Agent Skills: Video Explorer

This skill should be used when analyzing video files. Claude cannot process video directly, so this skill extracts frames hierarchically - starting with a quick overview, then zooming into regions of interest with higher resolution and temporal density. Use when asked to watch, analyze, review, or understand video content.

UncategorizedID: Cygnusfear/claude-stuff/video-explorer

Install this agent skill to your local

pnpm dlx add-skill https://github.com/Cygnusfear/claude-stuff/tree/HEAD/skills/video-explorer

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skills/video-explorer/SKILL.md

Skill Metadata

Name
video-explorer
Description
This skill should be used when analyzing video files. Claude cannot process video directly, so this skill extracts frames hierarchically - starting with a quick overview, then zooming into regions of interest with higher resolution and temporal density. Use when asked to watch, analyze, review, or understand video content.

Video Explorer

Analyze video content through hierarchical frame extraction. Start wide, identify interesting regions, zoom in.

Workflow

1. Overview First

Extract quick thumbnails to see the video timeline:

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx overview <video>

This creates small frames (320px) at 10-second intervals in ./videx-out/<name>/overview/.

Read all overview frames to understand video structure:

ls ./videx-out/<name>/overview/

Then use the Read tool on the jpg files to see them.

2. Identify Regions of Interest

After viewing overview frames, identify timestamps where:

  • Something interesting is happening
  • More detail is needed
  • Action is occurring that requires temporal resolution

3. Zoom In

For a time range (more frames, higher resolution):

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx range <video> <start>-<end>
# Example: videx range talk.mp4 5:30-6:00

For higher temporal resolution (catch fast action):

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx range <video> <start>-<end> --fps=10

For a single frame at full detail:

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx zoom <video> <time>
# Example: videx zoom talk.mp4 5:45

4. Iterate

Repeat zoom operations as needed until the question is answered.

Commands Reference

| Command | Purpose | Output | |---------|---------|--------| | videx overview <video> | Quick timeline scan | 320px frames @ 10s intervals | | videx overview <video> 5 480 | Denser timeline | 480px frames @ 5s intervals | | videx range <video> <start>-<end> | Extract segment | 1280px frames @ 2fps | | videx range <video> <start>-<end> --fps=10 | Fast action | 1280px frames @ 10fps | | videx zoom <video> <time> | Single frame detail | 1920px single frame | | videx zoom <video> <time> --hd | Maximum detail | Full resolution frame |

Time Formats

All commands accept these time formats:

  • 1:30 = 1 minute 30 seconds
  • 01:30:00 = 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 90 = 90 seconds
  • 1:30.5 = 1 minute 30.5 seconds

Output Structure

Frames are saved with timestamps in filenames for easy reference:

./videx-out/
└── video-name/
    ├── overview/
    │   ├── t_00-00-00.00.jpg
    │   ├── t_00-00-10.00.jpg
    │   └── ...
    ├── range_5-30_6-00/
    │   ├── t_00-05-30.00.jpg
    │   └── ...
    └── zoom/
        └── t_00-05-45.00.jpg

Example Session

User asks: "What happens in this lecture video around the 10 minute mark?"

  1. Run overview to understand video structure
  2. View overview frames, note that slides change around 9:30-11:00
  3. Extract that range: videx range lecture.mp4 9:30-11:00
  4. View range frames, find the specific slide transition at 10:15
  5. Zoom for detail: videx zoom lecture.mp4 10:15
  6. Report findings with specific timestamps
Video Explorer Skill | Agent Skills