diff --git a/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.test.ts b/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.test.ts
index 486b1359233..0880ffe99e2 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.test.ts
@@ -275,6 +275,35 @@ describe("createRuntimeStartTimeResolver", () => {
       expect(resolver.resolveStartForElement(video)).toBe(26);
     });
 
+    it("resolves a reference inside the referencing clip's own composition", () => {
+      const mount = (hostId: string, start: string) => {
+        const host = document.createElement("div");
+        host.id = hostId;
+        host.setAttribute("data-composition-id", "card");
+        host.setAttribute("data-start", start);
+        host.setAttribute("data-duration", "2");
+        document.body.appendChild(host);
+
+        const first = document.createElement("div");
+        first.id = "first";
+        first.setAttribute("data-start", "0");
+        first.setAttribute("data-duration", "1");
+        host.appendChild(first);
+
+        const second = document.createElement("div");
+        second.setAttribute("data-start", "first");
+        second.setAttribute("data-duration", "1");
+        host.appendChild(second);
+        return second;
+      };
+      const secondInA = mount("card-a", "0");
+      const secondInB = mount("card-b", "2");
+
+      const resolver = createRuntimeStartTimeResolver({});
+      expect(resolver.resolveStartForElement(secondInA)).toBe(1);
+      expect(resolver.resolveStartForElement(secondInB)).toBe(3);
+    });
+
     it("returns fallback when reference target not found", () => {
       const el = document.createElement("div");
       el.setAttribute("data-start", "nonexistent");
diff --git a/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.ts b/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.ts
index 28c4b3d19b4..e6ecf1f906b 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/runtime/startResolver.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,18 @@ export function createRuntimeStartTimeResolver(params: {
   const durationCache = new WeakMap<Element, number | null>();
   const visiting = new Set<Element>();
 
-  const findReferenceTarget = (refId: string): Element | null => {
+  const compositionScopeOf = (element: Element): Element | null =>
+    (element.hasAttribute("data-composition-id") ? element.parentElement : element)?.closest(
+      "[data-composition-id]",
+    ) ?? null;
+
+  const findReferenceTarget = (refId: string, from: Element): Element | null => {
+    const scope = compositionScopeOf(from);
+    if (scope) {
+      for (const candidate of scope.querySelectorAll("[id]")) {
+        if (candidate.id === refId && compositionScopeOf(candidate) === scope) return candidate;
+      }
+    }
     const byId = doc.getElementById(refId);
     if (byId) return byId;
     return (
@@ -135,7 +146,7 @@ export function createRuntimeStartTimeResolver(params: {
       // Negative when a host's in-point is past its start; the host's slot cuts that part.
       return resolveHostOffsetForElement(element, fallback) + Math.max(0, expression.value);
     }
-    const target = findReferenceTarget(expression.refId);
+    const target = findReferenceTarget(expression.refId, element);
     if (!target) return fallback;
     const targetStart = resolveStartForElementInternal(target, 0);
     const targetDuration = resolveDurationForElement(target) ?? 0;
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameExtractor.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameExtractor.test.ts
index 442e77035ab..4ac7a391c2b 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameExtractor.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameExtractor.test.ts
@@ -872,6 +872,21 @@ describe("parseVideoElements", () => {
     expect(videos.find((v) => v.id === "main")?.start).toBe(9);
   });
 
+  it("resolves a reference inside its own composition when another composition reuses the id", () => {
+    const videos = parseVideoElements(
+      '<div data-composition-id="main">' +
+        '<div data-composition-id="scene-a" data-start="0" data-duration="4">' +
+        '<div id="intro" data-start="0" data-duration="2"></div>' +
+        "</div>" +
+        '<div data-composition-id="scene-b" data-start="4" data-duration="4">' +
+        '<div id="intro" data-start="0" data-duration="3"></div>' +
+        '<video id="clip" src="b.mp4" data-start="intro" data-duration="1"></video>' +
+        "</div>" +
+        "</div>",
+    );
+    expect(videos.find((v) => v.id === "clip")?.start).toBe(3);
+  });
+
   it("falls back to 0 (never NaN) for an unknown reference target", () => {
     const videos = parseVideoElements(
       '<video id="orphan" src="a.mp4" data-start="does-not-exist" data-duration="5"></video>',
diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.test.ts b/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d53cb5812f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveReferencedStart, type RefResolverEl } from "./referenceResolver.js";
+
+describe("resolveReferencedStart", () => {
+  it("still resolves through an adapter that only implements getAttribute", () => {
+    const element = (attrs: Record<string, string>): RefResolverEl => ({
+      getAttribute: (name) => attrs[name] ?? null,
+    });
+    const intro = element({ id: "intro", "data-start": "1", "data-duration": "3" });
+    const clip = element({ id: "clip", "data-start": "intro + 1" });
+    const doc = {
+      getElementById: (id: string) => (id === "intro" ? intro : null),
+      querySelector: () => null,
+    };
+    expect(resolveReferencedStart(doc, clip, new Map(), new Set())).toBe(5);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.ts b/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.ts
index 6679ed0bc53..ec449f170ae 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.ts
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/referenceResolver.ts
@@ -6,14 +6,38 @@ import { parseNumeric, parseStartExpression } from "./compositionContract.js";
 /** Minimal structural DOM shape the reference resolver needs. */
 export interface RefResolverEl {
   getAttribute(name: string): string | null;
+  readonly parentElement?: RefResolverEl | null;
+  closest?(selector: string): RefResolverEl | null;
+  querySelectorAll?(selector: string): Iterable<RefResolverEl>;
 }
 export interface RefResolverDoc {
   getElementById(id: string): RefResolverEl | null;
   querySelector(selector: string): RefResolverEl | null;
 }
 
-// By `id`, then `data-composition-id`. The reference grammar allows only `[A-Za-z0-9_.:-]`, so no CSS.escape.
-function findReferenceTargetEl(doc: RefResolverDoc, refId: string): RefResolverEl | null {
+function compositionScopeOf(el: RefResolverEl): RefResolverEl | null {
+  return (
+    (el.getAttribute("data-composition-id") !== null ? el.parentElement : el)?.closest?.(
+      "[data-composition-id]",
+    ) ?? null
+  );
+}
+
+// By `id` in the clip's own composition, then document-wide by `id`, then `data-composition-id`.
+// The reference grammar allows only `[A-Za-z0-9_.:-]`, so no CSS.escape.
+function findReferenceTargetEl(
+  doc: RefResolverDoc,
+  refId: string,
+  from: RefResolverEl,
+): RefResolverEl | null {
+  const scope = compositionScopeOf(from);
+  if (scope) {
+    for (const candidate of scope.querySelectorAll?.("[id]") ?? []) {
+      if (candidate.getAttribute("id") === refId && compositionScopeOf(candidate) === scope) {
+        return candidate;
+      }
+    }
+  }
   return doc.getElementById(refId) ?? doc.querySelector(`[data-composition-id="${refId}"]`);
 }
 
@@ -40,7 +64,7 @@ export function resolveReferencedStart(
       startCache.set(el, value);
       return value;
     }
-    const target = findReferenceTargetEl(doc, expression.refId);
+    const target = findReferenceTargetEl(doc, expression.refId, el);
     if (!target) {
       startCache.set(el, 0);
       return 0;
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/session.timings.test.ts b/packages/sdk/src/session.timings.test.ts
index c6ce94fa3ce..5677e8da96b 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/session.timings.test.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/session.timings.test.ts
@@ -224,8 +224,8 @@ describe("getElementTimings — relative data-start references", () => {
 
   it("resolves a colliding bare id to the TOP-LEVEL match, not a same-scope sibling", async () => {
     // Bare ids have no scope syntax — resolveScoped's bare-id rule prefers the
-    // canonical top-level match when one exists, same as the runtime's own (also
-    // global, not scope-aware) resolver. Both the outer document AND the sub-comp
+    // canonical top-level match when one exists. The runtime's `id` lookup prefers
+    // the clip's own composition instead. Both the outer document AND the sub-comp
     // author an element with the SAME bare id "hf-intro" — a genuine collision.
     const html = `
       <!DOCTYPE html><html><body>
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/session.ts b/packages/sdk/src/session.ts
index 86d096126d1..780e0e2a93e 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/session.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/session.ts
@@ -381,9 +381,9 @@ class CompositionImpl implements Composition {
       this._gsapLabelCache = scripts.length ? { scripts: [...scripts], labels: allLabels } : null;
     }
 
-    // refId remains a bare global id, matching runtime resolution. The shared
-    // contract owns parsing, canonical duration preference, clamping, and
-    // legacy data-end compatibility; this adapter only supplies document lookup.
+    // refId resolves as a bare hf-id (top level first), unlike the runtime's
+    // composition-scoped `id` lookup. The shared contract owns parsing, canonical
+    // duration preference, clamping, and legacy data-end; this adapter only supplies lookup.
     const timingCache = new Map<Element, ClipTiming>();
     const visiting = new Set<Element>();
     const resolveTiming = (el: Element): ClipTiming => {