# Slopmotion — feedback log for Kevin

Running log of reactions while using Slopmotion, to hand back to Kevin. Be specific
and kind: what delighted, what confused, what broke, what we wished existed. Date every
entry; note the version/build if known.

Format per entry:
- **[YYYY-MM-DD] [build?]** — context (what we were trying to do)
  - 👍 loved: …
  - 🤔 confusing: …
  - 🐛 broke: … (repro steps)
  - ✨ wish: …

---

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## 2026-07-29 — the renderer exists and runs end to end

First actual render: 8 s of take 94 (the 2026-07-29 OPAL practice), liquid-metal
playset, glitch/rgbDelay/liquix/slowmo. Output is a structurally correct vertical
reel — 1080x1920 H.264 + AAC, audio in sync with the visuals that react to it.

**The open quality gate is FRAME RATE, and it is environmental, not a design flaw.**
Measured on this machine while the rig was up:

    swiftshader, 1080x1920   7.0 fps   (page rendered 60 frames in 8.4 s)
    --use-gl=egl (hw), same  1.1 fps   under load 12.5
    swiftshader, 540x960     1.1 fps   under load 12.5

The second and third numbers are not a verdict on hardware GL or on resolution — they
were taken with load average at 12.5 (Pulsar burning a core from the #7 marker leak,
Ardour at 22%, scsynth live). They measure the machine, not the backend. **Re-measure
on a quiet machine before concluding anything about GL.** Getting this wrong in the
other direction is how a tool acquires a permanent false workaround.

30 fps is the target; ffmpeg currently duplicates frames up to CFR, so motion is
choppy while audio and structure are correct.

Not attempted tonight, deliberately: a sustained software-GL render is a CPU load
test, and those do not run at night on this machine while the rig is up.
