Keyframe Extraction

The most reliable AI animation workflow is not "generate a video." It is "generate keyframes, then interpolate between them." Keyframe extraction gives you control over the critical moments in the animation while letting AI handle the in-betweens — the frames that create smooth motion between key poses.

The keyframe workflow: Step 1 — Define the key moments. For a data visualization animation: Frame 0 (empty chart), Frame 30 (first bar appears), Frame 60 (second bar appears), Frame 90 (all bars visible), Frame 120 (highlight and annotation). Step 2 — Generate each keyframe as a static image using the style specification. Each keyframe passes through the full generation pipeline including the style critic and brand critic. Step 3 — Use AI interpolation to generate the frames between each keyframe pair. The interpolation model receives the start frame and end frame and generates smooth transitions.

Keyframe extraction solves the temporal consistency problem by constraining the model at regular intervals. The model cannot drift far from the style specification because every 30 frames, it hits another anchor. The maximum drift window is 30 frames (1 second at 30fps) — short enough that any deviation is imperceptible.

1. Define Key Moments Identify the critical states in the animation. What does frame 0 look like? What does the final frame look like? What are the transition points? Each key moment becomes a keyframe that will be generated as a static image.
2. Generate Keyframes Statically Each keyframe passes through the full static generation pipeline — style specification, quality critic, brand critic. Every keyframe is a brand-compliant static image. The animation is only as good as its keyframes.
3. Interpolate Between Keyframes Use AI interpolation to generate the in-between frames. The interpolation model receives adjacent keyframes and generates smooth transitions. Evaluate the interpolated sequence for temporal consistency and motion smoothness.