aditazzz

Videos TED Talk, on My Laptop Screen

TED Talk, on My Laptop Screen

I asked Ted if the file was ready. He stepped back from his webcam, somebody turned on dark mode, everybody's camera went off, and my calendar crashed. Our standup, told entirely on my laptop screen. 💻

Watch on YouTube · 2:44 · video by Claude Opus 5.5 ·

The code behind it

Every frame of this video is drawn by a Python program. This is the heart of it, from scene.py, line 515.

songs/ted-talk-screenlife/scene.py 
def render_frame(t, W=1920, H=1080, fi=0):
    vert = H > W
    S = state(t, vert)
    cam = make_cam(t, W, H)
    img = np.zeros((H, W, 3), F32)
    AP.desktop(img, cam, S)
    AP.desktop_items(img, cam, S)
    AP.huddle(img, cam, S)
    AP.notes(img, cam, S)
    AP.calendar(img, cam, S)
    for d in S.dialogs: AP.dialog(img, cam, S, d)
    for m in S.menus: AP.menu(img, cam, S, m)
    if S.menus and S.menus[0]["k"] > 0.5 and t > T_NOEND + 0.2:
        AP.tooltip(img, cam, S, B_LEAVE[0], B_LEAVE[1] - 22 - 16 - 2 * 40 - 4, "Only Ted can end it", 0)
    AP.dm_window(img, cam, S)
    AP.menubar(img, cam, S)
    AP.dock(img, cam, S)
    AP.notifications(img, cam, S)
    U.cursor(img, cam, S.cursor[0], S.cursor[1], 1.0, 1.0 - S.lid, S.click)
    # the lid closes: the screen goes dark
    if S.lid > 0:
        img *= 1 - S.lid
        yy = np.linspace(0, 1, H, dtype=F32)[:, None, None]
        img += (0.06 * S.lid * (1 - S.lid) * 4) * (1 - yy) * np.array([0.6, 0.7, 1.0], F32)
    lyrics(img, t, W, H)
    if not C.STATE["clean"]:
        C.subscribe_pill(img, t, W, H, T_PILL, 5.0)
        C.end_screen(img, t, W, H, T_END, DUR - T_END, "It's always a Ted talk.", sub_line="Subscribe for a new song every week",
                     title="TED Talk, screenlife", accent=U.hexc("e0352b"))
    return finish(img, t, fi)
    ...

Read all 1,989 lines on GitHub. If you use it, credit aditazzz and link the video.

What you see

The whole song plays out on my laptop screen, like a screenlife film. The standup is a video call and Ted is the host. My question sits in the chat while he answers it with a question, and four minutes in the meeting timer says it all. At "so — stepping back" he literally steps back from his webcam, somebody dims the lights (dark mode), everybody sits down (cameras off), and his virtual background turns into a keynote stage. He shares eighteen minutes of blank slides, a photo of his father fishing, a loading circle for circling back and a picture of himself at seven in the rain. I keep a tally of every "so" and every "right?", get buzzword bingo, and watch my calendar crash. At "Ted. This is a standup." I unmute: eight people, fifteen minutes, Ted has used six, and Dana, who left two years ago, is a ghost in her tile now. Nobody can end the meeting, the host has turned off Q&A, and when he finally takes it offline, my message to him can't be delivered.

Files

FileLinesWhat it draws
apps.py628The apps on her laptop: the desktop, the meeting app (Huddle), its chat / people / Q&A panel, Notes, Calendar, notifications and dialogs. All drawn from a state object S (see scene.state).
avatars.py318The people in the video tiles: flat, front-facing illustrations in their home offices.
scene.py594TED Talk, as screenlife: the whole song happens on her laptop screen.
thumb.py99Thumbnails + Short cover for TED Talk (Screenlife).
ui.py350A small vector UI kit for the laptop desktop: rounded rectangles, text, icons and shadows in desktop units (the screen is 1280 × 720), drawn through a camera so everything stays crisp at any zoom.

By the numbers

  • 2:41 long, 9,834 frames rendered (16:9 and 9:16, 30 fps)
  • 57 lyric lines and 274 words synced to the vocals, 144 BPM
  • 6 Shorts and Reels cut from it

Lyrics

Words and music by aditazzz.

Verse

He doesn't answer questions.
He responds to them.
There's a difference and you'll feel it
about four minutes in.
I asked him if the file was ready.
He said, so — stepping back.
Somebody dim the lights,
everybody sit down.

Chorus

It's a Ted talk.
Eighteen minutes, no slides, no point.
There's a story about his father.
There's a pause he thinks is powerful.
It's a Ted talk.
He'll circle back to what I asked
right after the part
where he was young
and nobody believed in him.

Verse

He starts every sentence with so.
He ends every thought with right?
He says, the real question is,
about the question I just asked.
He said journey. He said unlock.
He said, let me tell you a story,
and I watched my calendar
give up.

Chorus

It's a Ted talk.
Eighteen minutes, no slides, no point.
There's a story about his father.
There's a pause he thinks is powerful.
It's a Ted talk.
He'll circle back to what I asked
right after the part
where he was young
and nobody believed in him.

Bridge

Ted.
This is a standup.
It is fifteen minutes
for eight people.
You have used six.
Dana had a hard stop.
Dana has had a hard stop
for two years.
Dana is a ghost now, Ted.
You did that.

Final chorus

It's a Ted talk.
Nobody scheduled it.
Nobody can end it.
There's no Q and A,
because there's no A,
because there was never a Q.
It's a Ted talk.
It's always a Ted talk.

Outro

Anyway — happy to take this offline.
He says.
Having taken it offline.
Into a place
none of us can reach.