documentary-montage-production

What it does

Use this skill when the deliverable asks the viewer to believe, understand, or feel the significance of real people, real events, real institutions, or real-world claims. The central rule is: do not let the audience become more certain than the evidence allows.

How it works

• Establish a five-part documentary posture in every decision: Documented fact, Corroborated interpretation, Participant testimony, Illustration or reenactment, Editorial thesis.
• Start with an evidence-first brief, including thesis, audience/context, core claims, human stakes, evidence map, rights/disclosure map, and sensitivity level.
• Maintain a source and research log with fields like source_id, title, creator, URL or path, dates, source type, rights status, provenance notes, relevant claims, and confidence.
• Log a minimum claim log per claim with claim_id, exact wording, evidence (source_id references), support level, on-screen treatment, and fact-check status.
• Apply a strict fact-checking discipline, prioritizing original records and verified sources, and clearly distinguish event date, source date, publication date, and edit date for timelines.
• Build chronology using a structured approach (timeline spine, argument ladder, witness braid, etc.) and ensure transitions do not imply unsupported causality.
• Handle interviews with complete transcripts and source audio/video, documenting speaker details, timecodes, transcripts, context, purpose, and cleanup.
• Manage archive and reference rights with a clear rights status (owned/licensed/CC/public domain/etc.) and a rights log tied to the source log.
• Preserve provenance metadata (filenames, checksums, metadata, C2PA) and avoid assuming authenticity from appearance.
• Use synthetic media disclosures when applicable, labeling generated content and providing three disclosure points on-screen, in credits, and platform controls; monitor platform rules today and adjust as needed.
• Generate b-roll prompts carefully, requiring factual anchors, forbidden details, and a clear disclosure label; follow the provided prompt pattern and example.
• Create lower thirds and source cards with precise formatting rules, and avoid implying evidentiary authority before evidence supports it.
• Apply archival texture ethics to ensure any age treatment, restoration, or processing is properly justified and labeled.
• Adhere to music and sound restraint to keep narration intelligible and avoid cueing unintended beliefs.

When to use it

Use when producing documentary-style content that relies on real-world claims, archival material, or sensitive subjects, and when you need to maintain an evidence-first approach, rights awareness, and a clear separation between fact, interpretation, testimony, illustration, and thesis.

What it can touch

Tools declared: claude-code, codex, copilot, cursor. The skill directs the agent to employ these tools as needed to gather sources, draft logs, structure claims, and generate prompts, while keeping all outputs traceable to logged sources and clearly labeled as appropriate (e.g., generated media disclosures).

Caveats

Documentary posture requires strict separation of five categories; rights and disclosure decisions escalate to humans for sensitive items; synthetic media must be disclosed in three places and platform rules can change. The policy also notes escalation triggers for rights, privacy, and vulnerable-subject issues.