How to Use Claude Opus 5.5 High in Claude Code to Create Videos

Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool. Claude Opus 5.5, released on September 22, 2026, is the newest Opus model from Anthropic.

Claude never draws video pixels itself. It writes the code, assets, and commands that a video framework renders into an MP4. Unlike a regular chat, Claude Code can:

• Create and organize your project files
• Install the tools each project needs
• Write the animation and layout code
• Run the preview and render commands
• Read error logs and fix the cause
• Inspect still frames as image files
• Iterate until the render succeeds
• Follow the project rules stored in CLAUDE.md

Treat Claude Code as a motion developer that turns your brief into code and then renders it.

Claude plan

Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or a Console account. Claude Code is not part of the free Claude plan.

Claude Code version

Use v2.1.280 or later to run Opus 5.5.

Node.js

Most code-based video frameworks need it. HyperFrames requires Node.js 22 or later.

FFmpeg

Renders, converts, trims, and inspects your video files.

A video framework

Remotion, HyperFrames, or plain FFmpeg when the edit is simple.

Your assets

Logos, screenshots, footage, fonts, music, and voiceover you have the right to use.

On macOS, Linux, or WSL, run this:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

In Windows PowerShell, run this:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Open a fresh terminal and run claude --version to confirm the install. Then launch Claude Code from an empty project folder with:

claude

Want a graphical interface instead? The Claude desktop app offers Claude Code in its Code tab.

Opus 5.5 offers five effort levels: low, medium, high, xhigh, and max. The default is medium.

Within a session, run:

/model opus /effort high

Or launch a session with both settings at once:

claude --model opus --effort high

High effort gives Claude more room to plan multi-scene videos, debug failed renders, and check its own output. It also runs slower and draws more from your usage.

Save xhigh and max for unusually hard problems. Drop back to medium for small text or color tweaks.

Use one framework per project. Every extra framework multiplies the setup problems.

Skills teach Claude each framework’s conventions, so its code matches what the framework expects.

For Remotion, run:

npx skills add remotion-dev/skills

For HyperFrames, add the Claude Code plugin:

claude plugin marketplace add heygen-com/hyperframes claude plugin install hyperframes@hyperframes

Then open a new Claude Code session so the skills can load.

Answer the questions a video editor would ask. Include:

• Goal of the video
• Target audience
• Platform plus aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16, or 1:1)
• Duration
• Frame rate
• Key message
• Tone and pace
• Brand colors and fonts
• Assets to use
• Voiceover or on-screen text alone
• Music style
• Call to action

A vague brief gets you a generic video. A specific brief gets you your video.

Have Claude propose a plan first, so you can fix the direction before any code exists.

Prompt:

Read this brief. Before you write any code, propose the scene list, timing, visual style, transitions, and file structure. List every asset or decision you still need from me.

Approve or edit the plan, then let Claude start building.

Ask Claude to turn the plan into a scene-by-scene storyboard that lists:

• Scene number
• Start and end time
• On-screen text
• Visual elements
• Motion and transitions
• Voiceover line
• Sound effect or music changes

Read the storyboard aloud against a timer. If a line does not fit comfortably in its slot, lengthen the scene.

Claude Code loads CLAUDE.md at the start of each session. Record the rules every video must follow:

• Brand colors as precise hex values
• Font families and weights
• Logo file paths and their minimum sizes
• Caption and button safe zones
• Caption style
• Preferred transitions
• Elements to avoid entirely
• Default resolution and default frame rate

Every future video then stays on brand without you repeating yourself.

Place every asset in one assets folder and tell Claude what each file contains.

• Logos and icons
• Product screenshots or screen captures
• Photos and footage
• Fonts with the correct license
• Music licensed for your platform
• Voiceover recordings

Never use copyrighted music, footage, or fonts unless your license covers how you will publish.

Prompt:

Build the video from the approved storyboard and follow our brand rules in CLAUDE.md. Use files from the assets folder only. Put each scene in its own component or file. When the code is ready, start the preview and tell me how to open it.

Treat the first draft as a starting point, not a finished video.

Previews run faster than full renders, which keeps small fixes cheap.

Remotion

npx remotion studio

HyperFrames

npx hyperframes preview

Claude cannot watch a video file. Have it pull still frames at key moments with FFmpeg, then check those images for overlapping text, clipped elements, and weak contrast.

Swap “make it better” for feedback Claude can act on:

• “Scene 3: the headline comes in too fast. Make it 0.6 seconds.”
• “At 0:12, the logo covers the caption.”
• “Use the brand blue for all highlights.”
• “Hold the closing call to action two seconds longer.”
• “The transitions feel busy. Switch to simple fades.”

Timestamps, scene numbers, and exact values take out the guesswork.

Record your own voice or use a text-to-speech service your license covers.

Then ask Claude to:

• Transcribe the voiceover and add timestamps
• Time the on-screen text to the narration
• Build captions from the transcript
• Keep captions within platform safe zones
• Check the spelling of names and numbers

Captions make videos accessible and easy to follow on mute.

• Use only licensed music
• Duck the music under the voiceover
• Add subtle sound effects at key moments
• Normalize loudness so the mix is neither too quiet nor too loud
• Fade the music in and out cleanly

Have Claude measure the final audio levels with FFmpeg before you export.

Remotion

npx remotion render

HyperFrames

npx hyperframes render --output video.mp4

Request an H.264 MP4 for the broadest compatibility, then have Claude confirm the duration, resolution, frame rate, and audio track with ffprobe.

When one version works, reuse it to make:

• Vertical, square, and widescreen cuts
• Alternative hooks for testing
• Shorter cut-downs
• Translated versions
• Personalized versions built from a data file
• Seasonal or campaign variants

Code-based video keeps variations cheap, because only the inputs change.

Have Claude convert a finished project into a reusable template or skill with:

• Editable variables for text and color
• Scene components you can reorder freely
• Documented asset slots
• A render and review checklist

Your second video should take a fraction of the time your first one did.

Review these yourself:

• Facts, numbers, and claims
• Spelling in on-screen text and captions
• Brand accuracy
• Licenses for music, fonts, and footage
• Text legibility on a phone screen
• Audio levels
• The first three seconds

Claude can check frames and files. You remain responsible for what you publish.

Brief

Set the goal, audience, format, and message.

Plan

Approve the scenes and structure before any code.

Storyboard

Time each scene and each line.

Build

Let Claude write all the video code.

Preview

Check frames before you render.

Refine

Give precise feedback with timestamps.

Render

Export the file and verify it.

Reuse

Turn the finished project into a template.

Copy and paste it, then fill in the brackets:

Act as my motion designer and video developer for this project. Create a [duration] [aspect ratio] video for [platform] about [topic] for [audience]. The goal is [goal]. The call to action is [call to action]. Use [Remotion / HyperFrames] and follow the brand rules in CLAUDE.md. Use assets from the assets folder only. Ask me before you use anything else. First, propose a scene-by-scene storyboard with timings and wait for my approval. Then build each scene as its own file, start the preview, and extract still frames at key moments so you can check text, spacing, and contrast. Fix every problem you find, render an H.264 MP4, and confirm its duration, resolution, frame rate, and audio with ffprobe. List anything you were unsure about.

• Project setup
• Animation and layout code
• Scene timing
• Caption files
• Render commands
• Frame checks
• Error fixes
• Variations and templates

• The idea and message
• Creative direction
• Asset and music licensing
• Factual accuracy
• Brand approval
• Final review
• Publishing decisions

• Do not begin without a brief
• Do not skip the storyboard step
• Do not run a full render for every small change
• Do not use assets you lack the rights to
• Do not publish before you watch the final file yourself
• Do not use xhigh or max effort on simple edits