Tesseract Motion

Design motion with Tesseract

For converting files to or from other editing tools, such as Premiere Pro or After Effects, read conversion. When opening shared or older .tsrct files, updating tools, or investigating load/render differences, read versions and compatibility.

The CLI may send basic usage telemetry for some commands. You can provide optional attribution via TESSERACT_SKILL=tesseract-motion and the other attribution variables. Respect the CLI's telemetry opt-out setting; never enable telemetry on the user's behalf.

Create a moving composition with a clear visual idea. Establish what the motion communicates, its rhythm, the destination canvas, and whether this is a full scene or an overlay that must leave footage visible.

When designing an ad opening, read ad hooks: develop a clear visual idea tied to the actual product/message, align its key arrival to confirmed opening music cues when available, and preview it together with the next scene. Sound and transitions strengthen the idea; they are not a required effects stack.

1. Resolve this skill's root from the directory containing this SKILL.md. Read CLI installation and check the required Tesseract version once per session. Use the resolved executable path throughout the task. Read local operation and native authoring.
2. Read motion design. Use the supplied brand/style references. For an overlay, inspect the actual footage at the intended placement and timing; design around the subject, text, and action.
3. Choose a useful mechanism—typography, paths, masks, precomps, a diagram, or a media treatment. Use native layers and a coordinated AnimationGraph. Existing footage and graphic assets are welcome; a single prerendered image of the design defeats editable motion.
4. Retrieve the specific definitions needed from tsrct project schema or tsrct project schema --document. FX authoring and motion show working wire shapes and local rendering, not mandatory designs. For subject occlusion use actual person mattes when supported, not an approximate hand-drawn silhouette.
5. When supplied or previously generated music sets the rhythm, read waveform editing: open a music waveform, listen to confirm accents and phrase changes, and map animation arrivals/reveals to the selected music events before authoring timing. Preserve the chosen track; do not mistake every peak for a beat or sync every movement mechanically. Read sound design when the graphic is part of an audible video. Add a local accent or transition sound when it strengthens the movement; leave it quiet when speech or the existing mix already carries the moment. Keep sound in separate Audio layers, and use audio and timing for importing files, placement, and envelopes. A silent-overlay request stays silent.
6. Use filmstrip review to inspect and correct the saved animation during construction. Finish with review and delivery, including playback in context.

Output an editable composition in a portable .tsrct document and a rendered preview. Composite overlays over the supplied footage as native layers. For a transparent overlay, use export --format prores --fx-solo compositionId:layerId --output overlay.mov and verify the alpha channel. Solo export covers the target’s active window without audio; full-project MOV export preserves the project mix.

Prefer supported effects and native text/shape animation. For an unusual visual treatment use custom WGSL only after reading the custom shader contract. Never invent API fields, keyframe formats, or a capability such as arbitrary 3D mesh import that this runtime does not provide.