Purpose
Turn an episode topic or script excerpt into 3–5 fully distinct visual storytelling concepts — each anchored by a central metaphor and specified down to motion style, graphic treatment, and opening shot — so a motion designer or producer walks into the pitch or edit with real creative directions instead of a blank timeline.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Brainstorm visual approaches for an episode, explainer, or video segment
- Develop distinct creative directions from a topic, brief, or script excerpt
- Find a visual metaphor or throughline for a piece of content
- Pitch multiple look-and-feel options to a client or team
- Decide on motion style, graphic treatment, or animation approach for a series
- Break out of a repetitive visual formula across episodes
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Episode topic or thesis: What the episode is actually about — the one idea it advances
- Script excerpt or key beats: A paragraph of narration, the outline, or 3–5 key moments
- Format & runtime: Explainer / documentary / social short / talking-head + broll / motion graphics — and approximate length
- Platform: Where it lives (YouTube, Instagram/TikTok, broadcast, conference, internal)
- Existing brand or series constraints: Colors, fonts, logo, established visual style to respect or break from
- Production budget/tooling reality: Full 3D / 2D animation / stock + motion graphics / live-action + graphic overlay
- Emotional target: What the viewer should feel by the end (awe, urgency, trust, curiosity, delight)
If budget/tooling is missing, assume 2D motion graphics with stock footage and note the assumption. If emotional target is missing, infer it from the topic and state the inference.
Instructions
Step 1: Extract the Visual Core
Before generating concepts, pull the raw material every concept will build from:
- The central tension or transformation: What changes over the episode? (before→after, problem→resolution, hidden→revealed)
- The single most visual moment in the script — the beat that already begs for imagery
- Abstract vs. concrete subject: Is the topic physical (a product, a place) or conceptual (an idea, a system, an emotion)? Concepts must work harder to visualize abstract topics
- The dominant sense of the content: Fast/energetic, calm/contemplative, technical/precise, human/warm
State these four findings in 3–4 sentences. They constrain and inform every concept below.
Step 2: Generate 3–5 Distinct Concepts
Each concept must be genuinely different in metaphor AND execution — not the same idea in three color palettes. Aim for 4 concepts by default; use 5 for rich topics, 3 for tightly-scoped shorts.
For each concept, produce this structure:
Concept [N]: [Evocative Name]
- Core metaphor: The single visual idea the whole piece hangs on. One sentence. It should be a thing the viewer can picture, not an adjective. (e.g., "the topic rendered as a growing root system" — not "organic and natural")
- Why it fits this episode: 2 sentences connecting the metaphor to the specific thesis and emotional target
- Motion style: Named and specific — e.g., kinetic typography with hard cuts / slow parallax drift / morphing liquid transitions / snappy graphic-match cuts / handheld doc realism with animated overlays. Include pacing (fast/measured/breathing).
- Graphic treatment: The visual system — flat vector / textured collage / isometric 3D / line-art blueprint / photographic grain / cel-shaded. Specify how information appears and resolves on screen.
- Color & typography direction: 2–3 color notes and a type personality (geometric sans / editorial serif / condensed display / mono). Concrete enough to search a font library.
- Signature opening shot: Describe the first 3 seconds — the shot that establishes the concept and hooks the viewer. This is the concept's calling card.
- One transition device: A repeatable motion move that carries the viewer between sections and gives the episode a signature (e.g., "wipe via the growing root," "camera pushes through a portal object").
- Production reality check: Achievable / Ambitious / Stretch — against the stated budget/tooling, one line why.
Step 3: Contrast the Set
After the concepts, add a short comparison so the buyer can decide fast:
- A 3–4 row table: Concept name | Metaphor in 3 words | Motion energy (low/med/high) | Production lift (achievable/ambitious/stretch)
- One line naming which concept best serves the emotional target, and which is the safest to execute on time and budget.
Step 4: Recommend and Extend
- Name one recommended concept with a 2-sentence rationale. Be opinionated.
- For the recommended concept, suggest one way it scales across a series (how the metaphor flexes for a different episode topic).
Output Format
- Structure: Visual Core summary → 3–5 numbered concepts (each with the full sub-structure) → comparison table → recommendation + series extension
- Length: 900–1,300 words
- Format: Structured document — bolded sub-labels per concept, one comparison table, prose recommendation
- Sections: Visual Core → Concepts → Comparison Table → Recommendation & Series Extension
- Tone: Creative director in a pitch — vivid and specific about imagery, but grounded in what a real editor can build. Describe shots the reader can see in their head; never hide behind mood-board adjectives.
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] The correct number of concepts is present (3–5) and each has all 8 sub-elements
- [ ] Every core metaphor is a picturable thing, not an adjective (a viewer could sketch it)
- [ ] No two concepts share the same metaphor or motion style — they are genuinely distinct
- [ ] Each concept ties back to the specific episode thesis and emotional target, not a generic pitch
- [ ] Every signature opening shot describes concrete imagery for the first 3 seconds
- [ ] The comparison table and a single opinionated recommendation are both present
- [ ] Production reality checks reflect the stated budget/tooling, not a fantasy pipeline
Notes
- The metaphor is the concept. If two concepts feel similar, it's almost always because the metaphors are too close — swap one for a metaphor drawn from a different domain (nature, machinery, architecture, cartography, cooking, sport).
- Abstract topics benefit most from this skill; the harder the subject is to shoot, the more a strong graphic metaphor earns its keep.
- The signature transition device is what makes an episode feel designed rather than assembled — it's the detail clients remember.
- For series work, favor a metaphor that flexes across episode topics over one that only fits this single script.
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills