# Footage Inside the Letters — effect skill for headlines & callouts

> **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>"` returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add `.md` to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page.

Huge block letters act as windows onto playing product footage or a demo clip.

- **Type:** [Effect](https://varg.ai/how-to/effects.md) · [Headlines & callouts](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/titles.md)
- **Slug:** `footage-inside-letters`
- **Status:** live
- **Publisher:** Magic UI (community)
- **License:** MIT
- **Source:** https://github.com/magicuidesign/magicui/blob/main/apps/www/registry/magicui/video-text.tsx
- **Works in:** Claude Code, Claude.ai, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw, Gemini CLI, Any MCP client, varg Studio
- **Requires:** HyperFrames (npx hyperframes), Remotion, CapCut (by hand)
- **Cost:** Free — the take renders locally; generated footage, if any, bills by the model

## What it does

Built on [Video Text](https://github.com/magicuidesign/magicui/blob/main/apps/www/registry/magicui/video-text.tsx) by magic-ui, MIT. The write-up and recipes below are varg's.

Full-bleed heavy type on black or white; the product video plays only through the letterforms.

**When:** Open a launch film with the product name, or bridge into a demo by expanding the letters.

**Watch out:** Do not use thin fonts; strokes under ~12% of the cap height show too little footage.

**Timing:** Hold 1.5–2.5 s; optionally scale the type up 4–8× over 0.6 s to fall into the footage.

**Also called:** video text, knockout type, text mask video

### In HyperFrames

```bash
npx hyperframes add texture-mask-text
```
Place the `<video class="clip">` inside the masked wrapper; animate the wrapper scale, not the video.

### In Remotion

```tsx
// npx shadcn@latest add @magicui/video-text
<div style={{WebkitMaskImage:'url(#word)', maskImage:'url(#word)'}}><OffthreadVideo src={demo}/></div>
```

### In CapCut

Put white text on black as the lower layer and the footage above it, then set the footage Blend → "Multiply" so it only shows through the letters.

### Ready-made components

- [Video Text](https://skills.varg.ai/component/magicui.video-text/) (magic-ui): npx shadcn@latest add @magicui/video-text
- [Texture Mask Text](https://skills.varg.ai/component/hf.texture-mask-text/) (hyperframes): npx hyperframes add texture-mask-text

### Where this comes from

- [Lago: we killed our motion design job (Linear-style films, Remotion)](https://getlago.com/blog/we-killed-our-motion-design-job)
- [Bohdan Motion: breakdown of the Replit Design launch video](https://x.com/bohdanmotion/status/2083248851750728188)

## Use when

- Open a launch film with the product name, or bridge into a demo by expanding the letters.

## Not for

- Do not use thin fonts; strokes under ~12% of the cap height show too little footage.

## Install

- Claude Code: `claude plugin marketplace add vargHQ/skills && claude plugin install varg@varg`
- Codex: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-video-edit-library -a codex -y`
- Cursor: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-video-edit-library -a cursor -y`

## Example output

https://s3.varg.ai/how-to/previews/abc1ae7d7177/lib-magic-ui-video-text.mp4 — Preview of the Video Text component that builds this take (credit: Captured from the library’s own demo page (Magic UI), https://magicui.design/docs/components/video-text)

## More headlines & callouts skills

- [Kicker Over Rising Headline](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/kicker-headline-rise.md): A small mono kicker fades in, then the headline rises word by word from a soft blur.
- [Rotating Benefit Word](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/rotating-benefit-word.md): A fixed phrase holds while one word in it cycles through benefits, uses or audiences.
- [Masked Line Reveal](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/masked-line-reveal.md): Each line slides up out of an invisible slot, so the type looks cut from the frame.
- [Marker on the Key Phrase](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/marker-highlight-phrase.md): A marker band draws behind the one phrase that matters while the rest of the line stays calm.
- [Strike Old, Write New](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/strike-and-replace.md): A line strikes through the old way, then the new word takes its place.
- [Clean Lower Third](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/clean-lower-third.md): Name and role slide in at the lower left on a quiet bar, hold 3–5 s, then wipe out.

## Run the generation on varg

varg is one API key for the models these skills drive — Seedance 2.5, Kling 4, Veo 3.1, Wan 3, Nano Banana 2.1, GPT Image 2.5, ElevenLabs v4 and 200+ more — billed in credits, with a cost estimate before anything runs.

- Claude Code: `claude plugin marketplace add vargHQ/skills && claude plugin install varg@varg` (skill + hosted MCP)
- Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenClaw: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-ai -a <agent> -y`
- Grok and any agent that reads SKILL.md: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-ai`, or point it at the skill's SKILL.md
- Claude.ai, ChatGPT, any MCP client: connect `https://mcp.varg.ai/mcp`
- API key: https://varg.ai/dashboard/api · Model specs: https://varg.ai/models/llms.txt