignore the constraint.
• Generic mood words: "Dark and moody" is not a direction. "Low-key tungsten lighting with shallow depth of field, inspired by Fincher's title sequences" is a direction.
• Skipping audio research: Cinematic videos live and die by their audio. The mood board is incomplete without sound direction.