video-poster-design

Video Poster Design

Use this skill to create movie-poster-style key art for a video, short film, vlog, TVC, storyboard, or campaign.

The final output is a poster image. When useful, also create a short poster spec or prompt file so the design can be regenerated consistently.

Default Behavior

If the user does not specify an aspect ratio, use 3:4.

If the user asks for a poster but has not chosen a creative direction, propose 3-5 poster concepts first and ask them to choose one. Keep the options concise and visually distinct.

If the user already gives a clear direction, title, ratio, and story context, proceed directly to image generation.

Output Location

Use a project-local poster directory:

posters/

Recommended file names:

posters/{poster-name}.png
posters/{poster-name}.md

Use lowercase, hyphenated, ASCII-safe names. Examples:

• posters/youth-unlimited.png
• posters/meaning-of-travel-teaser.png
• posters/campus-energy-key-art.md

Do not overwrite existing files unless the user explicitly requests replacement. For variants, use suffixes such as -v2, -teaser, -main, -alt-a.

Inputs to Extract

Before designing, identify:

• Poster title and subtitle.
• Video/story context.
• Genre: drama, travel, romance, documentary, commercial, thriller, coming-of-age, sports, etc.
• Required aspect ratio. Default: 3:4.
• Main character(s), product, place, or object.
• Character design images or approved reference assets.
• Storyboard or scene images that define visual continuity.
• Mood and emotional promise.
• Setting, time period, weather, and culture.
• Typography language: English, Chinese, bilingual, no text, etc.
• Required copy: tagline, credits, release date, brand line, campaign line.
• Output path if specified.

If the user does not specify text language, use the user's local language for any prompt/spec, and use poster typography that matches the title/campaign language.

Use Available Visual References

If the context contains any of these assets, use them as references for poster generation when relevant:

• characters/*.png character design sheets.
• Approved character .md specs.
• storyboard/scene-XX.png images.
• Existing poster drafts.
• Product or brand assets provided by the user.

When a character design image exists, feed it to the image generation model as a visual reference so the poster preserves character identity, hairstyle, wardrobe, body proportions, and material details.

When a storyboard image exists, use it to preserve scene language, color palette, setting, and story mood.

Creative Direction Options

When proposing options, make them concrete. Each option should include:

• Concept name.
• Main image composition.
• Typography direction.
• Color and lighting.
• Story emotion.
• Why it fits.

Example option format:

## Poster Concepts

1. **Blue Hour Arrival**
   - Composition: [specific image]
   - Typography: [title style]
   - Color: [palette]
   - Emotion: [promise]
   - Fit: [why this works]

2. **Object as Portal**
   - Composition: [specific image]
   - Typography: [title style]
   - Color: [palette]
   - Emotion: [promise]
   - Fit: [why this works]

Do not make all options variations of the same composition. Vary the visual strategy:

• Character-led portrait.
• Environmental wide poster.
• Object-led symbolic poster.
• Motion/action poster.
• Minimal teaser.
• Ensemble composition.
• Graphic split or reflection concept.
• Product-as-hero commercial poster.

Typography Principles

Poster typography must match the story, setting, genre, and background image. It should not feel like generic overlay text.

Choose type direction based on context:

• Coming-of-age / campus: energetic but clean, slightly condensed sans serif, hand-painted or marker accent only if it feels natural.
• Travel documentary: editorial serif or restrained humanist sans, generous spacing, quiet placement.
• Romance: soft serif, handwritten accent, or understated title lockup depending on tone.
• Sports / youth TVC: bold condensed sans, dynamic italic or kinetic stacked layout.
• Thriller: severe condensed type, high contrast, restrained title placement.
• Sci-fi: technical geometry, but avoid generic neon unless the setting supports it.
• Period film: typography should reference the era without becoming costume-like.
• Minimal arthouse: sparse type, strong negative space, carefully placed title.

Integrate typography with the image:

• Let title placement interact with light, architecture, silhouette, product shape, or motion direction.
• Keep text legible.
• Avoid random fonts, fake credits, distorted letterforms, and unreadable generated text.
• If exact typography matters, consider generating poster art with clean space for text, then add text using deterministic design tools or image editing.

Poster Spec Template

When saving a .md spec, use:

# [Poster Title]

## Source Context

- Project:
- Poster type:
- Aspect ratio:
- Reference assets:
- Language:

## Selected Concept

- Concept name:
- Core image:
- Story emotion:
- Genre signal:

## Composition

- Foreground:
- Midground:
- Background:
- Character / product placement:
- Negative space:
- Motion direction:

## Typography

- Title:
- Subtitle / tagline:
- Typeface direction:
- Placement:
- Color:
- Integration with image:

## Color & Lighting

- Palette:
- Contrast:
- Time of day:
- Texture / grain:

## Image Generation Prompt

[Complete final prompt.]

## Negative Prompt

- No generic poster template
- No random extra text
- No unreadable typography
- No distorted letters
- No extra logos
- No inconsistent character
- No unwanted face changes
- No AI-smooth skin
- No deformed hands
- No irrelevant props

Image Generation Prompt Structure

Use this structure for the final poster image:

Create a cinematic movie poster, aspect ratio [ratio], for [title/project].

Use the provided reference images if available:
- Match character identity, hairstyle, wardrobe, and material details from the character design sheet.
- Preserve scene mood, color palette, and setting from the storyboard references.

Concept: [selected concept name].
Story: [one-sentence story premise or emotional promise].
Composition: [foreground, midground, background, negative space, camera angle].
Main subject: [character/product/place/object details].
Typography: [title text, language, placement, font direction, texture, integration with image].
Color and lighting: [palette, contrast, time of day, grain, atmosphere].
Style: [commercial key art / arthouse poster / documentary poster / teaser poster / campaign poster].

Make the typography feel designed for this story and setting, not generic. Letterforms should be legible, intentional, and integrated with the background image.

Negative constraints: no random extra text, no fake credits unless requested, no unreadable letters, no distorted title, no extra logos, no inconsistent character, no wrong wardrobe, no AI-looking skin, no deformed hands, no cluttered layout.

Workflow

1. Read relevant project context: plan, storyboard, character design, prior poster references, or user brief.
2. Extract title, ratio, story, genre, main subject, visual references, and required text.
3. If ratio is missing, set it to 3:4.
4. If the creative direction is not already clear, propose 3-5 concepts and ask the user to choose.
5. After the user chooses, write a compact poster spec if helpful.
6. Generate the poster image using the selected concept and all relevant references.
7. Save the image to posters/{poster-name}.png.
8. Inspect the result if possible: ratio, composition, typography, character consistency, artifacts.
9. If text rendering is poor and exact text matters, recommend or perform a second pass with deterministic text overlay when appropriate.
10. Final response should include the saved path and render the image when supported.

Quality Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

• Aspect ratio matches the requested ratio or defaults to 3:4.
• Poster concept fits the story, genre, background, and setting.
• Typography direction matches the narrative world.
• Title is legible enough for the intended use.
• There is no random or unintended text.
• Character identity is consistent when references are provided.
• Wardrobe and material details are consistent when character references are provided.
• Composition has a clear visual hierarchy.
• Poster does not look like a generic template.
• Output file is saved under posters/ unless the user requested otherwise.

Example

User asks:

Make a poster for the 60-second campus sports drink TVC. Youth unlimited, campus style.

If no direction is specified, propose:

1. Run Toward the Light — full-body student running into morning track light, kinetic bold sans title.
2. Blue Bottle Spark — product close-up with campus reflected in condensation, clean commercial typography.
3. School Gate Launch — wide campus gate with students moving through sunlit trees, title integrated with shadows.
4. After-Sweat Smile — character portrait with realistic sweat and blue-white palette, youth campaign title lockup.

Default ratio: 3:4.