test-manim

ManimGL STEM Animation Skill

Produce pedagogically-effective STEM teaching animations: narrative-first, chunk-based (15s segments), rendered in ManimGL (manimgl v1.7+), merged into one final video.

---

Invocation

/test-manim "Newton's Laws of Motion"
/test-manim "Fourier Series" --duration 60
/test-manim "Neural Networks" --duration 90 --model minimax

Arg	Default	Values
topic	required	any STEM subject string
--duration	30	30, 60, 90, 120 (seconds)
--model	session model	identifier used in folder name

---

Phase 0 — Parse & Scaffold

Extract from invocation:

• TOPIC — subject string (required)
• DURATION — total seconds (default: 30)
• MODEL_NAME — folder identifier (default: derive from session context or use "claude")
• CHUNK_COUNT = ceil(DURATION / 15)
• TOPIC_SLUG = TOPIC lowercased, spaces→underscores, strip special chars

Create project at current working directory:

manim-{MODEL_NAME}/
  {TOPIC_SLUG}/
    scenes/
      chunk_01_{name}.py
      chunk_02_{name}.py
      ...
    output/
      chunks/
      final/
    assets/
    SCENE_PLAN.md
    render.sh
    merge.sh

Create all directories with mkdir -p before writing any files. Make render.sh and merge.sh executable with chmod +x.

---

Phase 1 — Narrative Planning (ALWAYS before code)

Write SCENE_PLAN.md completely before writing any .py files.

Story Arc Requirements

Every animation must have:

1. Hook (first chunk): One striking visual that poses the core question
2. Build (middle chunks): One concept per chunk, each building on prior
3. Resolution (last chunk): Visual synthesis connecting all prior chunks; key insight held on screen

SCENE_PLAN.md Template

# {TOPIC} — Animation Plan

**Duration**: {DURATION}s | **Chunks**: {CHUNK_COUNT} × 15s | **Model**: {MODEL_NAME}

## Story Arc
- Hook: [striking opening visual — what question does it pose?]
- Build: [ordered list of concepts, one per chunk]
- Resolution: [final synthesis — what understanding has the viewer gained?]

## Visual Language
- Background: BLACK
- Primary concept color: BLUE
- Secondary concept color: YELLOW
- Accent / highlight: RED or GREEN
- Text / labels: WHITE
- Rule: one color = one concept, consistent across ALL chunks

## Chunks

### Chunk 1 — {name} (0s–15s)
- Role: Hook
- Concept: [what is demonstrated]
- Opening: [first visual the viewer sees]
- Key moment: [the reveal or insight at ~10s]
- Closing: [held frame at 15s — clean fade out]
- ManimGL objects: [list specific classes]
- Equations: [LaTeX strings if any]

### Chunk 2 — {name} (15s–30s)
- Role: Build
- Concept: ...
[repeat for each chunk]

### Chunk {CHUNK_COUNT} — {name} ({DURATION-15}s–{DURATION}s)
- Role: Resolution
- Concept: ...
- Callback: [reference to visuals from chunk 1]

## Issues Log
[fill during render phase]