# obama-iran-aj-reel: delivery report (2026-10-29)

Status: creative candidate (technical gates green; the owner judges taste)
File: `ice/renders/final/obama-iran-aj-reel_1080x1920.mp4`  sha256 977a8f0d4bf6487cbd58da57d6c154cb98e5f6de9c81ffe63a6b1c2c9c69e53e  1080x1920  30 fps  201.77 s (6053 frames)  H.264 High / AAC 256 kbps 48 kHz
Other deliverables (same folder): `obama-iran-aj-reel_captions.srt` (71 cues), `obama-iran-aj-reel_edl.json` (39 blocks on one 30 fps clock), `obama-iran-aj-reel_transcript_words.json` (544 words retimed to the edit)

## The idea
President Obama's 18 July 2015 weekly address on the Iran deal, re-cut as an Al Jazeera English explainer reel in the reference's grammar: his own question as the hook, his three rebuttals as chapters, the losses "without this deal" as a list, one closing word, and a coda dating his claim (the US left the deal on 8 May 2018).
Strongest frame: 0:56.5, the six country cards on the studio screen behind him as he names "the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China".
Next version: a 60 s cut built on the hook, the three bullets and the 2018 coda.

## Gates (copied from script output, measured on the file above)

| Gate | Result | Numbers | Tool and file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spec | OK | 1080x1920, h264, 30 fps, 201.77 s | `probe-mp4.mjs` -> `ice/review/probe.txt` |
| Frame count | OK | parts 1475 + 1434 + 1644 + 1500 = 6053 = final | ffprobe packet count |
| Loudness | in target | I -16.3 LUFS, LRA 3.4 LU, peak -1.4 dBFS (target -16 LUFS, -1.5 dBTP) | `loudness.mjs` -> `ice/review/loudness.txt` |
| Film gate | green, verdict pass | fast ratio 0.0637 (green), blank run 0.0 s, blue-purple 0.0 | `film_gate.py --type talking-head-ad` -> `ice/review/film_gate_final.json` |
| Film gate yellows | 4 yellow | worst window 133-163 s almost no fast action; drift ratio (70% slow drift); max event gap 19.75 s; page-frame share 68% (fixed logo, bar and studio frame) | same file, "explain" |
| Richness | measured | hero share 74.6, frame fill 15.0, empty half 0, in-shot motion 99.6, longest still 0.25 s | same file |
| Captions and sync | built, not re-transcribed | captions are the source's word timestamps moved to the edit clock (`build_board.py`); the final audio was not re-transcribed to diff against them | not measured |
| Cold-viewer clarity | not run | this edit type is a news explainer, not promotional, so read 3 is not required on this route; no independent viewer read was made | not run |
| Seams between render parts | by eye | frames at 0:49.10/0:49.25, 1:36.90/1:37.05, 2:31.70/2:31.85 checked: no jump (2:31.7 is an intended defocus transition) | `ice/review/final_frames/final_sheet.jpg` |

## Against the reference (same script, same settings)

| Measure | This reel | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 201.75 s | 193.08 s |
| Shots found | 29 | 48 |
| Mean shot length | 6.96 s | 4.02 s |
| Fast-action ratio | 0.0637 | 0.1652 |
| Longest gap without a cut or fast action | 19.75 s (yellow) | 9.08 s |
| Push-ins per minute | 0.3 | 2.5 |

The reel is slower than the reference: fewer shots, longer studio stretches, almost no camera push-ins. The weakest stretch is 2:13-2:43 (third argument and the start of "without this deal"), two studio shots carried only by bullets.

## Beats

| Time | What it is | Real or illustrative |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00-0:11 | Hook: his two questions and answers; Zarif, the signatories and Iran's flag dark on red halos | real footage and photos, stylised |
| 0:11-0:25 | His framing lines, name strap and 2015 tag | real |
| 0:25-0:28 | Title card "THE IRAN DEAL / 4 DAYS ON" over grey archive | real archive (EU, Vienna venue) with film texture |
| 0:28-0:43 | Vienna, 14 Jul 2015, and his White House statement | real (EU EbS, State Department, White House) |
| 0:43-1:37 | First argument: country cards, split screens with IAEA file footage, Fordow and Arak pins | real; IAEA footage is from the Netherlands and labelled so |
| 1:37-2:04 | Second argument: IAEA inspectors | real, labelled |
| 2:04-2:43 | Third argument and "without this deal" lists | real (studio composite) |
| 2:43-2:49 | "the world" lined up in Vienna | real |
| 2:49-2:52 | Khamenei, low-key portrait | real photo (khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0), stylised |
| 2:52-3:14 | Region push, "ANOTHER WAR", "DIPLOMACY", last lines | real (studio composite) |
| 3:14-3:18 | Coda "8 MAY 2018 / US WITHDRAWS" | real White House footage, grey with film texture |
| 3:18-3:22 | AJ end card | the reference's own end card, as supplied |

## Real and composited

- Obama's picture is his own footage, matted (RVM) onto a recreated studio screen (NASA Blue Marble satellite map, Natural Earth border). His words, voice and timing are unchanged: cuts only between sentences, no speed change, no generated speech. One sentence order change: the question-and-answer lines from the middle of the address open the reel.
- All text, cards, pins and bullets are rendered by code from the truth sheet (`ice/assets/TRUTH.md`). Nothing in the picture or the sound is AI-generated.
- Sound: Obama's recorded voice; music "Tension Documentary" by AtlasAudio (Pixabay), edited; recorded Pixabay sound effects; the reference's end sting. Measured, not listened to by me.

## Auto-mode decisions absorbed (the owner can overturn any in one reply)

Recorded in `ice/DIRECTION.md` D-001 to D-019: route and edit type; 2015 tag and strap; studio composite instead of his real room; the coda (D-011); restored country line (D-016); music edit of track A (D-018); IAEA file footage labelled as the Netherlands because no free official footage inside Iran's sites exists.

## Permissions a rights holder would need before publication

| Item | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Al Jazeera logo, end card and sting | Al Jazeera | used as supplied by the user in the reference; needs AJ's permission to publish outside AJ |
| Obama address, Obama 14 Jul statement, Trump 8 May 2018 remarks, Souza and State Department photos | US government | public domain |
| EU EbS footage (Vienna) | European Union | CC BY 4.0: "© European Union, 2015, Source: EC - Audiovisual Service" |
| IAEA "Inspecting the Nuclear Fuel Cycle" | IAEA | CC BY: "Video: IAEA" |
| Khamenei portrait | khamenei.ir | CC BY 4.0, attribution "Khamenei.ir" |
| Music and sound effects | Pixabay authors | Pixabay Content License (`ice/assets/CREDITS.md`) |
| NASA Blue Marble, Natural Earth | NASA, Natural Earth | public domain |
| Montserrat | Google Fonts | SIL OFL |

## What I would fix next

1. Pace: split the 2:13-2:43 studio stretch and the 0:43-1:06 stretch with camera moves or one more piece of footage, to bring the longest event gap under 10 s like the reference.
2. Add a slow push-in on most studio shots (the reference pushes in 2.5 times a minute; this reel 0.3).
3. Re-transcribe the final audio and diff it against the captions.
4. Run an independent cold-viewer read.
5. EbS Vienna footage is 480p and looks soft at full height; a higher-resolution source would help.

Self-critique: strongest are the hook, the country cards and the honest labelling; weakest is the pace in the second half.