diff --git a/Services/Encoder/FfmpegEncoder.cs b/Services/Encoder/FfmpegEncoder.cs
index 03dbee4..7352df8 100644
--- a/Services/Encoder/FfmpegEncoder.cs
+++ b/Services/Encoder/FfmpegEncoder.cs
@@ -230,14 +230,35 @@ public sealed class FfmpegEncoder : IFfmpegEncoder
                     OnStderrLine(process, line);
                 }
 
-                var code = process.ExitCode;
-                var stillRunning = false;
-                lock (_gate) stillRunning = IsRunning;
-                if (stillRunning && !_stopRequested && code != 0)
+                // Read the exit code defensively: the stop path disposes the process
+                // while this loop may still be waking (2026-09-01 "No process is
+                // associated with this object" — a cosmetic race that poisoned the log).
+                int exitCode;
+                try
                 {
-                    AppLog.Write($"FFmpeg encoder: subprocess exited unexpectedly ({code})");
-                    _health.LastError = $"FFmpeg exited with code {code}";
-                    ProcessFailed?.Invoke(this, $"FFmpeg exited with code {code}");
+                    exitCode = process.ExitCode;
+                }
+                catch (Exception)
+                {
+                    exitCode = -1;
+                }
+
+                var stillRunning = false;
+                var stopping = false;
+                lock (_gate)
+                {
+                    stillRunning = IsRunning;
+                    stopping = _stopRequested;
+                }
+                if (stillRunning && !stopping)
+                {
+                    // ANY exit we did not ask for is a failure — including code 0.
+                    // The old `code != 0` gate let ffmpeg's clean early exit vanish
+                    // without a word while the pump kept feeding a corpse
+                    // (2026-09-01 first real recording: died at ~0.9s, zero logs).
+                    AppLog.Write($"FFmpeg encoder: subprocess exited unexpectedly (code {exitCode})");
+                    _health.LastError = $"FFmpeg exited with code {exitCode}";
+                    ProcessFailed?.Invoke(this, $"FFmpeg exited with code {exitCode}");
                 }
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
@@ -250,7 +271,17 @@ public sealed class FfmpegEncoder : IFfmpegEncoder
     private void OnStderrLine(IEncoderProcess process, string line)
     {
         var progress = FfmpegProgressParser.TryParse(line);
-        if (progress == null) return;
+        if (progress == null)
+        {
+            // THE EYES: everything ffmpeg says that isn't a progress line — startup
+            // config, warnings, the real reason it quit. Was silently discarded
+            // (2026-09-01: encoder died at ~0.9s, log silent). Truncated so a
+            // \r-choked stats blob can't flood; noise now beats blindness.
+            var text = line.Trim('\r', ' ', '\t');
+            if (text.Length > 0)
+                AppLog.Write($"ffmpeg: {(text.Length > 400 ? text[..400] + "…" : text)}");
+            return;
+        }
 
         var dropped = Math.Max(0, (long)Math.Round(progress.Value.Fps * progress.Value.Duration.TotalSeconds) - progress.Value.Frame);
 
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
index f1ed14f..bb0664d 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
@@ -459,6 +459,26 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
     // preview: webcam by DeviceId, live captures (the background) by CaptureKey,
     // images/background by AssetId. A null frame leaves the element transparent.
     private VideoFrame? ResolveOutputFrame(SceneElement element)
+    {
+        var frame = ResolveOutputFrameCore(element);
+        // Output-side eyes (2026-09-01): preview showed the webcam but the recording
+        // didn't — a null resolver frame silently DROPS the layer. Log once per 5s
+        // per kind so the repro run tells acquire-mismatch from compose-skip.
+        if (frame == null && element is WebcamSceneConfig webcam)
+        {
+            var now = DateTime.UtcNow;
+            if (now - _lastWebcamNullLog >= TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5))
+            {
+                _lastWebcamNullLog = now;
+                AppLog.Write($"Output resolver: webcam '{webcam.WebcamId}' frame is null — layer skipped in composite");
+            }
+        }
+        return frame;
+    }
+
+    private DateTime _lastWebcamNullLog = DateTime.MinValue;
+
+    private VideoFrame? ResolveOutputFrameCore(SceneElement element)
     {
         return element switch
         {