diff --git a/marketing/product-film/scripts/capture-video.mjs b/marketing/product-film/scripts/capture-video.mjs
index fce0571..64c183d 100644
--- a/marketing/product-film/scripts/capture-video.mjs
+++ b/marketing/product-film/scripts/capture-video.mjs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { newestWebm, webmToMp4, probeSeconds, secondsToFrames } from "./lib/reco
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const ROOT = join(__dirname, "..");
-const BASE_URL = "http://localhost:5173";
+const BASE_URL = process.env.FILM_BASE_URL || "http://localhost:5173";
 const FPS = 30;
 const VIEWPORT = { width: 1920, height: 1080 };
 
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ async function main() {
       deviceScaleFactor: 1, // recordVideo records CSS px; keep 1 for exact 1080p
       recordVideo: { dir: tmpVideoDir, size: VIEWPORT },
     });
+    const tCtx = Date.now(); // recording starts at context creation; measure the lead-in
     await context.addInitScript("try{localStorage.setItem('theme','dark')}catch(e){}");
     await context.addInitScript(CURSOR_INIT_SCRIPT);
     const page = await context.newPage();
@@ -61,7 +62,8 @@ async function main() {
     }
     await page.waitForTimeout(800);
 
-    console.log(`▶ recording ${clip.id} (${clip.role}) ...`);
+    const leadInSec = Math.max(0, (Date.now() - tCtx) / 1000 - 0.3); // trim login+nav, keep 0.3s pad
+    console.log(`▶ recording ${clip.id} (${clip.role}) ... (trimming ${leadInSec.toFixed(1)}s lead-in)`);
     await scene(page, cursor, {
       baseUrl: BASE_URL,
       spaNavigate,
@@ -73,7 +75,7 @@ async function main() {
     await context.close(); // flush the .webm
     const webm = await newestWebm(tmpVideoDir);
     const mp4 = join(outDir, `${clip.id}.mp4`);
-    await webmToMp4(webm, mp4, FPS);
+    await webmToMp4(webm, mp4, FPS, leadInSec);
     await rm(tmpVideoDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
 
     const seconds = await probeSeconds(mp4);
diff --git a/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/cursor.js b/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/cursor.js
index 6575dfd..0b376ab 100644
--- a/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/cursor.js
+++ b/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/cursor.js
@@ -16,42 +16,44 @@ export function easeSteps(from, to, steps) {
 
 // Page-side script: appends a pointer element and exposes window.__cursor*.
 // pointer-events:none so it never blocks real clicks. Injected via addInitScript.
+// High-visibility CSS cursor (no SVG/innerHTML): a brand-blue disc with a white border,
+// a dark contrast ring, and a glow — visible on dark, light, and busy map backgrounds.
+// A bold yellow ring expands on every click. Starts centered so it's never stuck at 0,0.
 export const CURSOR_INIT_SCRIPT = `
 (() => {
   if (window.__cursorEl) return;
-  const el = document.createElement('div');
-  el.id = '__film_cursor';
-  Object.assign(el.style, {
-    position: 'fixed', left: '0', top: '0', width: '22px', height: '22px',
-    marginLeft: '-4px', marginTop: '-4px', zIndex: '2147483647',
-    pointerEvents: 'none', transition: 'transform 0.04s linear',
-    background: 'transparent',
+  const dot = document.createElement('div');
+  dot.id = '__film_cursor';
+  Object.assign(dot.style, {
+    position: 'fixed', left: '0', top: '0', width: '30px', height: '30px',
+    marginLeft: '-15px', marginTop: '-15px', borderRadius: '50%',
+    background: 'rgba(11,95,255,0.92)', border: '3px solid #ffffff',
+    boxShadow: '0 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.6), 0 0 18px 5px rgba(11,95,255,0.9)',
+    zIndex: '2147483647', pointerEvents: 'none', willChange: 'transform',
+    transition: 'transform 0.03s linear', transform: 'translate(960px,540px)',
   });
-  el.innerHTML =
-    "<svg width='22' height='22' viewBox='0 0 22 22'><path d='M2 2 L2 17 L6 13 L9 20 L12 19 L9 12 L15 12 Z' fill='white' stroke='#0B5FFF' stroke-width='1.5'/></svg>";
-  document.documentElement.appendChild(el);
+  document.documentElement.appendChild(dot);
   const ring = document.createElement('div');
   Object.assign(ring.style, {
-    position: 'fixed', left: '0', top: '0', width: '34px', height: '34px',
-    marginLeft: '-17px', marginTop: '-17px', borderRadius: '50%',
-    border: '2px solid rgba(11,95,255,0.9)', zIndex: '2147483646',
-    pointerEvents: 'none', opacity: '0', transform: 'scale(0.4)',
-    transition: 'opacity 0.3s, transform 0.3s',
+    position: 'fixed', left: '0', top: '0', width: '30px', height: '30px',
+    marginLeft: '-15px', marginTop: '-15px', borderRadius: '50%',
+    border: '4px solid rgba(255,209,0,0.95)', boxShadow: '0 0 10px 2px rgba(255,209,0,0.6)',
+    zIndex: '2147483646', pointerEvents: 'none', opacity: '0',
+    transform: 'translate(960px,540px) scale(0.5)',
   });
   document.documentElement.appendChild(ring);
-  window.__cursorEl = el; window.__cursorRing = ring;
+  window.__cursorEl = dot; window.__cursorRing = ring;
   window.__cursorMove = (x, y) => {
-    el.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px)';
-    ring.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px) scale(0.4)';
+    dot.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px)';
   };
   window.__cursorPulse = (x, y) => {
     ring.style.transition = 'none';
-    ring.style.opacity = '0.9';
-    ring.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px) scale(0.4)';
+    ring.style.opacity = '0.95';
+    ring.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px) scale(0.5)';
     requestAnimationFrame(() => {
-      ring.style.transition = 'opacity 0.4s, transform 0.4s';
+      ring.style.transition = 'opacity 0.55s ease-out, transform 0.55s ease-out';
       ring.style.opacity = '0';
-      ring.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px) scale(1.4)';
+      ring.style.transform = 'translate(' + x + 'px,' + y + 'px) scale(2.6)';
     });
   };
 })();
diff --git a/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/record.js b/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/record.js
index 0f80a22..8a2bbef 100644
--- a/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/record.js
+++ b/marketing/product-film/scripts/lib/record.js
@@ -36,10 +36,12 @@ export async function probeSeconds(file) {
 }
 
 // Convert a recorded .webm to a constant-30fps .mp4 (h.264, yuv420p for broad support).
-export async function webmToMp4(webm, mp4, fps = 30) {
+// startSec trims the lead-in (login + navigation) recorded before the scene began.
+export async function webmToMp4(webm, mp4, fps = 30, startSec = 0) {
   await mkdir(dirname(mp4), { recursive: true });
+  const seek = startSec > 0 ? ["-ss", startSec.toFixed(3)] : [];
   await run(ffmpegPath, [
-    "-y", "-i", webm,
+    "-y", ...seek, "-i", webm,
     "-r", String(fps), "-vsync", "cfr",
     "-c:v", "libx264", "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p", "-crf", "18", "-preset", "medium",
     "-an", mp4,
diff --git a/marketing/product-film/scripts/scenes/storm-intel.mjs b/marketing/product-film/scripts/scenes/storm-intel.mjs
index c1e8776..83c5363 100644
--- a/marketing/product-film/scripts/scenes/storm-intel.mjs
+++ b/marketing/product-film/scripts/scenes/storm-intel.mjs
@@ -1,30 +1,69 @@
-// Storm Intel: drop a pin, wait for the REAL storm-history fetch, reveal the panel.
+// Storm Intel — HERO scene (~75s). Full walkthrough that WAITS for each load to finish:
+//   load map+data → drop a pin → wait for the pin's storm history → click a storm EVENT
+//   so it's visualised (polygon) on the map → filter by Hail → widen the date range → hold.
+// This is the rich template the other scenes follow.
 export default async (page, cursor, ctx) => {
-  // Map tiles stream in — let them settle before interacting.
-  await page.waitForTimeout(2500);
+  const dwell = (ms) => page.waitForTimeout(ms);
 
-  // Enable pin-drop mode if there's a toggle (button text "Pin" / aria), else skip.
-  const pinToggle = page.getByRole("button", { name: /pin/i }).first();
+  // 1) Wait for the map AND the storm data to actually finish loading (not a fixed sleep).
+  await page.locator(".leaflet-container").first().waitFor({ state: "visible", timeout: 20000 });
+  // The page shows "Loading storm data..." until events resolve — wait for it to clear.
+  await page
+    .getByText(/loading storm data/i)
+    .first()
+    .waitFor({ state: "hidden", timeout: 20000 })
+    .catch(() => {});
+  await page.waitForLoadState("networkidle").catch(() => {});
+  await dwell(1800); // open on the fully-loaded map
+
+  // 2) Enter pin-drop mode (crosshair / "drop a pin" toggle).
+  const pinToggle = page
+    .getByRole("button", { name: /pin|crosshair|drop a pin/i })
+    .first();
   if (await pinToggle.count()) {
     await cursor.clickLocator(pinToggle);
-    await page.waitForTimeout(400);
+    await dwell(600);
   }
 
-  // Click a point on the map (center-ish). The map container fills the main area.
+  // 3) Drop a pin over central Plano and WAIT for the per-pin storm history to load.
   const map = page.locator(".leaflet-container").first();
   const box = await map.boundingBox();
-  const target = { x: box.x + box.width * 0.5, y: box.y + box.height * 0.5 };
+  const target = { x: box.x + box.width * 0.52, y: box.y + box.height * 0.62 };
+  const waitHistory = page
+    .waitForResponse((r) => /\/api\/storm-history/.test(r.url()), { timeout: 20000 })
+    .catch(() => null);
+  await cursor.click(target.x, target.y, 900);
+  await waitHistory;
+  // Wait for the "Loading..." in the Storm History panel to resolve into real content.
+  await page
+    .getByText(/loading/i)
+    .first()
+    .waitFor({ state: "hidden", timeout: 12000 })
+    .catch(() => {});
+  await dwell(2500); // hold on the populated history panel
 
-  // Drive the real storm-history fetch and wait for it, so the panel fill is on camera.
-  const waitFetch = page
-    .waitForResponse((r) => /\/api\/storm-history/.test(r.url()), { timeout: 15000 })
-    .catch(() => null); // tolerate cached/no-fetch; the pin still renders
-  await cursor.click(target.x, target.y, 800);
-  await waitFetch;
-  await page.waitForTimeout(2500); // hold on the populated panel
+  // 4) Widen the range to 12 Mo FIRST (more history) — do filters before selecting an
+  //    event so we never filter the selected event back off the map.
+  const range12 = page.getByRole("button", { name: /^\s*12\s*mo\s*$/i }).first();
+  if (await range12.count()) {
+    await cursor.clickLocator(range12, 700);
+    await dwell(2500);
+  }
 
-  // Pan the cursor to the populated history panel for emphasis.
-  const panel = page.getByText(/storm history/i).first();
-  if (await panel.count()) await cursor.clickLocator(panel, 700);
-  await page.waitForTimeout(1500);
+  // 5) Click the storm EVENT card (e.g. "S. Plano — Flash Flood") so it draws on the map,
+  //    then HOLD on it — this visualised polygon is the payoff of the scene.
+  //    Event titles use a "Place — Type" format (em-dash); filter chips are bare words —
+  //    so match the em-dash title (fallback: the unique "homes affected" line) to avoid
+  //    accidentally clicking a top-of-page filter chip.
+  let card = page
+    .getByText(/[—–-]\s*(flash\s*flood|flood|hail|tornado|wind|snow)/i)
+    .first();
+  if (!(await card.count())) card = page.getByText(/homes affected/i).first();
+  if (await card.count()) {
+    await cursor.clickLocator(card, 900);
+    await dwell(4000); // let the polygon render + the map fly/zoom to it, then hold
+  }
+
+  // 6) Final hold on the populated, visualised view (event drawn on the map).
+  await dwell(3000);
 };