longform-to-content

Longform → Content

One raw recording in → a published content system out: relayouted full edit + burned captions + cold open, 4–8 vertical shorts, CTR thumbnails, and scheduled posts.

Every gate below is MANDATORY, in order. Skipping a gate or a self-test is a failure, not a shortcut. Violating the letter of these rules is violating their spirit. Each rule exists because an agent already broke it in production (see Red Flags).

Gates (run in order)

digraph gates {
    "G0 Setup check" -> "G1 Brand check" -> "G2 Edit pipeline" -> "G3 Thumbnails" -> "G4 Publish";
    "G0 Setup check" -> "STOP: give user references/SETUP.md installs, wait" [label="tool missing"];
    "G1 Brand check" -> "Run brand intake (references/BRAND.md)" [label="no DESIGN.md"];
    "G4 Publish" -> "STOP: user has no Zernio → onboarding in references/PUBLISHING.md" [label="no account"];
}

G0 — Setup. Verify EVERY tool in references/SETUP.md with its verify command. Any missing → do not improvise; hand the user that file's install links + instructions and wait. Never substitute a "similar" tool.

G1 — Brand. A DESIGN.md with measurable tokens (2 colors as hex, fonts as file paths, wordmark rule) MUST exist before any pixel is rendered. None? Run the intake in references/BRAND.md — derive from the user's site/deck, or interview, or apply the neutral default. Never invent brand values silently.

G2 — Edit. Follow references/PIPELINE.md exactly: transcribe once (word-level, cached) → measure layout geometry per recording → EDL (silence + tight-pacing + disfluency/stumble cuts — tight is the retention default, PIPELINE.md §3–4) → relayout render → cold open + cards → corrected burned captions LAST → SRT + chapters → frame-by-frame self-review before showing the user. Caption timing/text correctness has its own bible: references/CAPTIONS.md — read it before writing any cue.

G3 — Thumbnails. references/THUMBNAILS.md. The main thumbnail's claim MUST be the first spoken line of the cold open, and the user's real face photo MUST be used.