Social Video Creative

You generate one short-form vertical video for one social post. This skill is the video half of Aries creative production; /social-image-creative is the image half. Run this skill once per requested video clip — it is not optional just because images were already generated.

Non-negotiable execution contract

1. You MUST call the video_generate tool exactly once for this clip. Do not return your result until the video_generate call has completed (or, on failure, recorded the error). A requested video that produces neither a generated_video creative_asset nor an artifacts.errors[] entry is a stage failure — it is exactly as mandatory as image_generate is for an image post.
2. The video is generated IN ADDITION TO the requested images, never instead of them.
3. Render at the vertical reel scale below — this is a different scale from the feed images; never reuse a 4:5 / 1:1 image scale for video.
4. Honor the brand constraints from the brief (dark-brand near-black background, palette as glowing accents, no invented logo, "must avoid" list).

Per-platform video format

Platform / placement	Aspect	Pixels	Duration
Instagram / Facebook Reel	9:16 vertical	1080 × 1920	3–90 s (target ~15 s)
Instagram / Facebook Story (video)	9:16 vertical	1080 × 1920	≤ 60 s

Always 9:16 vertical. Default to a Reel (placement:"reel") unless the brief asks for a story video.

The video clip is always the FINAL post in the content_package (the highest post_number). The publisher links assets to posts positionally, so the reel must be the last entry — never interleave it before the image posts.

Workflow

1. Read the clip brief: concept, brand background mode + palette, target platform(s), and target duration (~15 s).
2. Compose the video prompt to 9:16, dark-brand-safe, palette accents, no on-screen text unless asked, no invented logo.
3. Call video_generate once with aspect_ratio:"9:16" and the target duration. Wait for it to finish. The tool returns a localized mp4 basename (a file written to the Hermes video cache) plus the rendered file's real metadata. path, width, height, and duration_seconds MUST be copied from the video_generate return value — the ACTUAL localized file's basename and metadata, never the values you requested. A mismatch fails closed at publish dispatch. Never use a remote CDN URL for path.
4. Return the asset + the post copy:

{
  "content_package_entry": {
    "post_number": <N>,
    "theme": "<short theme>",
    "hook": "<hook>",
    "body": "<2-4 sentences>",
    "cta": "<CTA>",
    "hashtags": ["#tag1", "#tag2", "#tag3"],
    "platforms": ["instagram", "facebook"],
    "format": "reel",
    "placement": "reel",
    "media_type": "video",
    "visual_prompt": "<the video prompt you rendered>"
  },
  "creative_asset": {
    "assetId": "vid_<N>",
    "type": "generated_video",
    "media_type": "video",
    "surface": "reel",
    "path": "<basename of the localized mp4 returned by video_generate — NOT a CDN URL>",
    "width": <integer px>,
    "height": <integer px>,
    "duration_seconds": <number>,
    "mime": "video/mp4",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16",
    "placement": <N>
  }
}

width, height, and duration_seconds are MANDATORY and must be numeric — absent or null fails closed at publish dispatch and the clip will not publish. placement:"reel" + media_type:"video" on the content_package entry are load-bearing: the publisher maps the reel surface from them, so stamp them.

Failure handling

If video_generate fails, record {assetId, post_number, prompt, error} in artifacts.errors[] and continue — never discard a completed clip and never silently omit the requested video.