---
title: "Video Moodboard — AI video style for style references"
description: "A moodboard AI video models follow: lines ranked by what matters most, every line a number, drawn as a board and checked on stills. 450+ links. Install in Claude Code, Codex and Grok with one command."
url: https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/video-moodboard
updated: 2026-11-04
---

# Video Moodboard — style skill for style references

> **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. From a terminal: `curl -fsSL https://varg.ai/install | sh` installs the vargai CLI (https://varg.ai/how-to/cli.md): `vargai search` and `vargai install <slug>` with no key, every varg model after `vargai login`.

A moodboard AI video models follow: lines ranked by what matters most, every line a number, drawn as a board and checked on stills. 450+ links.

- **Type:** [Style](https://varg.ai/how-to/styles.md) · [Style references](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/style-refs.md)
- **Slug:** `video-moodboard`
- **Status:** live
- **Publisher:** varg (varg, verified)
- **License:** MIT
- **Source:** https://github.com/vargHQ/skills/tree/main/video-moodboard
- **Works in:** Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI
- **Requires:** python3 with Pillow (scripts/palette.py), Optional: a varg key for the 3 test stills
- **Cost:** 0 credits; test stills 5 each — Writing the board is free. Test stills on varg: Nano Banana 2.1 or Seedream 5 Pro, 5 credits each (measured 2026-11-03).
- **Runtime:** About 15 to 25 minutes with test stills

## What it does

A moodboard for an AI video is a short list of lines a model can obey and a person can check: where the light comes from, which five colours, which lens, which film stock, which font, which camera move. This skill writes it in the order that matters most, taken from a 48-still test on Nano Banana 2.1 and Seedream 5 Pro with two blind judges, 6,086 X posts and 14 official prompt guides: references, light, subject lock, framing, palette, motion, texture, type, sound. Light was the only line that made frames look more like film; an invented hex palette was obeyed best but looked less like film, so hex comes from a reference frame. It writes moodboard.md and a visual board.html (light diagram, swatches, framing guide, motion timeline, type specimen), tests the board on 3 stills, checks each line (palette by ΔE), and stops for approval before any video. references/links.md holds 450+ sources: 72 reference and tool databases with access, price and terms, 50 tools creators name on X, every page of 14 vendor guides, benchmarks, and all 123 cited creator posts.

## Use when

- Make a moodboard, style bible or look-and-feel board for an AI video
- Before prompting Seedance, Kling, Veo, Nano Banana or Midjourney
- Make it not look like AI: write light, palette, framing and texture as numbers
- Check test stills against the board before paying for video
- Find the right database for palette, light, type or motion references

## Not for

- Finding references from scratch (use find-references first)
- Per-shot video prompts after the board is approved (use varg-video-prompting)
- Feeding found film frames into a model

## Install

- Claude Code: `claude plugin marketplace add vargHQ/skills && claude plugin install varg@varg`
- Codex: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill video-moodboard -a codex -y`
- Cursor: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill video-moodboard -a cursor -y`
- Gemini CLI: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill video-moodboard -a gemini-cli -y`
- Any agent, with the vargai CLI: `vargai install video-moodboard`

## Example output

https://s3.varg.ai/files/4325c578-378d-4c43-ae53-3cc3218df1ea/file_6d1cb6e5cc93.mp4 — From the video-moodboard explainer (HyperFrames, varg branding, 2026-11-03): the same prompt without and with a board (credit: varg, https://github.com/vargHQ/skills/tree/main/video-moodboard)

## More style references skills

- [Find References](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/find-references.md): Real references before anything is made: seven sources, four kinds of reference with this week's numbers, ten visual ideas and a board to pick from.
- [FrameThrower Film References](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/framethrower.md): Film stills from 5,489 films, searchable by lighting, lens, shot size, color and mood.
- [Are.na MCP](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/arena-mcp.md): Build and read Are.na moodboard channels from your agent.
- [Video references by Refs](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/refs-video-references.md): 4,322 launch films, demos and motion pieces measured shot by shot, searchable free from your agent over MCP.
- [GPT Image 2 Style Library](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/gpt-image-2-style-library.md): Pick styles and industrial prompt templates for GPT Image 2/2.5 from a 530+ case library (a 35K-star repo).
- [Monocolor Editorial Print](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/mono-color-print.md): Turns a theme, object or photo into an original one-ink or controlled two-ink editorial print: posters, zines, packaging, portraits, halftone on warm paper.