Recreate a video ad as a JavaScript animation
The author had Claude recreate a downloaded ad video as a pure JavaScript animation with the original audio, working autonomously with ffmpeg in under an hour.
Done with a custom-built or unnamed agent
- What they did
- The author downloaded a ChatGPT ad from YouTube, extracted its audio, and gave Claude (Opus 5.5) access to ffmpeg. A prompt asked for a pure JavaScript recreation using the same audio, with subtle animations captured and high production value. The author left and told it to work autonomously until done.
- How it went
- It finished in under an hour in one go. The only visible difference from the original was the logo at the end of the video.
- Worth knowing
- The prompt stressed quality, asked the agent to work autonomously, and supplied both the video and audio files; the author says this was an experiment and the original belongs to OpenAI.
Try it yourself with Claude Code
I have a video file at [path to ad video]. Use ffmpeg to analyze its frames and audio, then recreate it as a pure JavaScript animation in a single HTML file, keeping the original audio track in sync. Work on your own and compare against the original as you go. Stop when I can open the HTML file in a browser and it matches the video's look and timing, and do not upload or publish anything.
Source: HN · Oct 3, 2026
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