Make videos with Opus 5.5: prompts and MP4 export

To make a video with Opus 5.5 in a coding workflow, ask for an editable animation project and an explicit rendering step. A prompt alone does not tell you whether the result is a web animation, a recording, or an exported MP4. This guide gives creators three video prompt templates, a Remotion workflow, and a small downloadable project for checking the export path before building a longer film.

The community collection maintained by zhuyansen brings together videos, motion graphics, 3D scenes and games attributed to Opus 5.5. Treat those as creator examples, not controlled model tests or proof that every item can be reproduced from one prompt. Some entries have source prompts; others are inspiration only.

Our three templates below are original briefs, not an Opus 5.5 benchmark. The downloadable sample was authored with Codex for this tutorial and tested as a local rendering example. It is not an Opus-generated film. This distinction matters when comparing an attractive demo with what your own environment can deliver.

What “Opus 5.5 video generation” means in this guide

There are several different routes behind the same phrase:

This article follows the first route. Do not assume that a video on social media proves there is a native Opus video-output API. Likewise, a successful local render is not evidence about how consistently a model writes a good project.

Remotion’s official Claude Code plugin helps Claude Code create and edit Remotion projects. That is a useful starting point when you want editable timing and text. Choose an asset-based or dedicated video-model workflow when your main requirement is live-action footage rather than graphics drawn by code.

Start with a small project you can actually render

Before asking for a polished commercial, verify that your machine can export a basic composition. Download the editable starter project, extract it into a new folder and read its README. The sample uses Node.js, npm, React and Remotion. Its lockfile pins the dependency tree; the first setup may download the rendering browser and runtime components.

From the extracted folder, run:

npm ci
npm start

Open the Studio address printed by the terminal. Select the Promo composition. The starter has three scenes, a progress line and editable text in src/index.tsx. Its intended output is 15 seconds, 1280 × 720, 30 fps. These are sample specifications, not model limits. It is deliberately silent, so the absence of an audio track is expected.

Local rendering example, authored with Codex; not an Opus 5.5 output. The English text illustrates scene timing. The downloadable project lets you replace it with your own copy.

When the preview works, export:

npm run render

The included script runs this documented Remotion CLI operation:

npx remotion render src/index.tsx Promo out/promo.mp4 --codec=h264 --pixel-format=yuv420p --muted

Open out/promo.mp4 in a video player. Check the start, the scene changes at 5 and 10 seconds, and the end. If the starter renders but a later generated project does not, you have a working reference for investigating the difference. Review Remotion’s licensing terms for your intended use; local rendering does not mean every commercial arrangement is free.

Connect Claude Code to the video project

Open Claude Code in the extracted project folder and select Opus 5.5 if your account or configured provider offers it. Verify the model selection in the client rather than relying on a prompt that says “use Opus.” Model access and local rendering are separate: an API key does not install a browser or grant filesystem access.

If you want the official Remotion integration, follow its plugin setup:

claude plugin marketplace add remotion-dev/claude-code-plugin
claude plugin install remotion@remotion

Restart Claude Code after installation. Review the plugin and normal tool permissions for your environment. The broader Claude video skills directory is useful for discovery, but you do not need to install an entire collection to make this starter work.

Keep the first edit small: change one scene’s headline, render again and inspect the changed frames. For a custom endpoint, use the provider’s documented model identifier and protocol. If the client rejects a tool schema, investigate the Claude Code Artifact schema error separately from the animation itself.

Turn a brief into assets, frames and an acceptance sheet

Before sending one of the templates, create an assets inventory: filename, purpose, source, permission to publish and required credit. Place the approved runtime assets in the project’s public/ folder. Keep the original screenshots separately so that a later crop can be traced back to the real interface. If a screenshot contains a customer name or private workspace, prepare an authorized redacted capture before supplying it.

For the launch template, write the actual three-scene copy before requesting motion: one problem sentence, two substantiated benefits and one final call to action. Decide which supplied screenshot supports each benefit. This gives the assistant a factual source for the film and gives you something concrete to check afterward. A beautiful transition cannot repair an invented claim.

Convert the scene plan to frame numbers. At 30 fps, five seconds contains 150 frames. For the starter, scene one occupies frames 0–149, scene two 150–299 and scene three 300–449. The final frame is 449, not 450. These are the starter’s timing choices; if you change fps or duration, recalculate both the composition and scene boundaries.

An acceptance sheet for that brief could contain:

This sheet is a template, not a claim that a future model-generated revision passed. Keep it beside the editable source and record failures before asking for the next edit.

Three Opus 5.5 video prompt templates

Replace every bracketed field before use. These are task briefs you can adapt, not copied creator quotations or guarantees of a one-shot result. Keep the same source project while iterating so you can compare changes.

1. A 15-second product launch video

Use this when you have a real product and want to animate its story. Supply screenshots you have permission to use; a generated UI mockup should not masquerade as a recording of the product.

Work in this existing Remotion project. Create a 15-second product
launch video for [product name], which helps [audience] do [task].
Use only the supplied screenshots in public/ and these approved facts:
[facts]. Do not invent features, customer quotes or performance claims.

Keep composition ID Promo, 1280x720, 30 fps, 450 frames.
0–3 seconds: show the user's problem in one readable sentence.
3–10 seconds: show two supplied product screenshots with one benefit each.
10–15 seconds: show [approved CTA] and hold the final card long enough to read.
Use [brand colors], clear typography and restrained camera movement.
Animate from the frame number; do not depend on wall-clock timers.
Make this first version silent. Keep all copy editable in source.

Run the existing render command. Inspect representative frames and
report the output path, any missing assets and anything not verified.
Do not report success if the MP4 was not created.

The fixed duration and composition ID reduce ambiguity in the export step. After seeing the result, request a concrete correction such as “hold the final card from second 12 onward” rather than repeatedly asking for something more impressive.

2. A 30-second educational explainer

Use this for a process you can explain with a diagram, labels and transitions. Give the model the source facts instead of asking it to improvise a factual lesson and a film at the same time.

Create an editable 30-second Remotion explainer about [topic], using
only this fact sheet: [paste verified facts and sources].
Audience: [audience]. On-screen language: [language].
Use composition ID Explainer, 1280x720, 30 fps, 900 frames.
Structure: question, mechanism in three steps, one practical takeaway.
Each scene must make one idea understandable without narration.
Keep labels readable and illustrate relationships with simple shapes.
Do not add statistics or imply that illustrative values are measured.

Use frame-driven animation. Start with a silent version. Preserve
source files and list the exact command for rendering Explainer to MP4.
Render and check scene boundaries, cropped labels and the final frame.
If you cannot run the renderer, say so and provide the remaining steps.

For narration later, supply the approved script and an audio file or an explicitly configured speech service. Adding “with voiceover” to a prompt does not prove an audio track exists. Match timing to the actual recording before re-exporting. When you add audio to this starter, remove --muted from the render script in package.json; otherwise the export will deliberately suppress sound.

3. A short animated data chart

Use this only with a supplied dataset. The goal is a legible chart, not a more dramatic result achieved by changing values or hiding the scale.

Create a 20-second Remotion chart animation from [CSV filename].
Use composition ID Chart, 1280x720, 30 fps, 600 frames.
Read the provided values without inventing or filling missing data.
Show the metric, units, date range and source on screen.
Mark synthetic or illustrative data explicitly if that is what I supply.
Use a consistent scale and keep labels readable throughout.

Sequence: introduce the question, reveal the values, hold the final
chart, then show the supplied takeaway: [approved takeaway].
Keep this version silent. Use frame-driven animation and local assets.
Export an MP4, preserve the editable source and report validation
failures instead of silently changing the data or omitting labels.

Before publishing, compare every displayed value with the input file. The fact that code renders successfully says nothing about whether the chart supports the claim in your caption.

Fix the gap between a preview and an MP4

For Remotion, base animation timing on its current frame API. A renderer can request frames independently, so a browser animation that merely advances with elapsed real time is not a reliable substitute.

If FFprobe is installed, inspect the finished file:

ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=codec_type,codec_name,width,height,r_frame_rate -show_entries format=duration -of json out/promo.mp4

This checks file metadata, not visual quality. Watch the video as well. If you add speech, listen for missing words, clipping and mismatched timing. Preserve the working project before asking for another revision.

Inspect still frames before rendering every revision

Remotion’s still command lets you inspect selected frames. From the starter folder, render a midpoint and the final frame:

npx remotion still src/index.tsx Promo out/midpoint.png --frame=225
npx remotion still src/index.tsx Promo out/final.png --frame=449

Open the PNG files at their real output size. Look for clipped text, unintentional overlap, missing images and a CTA that leaves the screen too early. For a suspicious transition, inspect one frame before and after the boundary as well. A still image cannot reveal a stutter or unpleasant motion, so these checks supplement rather than replace watching the final MP4.

Use frame-specific feedback: “At frame 449, the CTA is clipped on the right; keep the existing copy and increase its safe margin.” That is easier to verify than “make it more polished.” Change one defect at a time and preserve the previous working source. If the model changes unrelated timing, colors or claims, review and revert those changes before continuing.

For the sample export, FFprobe should show a video stream with H.264, width 1280, height 720 and frame rate 30/1, with approximately 15 seconds of duration. It should have no audio stream because the render command uses --muted. This is an expected metadata contract based on the starter, not a guarantee that every edited project will match it.

Recover when a generated revision breaks the export

Keep the original starter folder untouched and work in a copy. If npm ci fails, retain the error and check your Node/npm versions, network access and lockfile consistency before changing the animation. Do not delete the lockfile as an automatic remedy: that replaces the pinned dependency tree and makes the experiment harder to reproduce.

If the renderer cannot find Explainer or Chart, the template’s requested composition must first be registered in the project. The starter only guarantees its existing Promo composition; naming a new one in a prompt does not register it. Ask for the corresponding source change and inspect the composition list in Studio before retrying its render command.

If export stalls on an external image or font, try the approved local asset and rerender the affected frame. A preview may have browser cache or network access that the rendering process lacks. If frames vary between renders, inspect random values, timers and other non-frame-driven state. Fix the cause instead of recording a favorable preview and calling it the reproducible output.

Once the file passes metadata, visual and factual checks, copy the final MP4 to a clearly named delivery folder with the source version and acceptance sheet. Keep model usage, stock assets, narration and rendering charges in separate records. The final deliverable is an actual checked file plus editable source; it is not a screenshot of a successful prompt or an unverified claim that the assistant exported something.

What to check before sharing your video

Use only assets you can publish, and distinguish real product screenshots from illustrative mockups. Check spelling, factual claims, captions and the final call to action. Review source code changes before running a generated project with access to sensitive files or credentials.

Keep costs separate: model usage, image/video assets, speech services and rendering can each have their own billing. This guide does not quote a per-video price or claim that a subscription covers external services. A community creator’s cheap run is not a price guarantee for a different prompt or environment.

If you want to use Ofox for the model-access part of your workflow, start with the API integration guide and verify the current model and client compatibility. That does not turn the Ofox chat interface into a local Remotion renderer. For the first experiment, keep the rendering project small, export a real file and then change one thing at a time.