video/skills/pipelines/clip-factory/edit-director.md

Edit Director - Clip Factory Pipeline

When To Use

This stage turns the approved clips into independent mini-edits. Each clip must work alone, but the collection should still feel like a coherent series.

Prerequisites

Layer	Resource	Purpose
Schema	schemas/artifacts/edit_decisions.schema.json	Artifact validation
Prior artifacts	state.artifacts["assets"]["asset_manifest"], state.artifacts["scene_plan"]["scene_plan"], state.artifacts["script"]["script"]	Assets, layouts, transcripts
Playbook	Active style playbook	Transition and subtitle consistency

Process

1. Build A Shared Edit Template

Lock the batch defaults first:

• subtitle style,
• hook timing,
• lower-third timing,
• watermark behavior,
• audio fade lengths.

Then apply per-clip overrides only where necessary.

2. Optimize The First 2-3 Seconds

For every clip:

• start on motion, face, or result,
• show hook text immediately if needed,
• let subtitles begin with the first spoken word,
• avoid intros that delay the point.

3. Keep Boundaries Clean

• no cuts mid-word,
• no trailing silence after the point lands,
• no "setup for setup's sake" before the hook,
• no outro cards unless they earn the time.

4. Use Metadata For Multi-Variant Detail

Recommended metadata keys:

• batch_template
• clip_variants
• hook_windows
• cta_windows

5. Quality Gate

• each clip is self-contained,
• the first seconds hook fast,
• overlay stack is readable on mobile,
• the batch retains consistent styling and fades.

Common Pitfalls

• Building one highlight reel instead of independent clips.
• Letting branding delay the hook.
• Overcrowding the screen with hook text, subtitles, watermark, and lower third simultaneously.
• Applying inconsistent transition timing across the batch.