QA checklists (motion-studio)

The loop that uses these checklists (stills, phone pages, strips, sync, scored review rounds, stop rule) is in review.md; the final checks and report are in delivery.md.

Before showing a draft (contact sheets)

Render stills at every settled state and at transition midpoints (node tools/render.mjs preview ...) and look at every one:

[ ] Frame 0 reads as a finished title card.
[ ] The first 2 seconds would stop a scroll.
[ ] Every caption ≤ 5 words, ≤ 2 lines, readable, not clipped, not overlapping the window.
[ ] Text never sits on busy or white UI without contrast.
[ ] Every number is real and has its reference on the same frame.
[ ] Spotlights and cursor targets sit exactly on the UI they name at every zoom.
[ ] No overlay is one frame late (camera updated first).
[ ] No edge of the recording shows during zooms.
[ ] Transitions cover the full frame at their peak (flood radius ≥ distance to the farthest corner).
[ ] One accent colour, one radius scale, one family; no em dashes on screen.
[ ] Every word readable on the phone pages (inspect.mjs tile shots).
[ ] Strips across each transition: the cut frame shows the new image, no blank or flash frames.
[ ] Console clean (the renderer reports page errors and 4xx responses).

Before the final render

[ ] The user approved the cut in the HTML player.
[ ] Voice: heard matches the script for every line; no clipped words.
[ ] Every visual change lands on its word (±0.1 s); clicks 80 to 150 ms before the UI reacts.
[ ] Holds: numbers and CTA still for ≥ 1.5 to 2 s.
[ ] CTA: one action, real URL or path.
[ ] Music on the grid; payoff impact lands on the result; ducking audible but not pumping.
[ ] Loudness: -14 LUFS integrated, ≤ -1 dBTP.
[ ] Subtitles: timing, register, no dash separators. SRT files written.
[ ] Illustrative visuals listed for the hand-over.

After delivery

[ ] inspect.mjs probe every file (resolution, fps, duration, yuv420p, audio, loudness) and open its first and last encoded frame.
[ ] inspect.mjs sync against build/comp_timing.json; poster frame written.
[ ] Delivery report written (delivery.md).
[ ] Append technique-only lessons to learnings.md.

Additional checks (techniques from the research round)

Before a draft:

[ ] Every item in the film's Banned for this film list was looked for in the stills (banned-effects.md).
[ ] The relevant gotchas.md lines were read: fast moves at 8 subframes, no fade under 0.3 s, no will-change on scaled text, no highlight box, each scene starts at the previous end zoom, frame-arithmetic traps.
[ ] Copy budget: 1 to 4 word fragments, about 15 to 25 words per 30 s, copy on under about 65 percent of frames.
[ ] Every transition names the carried element (X becomes Y); the frame before a hand-off contains the thing the next frame grows from.
[ ] Type is on the frame ramp and above the text floor; one accent mark per frame.
[ ] Density: dense scenes are rare and deliberate; no static screen under the voice.

Motion:

[ ] A move that feels wrong gets plotted before any code change: inspect.mjs plot (value and velocity; look for a zero-velocity run mid-move).
[ ] Camera glides and transitions: inspect.mjs flow on a 30 fps draft (speed never dips, zoom does not reverse, speed continues across velocity-matched cuts).
[ ] Rendered file: inspect.mjs forensics for frozen stretches, one-frame pops, ghost frames and banding; declare designed moments (a planned freeze, a flash cut) with a reason so thresholds stay strict elsewhere. A cheaper read: inspect.mjs compare against the approved golden scene or a reference.

Loops (social loops, showreel):

[ ] Last frame equals first, including cursor position and speed; accent, cursor and type match. Diff frame N-1 against frame 0 and preview the loop twice (inspect.mjs probe returns both frames).

Music-led:

[ ] Beat-grid residual at most about 15 ms; cut error at most 3 frames; at most 3 full-frame beat hits, 16 beats apart.
[ ] Voice about 9 dB above music per phrase between 300 Hz and 4 kHz.
[ ] Web embed: the checklist in formats.md.