Camera Overlay Grammar

This guide documents the secondary NERV visual family used for footage annotation, subject identification, and dramatic status overlays. It sits beside the stricter control-room panel system and should be used intentionally rather than as the default frame language.

When To Use It

• ▶Use it for camera footage overlays, subject lockups, broadcast-like annotations, and dramatic status plates.
• ▶Use it when a component should feel attached to a signal feed or tactical frame rather than to a panel chassis.
• ▶Avoid it for generic cards, buttons, navigation, or standard inspection surfaces.

Core Markers

• ▶Rounded double contours instead of hard-edged panel frames.
• ▶Hot orange, red, cyan, or green labels with CRT-like glow.
• ▶Dense stacked titling: metadata, subject line, then operational detail.
• ▶Small live/status cues and crosshair marks that read like a captured feed.
• ▶Localized softness only inside the plaque; the surrounding UI stays rigid.

Side-By-Side Read

Composition Rules

• ▶Keep the overlay compact. It should annotate the surface, not replace the whole surface.
• ▶Attach labels to an edge or corner bias when possible; avoid floating centered cards.
• ▶Prefer one dominant title and one metadata line over long text blocks.
• ▶If glow is used, keep it local to the plate and let the rest of the screen stay dark and dry.
• ▶Rounded corners belong to the plate itself, not to the entire surrounding UI.

Public Components Using This Grammar

• ▶Card can opt into this family with rounded; variant="video" is the orange footage palette, not the switch that enables the rounded plaque.
• ▶Pattern Alert uses it for target identification and signal metadata.
• ▶Pilot Card uses it for subject register plates and relay labels.
• ▶Status Stamp uses it for dramatic bordered alert plaques.