A video generation system used a text rendering pipeline that synchronized spoken words with visual formatting. However, a glitch caused the first word of code paragraphs to initially render on the wrong line before jumping to the correct position after newline processing, creating a visual artifact.

Issue

The first word of code paragraphs appeared on the same line as preceding text before visually ‘hopping’ to the correct new line after newline character processing. This created an unnatural visual disruption during playback.

Culprit

Timing overlaps between visual-only characters (like newlines) and spoken characters resulted in the rendering engine processing the spoken word’s timing first, causing premature placement of code words on the incorrect line. Specifically:

The start time of a code word (e.g., ‘def’) could begin before the end time of the preceding newline, causing misalignment.
The rendering engine prioritized the spoken word’s timing over visual formatting, leading to the incorrect initial placement.

Solution

Timing Overlap Correction

A correction algorithm was implemented to enforce strict sequential ordering of character timings:

Linear Pass: Processed character timings in a linear pass to detect and correct overlaps.
Sequential Enforcement: Ensured no character started before the previous character ended, eliminating timing conflicts.
Duration Preservation: Maintained original character durations while shifting start times to eliminate overlaps.
Performance Efficiency: Achieved O(n) time complexity with minimal memory overhead.

Result: Code paragraphs now render correctly on new lines without visual artifacts, ensuring all character animations respect strict temporal ordering.