---
name: visual-brief-generator
description: "Turns content into a structured video/image generation brief: shot list, per-scene prompts, aspect ratio, style/mood. Use when the user asks for a visual brief, video brief, or shot list."
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Write
---

# Visual Brief Generator

## Purpose

Turn a piece of content or campaign idea into a structured, copy-paste-ready
visual generation brief — a shot list, per-scene prompts, aspect ratios per
platform, and a style/mood guide. If a connected image- or video-generation
MCP tool is available in the current session and the user wants to generate
now, use it. Otherwise the written brief itself is the deliverable.

**Important:** as of this writing, none of Higgsfield, Runway, or
Midjourney has a known official MCP server, so this skill never assumes one
of those specifically is connected. It checks whatever tools are actually
available at runtime instead of hardcoding a tool name.

## Step-by-step process

1. **Check onboarding status.** Read
   `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/brand-voice.md`. If it doesn't exist,
   or its first line is `<!-- MARKETING-SKILL:UNCONFIGURED -->`, pause and
   ask the user this plugin's 4 setup questions (priority task; content
   types to produce; target audience + tone; default output format — same
   as `/marketing-skill:marketing-setup`) before continuing, then save the
   answers into that file and flip the marker to `CONFIGURED` with today's
   date. Otherwise, read it for mood/tone consistency below.

2. **Confirm scope.**
   - Source content or campaign this brief is for. If the user references
     a project feature/launch without describing it, look for it first —
     Glob for `README*`, `CHANGELOG*`, and `docs/**/*.md` at the project
     root, then Read whichever look relevant — before asking them to
     describe it. Only check documentation-oriented files this way, not
     arbitrary source code. If nothing relevant turns up, ask directly.
   - Deliverable type: video, image, or both.
   - Target platform(s) — this determines aspect ratio (e.g. Reels/TikTok
     9:16, LinkedIn 1:1 or 16:9, YouTube 16:9).
   - Roughly how many scenes/shots, and total duration if video.
   - Any existing brand assets, colors, or style references to match.

3. **Look for a connected visual-generation tool.** Check the tools
   actually available in this session for one whose name or description
   indicates image or video generation (for example, a connected Canva
   connector, or any other connected MCP server for this purpose — do not
   assume any specific one is present).
   - If found: ask the user whether to actually generate the asset(s) now
     using that tool, with the per-scene prompts below as input.
   - If not found: proceed to produce the written brief only.

4. **Draft the brief** using the exact section structure below, applying
   brand voice/tone from `references/brand-voice.md`.

5. **Report status honestly.** Never claim an asset was generated if no
   tool call actually happened. If no visual-gen tool is connected, say so
   plainly and point to this plugin's README section on connecting one.

## When to use this skill

Trigger on requests like:
- "Make a visual brief / video brief for..."
- "I need a shot list for..."
- "Write image/video prompts for..."

## Output structure (required)

Use this exact section order, as Markdown `##` headings:

### Brief Overview
Goal, source reference, target platform(s), total duration or frame count.

### Shot List
A table: `Shot # | Description | Duration/Frames | Camera/Framing notes`.

### Per-Scene Prompts
One block per shot. Each prompt must be self-contained (no dangling
pronouns like "it" referring to a previous scene) and include:
- The generation prompt itself.
- A negative prompt, if relevant to the target tool.
- Aspect ratio for that shot.
- Style/mood keywords.

### Aspect Ratio & Format per Platform
A table: `Platform | Aspect Ratio | File Type`.

### Style & Mood Guide
Color palette, tone, pacing, and sound/music direction (if video).

### Generation Status / Next Steps
State plainly whether a connected tool was used to actually generate
anything. If not, note how to connect a visual-gen MCP tool (see this
plugin's README) or how to paste these prompts into a tool manually.

## Formatting rules

- Keep style/mood keywords consistent across scenes unless variation is
  intentional and called out.
- Respect brand-voice constraints (including any banned words/imagery).
- Never fabricate an asset URL or claim generation succeeded when it
  didn't.

## Example output

> Fictional example: a 3-scene, 15-second product-teaser brief for
> Instagram Reels, brief-only (no visual-gen tool connected).

```markdown
## Brief Overview
Goal: teaser for the "one-click export" feature launch.
Source: content-repurposer LinkedIn post draft.
Platform: Instagram Reels.
Total duration: 15 seconds (3 scenes, 5s each).

## Shot List
| Shot # | Description | Duration | Camera/Framing notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cluttered desktop, multiple export windows open, looking chaotic | 5s | Close-up, slight overhead angle |
| 2 | Cursor clicks a single "Export" button | 5s | Screen-capture style, centered on the button |
| 3 | Clean report appears instantly, checkmark animation | 5s | Full-screen, centered |

## Per-Scene Prompts
**Scene 1:** "A cluttered computer desktop with five overlapping export
dialog boxes, warm office lighting, slightly messy and stressful mood,
overhead close-up angle." Negative prompt: "no readable text, no logos."
Aspect ratio: 9:16. Style/mood: chaotic, warm-toned, slightly comedic.

**Scene 2:** "A cursor clicks a single glowing 'Export' button on a clean
software interface, satisfying tactile motion, centered framing." Negative
prompt: "no readable brand names." Aspect ratio: 9:16. Style/mood: crisp,
minimal, satisfying.

**Scene 3:** "A finished report appears on screen with a green checkmark
animation, bright and clean, full-screen." Negative prompt: "no clutter."
Aspect ratio: 9:16. Style/mood: bright, resolved, confident.

## Aspect Ratio & Format per Platform
| Platform | Aspect Ratio | File Type |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 | MP4 |

## Style & Mood Guide
Color: cool blues and whites, one warm accent in scene 1 for contrast.
Tone: light, a little playful, resolves into confident/clean. Pacing:
quick cuts, no scene longer than 5s. Sound: upbeat, minimal, a single
"ding" sound cue on scene 3's checkmark.

## Generation Status / Next Steps
No connected image/video-generation tool was available in this session, so
no asset was generated — this brief is the deliverable. To generate
directly, connect a visual-gen MCP tool and re-run this skill (see this
plugin's README), or paste the per-scene prompts above into your tool of
choice.
```