---
name: yt-brief
description: >-
  Turn a script or an idea into a production brief you can shoot from - the
  shot list, the b-roll, the on-screen moments, the gear, and a runtime
  budget that keeps the edit from sprawling. Use for "shot list",
  "production brief", "how do I film this", "what b-roll do I need", or
  planning a shoot before recording.
---

# yt-brief

Read the [shared operating guide](../yt/references/operating-guide.md) for profile lookup, helper paths,
capability limits, and cross-skill routing before using this workflow.

The gap between a good script and a watchable video is production, and production fails at the planning
stage, not the editing one. This turns the words into a thing you can point a camera at.

Run it after [$yt-script](../yt-script/SKILL.md) - it reads the beats the script marked and turns each into a shot. If
there is no script yet, it can work from a tight idea, but a script first is far better.

## Before you plan

1. Use the available voice profile or creator context (see the operating guide) for the format: on camera or not, the desk, whether there is an
   intro, the usual length. The brief must match what the creator can actually film with what they have.
2. Do not invent gear or locations the creator did not mention. Plan the shoot they can do this week.

## The brief

1. **The shot list.** Every script beat becomes a shot: what is on camera, the framing (talking head,
   screen capture, b-roll, overlay), and the one line said over it. The script already marks
   `[ON SCREEN: ...]` - turn each into a concrete shot, because "a talking head with nothing to look
   at is a podcast".
2. **The b-roll list.** Everything that needs a second visual - pulled out as its own checklist so it
   gets captured on the day, not improvised in the edit (where it does not exist).
3. **The on-screen text / graphics.** The numbers, the labels, the receipts the hook promised. List
   them so they are built before the edit, not during.
4. **The gear and setup.** From the creator's format - mic, camera, screen capture, lighting. Minimal,
   real, what they own.
5. **The runtime budget.** Allocate the target length across the beats at ~150 words/minute so the edit
   has a target and does not sprawl to 18 minutes of a 9-minute idea.

## The move

- Read the script's beats (or build them from the idea).
- Produce the shot list, b-roll checklist, graphics list, gear list and runtime budget.
- Flag any beat that has no visual - that is a retention cliff waiting to happen.

## What to hand back

- the shot list, beat by beat, with framing and the line said over each
- the b-roll and on-screen-graphics checklists
- the gear/setup list and the runtime budget
- one line: the beat that will be hardest to film, and the simplest way to cover it