Skill 18 · Hyperframes Animation
Subchapter 18.105
techniques.mdMarkdown15 KBView on GitHub
13 proven techniques from production HyperFrames videos. Use these in your storyboard and compositions to create visually rich, professional output. Each technique includes a minimal code pattern you can adapt.
These are NOT advanced — they’re standard motion design patterns that every composition should use at least 2-3 of.
Capturing live HTML/CSS as a GPU texture (3D rotation + bloom, magnetic warp, shatter, liquid surface, portal, plus GLSL post-processing) is a separate, heavier capability — see
adapters/html-in-canvas-patterns.md. Use it for 1–3 hero beats per video, not every beat.Easing vocabulary — the full ease-family palette (character + mood mapping) lives in
adapters/gsap-easing-and-stagger.md. Every composition should use at least 3 different easings.Named text-animation effects (24 IDs like
typewriter,kinetic-center-build,soft-blur-in) come from the externalanimate-textskill — seeadapters/animate-text.mdfor the vocabulary and how to load it.
A path draws itself in real-time, like someone tracing with a pen. Use for revealing diagrams, arrows, connector lines, or brand marks.
<svg viewBox="0 0 400 200">
<path
class="draw-path"
d="M 50 100 L 200 50 L 350 100"
stroke="#c84f1c"
stroke-width="4"
fill="none"
stroke-linecap="round"
/>
</svg>
<style>
.draw-path {
stroke-dasharray: 280;
stroke-dashoffset: 280;
}
</style>
<script>
tl.to(".draw-path", { strokeDashoffset: 0, duration: 0.7, ease: "power2.out" }, 0.5);
</script>Use path.getTotalLength() to calculate the dasharray value dynamically.
Animated noise, particle fields, data visualizations — anything that evolves frame-by-frame. Drive it with a GSAP proxy.
<canvas id="proc-canvas" width="1920" height="1080"></canvas>
<script>
var canvas = document.getElementById("proc-canvas");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
function hash(x, y) {
var n = x * 374761393 + y * 668265263;
n = (n ^ (n >> 13)) * 1274126177;
return ((n ^ (n >> 16)) & 0x7fffffff) / 0x7fffffff;
}
function drawFrame(t) {
ctx.fillStyle = "#0a0a0a";
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, 1920, 1080);
for (var i = 0; i < 200; i++) {
var x = hash(i, 0) * 1920;
var y = hash(i, 1) * 1080;
var brightness = hash(i, Math.floor(t * 10)) * 255;
ctx.fillStyle = "rgba(255, 255, 255, " + brightness / 255 + ")";
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(x, y, 2, 0, Math.PI * 2);
ctx.fill();
}
}
var proxy = { time: 0 };
tl.to(
proxy,
{
time: 5,
duration: 5,
ease: "none",
onUpdate: function () {
drawFrame(proxy.time);
},
},
0,
);
</script>The hash() function is deterministic — same frame renders identically every time.
Perspective rotations create depth. Use for product showcases, card flips, architectural reveals.
<div class="stage" style="perspective: 900px;">
<div class="card-3d" style="transform-style: preserve-3d;">
<div class="face front">Product</div>
<div class="face back" style="transform: rotateY(180deg);">Details</div>
</div>
</div>
<script>
tl.to(".card-3d", { rotationY: 360, rotationX: 15, duration: 1.2, ease: "sine.inOut" }, 0);
</script>Always set perspective on the parent, transform-style: preserve-3d on the animated element.
Words appear one-by-one, synced to transcript.json timestamps. The core technique for narration-driven videos.
<div class="headline">
<span class="word w-0">Anything</span>
<span class="word w-1">a</span>
<span class="word w-2">browser</span>
<span class="word w-3">can</span>
<span class="word w-4">render</span>
</div>
<style>
.word {
display: inline-block;
opacity: 0;
margin: 0 0.12em;
}
</style>
<script>
// Word onset times from transcript.json (seconds relative to beat start)
var timings = [0.0, 0.23, 0.28, 0.63, 0.78];
var slides = [80, 60, 50, 25, 12]; // horizontal slide decay (px)
document.querySelectorAll(".word").forEach(function (word, i) {
tl.from(
word,
{
x: slides[i],
y: 14,
opacity: 0,
duration: 0.35,
ease: "power2.out",
},
timings[i],
);
});
</script>The slide distance DECAYS per word (80→12px) — mimics a camera settling.
Vector animations that play inside a composition. Use for logos, character animations, icons.
<div id="logo-anim" class="lottie" style="width:500px;height:500px;"></div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bodymovin/5.12.2/lottie.min.js"></script>
<script>
window.__hfLottie = window.__hfLottie || [];
const anim = lottie.loadAnimation({
container: document.getElementById("logo-anim"),
renderer: "svg",
loop: false,
autoplay: false,
path: "../capture/assets/lottie/animation-0.json",
});
window.__hfLottie.push(anim); // REQUIRED — adapter seeks every registered instance
gsap.set("#logo-anim", { scale: 0.3, opacity: 0 });
tl.to("#logo-anim", { scale: 1, opacity: 1, duration: 0.35, ease: "back.out(1.6)" }, 0.2);
</script>autoplay: false + window.__hfLottie.push() are mandatory — HyperFrames seeks each registered player to composition time, so a player left on autoplay runs in wall-clock and renders non-deterministically. loop: true is seek-safe: the adapter wraps composition time into the animation’s own length, so a short cycle repeats for the whole scene. There is no playback-rate scaling: bake non-default speed into the Lottie asset. Characters (walk cycles, mascots, gestures) and the full .lottie/dotLottie contract: adapters/lottie.md.
Embed real video footage inside compositions. Videos must be muted with playsinline.
<div class="video-frame" style="width:680px;height:840px;border-radius:16px;overflow:hidden;">
<video
id="footage"
src="../capture/assets/videos/clip.mp4"
muted
playsinline
style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;"
></video>
</div>
<script>
// Video playback is controlled by the framework — don't call play() manually
tl.from(".video-frame", { scale: 0.9, opacity: 0, duration: 0.3, ease: "power2.out" }, 0);
</script>The HyperFrames runtime handles video seeking and playback.
Terminal typing effect using tl.call() to update text content character by character.
<div class="terminal-line">
<span class="prompt">❯</span>
<span class="typed" id="typed-text"></span>
<span class="cursor" style="width:11px;height:22px;background:#333;display:inline-block;"></span>
</div>
<script>
var CMD = "npx hyperframes init";
var typed = document.getElementById("typed-text");
// Cursor blinks
tl.to(".cursor", { opacity: 0, duration: 0.12, yoyo: true, repeat: 20, ease: "steps(1)" }, 0);
// Type each character
for (var i = 0; i < CMD.length; i++) {
(function (idx) {
tl.call(
function () {
typed.textContent = CMD.substring(0, idx + 1);
},
null,
(idx / CMD.length) * 0.9,
);
})(i);
}
</script>Use ease: "steps(1)" for cursor blink — creates discrete on/off.
Animate font-variation-settings to reshape glyphs in real-time. Works with variable fonts that have axes like optical size (opsz), weight (wght), softness (SOFT).
<style>
/* Load the captured local variable font — do NOT use Google Fonts @import.
Replace this placeholder with an @font-face pointing to ../capture/assets/fonts/. */
@font-face {
font-family: "Fraunces";
src: url("../capture/assets/fonts/Fraunces-Variable.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 100 900;
font-style: normal;
font-display: block;
}
.wordmark {
--opsz: 144;
--wght: 440;
font-family: "Fraunces", serif;
font-variation-settings:
"opsz" var(--opsz),
"wght" var(--wght);
font-size: 200px;
}
</style>
<script>
tl.to(".wordmark", { "--opsz": 72, "--wght": 300, duration: 0.45, ease: "power2.out" }, 0);
</script>The glyph subtly reshapes as axes animate — optical size adjusts detail, weight changes thickness.
Animate an element along an arbitrary SVG path. Use for sliders following curves, particles along trajectories, guided reveals.
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/gsap@3.14.2/dist/MotionPathPlugin.min.js"></script>
<div class="dot" style="width:20px;height:20px;background:#2a8a7c;border-radius:50%;"></div>
<script>
gsap.registerPlugin(MotionPathPlugin);
tl.to(
".dot",
{
motionPath: { path: "M 12 300 C 280 280 520 80 820 50 S 1200 48 1308 38" },
duration: 1.5,
ease: "power2.out",
},
0,
);
</script>Exit one beat and enter the next with matched velocities — creates perceived continuous motion.
// EXIT (in outgoing composition): accelerating with blur
tl.to(
".content",
{
y: -150,
filter: "blur(30px)",
opacity: 0,
duration: 0.33,
ease: "power2.in", // accelerates
},
beatDuration - 0.33,
);
// ENTRY (in incoming composition): decelerating from blur
gsap.set(".content", { y: 150, filter: "blur(30px)" });
tl.to(
".content",
{
y: 0,
filter: "blur(0px)",
duration: 1.0,
ease: "power2.out", // decelerates
},
0,
);The fastest point of both curves meets at the cut — the viewer perceives smooth camera motion. Match ease families: .in for exits, .out for entries.
Drive any GSAP-tweenable property from the playing audio. Bass pulses a logo on kick drums. Treble glows a CTA on cymbals. Amplitude breathes a background during quiet phrases. The result: motion that feels locked to the track in a way pre-authored tweens never can.
When to use: Any video with music or dramatic narration — brand reels, product launches, hype edits. Skip for calm/tutorial pacing.
How it works: Pre-extract audio frequency bands into a JSON file, then sample per-frame via tl.call():
// audio-data.json: { fps: 30, totalFrames: 900, frames: [{ bands: [0.82, 0.45, 0.31, ...] }, ...] }
for (var f = 0; f < AUDIO_DATA.totalFrames; f++) {
tl.call(
(function (frame) {
return function () {
var bass = frame.bands[0]; // 0–1
var treble = frame.bands[13];
gsap.set(".logo", { scale: 1 + bass * 0.04 }); // 3–4% pulse on bass
gsap.set(".cta", { filter: `drop-shadow(0 0 ${treble * 24}px #00C3FF)` });
};
})(AUDIO_DATA.frames[f]),
[],
f / AUDIO_DATA.fps,
);
}Per-frame sampling is required — a single tween will not react. Use the extract script:
python3 skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/extract-audio-data.py narration.wav --fps 30 --bands 16 -o audio-data.jsonKeep text/logo intensity subtle (≤5% scale, ≤30% glow) — audio-reactive motion on tiny elements reads as jitter. Bigger backgrounds can push to 10–30%.
Never do: equalizer bars, spectrum analyzers, waveform displays, strobing, rainbow color cycling. The audio provides timing and intensity; the visual vocabulary still comes from the brand. See skills/hyperframes-creative/references/audio-reactive.md for the full API and anti-patterns.
A fixed window that content slides through — text or images enter from one side and are clipped by an invisible boundary. Different from SVG path drawing: the mask is static, the content moves.
<div id="reveal-mask">
<div id="reveal-content">Your headline text here</div>
</div>
<style>
#reveal-mask {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
clip-path: inset(0 200px 0 0); /* clips 200px from right */
display: flex;
align-items: center;
justify-content: center;
}
#reveal-content {
font-size: 108px;
white-space: nowrap;
}
</style>
<script>
// Content starts offscreen right, slides left through the mask window
gsap.set("#reveal-content", { x: 400, opacity: 0 });
tl.to("#reveal-content", { x: 0, opacity: 1, duration: 1, ease: "power2.out" }, 0);
</script>Variations: clip-path: circle(0% at 50% 50%) → circle(100%) for iris reveals. clip-path: polygon(...) for custom shapes.
Full GPU generative backgrounds — domain-warped FBM noise, cosine palette coloring, iridescent organic patterns. Far richer than Canvas 2D.
<canvas id="shader-bg" width="1920" height="1080"></canvas>
<script>
var canvas = document.getElementById("shader-bg");
var gl = canvas.getContext("webgl");
if (!gl) {
/* fallback to gradient */
}
var fsrc = `
precision mediump float;
varying vec2 v_uv;
uniform float u_time;
uniform vec2 u_res;
float hash(vec2 p) { return fract(sin(dot(p, vec2(127.1, 311.7))) * 43758.5453); }
float noise(vec2 p) {
vec2 i = floor(p), f = fract(p);
f = f * f * (3.0 - 2.0 * f);
return mix(mix(hash(i), hash(i+vec2(1,0)), f.x),
mix(hash(i+vec2(0,1)), hash(i+vec2(1,1)), f.x), f.y);
}
float fbm(vec2 p) {
float v = 0.0, a = 0.5;
mat2 R = mat2(0.8, 0.6, -0.6, 0.8);
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) { v += a*noise(p); p = R*p*2.02; a *= 0.5; }
return v;
}
vec3 palette(float t) {
return vec3(0.5)+vec3(0.5)*cos(6.28318*(vec3(1)*t+vec3(0.0,0.33,0.67)));
}
void main() {
vec2 uv = v_uv; uv.x *= u_res.x/u_res.y;
float t = u_time * 0.4;
vec2 q = vec2(fbm(uv*3.0+t*0.3), fbm(uv*3.0+vec2(5.2,1.3)+t*0.2));
vec2 r = vec2(fbm(uv*3.0+q*4.0+vec2(1.7,9.2)+t*0.15), fbm(uv*3.0+q*4.0+vec2(8.3,2.8)+t*0.1));
float n = fbm(uv*3.0+r*2.0);
vec3 col = palette(n*2.0+t*0.2);
col = mix(col, palette(length(q)*3.0+t*0.1), 0.4);
col *= 0.7+0.3*n;
float vig = 1.0-0.4*length(v_uv-0.5);
gl_FragColor = vec4(col*vig, 1.0);
}
`;
// Compile, link, set up fullscreen quad, then render via GSAP proxy:
var proxy = { time: 0.5 };
tl.to(
proxy,
{
time: 5,
duration: BEAT_DUR,
ease: "none",
onUpdate: function () {
gl.uniform1f(uTime, proxy.time);
gl.drawArrays(gl.TRIANGLE_STRIP, 0, 4);
},
},
0,
);
</script>Always include a Canvas 2D gradient fallback for environments without WebGL.
| Video energy | Techniques to combine |
|---|---|
| High impact (launches, promos) | Per-word typography + velocity transitions + counter animations |
| Cinematic (tours, stories) | SVG path drawing + video compositing + 3D transforms |
| Technical (dev tools, APIs) | Character typing + Canvas 2D procedural + MotionPath |
| Premium (luxury, enterprise) | Variable font animation + Lottie + slow velocity transitions |
| Data-driven (stats, metrics) | Canvas 2D procedural + counter animations + SVG path drawing |