Plan Video

Overview

This orchestrator sequences foundation skills to produce a complete video plan: researched titles, thumbnail concepts, hook strategies, and a content outline. It manages the user selection workflow between steps but delegates all content generation to specialized skills.

Core Principle

This is a thin orchestrator. All content generation goes through foundation skills — that's where the proven patterns, formulas, and quality logic live. This skill manages workflow sequence, user decisions, and plan file assembly only.

How Reference Delegation Works

Each step below invokes a foundation skill that owns its own reference files. When you invoke

creator-stack:title

, it loads

references/youtube-title-formulas.md

from its own directory. When you invoke

creator-stack:thumbnail

, it loads

references/thumbnail-formulas.md

from its own directory. You don't need to manage these paths — just invoke the skill and provide context.

YouTube-Specific Context

Episode Directory Convention

All episode files live under

./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/

.

Research file

:

research.md

in the episode directory

Plan file

:

plan.md

in the episode directory

Thumbnails

saved to the episode directory during finalization Channel Information If a local channel context file exists (e.g., ./youtube/channel.md or similar), load it at the start of the workflow to provide channel-specific context to downstream skills. YouTube MCP Tools Available When creator-stack:research is invoked from this orchestrator, the YouTube Analytics MCP tools are available for data gathering: search_videos — find videos by keyword, channel, or criteria get_video_details — video stats, views, likes, comments, publish date get_channel_details — channel metadata, subscriber count, video count get_video_comments — comment text and sentiment data get_video_transcript — full video transcript get_related_videos — videos related to a specific video get_trending_videos — currently trending videos get_video_enhanced_transcript — enhanced transcript with timestamps The YouTube Researcher agent (defined in this plugin's agents/youtube-researcher.md ) can also be used for structured data gathering tasks. When to Use Use this skill when: Research has been completed and you need to create a video plan The user asks to plan a new video You need title, thumbnail, hook, and outline options for a video You want to produce a production-ready plan with multiple options for user selection Prerequisites Research for the video must be completed first. Either: Research file exists at ./youtube/episode/[episode_number][topic_short_name]/research.md , OR Invoke creator-stack:research to conduct research first (YouTube MCP tools are available) Planning Workflow Execute all steps below in order. Track progress systematically. Step 0: Load Research Read the research file for this episode: Location: ./youtube/episode/[episode_number][topic_short_name]/research.md If research does not exist, invoke creator-stack:research first. The YouTube MCP tools are available from this orchestrator context, enabling the research skill to gather YouTube-specific data. The video plan should incorporate research findings at each step — research grounds every recommendation. Step 1: Create Plan File Create a new plan file at: ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/plan.md If a plan file already exists, read it to understand what has been done so far and continue from there. Initialize the plan file with this template:

[Episode_Number]: [Topic] - Video Plan

Research Summary [Summary of research insights]

Titles [3 title options with rationale and star ratings]

Thumbnails [2 thumbnail concepts per title with rationale and star ratings]

Hooks [3 hook options for selected title+thumbnail with rationale and star ratings]

High-Level Content Outline [Section structure with key points]

Final Plan [Selected title, 3 AB test thumbnails, selected hook, outline] Update this document as you progress through the planning steps. Step 2: Generate Title Options Invoke creator-stack:title to generate 3 optimized titles. Provide the research summary as context. Document all title options in the plan file including: Title text Rationale for why it is predicted to perform well and how it aligns with research insights Star rating from 1-3 stars indicating your recommendation Complete title generation before proceeding to thumbnails — thumbnails need to complement the titles. Step 3: Generate Thumbnail Concepts Invoke creator-stack:thumbnail to generate 2 thumbnail concepts for each title. These should be concept descriptions only, not actual images yet. Provide each title as context so thumbnails complement them. Document all thumbnail concepts in the plan file including: Title pairing Concept description Rationale for why it is predicted to perform well, how it aligns with research, and how it complements the title Star rating for top 3 thumbnail concepts Step 4: Present Recommendation and Get User Selection Present all title/thumbnail combinations to the user, along with your top 3 recommended title + thumbnail pairings. Ask the user to select their one preferred title + thumbnail pairing to proceed with. Update both the title and thumbnail sections in the plan file to indicate the user's selection with a (User Selection) marker next to the selected options. Always present all options so the user can make an informed decision — that's the whole point of generating multiple options. Step 5: Generate Hook Strategy Invoke creator-stack:hook to generate 3 retention-optimized hooks, only for the user's selected title + thumbnail pairing. Provide the selected title + thumbnail concept as context. Document all hook strategies in the plan file including: Hook strategy description (including the actual hook script) Rationale for why it is predicted to perform well, how it aligns with research, and how it complements the title + thumbnail Star rating for each hook Present all hook options to the user and ask the user to select their preferred hook strategy. Update the hook section in the plan file to indicate the user's selection. The plan should now contain a user-selected title, thumbnail, and hook combination. Step 6: High-Level Content Outline Invoke creator-stack:write to create a high-level content outline. Provide the selected title, thumbnail concept, and hook as context. Create and document the strategic roadmap: Break video into sections (Hook, Intro, Main Content, Outro) List key points and estimated durations Identify critical demonstrations/examples Note transitions Keep the outline high-level — structure and key points only, no detailed scripts. Focus on what is important to cover from the viewer's perspective rather than assuming specific content. Step 7: Finalize Plan with AB Testing Thumbnails Now that the user has selected their preferred title, thumbnail, and hook, finalize the plan. Invoke creator-stack:thumbnail to generate 3 thumbnail options for AB testing. These should be actual images generated with creator-stack:nanobanana , not just concepts. The first thumbnail should be based on the user's selected thumbnail concept. The other 2 should test different visual styles of the first thumbnail. Update the final plan section in the plan file with the complete final selections:

Final Plan

**

Title

**

[Selected title]

**

Thumbnails

**

:

-

!

[

Thumbnail A

](

/path/to/thumbnail_a.png

)

Thumbnail A Description

-

!

[

Thumbnail B

](

/path/to/thumbnail_b.png

)

Thumbnail B Description

-

!

[

Thumbnail C

](

/path/to/thumbnail_c.png

)

Thumbnail C Description

-

**

Hook

**

[Selected hook strategy]

**

Rationale

**

[Why this combination works]

A final plan always includes 3 thumbnails to AB test — that's how you learn what works for your audience.

Delegation Reference

Each foundation skill owns its own reference files and loads them automatically:

Content

Skill

Reference (loaded by the skill)

Titles

creator-stack:title

youtube-title-formulas.md

Thumbnails

creator-stack:thumbnail

thumbnail-formulas.md

Hooks

creator-stack:hook

youtube-hooks.md

Outline

creator-stack:write

youtube-script.md

Voice

creator-stack:voice

Invoked automatically by writing skill

Complementarity Check

Before finalizing, verify that title/thumbnail/hook work together:

Thumbnail complements title visually (doesn't repeat it)

Hook extends curiosity (doesn't repeat title)

All elements align with the unique value proposition from research

Quality Checklist

Verify completion before finalizing plan:

Research file loaded and reviewed

creator-stack:title

invoked — 3 title options generated

creator-stack:thumbnail

invoked — 2 thumbnail concepts per title

User selected title + thumbnail pairing

creator-stack:hook

invoked — 3 hook strategies generated

User selected hook strategy

creator-stack:write

invoked — high-level content outline created

creator-stack:thumbnail

invoked — 3 AB testing thumbnails generated

Plan file complete with all sections populated

Recommendations marked by star rating

Title/thumbnail/hook complementarity verified

Recommendations backed by research insights

Common Pitfalls

Skipping skill invocation

Generating titles/thumbnails/hooks manually — the foundation skills have proven patterns you'd miss.

Single option

Only providing one recommendation — always provide all options so the user can choose.

Missing research

Starting without research — load research or invoke the research skill first.

Ignoring complementarity

Title/thumbnail/hook don't work together — verify alignment before finalizing.

No rationale

Recommendations without explanation — back everything with research insights.

Too-detailed outline

Writing a full script instead of high-level structure — keep it strategic.

Example Execution

Scenario

User requests plan for video about "Building AI agents with memory" (research already complete)

Load research — Read

./youtube/episode/18_ai_agents_with_memory/research.md

, extract key insights

Create plan file at

./youtube/episode/18_ai_agents_with_memory/plan.md

Invoke

creator-stack:title

— 3 title options focused on practical implementation

Invoke

creator-stack:thumbnail

— 2 concepts per title (6 total)

Present all options, user selects title + thumbnail pairing

Invoke

creator-stack:hook

— 3 hook strategies for selected pairing

User selects hook

Invoke

creator-stack:write

— high-level content outline

Invoke

creator-stack:thumbnail

— 3 AB testing thumbnails for final plan

Update plan file with complete final selections

Result

Production-ready plan with multiple options for user selection, all backed by research and generated using proven patterns from foundation skills.