Two routes: your own engine or a framework

Build a zero-dependency seek(t) renderer for maximum control, or use Remotion / HyperFrames for series, templates, and reuse.

There are two ways to turn the model's program into frames, and knowing when to pick each saves you hours.

Route A — your own seek(t) renderer. One HTML file with a window.seek(t) function, a tiny Node script that drives a headless browser and pipes frames to ffmpeg. Zero dependencies, total control, and the model understands every line because it wrote it. Left to its own devices, Opus tends to pick this route. Best when you want a bespoke look, full control of every pixel, and nothing between you and the render. You will build this in Module 4, and it is the backbone of the course.

Route B — a framework. Two strong open-source options:

Remotion — write videos as React components, with a live timeline preview (npx remotion studio) and npx remotion render. Best when you think in components and want series, templates, and data-driven videos (ten localized variants, a weekly report from a spreadsheet).
HyperFrames — HeyGen's Apache-2.0 "video as code": the agent writes an HTML/CSS/GSAP file and HyperFrames captures it frame-by-frame in headless Chrome, then encodes with ffmpeg. It ships installable skills for Claude Code and other agents (GSAP timelines, captions, website-to-video, Three.js, Lottie). Best when you think in web pages and want an agent-native toolset with batteries included.

How to choose, in one line each: one-off, bespoke, full control -> Route A. A series or template, React team -> Remotion. Agent-native, HTML/GSAP, want ready skills -> HyperFrames.

A subtlety worth knowing: if you say nothing, Opus usually writes its own zero-dependency renderer even when a framework is installed. So if you want Route B, say so explicitly ("use Remotion", "use the HyperFrames skills"). Specify the look and the constraints; only specify the library when you actually need its reuse or ecosystem. The rest of this course teaches Route A in depth because it makes the concepts concrete — but every technique (springs, beat grids, the critique loop) applies identically in Remotion or HyperFrames.

Try it

For a real project you have in mind, pick Route A, Remotion, or HyperFrames and write one sentence defending the choice against the other two. If you would ever need the SAME video in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9, note which route makes that easiest.

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