diff --git a/skills/hyperframes/references/beat-direction.md b/skills/hyperframes/references/beat-direction.md
index 04b0e12d..fc460a1a 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes/references/beat-direction.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes/references/beat-direction.md
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@ How to plan and direct individual scenes (beats) in a multi-scene composition. R
 
 ---
 
+## Choose the Register First
+
+Before enriching a composition with decoratives, motion, and narrative arc — identify what energy the content expects and stay inside it. A running-shoes teaser treated as an introspective documentary is clever but wrong. A historical photograph treated with tech-product chrome (ghost watermarks, coord stamps, registration ticks) fights the tone.
+
+Choose the register FIRST, then decide what to enrich.
+
+---
+
 ## Per-Beat Direction
 
 Each beat is a WORLD, not a layout. Before writing CSS specs and GSAP instructions, describe what the viewer EXPERIENCES. The difference between a great storyboard and a mediocre one:
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes/references/video-composition.md b/skills/hyperframes/references/video-composition.md
index e0758eba..9add5552 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes/references/video-composition.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes/references/video-composition.md
@@ -60,3 +60,7 @@ Subtle reads as static at 30fps. Err toward more movement than feels safe.
 - **Anchor to edges.** Pin content to left/top or right/bottom. Centered-and-floating is a web layout pattern.
 - **Split frames.** Data panel left, content right. Top bar with metadata, full-width below. Zone-based layouts over centered stacks.
 - **Structural elements.** Rules, dividers, border panels. They create visual paths and animate well (`scaleX: 0` → `1`).
+
+## Use the Real Subject
+
+If the composition is about a specific, named, real-world artifact — a photograph, painting, company UI, historical event — and that artifact is accessible, use it. Don't abstract it to a placeholder.