Video is the most expensive way to discover that a character was never settled. A still costs 6 credits to judge; a clip multiplies every unsettled line by every frame it runs. So the order at this desk is fixed: stills first, judged hard, and only a proven still is allowed to move.
Proving a still means three things. Her chair card lines all read correctly at a glance. The composition leaves room to move — space around the subject, a direction left open, no limb already at the frame edge. And the movement you want can be said in one plain sentence: she turns to the chair, she raises the glass, she stands. If the sentence needs the word “and” twice, it is two clips, not one.
When a clip is commissioned, quote first: video is priced by duration and resolution, and the exact figure is printed before you confirm. Judge the result at three viewings — once for identity, once for motion, once for edges — before any finishing credit is discussed.
Stills before the clip is not caution for its own sake. It is arithmetic. Every credit saved on an unproven clip is a credit that can be spent on the frame that fronts the pack.