# Draft

> Render a fast half-size draft with bin/vawe dev, or only the seconds you changed.

Canonical: https://vawe.dev/docs/draft

At the end of this page you have `out/<name>-draft.mp4` and a list of checks that name what is wrong. This is stage 6 of the <Term id="loop">loop</Term>. You make many <Term id="draft">drafts</Term> and one <Term id="final">final</Term>.

You need a page with motion and a filled “Board”.

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Render the draft

    ```bash
    bin/vawe dev films/hello/page.html
    ```

    The draft is half size at 30 fps, with the sound of the `<audio>` tags mixed. The verb also writes a key-frame sheet PNG next to the mp4. It prints the plan status first: what is empty and what the plan findings are.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Render only a range

    ```bash
    bin/vawe dev films/hello/page.html --from 2 --to 6
    ```

    The file is `out/<name>-draft-<from>-<to>.mp4`. A range is silent. Use it for the seconds you just fixed.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Leave the sound out

    ```bash
    bin/vawe dev films/hello/page.html --silent
    ```

    `--silent` gives a picture-only draft and is faster.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Check another aspect

    ```bash
    bin/vawe dev films/hello/page.html --aspect 9:16
    ```

    The value is a W:H ratio of whole numbers. The common ones are `16:9 9:16 1:1 4:5 4:3`. The default is the page meta, else 16:9. Draft a second <Term id="aspect">aspect</Term> once before the final.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What you see

`dev` runs the checks and prints a line for each problem, with a fix. It writes every taste line to `out/<name>.dev.md`. Add `--taste` to print them. The `next:` line names the motion pass.

The ship-tier checks are optional here:

| Flag            | What it adds                                                                                                                           |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--fast`        | only the fast checks: page errors, text size and collisions, still windows, tail tiles, smoothness, motion lint on declared animations |
| `--full`        | per-frame box motion lint, object tracks, loudness and peak                                                                            |
| `--taste`       | print the taste lines                                                                                                                  |
| `--lock-length` | write the found length of a `duration="auto"` page into its meta                                                                       |
| `--no-judge`    | skip the stills judge that runs on the three directions (about 25 s)                                                                   |

The three motion checks that the next stage needs are `overshoot-share`, `live-hold` and `seam-variety`. Read [Motion pass](https://vawe.dev/docs/motion-pass).

<Video src="loop/draft.mp4" poster="loop/draft.webp" caption="A draft of the example film colour-sting: half size, 30 fps. Made with vawe dev." />

## What good looks like

* Every acceptance row of the brief is green or has a reason. Read the list with [Checks](https://vawe.dev/docs/quality-gates).
* A range draft shows the fixed seconds only. The whole draft is the one to judge.
* Your page changed after the last draft? The next step is another draft, and the `next:` line says so.

## Common mistakes

| What you see                                            | Why                                                          | What to do                                 |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| The draft has no sound                                  | A range draft is silent, or you passed `--silent`            | Render the whole draft without `--silent`  |
| A fix looks right in the range, wrong in the whole film | The range shows no neighbour cuts                            | Render the whole draft before the critique |
| `readable-text-size` advice                             | The text is too small to read at the size of the draft       | Make the text larger                       |
| `dev` takes long                                        | The stills judge runs once for each change of the directions | Add `--no-judge` while you iterate         |

Never pipe `bin/vawe` into `head`, `tail` or `grep`: the pipe hides the exit code.

## What to read next

  <Card title="Motion pass" href="/docs/motion-pass">
    Stage 7: read every cut.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Critique and fix" href="/docs/critique">
    Look at frames, not only at checks.
  </Card>

{/* sources (vawe d8481cc61):
  dev flags and examples: bin/vawe dev --help (sound, --silent, --lock-length)
  plan status first: AGENTS.md "The proof before you say done"
  out/<name>-draft.mp4 default and range name: bin/vawe dev --help (--out)
  out/<name>.dev.md: harness/live/stage-say.mjs comment ("they are always in out/<name>.dev.md")
  next line: harness/live/stage-say.mjs (SAY.motion)
  key-frame sheet: bin/vawe dev --help; readable-text-size: taste/rules/readable-text-size.md
  pipe warning: AGENTS.md "Hard rules"
  */}