Reference B · Templates
Reference
Every fill-in template the chapters print, gathered in the order of a production so that you can find the one you need without remembering the chapter. Each is copied exactly as its chapter prints it, with its own label, and each says which section teaches it.
In this reference
A finder: every template in book order, with its section and its place here
Seven groups, one for each stage of the production: before the camera; stills; motion; voice and speaking faces; music and sound; edit, finish and delivery; running the production
For every template: the box as its chapter prints it, and the section that teaches it
How to read a template. Square brackets mark what you fill in; a bracket with several words separated by slashes offers a choice. A template carries the label its chapter gave it, usually "written for this book; not run": the shape is the book's, and none has been run. The finished-grade template is the standard; the test-grade template proves a route cheaply and is never the model of a finished frame. The finished-grade models are the labelled examples in the chapters (Reference I lists them). Fill every bracket, or cut the clause, and never paste a template with its brackets. A record template (a shot record, a run record, a ledger row) is for you and the crew, and is never pasted into a prompt.
Two sheets are printed in their chapter as filled examples whose layout is the template (Example 25.1, Example 25.2); they are copied whole, with their labels.
B.0 Which template for which record
Template | Chapter | Section | Here |
One stage of a brief to an assistant | 2 Directing a model in words | B.1 | |
The concept page | 3 The concept | B.1 | |
A scene paragraph | 4 The treatment and the pitch | B.1 | |
The move sentence | 5 Shot design and camera language | B.1 | |
The light element of a finished still | 6 Light, colour and the look | B.1 | |
The world in a still prompt | 7 Production design and realism | B.1 | |
The project decisions card | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The obligations brief | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The shot record | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The run record line | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The spending packet | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The budget estimate | 8 Planning the production | B.1 | |
The anchored still prompt | 10 Identity, references and the world in the frame | B.2 | |
A background written as clusters | 10 Identity, references and the world in the frame | B.2 | |
An edit | 10 Identity, references and the world in the frame | B.2 | |
The finished frame | 11 Nano Banana Pro | B.2 | |
The anchored frame | 11 Nano Banana Pro | B.2 | |
The one-change edit | 11 Nano Banana Pro | B.2 | |
The test frame | 11 Nano Banana Pro | B.2 | |
A labelled brief for a layout-led frame | 12 GPT Image 2.5 | B.2 | |
A transparent element | 12 GPT Image 2.5 | B.2 | |
A bounded edit | 12 GPT Image 2.5 | B.2 | |
An exploration at test grade | 12 GPT Image 2.5 | B.2 | |
The route line | 13 Choosing the route | B.3 | |
The test grade, any tool | 14 The moving shot | B.3 | |
Start and end frames | 14 The moving shot | B.3 | |
A camera device, test grade | 14 The moving shot | B.3 | |
A product move, test grade | 14 The moving shot | B.3 | |
The settings line for a job | 14 The moving shot | B.3 | |
The performance lines of a motion prompt, test grade | 15 Directing performance | B.3 | |
The camera is the shot | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
The action is the shot | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
The test clip | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
The landing is the point | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
The talking plate | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
The one change | 16 Kling | B.3 | |
A clip from a start frame | 17 Seedance 2.5 | B.3 | |
References to video | 17 Seedance 2.5 | B.3 | |
A speaking shot, new performance, English | 17 Seedance 2.5 | B.3 | |
An edit, and an extension | 17 Seedance 2.5 | B.3 | |
The test grade | 17 Seedance 2.5 | B.3 | |
Text to video | 18 Wan 3.0 | B.3 | |
References to video | 18 Wan 3.0 | B.3 | |
A speaking shot, new performance, English | 18 Wan 3.0 | B.3 | |
The test grade | 18 Wan 3.0 | B.3 | |
A clip with its sound | 19 Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3 | B.3 | |
A keyframe move, or a mixed-reference clip | 19 Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3 | B.3 | |
A scratch clip | 19 Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3 | B.3 | |
The route record | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The five-line audition | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The blind score sheet | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The Saudi line packet | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
Two fields for one line | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The dialogue ledger row | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The take-ledger row | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The four voice records | 21 The voice department | B.4 | |
The contract line | 22 The speaking shot | B.4 | |
The picture line of the dialogue-ledger row, with the performance brief | 22 The speaking shot | B.4 | |
The speaking lines of a Seedance motion prompt, finished grade | 22 The speaking shot | B.4 | |
The finished line | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
The test line | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
The dialogue pass | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
A designed voice, and a conversion | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
The sound event | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
The alias rule | 23 ElevenLabs | B.4 | |
The finished-grade talking plate | 24 Sync Lipsync 3 | B.4 | |
The test-grade talking plate | 24 Sync Lipsync 3 | B.4 | |
The pass record, written before the pass | 24 Sync Lipsync 3 | B.4 | |
The spine | 25 Music and sound for a commercial | B.5 | |
The cue sheet for one cue (Example 25.1) | 25 Music and sound for a commercial | B.5 | |
The cream spot, spotted (Example 25.2) | 25 Music and sound for a commercial | B.5 | |
The handoff sheet | 25 Music and sound for a commercial | B.5 | |
The cue's handoff record | 25 Music and sound for a commercial | B.5 | |
The finished cue | 26 Suno | B.5 | |
The test cue | 26 Suno | B.5 | |
Replace Section, Extend, rights line | 26 Suno | B.5 | |
The plan | 27 Eleven Music | B.5 | |
The test prompt | 27 Eleven Music | B.5 | |
Adobe Firefly · sound effect, finished and test grade | 28 Sound-effect and music generators | B.5 | |
Stable Audio 3 · sound effect, finished and test grade | 28 Sound-effect and music generators | B.5 | |
Google Lyria · music cue, finished and test grade | 28 Sound-effect and music generators | B.5 | |
A log line | 29 Editing AI footage, and judging the work | B.6 | |
Reducing a duration | 29 Editing AI footage, and judging the work | B.6 | |
A missing-coverage entry | 29 Editing AI footage, and judging the work | B.6 | |
Arabic captions | 30 Finishing, captions and graphics | B.6 | |
The graphics route decision | 30 Finishing, captions and graphics | B.6 | |
The edit folder | 31 Handing over | B.6 | |
The two slates | 31 Handing over | B.6 | |
The handoff and its verification | 31 Handing over | B.6 | |
The editability table | 31 Handing over | B.6 | |
Finished-grade template — three requests | 32 Premiere Pro and the finishing tools | B.6 | |
Test-grade template — one interval, one setting | 32 Premiere Pro and the finishing tools | B.6 | |
A finished-grade request | 33 Higgsfield | B.7 | |
The run record line | 33 Higgsfield | B.7 | |
A test-grade route check | 33 Higgsfield | B.7 | |
The approval line and the ledger line | 34 Money, rights and terms | B.7 | |
The name-anchor decision | 34 Money, rights and terms | B.7 | |
The rights line | 34 Money, rights and terms | B.7 |
B.1 Before the camera
Chapter 2 · Directing a model in words
Template: one stage of a brief to an assistant (written for this book; not run)
Role and standing rules: [who the assistant is on this job; the rules that hold at every stage, such as "never change a signed frame" and "return any conflict to me as a decision"].
This stage: [the one task of this stage, and nothing else].
Inputs you may use: [the treatment, the shot list, the signed frames, the locked takes].
Form of the answer: [the table and its columns; each paste-ready prompt in its own block; your notes kept separately and labelled as notes].
Before you hand it back: [the criteria set now]. Report each as pass or fail, and name what is missing.
Then stop and wait for my approval before the next stage.Taught in 2.10 When the reader is an assistant.
Chapter 3 · The concept
Template: the concept page (written for this book; not run)
Premise: [one sentence: what happens]
Insight: [one sentence: the truth, with its tension]
Enemy: [the feeling, habit or date the brand stands against]
Refusal: [one sentence: what the category does that this will not]
Brand role: [one sentence: what the brand does, and why no other brand could]
Structure: [six to eight beats, tension → device → release]
Visual world: [the places, surfaces and people, in a few specific lines]
Sound world: [what is heard first; where music enters, or does not]
Tone anchor: [one filmable instant that shows how the film plays]
Endings compared: [two or three, and the one chosen]
Protected moments: [what no later version may change]
Why it could fail, and why it could win: [...]
Rejected, and why: [one line each; they do not come back]
Recommendation and strongest alternative: [...]
Questions only the director or the client can answer: [...]Taught in 3.9 The concept page, and handing it on.
Chapter 4 · The treatment and the pitch
Template: a scene paragraph (written for this book; not run)
[Scene number and a short title.] [Where and when, and the light that is actually there.] [Who is in frame, what they wear and its condition, where each sits or stands.] [What happens, as visible events in order: bodies, hands, objects, eyes, what each person does while the other speaks.] [The dialogue, exactly, in the language of the film, where it is spoken: «…».] [What the room sounds like.] [What has visibly changed by the end of the scene, and the state it hands to the next.]
Voice-over: [the voice-over for this scene, exactly, in the film's language; or "none"].
On camera this means: [lens behaviour, distance and height, the law of movement, the light, the surfaces, the register of performance, the sound.]Taught in 4.4 The scene breakdown.
Chapter 5 · Shot design and camera language
Template: the move sentence (template; not run). Fill every bracket or cut the clause; a locked shot replaces the whole sentence with "The camera is locked."
The camera [verb] [speed in words], with [mechanism: a dolly's rolling weight / a slider's damping / a hand-operated head], from [start framing] toward [destination], and by [the end / a named beat] it has settled on [landing framing] and holds.Taught in 5.4 The move.
Chapter 6 · Light, colour and the look
Template: the light element of a finished still (written for this book; not run). It follows the shape of Examples 6.1 and 6.2.
[Source 1: what it is, where it is relative to the camera, hard or soft] at approximately [Kelvin]K [what it does to a named surface]; [source 2, the same five things, if the scene has one]; [what falls to dark, against a landmark]. [The fill: the surface that causes it], which is why [the feature it keeps readable]; contrast near [ratio]:1, [its reason], so the far cheek [what it keeps and what it loses]. [What keeps its texture]; [what may clip].Taught in 6.8 Building a look, and briefing it in words.
Chapter 7 · Production design and realism
Template: the world in a still prompt (written for this book; not run)
[The place, its era and its class, in one line]. [Three or four material families, and what the place is not made of]. [Wear at the touch points, each by place]. [Two or three specific marks of use]. [Objects grouped by one person's habits, with one support prop beside the hero object]. [What the edges of the frame show of the world beyond]. [One exclusion against the genre's cliché].Taught in 7.6 The world.
Chapter 8 · Planning the production
Template: the project decisions card (written for this book; not run)
Project decisions · [project] · [date] · stated by [director]; agreed with [client]
Speaking shots: exact take / new performance / by class [say which] · voices: [language and variety; actor or ElevenLabs] · captions follow: [take / clip]
Delivery: versions [aspect · length · frame rate · resolution] · loudness: [named specification, in the delivery owner's words] · captions [languages] · safe zones [ ] · files [codec and container, as named]
Rights class: [what the job contains: neutral synthetic / client-supplied / released talent / real person / voice / brand / licensed music or footage] · uploads allowed: [ ] · real-name likeness: [off / on, for whom, released] · voice source: [ ]
Look: [light worlds and sources · contrast ratio · palette proportions and protected brand colour · finish as capture behaviour · delivery texture, added in post · references, each with what it gives and what it does not]Taught in 8.2 Decisions made at the start of every project.
Template: the obligations brief (written for this book; not run)
Read [the treatment] and [the script]. List the audience information that must survive the cut, in the order it becomes meaningful: [the reveal], [the reaction that proves it], [the product evidence], [the brand obligation]. The film is [runtime] at [aspect]; the exact copy is [lines]; brand time is [seconds]. If the footage cannot meet all of these, name the conflict and one real alternative. Then propose two structures from the logged footage that differ in when the audience learns [the key fact], and say what each changes emotionally. Keep the approved dialogue exactly. Do not choose a structure by average shot length or by music beats alone.Taught in 8.3 Obligations before footage.
Template: the shot record (written for this book; not run)
[SHOT ID] · [scene] · [what it is, in a few words] · track: [keyframe-first / direct-to-motion]
INTENTION: story intent · emotional beat · goal of the shot (never pasted into a prompt)
PROMPT: [the exact paragraph, pasted from its file]
PARAMS: aspect [the project master] · resolution [ ] · model and mode [ ] · references attached, by name and in order [ ] · for a shot that moves, the route line [Chapter 13: invariant · operation · grade · model and mode · inputs in order · settings · reason · fallback]
REFERENCE STRATEGY: [which anchors or sheets this call uses, and what the frame becomes an anchor for]
CONTINUITY ANCHORS: [three to five locked facts this frame must reproduce]
SOURCE-LOCK CHECK: [the must-show items, ticked]
ANTI-AI WATCH: [two to four specific risks for this frame]
MID-ACTION STATUS: [the frozen systems and how far into the action each is; or STATIC, with the reason. Also written into the prompt, as positions]
REVISION LEVERS: [two or three edits planned before the first attempt]
DECLARED BAND: [about N words, and why]
Also kept here, never pasted: obligation served · start state and the motion it owes · character core and performance note (Chapter 15) · planning numbers with their reasons · palette plan and declared exceptions (Chapter 6) · sound owner (Chapter 21)Taught in 8.6 The shot record.
Template: the run record line (written for this book; not run)
[shot]_a[attempt] · asked [id · settings] · recorded [id · settings, as the record shows them] · billed "[ledger label]" · host and interface ·
inputs: [role → what it must not give → local file · checksum · upload or job id] · parent: [start frame or earlier candidate] ·
prompt v[n] (exact text kept) · job [id] · submitted [time] · quote [x] · charged [from the ledger] · elapsed [request to file] ·
file [name · checksum] · probe [w×h · fps · frames · seconds · audio] · accepted interval [in, out) at [fps] ·
defect class [none, or a class from the shot record's watch list] · disposition [selected | rejected | held] · why [one line] ·
verdict [accepted / rejected: what failed / pending] · tech read [anyone else's technical observation; never a verdict] ·
origin [generated | upscaled | painted over | composited | practical | client-supplied | stock]Taught in 8.7 The run record.
Template: the spending packet (written for this book; not run; the eleven fields of the packet, with an end date added)
Spending packet · [project] · batch [name]
Purpose [the shots, and what the batch must show] · Exact route [model id, mode, host, resolution, length]
Rights class [what every input is; the approval and its scope]
Conditions [what differs between calls] · Outputs per condition [n] · Retry allowance [n, and which ladder steps it spends]
Current live debit [the price read or quoted on the day, with the date] · Maximum spend [the cap] · Ends [date, no later than the next reset]
Expected evidence [what the result must show to count: probe, contact sheet, the director's eye and ear] · Stop conditions [events that end the batch]
Approver [name] · approved [date, scope, in the director's words]Taught in 8.10 The spending packet and the budget.
Template: the budget estimate (written for this book; not run)
Shot [code] · route [model, mode, resolution, length] · planning price [credits, dated] × attempts allowed [n] = [ ]
Stills: [number] frames × [price, dated] × attempts allowed [n] = [ ]
Lip-sync passes: [number] × [last charged price, dated] = [ ]
Tests before the job: [what each settles] = [ ]
Repair, edit and finishing time: [credits or hours] = [ ]
Total: [ ] · credits available before the next reset: [ ] · approval to ask for: [cap, scope, end date]Taught in 8.10 The spending packet and the budget.
B.2 Stills
Chapter 10 · Identity, references and the world in the frame
Template: the anchored still prompt (written for this book; not run)
Image 1 is [name]'s master face: take [face, hair, skin]; take nothing of its [ground, light, pose]. Image 2 is [name] in [the state]: take [the garment: cut, colour, wear, build]; take no face from it. Image 3 is [the place]: take [layout, surfaces]; take nothing of its [camera position, light state, people]. [The identity clause, pasted from the record: the asymmetries first, the hairline, the skin, the detail anchor, the wardrobe now.] [Only if needed: Now: what differs from a reference, replacing what it shows; what still holds.]
[The frame: the medium, the frozen instant and share of frame, the inventory, the place, the camera and each light with their visible results, the finish, at most five exclusions, and: no overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.]Taught in 10.5 The manifest and the anchored prompt.
Template: a background written as clusters (written for this book; not run)
Behind them, soft with distance, [clusters as positions: two men facing each other over a crate, one hand raised; a woman with shopping bags half-turned into a doorway; a boy on a bicycle side-on at the far end], faces too small to read.Taught in 10.9 Crowds and extras.
Template: an edit (written for this book; not run)
Image 1 is the approved [frame] and the source of truth for its [composition, camera, pose, light, focus and finish]. [Image 2 is (name)'s master: restate the face, hair and skin in the locked wording.] Change only [the one change, in physical terms: what, and where]. It may move only [its own shadows, contact and occlusion; the folds it makes]. Preserve, unchanged: [each protected region by name: faces, hands, product and label, set, camera, crop, light, grain]. The result reads as the same photographed instant after one change, not a new rendering. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Taught in 10.13 The one-change edit.
Chapter 11 · Nano Banana Pro
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, a frame written from words alone
Template — the finished frame
[1 Medium and purpose: a digital-cinema frame / a photograph, from a (kind of film or campaign), captured how.] [2 Subject and frozen instant: how many, who or what, the phase of every moving system as positions and participles 20 to 40 percent into the action with the evidence of its direction; the subject's share of the frame height and where it sits.] [3 Identity clause, if a person: six to ten fixed facts, asymmetries first, skin facts last.] [4 Wardrobe and props: material, wear and state of everything you will check.] [5 Frame inventory: foreground, midground, background, and what touches or leaves each edge.] [6 Environment: architecture, surfaces, fittings, deliberate wear; any world text with its language, script and wear.] [7 Must-show anchors: the items this frame must show.] [8 Camera: height, distance, angle, lens and stop, each followed by its result.] [9 Light: each source, where it sits, hard or soft, its Kelvin, what it does to a named surface; one contrast ratio.] [10 Atmosphere, only where the air shows.] [11 Finish: the capture, grain by zone, base tone, halation, edge softness, what stays sharp; the color on named surfaces.] [12 Up to five exclusions, then:] no overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, a frame made from pictures, four parts in order
Template — the anchored frame
Image 1 is [name]'s master, [what it is]: take [what]; take nothing of its [ground, light, clothes, pose]. Image 2 is [name] in [state], [what it is]: take [what] only; take nothing of its [ground, light, layout], and no face, because [name]'s face is Image 1's alone.
[Name]: [six to ten fixed facts pasted from the record, asymmetries first, one small unique mark]. Wardrobe now: [state].
Now: [what differs from the pictures]. What still holds: [what is protected].
[The frame: elements 1 to 12 as one paragraph, without the face, which the pictures and the clause carry.]Written for this book · template; not run · a one-change edit of an approved frame
Template — the one-change edit
Image 1 is the approved frame: keep everything in it exactly — [the instant], [the framing and camera position], [the person's face, expression and hair], [both hands and where they rest], [the light and where it falls], [the room and surfaces], the grain — and change only this one thing: [the change]. [Its physical consequence: how light falls on it; what is revealed where something left.] Image 2 is [name]'s master: [face, hair, skin] stay exactly as in Image 2; take nothing of its framing, light or clothes. Nothing else moves or changes. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade, a route or a look proved cheaply
Template — the test frame
[Medium and purpose]: [subject, one action, one place], [one light source and its side], [lens feel]. [Two things that must be visible.] No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Chapter 12 · GPT Image 2.5
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · GPT Image 2.5, a layout-led or text-led frame, from words
Template — a labelled brief for a layout-led frame
Scene: [what the picture is, what it is for, its format; held still or not]. [The place and its materials; the surface kept bare for type; the air, only where it shows]. Subject: [each element and its place in the frame, with its share of the frame height; wardrobe or prop truth; what touches or leaves each edge; what must be visible]. Details: [camera: height, distance, lens and stop, each with its result]. [Each light: source, place, Kelvin, effect on a named surface; one ratio]. [The finish as capture]. [Every quoted word: position, typography, count.] Constraints: [what must stay exact]; [at most five exclusions]; nothing else is written anywhere in the frame; no overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · GPT Image 2.5, transparent background, an element from words
Template — a transparent element
A photographed [element] for compositing in [the film or the card], isolated on a transparent background: [its shape and the instant it is caught, as positions]. [Its material, and the density that holds its colour over black and over white]. It sits in the centre with clear space on all four sides, about [share] of the frame height, touching no edge. The camera is [height, distance, lens and stop, each with its result]. [Each light, with Kelvin and one ratio]. [The finish as capture]. No ground, no cast shadow, no reflection, no [objects it must not carry], no checkerboard pattern, and no overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · GPT Image 2.5, an edit of an approved frame with no signed face
Template — a bounded edit
Edit image 1. Change one thing: [the change, in physical terms]. [The consequences: what the rebuilt surface must match; the shadow or contact that goes or arrives with the change]. Keep [protected region], [protected region] and [the camera, crop, light and colour] exactly as they are. Do not [the substitute you fear]; do not tidy or restyle anything else; no lettering or logos.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade · GPT Image 2.5, Flare, a first look at an idea
Template — an exploration at test grade
[What the picture is and what it is for]. [The subject and its instant, as positions]. [The place in two or three materials]. [The camera in words]. [One named light source and its side]. [Any quoted copy, once, with its place]. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.B.3 Motion
Chapter 13 · Choosing the route
Template: the route line (written for this book; not run. A line for the shot table and the shot record, not a prompt)
Shot [id] · invariant: [what must survive] · operation: [text only / several shots / start frame / start + end / references / keyframes / storyboard / video reference / edit / extension / plate for lip sync] · grade: [finished / test] · model and mode: [tool and mode] · inputs in order: [role: file, version] · settings: [duration, resolution, aspect, sound] · reason: [one line] · fallback: [separate shots / prose cut / post / another tool]Taught in 13.3 The route line.
Chapter 14 · The moving shot
Template: the test grade, any tool (written for this book; not run)
[Who or what moves, and the one thing it does, with its stop.] The camera is locked. [What must not change, by name.] The shot ends on [the composition], held to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Taught in 14.4 The seven elements, in order.
Template: start and end frames (written for this book; not run. Name the frames in the tool's own syntax, N.3)
[Subject and the one event, in one sentence.] The first frame is [the start frame] and the last frame is [the end frame]. [The camera is locked, or its one move]; only [the subject] moves. [The still beat, if any]; then [the eyes leave first]; then [the head or body follows, by the short direct way, with the light crossing]; [the subject] settles [where], and only then [the final action]. [Its orientation held all the way.] [It] holds, still, to the end. Keep [identity, wardrobe, room and light] exactly as in the two frames. [The hygiene line.]Taught in 14.8 Start and end frames.
Template: a camera device, test grade (written for this book; not run)
[The camera's move, its pace tied to the subject], keeping [the subject] in a [shot size] and [what passes behind]. [The subject's action toward a destination already visible]. As [trigger], [the subject stops]; the camera [eases into the landing framing] and settles. [Who or what keeps its shape]. End on [the held landing]. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Taught in 14.9 Camera devices.
Template: a product move, test grade (written for this book; not run)
The camera is locked. [The cause: the turntable carries / her hand turns] [the product] through [a quarter turn / a short slide], [from where to where], then stops cleanly. [Orientation or contact held all the way]. [The parts that keep their shape: cap, shoulders, label]. [How the light behaves on it]. End with [the final position] and hold that composition. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Taught in 14.10 Product moves: rotation, reveal and arrival.
Template: the settings line for a job (settings, not a prompt; written for this book; not run)
tool and mode: [ ] · aspect: [matching the keyframe] · resolution or tier: [draft / judge / deliver] · duration: [the action + its landing + the outgoing hold] · sound: [on / off] · start frame: [file, version] · end frame: [only if the landing is the point]Taught in 14.15 Format, length, resolution, handles and probing.
Chapter 15 · Directing performance
Template: the performance lines of a motion prompt, test grade (written for this book; not run)
[Name] [the task, as an action]. [Cue 1]; [cue 2]; [cue 3, only if the framing shows it]. When [a trigger the viewer sees or hears], [one visible change]. [The listener's task and where the eyes go.] The shot ends with [the held state].Taught in 15.4 The task and the cues.
Chapter 16 · Kling: 3.0, and 4.0 as announced
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, camera-led, from a start frame
Template — the camera is the shot
[Camera verb] on [rig, with its weight] toward [destination], approximately [one distance or angle] over [duration], [a speed profile that ends: "a settling push that eases to rest"]. [The one committed action, through its beginning, middle and arrival.] [The world's life: systems the frame contains, each sized where the eye can check it.] Keep [the named things that must not change] exactly as they are[, and the period: nothing modern enters the frame]. The move settles as [the composition you can cut on], held to the end. [Up to three earned exclusions.] No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, action-led, camera locked
Template — the action is the shot
[Who] [does the one action, through its contact and its stop, in the order it happens]. The camera is locked; everything that moves, moves inside the frame. [What the action causes in the room: one approximate magnitude for the consequence; a light change with its cause.] Keep [the named things that must not change] exactly as they are, one [prop] throughout. Everything comes to rest on [the composition: where each hand and the eyes rest] and holds to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade, to prove that a still moves
Template — the test clip
[Camera verb] toward [destination], approximately [one distance] over [duration], settling. [The one thing that moves in the frame.] Keep [the one thing that must not change]. The move settles on [the composition], held to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run · start and end frames
Template — the landing is the point
Over the first [two] seconds [the object] [moves how] toward [where], about [one size in body units], and by the [third] second it stops [against what] with a small settle; [its orientation, held for the whole path: "its printed face stays square to camera the whole way"]. The camera is locked. Keep [the named things that must not change]. Only after it has stopped [the release]. The move lands on the last frame and holds to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run · the wordless plate for the exact-take route, sound on
Template — the talking plate
The camera is [locked / pushing in approximately [n] centimeters over five seconds]; everything that moves, moves inside the frame. In the first half second [one small breath or settle]. Then, for about [n] seconds, [she / he] talks quietly toward the lens, the jaw and lips working through an easy rhythm, the head making a small nod with each phrase. [One or two systems of the world's life.] Keep the lips, teeth and jaw clear and true throughout, both corners of the mouth visible, with nothing crossing the mouth, and keep the face exactly as it is. As [she / he] finishes, [the landing: the lips close, the eyes stay on the lens], and the frame holds there to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run · Omni Edit, one scoped change in an accepted clip
Template — the one change
Edit the supplied clip. Change only [the one thing] to [the new state, in full unless the image carries it]. Keep its [shape, motion, occlusion by the actor], and let the change affect [nearby light or reflection] consistently. Preserve [the people, their movements, the other objects], the framing, the timing and the light. One [object] throughout; none of the original remains. The clip ends as it did.
No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Chapter 17 · Seedance 2.5
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Seedance 2.5, a clip from a start frame
Template — a clip from a start frame
[The event, in order; something visible moves at once.] [One camera instruction, declared: locked, or the one move with its pace and where it settles.] [What the world does around the subject: two or three small systems.] Keep [identity, wardrobe, light, framing] exactly as in the first frame. [Whole-second stamps if the shot has phases; the pace in pacing words.] The shot ends on [a composition you can cut on] and holds for [a beat]. [Sound: what owns the room, and any event tied to a beat.] [Up to three earned exclusions.] No BGM; generate only environmental sounds and action sounds. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Seedance 2.5, references to video (add the Video line when the shot borrows from footage)
Template — references to video
Image 1 is [name]: take [face, hair, build] only; [name] must strictly match Image 1; take nothing of its [backdrop, light, pose]. Image 2 is [the product]: take its shape, proportions, colours and materials; [its label faces away / its lettering is not changed]. Image 3 is [the place]: take the room and its light; take nothing of its framing or its people. [Video 1 is …: take only its camera path / timing / where each person stands; take nothing of its person, room, light or sound.]
Exactly [one / two] people, each appearing once: [who is already in frame, where, facing which way]. [Shot size and camera height; locked, or the one move and where it settles.] [The action in order, with its end; whole-second stamps if it has phases.] [What the room does around them. The light of this place. Anyone or anything with no file, in full.] Keep [the named things the action could break]. The shot ends on [a composition you can cut on] and holds. [Sound.] [Up to three earned exclusions.] No BGM; generate only environmental sounds and action sounds. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Seedance 2.5, an English speaking shot with the model's own audio
Template — a speaking shot, new performance, English
Image 1 is the first frame, exactly as it is. Audio 1 is the chosen voice for [name]: take its timbre and manner only, not its words. [Name] speaks in that voice. The camera is [locked at her eye level]. [Business before the line, if any.] [Name] says, in English, [delivery in a few words]: {[the line]} [Business by order: "as she finishes the first sentence …", never a quotation of the line.] After the line [she] holds, mouth closed, [where the eyes rest], to the end. Lips and jaw move with the spoken words and are still in the pauses and after the line. Keep [identity, wardrobe, light, framing] exactly as in the first frame. Generate audio strictly according to the dialogue; do not add or remove any lines. <[room sound]> No BGM. No other voices. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Seedance 2.5, an edit, and an extension
Template — an edit, and an extension
Edit video: in Video 1, change [what, where or who] from [A] to [B][, from [x] to [y] seconds]. [B in full, or: Image 1 supplies its [cut, material, colour]; take nothing of its person, pose or background.] [What the change inherits as it happens.] Remove every trace of [A]. Preserve [faces, hands, props, light, framing, camera path], the timing and the original audio. The clip ends on Video 1's original final composition. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Extend Video 1 [forward / backward] by [n] seconds. [Forward: Continue from the last frame of Video 1: / Backward: Before the first frame of Video 1:] the same [person], [setting, framing and light]; [the boundary state: pose, hands, what is held, the camera, the last sound]. [The next beat only, with where it ends; backward, ending exactly on the first frame of Video 1.] [The composition it ends on, then the hold.] [Sound.] No BGM; generate only environmental sounds and action sounds. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade · Seedance 2.5, any operation, at 480p
Template — the test grade
[The manifest: Image 1 is …; take … only.] [Shot size; the camera locked.] [One action with its end.] [Sound.] No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Chapter 18 · Wan 3.0
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Wan 3.0, text to video
Template — text to video
[Overall description, in a sentence]. One continuous shot.
Shot 1 (0-[T] seconds): [Shot size and camera height.] [Camera: fixed shot, camera static, position unchanged; or one move in plain words, with its pace and where it settles.] [Subject, place, time of day and light.] [The one thing that moves, in order, at a stated pace.] [What the world does around it: two or three small systems.] Keep [the named things the action could break]. The shot ends on [a composition you can cut on] and holds. [Sound.] [Up to three earned exclusions.] No BGM, generate only ambient and action sounds. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Wan 3.0, references to video, with a Video line when the shot borrows from footage
Template — references to video
One continuous shot. [Shot size and camera height; locked, or the one move and where it settles.] Image 1 is [name]: take [face, hair, build, the named clothes and the one prop] only; [name] must strictly match Image 1; take nothing of its framing or background. Image 2 is [the place]: take [the room, its fixtures and its light]; take no people from it. [Video 1 gives only [the camera's path and speed / the action]: take nothing of its people, place or light.] Exactly [one / two] people, each appearing once: [who is in frame at the first moment, where, doing what]. [The action, in order, with its end.] [What the room does around them.] Keep [the named things the action could break]. The shot ends on [a composition you can cut on] and holds. [Sound.] [Up to three earned exclusions.] No BGM, generate only ambient and action sounds. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Wan 3.0, an English speaking shot, new performance
Template — a speaking shot, new performance, English
One continuous shot. [Shot size and camera height; fixed shot, camera static, position unchanged.] Image 1 is [name]: take [face, hair, build, clothes, room and light]; [name] must strictly match Image 1; take nothing of its framing. Exactly one person, [name], [where, mouth closed and relaxed] from the first moment. Voice timbre reference Audio 1: take its timbre and manner only, not its words. [Name] says in English, [delivery in a few words]: "[the line]" Lip sync. [Business by order: "as she finishes the first sentence …", never a quotation of the line.] Lips and jaw move with the words and are still in the pauses and after the line. [Name] says only this line. After the line [she] holds, mouth closed, [where the eyes rest], to the end. Keep [identity, wardrobe, room, light] exactly as in Image 1. [Room sound.] No BGM. No other voices. No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade · Wan 3.0, any operation, at 480p
Template — the test grade
[Overall line.] One continuous shot. Shot 1 (0-5 seconds): [Shot size; fixed shot, camera static, position unchanged.] [One action with its end.] [Sound.] No overlaid text, subtitles, logos, or interface graphics.Chapter 19 · Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · Veo 3.1 or MiniMax H3, a clip from a start frame
Template — a clip with its sound
[Camera: the rig, what it does over the clip, its physics]. [The subject's action as positions and moments]. [The world's life: what moves because the action happens]. [What is protected, by name]. [The endpoint composition and its hold]. [The speed profile]. [Up to three earned exclusions]. Sound: [each sound at its moment, then the ambience]; no music, no voice[, or an English line in quotation marks and who says it].Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade · MiniMax H3, start and end frames, or references
Template — a keyframe move, or a mixed-reference clip
Image 1 is the start frame [and Image 2 the end frame]: [what each carries, once]. [Or: Image 1 is the (subject) and controls (one job) only; reference video 1 gives the motion only.] [The camera's travel, in seconds]. [The action and its moments]. [What is protected, by name]. [The endpoint and its hold]. [The speed profile]. [Up to three earned exclusions]. Sound: [each sound at its moment]; no music, no voice.Written for this book · template; not run · test grade · Veo 3.1 or MiniMax H3, a first look
Template — a scratch clip
[The move]. [The action]. [The endpoint]. Sound: [the sound in words]; no music, no voice.B.4 Voice and speaking faces
Chapter 21 · The voice department
Written for this book · template; not run · the route record, one line for each voice
Template — the route record
Voice <name or character> · Road: recorded / generated (library, designed, clone) / converted · Source class · Why this road · Fallback (another road, only as a new decision) · Consent record: <ref> · Model and voice ID (if generated) · Decided by, dateTaught in 21.3 Three roads to a voice.
Written for this book · template; not run · the five-line audition
Template — the five-line audition
1. Neutral: <a plain declarative line from the script>
2. Hardest feature: <the line with the character's hardest sound, proper noun or dialect feature: a ق word, the brand, a number>
3. Trailing: <an interrupted or trailing line, ending on an ellipsis>
4. Low intensity: <a quiet emotional line>
5. Peak, still clear: <the character's loudest line, with its punctuation>
Every line in plain spelling, no bracket, on every candidate voice. A second round adds one bracket per line.Taught in 21.6 Casting a voice, and who may speak in a final.
Written for this book · template; not run · the blind score sheet
Template — the blind score sheet
Code | Words (pass/fail) | Dialect 1–5 | Pronunciation 1–5 | Breath and pace 1–5 | Emotional truth 1–5 | Noise | Cuttable | Listener | Notes (failing word and where)Taught in 21.6 Casting a voice, and who may speak in a final.
Written for this book · template; not run · the Saudi line packet
Template — the Saudi line packet
Variety: <Najdi (Riyadh) / Hejazi (Jeddah)> · Character: <age, class, role> · Reviewer: <name, variety>
Line 1, restrained exchange: <approved line>
Line 2, traps (a brand, a number, a hard sound): <approved line, with its spoken form>
Line 3, emotional turn: <approved line>
Voices: <name + ID> ×2–3 · Models: <v4 / v3> · Settings: <held constant> · Scores: vocabulary / vowels / stress / intention, per listenerTaught in 21.8 Saudi characters: Najdi and Hejazi.
Written for this book · template; not run · two fields for one line
Template — two fields for one line
Canonical (screen and captions): <the line with digits>
Spoken (engine): <the same line, numbers and dates written as the character says them>
Brand probe (only if wrong): <the spoken line, marks on the brand only>Taught in 21.9 Numbers, dates, brand names and English terms.
Written for this book · template; not run · the dialogue ledger row
Template — the dialogue ledger row
IDENTITY line ID · shot · speaker · listener · scene intention
THE WORDS approved line in the spoken dialect · literal meaning · authority (the client-approved copy) · approval status (blocked if unapproved)
THE VOICE source class and rights record · model, voice ID, settings · engine text with marks, aliases, IPA · take file and checksum · measured speech window · native reviewer's verdict [accepted / rejected: what failed / pending]
THE PICTURE written in Chapter 22: exposure · strategy · framing · fallback if sync fails · contract · route · which audio the captions follow
ABOVE ROWS the master avoidance strategy · the visible-sync ceiling · the blocked-line policy · one line stating the toleranceTaught in 21.11 Checks, the gate and the records.
Written for this book · template; not run · the take-ledger row, one for every generation
Template — the take-ledger row
Line ID | Speaker | Canonical (never changes) | Model (v4 / v3) and language | Voice (name, ID, source class) | Engine text (bracket, marks, variant) | Settings (stability, similarity, seed) | Failing word and where | Rung and reviewer | Take file and checksum | Measured (raw / lock file / speech start–end) | Verdict [accepted / rejected: what failed / pending] | Listener, dateTaught in 21.11 Checks, the gate and the records.
Written for this book · template; not run · the consent, casting, conversion and dialogue-pass records
Template — the four voice records
CONSENT Voice: <name> · Source: <session date, files> · Consent: <signed release, date> · Allowed: <project, media, territory, period> · AI generation: yes / no · Platforms: <ElevenLabs / other> · Clone type: none / Instant / Professional (her own account) · Voice ID
CASTING Character · Variety · Search (filters) · Shortlist with IDs and source classes · Models heard · Blind scores, per listener · Winner, runner-up, reason · Decided by, date
CONVERSION Source: <speaker, consent ref, file, length> → Model: eleven_multilingual_sts_v2 · Target voice: <name, ID> · Noise removal: off / on · Seed: <n / none> · Output: <file, format> · Score: wording / dialect / pronunciation / performance · Source kept: yes
DIALOGUE Turn (line ID) | Speaker | Approved line | Voice: source class, model, voice ID, settings | Engine text and pronunciation notes | Take number and file | Intended overlap | VerdictTaught in 21.11 Checks, the gate and the records.
Chapter 22 · The speaking shot: two routes
Template: the contract line (written for this book; not run)
Shot: <id> · Contract: exact take / new performance · Take or voice: <lock file and measured length / voice reference and language> · What ships: <the take, re-encoded / the model's audio> · Judged on: <the take's verdict carried, and the pass / the clip> · Captions timed to: <the take / the clip's own audio> · Changes: <date, from → to, reason, approved by>Taught in 22.2 Write the contract before any picture.
Template: the picture line of the dialogue-ledger row, with the performance brief (written for this book; not run)
Line ID <id> · Shot <id> · Speaker <name> · Listener <name, or off-screen> · Exposure <none / low / medium / high> · Strategy <off-screen / profile / rear / occlusion / wide / visible sync> · Framing <size, angle, distance> · Fallback if sync fails <strategy> · Contract <exact take / new performance> · Route <plate model + Sync Lipsync 3 / Seedance / Wan> · Captions timed to <the take / the clip's own audio> · Brief <the state; what the body does; the address; the pace>Taught in 22.3 Design the sync out first.
Template: the speaking lines of a Seedance motion prompt, finished grade (written for this book; not run)
Image 1 is [Name], the first frame exactly; [one clause of what the frame carries, no more]. [The camera: locked, or one named move with its size and duration.] [Business before the line, as ordered beats.] [Name] uses the voice timbre from Audio 1 and speaks [language, and dialect if Arabic] in [voice: age, weight, pace]: {[the line, once]}. [Name]'s lips and jaw move with the words and are still when [he/she] is not speaking; [the eyes go to ...]. [The listener's task, mouth closed.] After the line [the mouth closes, the breath releases, the gaze holds]. The clip lands on [the composition] and holds for the last [n] seconds. Sound: [two or three real sources of the room]; only the dialogue and those sounds, no music. No subtitles, captions or on-screen text.Taught in 22.6 Route B: a new performance.
Chapter 23 · ElevenLabs: v4 and v3
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, one spoken line
Template — the finished line
LINE [id] · [speaker] · [listener, or "to camera"] · [language and variety]
CANONICAL [the approved line in the spoken dialect, with its punctuation; it never changes for the engine]
MODEL [eleven_v4 / eleven_v3] · language_code [ar / en] · audition [the other model] on the same text, voice and seed for each new Arabic voice
VOICE [name, voice ID, source class]; cast by the five-line audition (21.6)
SETTINGS stability [0.5] · similarity [0.75, v4 only] · seed [n] · normalisation [auto] · [three] takes per round, one change between rounds
ENGINE TEXT
[voice quality and physical state, attitude, address] [the canonical words; a mark, respelling or IPA only on a word that failed; one breath group]
CONTINUITY previous_text [the words before, if this is one take of a run] · next_text [the words after]Written for this book · template; not run · test grade, a scratch read to find a voice or a length
Template — the test line
[the canonical line, no bracket] · [eleven_v4] · default settings · three takes · MP3 · file named TEMP_[id]_g1 to g3Written for this book · template; not run · Text to Dialogue, a rhythm pass
Template — the dialogue pass
MODEL [eleven_v4 / eleven_v3, named] · language_code [ar] · stability [0.5] · similarity [0.75, v4 only] · seed [n]
VOICES [speaker A: name, voice ID] · [speaker B: name, voice ID] (at most ten voices)
INPUTS one turn each, speaker names outside the text, total at or below 2,000 characters
1 A [state, attitude] [line]
2 B [state, attitude; cuts in, if it does] [line]
3 A [after a beat; state] [line]Written for this book · template; not run · Voice Design and Voice Changer
Template — a designed voice, and a conversion
DESIGN Native [language], [dialect and city]. [Gender], [age range]. [Quality]. Persona: [two to five words]. Emotion: [two or three adjectives]. [One sentence: timbre, pitch, pace, distance from the microphone.]
PREVIEW [100 to 1,000 characters in the target language, in the register of the voice]
CONTROLS guidance scale [5, the default; higher only for accent accuracy] · loudness [0, about −24 LUFS] · seed [n] · three previews; save one only after a native ear has heard it
CONVERT model eleven_multilingual_sts_v2 named · input [the performer's recording, under 5 minutes and 50 MB, consent on file] · target voice [name, ID] · remove background noise [on / off] · seed [n]Written for this book · template; not run · one sound effect
Template — the sound event
PROMPT [Object] of [material] [action] on/against [surface], [force], [close / medium / distant], [space]; [attack], [decay]. No music, no voices. (450 characters at most)
SETTINGS model eleven_text_to_sound_v2 · duration [seconds, or auto] · prompt influence [0.3 default; higher for a literal single event] · loop [off; on for a bed]
ROW [sound row id] · placed on [frame or time] · source: generated, ElevenLabs, [date] · kept: [variation]Written for this book · template; not run · a pronunciation dictionary for a name that recurs, one alias rule
Template — the alias rule
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<lexicon version="1.0"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/pronunciation-lexicon"
alphabet="ipa" xml:lang="en-GB">
<lexeme>
<grapheme>[the word as the script writes it]</grapheme>
<alias>[the word respelled as the voice should read it]</alias>
</lexeme>
</lexicon>Chapter 24 · Sync Lipsync 3
Written for this book · template; not run
Template: the finished-grade talking plate
A tripod-locked [shot size] holds the composition for the full [N] seconds, with no drift; all the movement belongs to [Name] and the room. [Business, 0 to T seconds: one or two measured actions, mouth closed.] Then, from a little after [T] seconds and for about [S] seconds, [Name] talks quietly toward [target], [physical state]: lips and jaw move in an easy speaking rhythm, the head shifts a few degrees with each phrase, the eyes stay on [target], the shoulders lift with each breath. [The room's life: one or two things that move on their own.] Keep [Name]'s face fully visible and evenly lit, both lips clear, with no hand, sleeve or prop crossing the mouth, and keep [prop and room] exactly as in the frame. [He/She] lands on [one small exhale, mouth closed, eyes on ...] and holds there to the end. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run
Template: the test-grade talking plate
[Shot size and camera, who and where.] [Name] [the business], then talks quietly toward [the target] for about [S] seconds, [state], with small natural head movements, then [the landing]. Face stays fully visible and well lit throughout, nothing in front of the mouth. No captions, no subtitles, no on-screen text.Written for this book · template; not run
Template: the pass record, written before the pass
Shot <id> · Line <id>
Plate: <model, mode, start frame, duration, sound, size and frames returned> · talk window <start–end, measured>
Take: <file and version> · <head> + <speech> + <tail> = <total> s · sum against the plate <plate length − total>, inside 0.3 to 0.5 s
Pass: input_video = <plate job or file> · input_audio = <confirmed upload> · sync_mode = cut_off · expect <size, fps, seconds>
Cost: <plate + pass> · captions timed to the takeB.5 Music and sound
Chapter 25 · Music and sound for a commercial
Template: the spine (written for this book; not run)
SPINE — [project], [length and versions]
Motifs: [one to three: a figure, a sound, a texture] · returns [where] · changes [how]
Scene or beat · DX · AMB · FLY · SFX · MX — each with the beat it enters on
Silence: no music [from–to; what stays] · no sound at all [from–to]
World: each cue in the story's world or outside itTaught in 25.2 The sound spine.
Written for this book · beauty and personal care · a cue sheet for a 30-second face-cream spot, no tool; the layout is the template for every cue, and Chapter 26 turns it into fields · written for this book; not run
Example 25.1 — the cue sheet for one cue
CUE 1 — "the jar lands", 30 s face-cream spot — picture: rough cut v2, 24 fps
Function: a dry plucked pulse cue that gives the product's touch forward motion under the voice and rests on the product hold · enters at all because the macro shots have no dialogue to carry them
Windows: entry 1.0 s, flexible (one beat after the jar is set down) · voice-over 6.0 to 24.0 s, hard · application 9 to 15 s · face 15 to 22 s · lid stop 24.4 s, hard, on the effects track · product hold 24 to 30 s
Entry / exit: enters one beat after the jar lands; the resolved last note lands after the lid stop and decays through the hold
Theme: a three-note figure on dry plucked synth · stated alone, then under the voice, then alone on the last note
Roles: lead plucked synth; under it a warm restrained bass pulse; brushed percussion only after the figure is established; absent: drum kit, pads, choir; speech range open for a close female voice from 6 s
Harmony and room: a plain mode, one gentle opening in the last phrase · dry, close, small room
Tempo feel: steady, unhurried; about 96 BPM, measured on the file later
Refusals: vocals, orchestral trailer sound, long fade
Lengths and versions: 30 s full length; the 15 s is a new structure that keeps the figure and the last note
Rights line (34.10): [filled when the file is made]
Candidates: A as briefed; B changes the lead; C changes the tempo feel · each run labelled repeat or changed promptWhy it works
The function is a job in story terms, and the reason music enters at all is written.
The windows are picture events marked hard or flexible; the seconds stay on the sheet and never reach the tool.
The theme is one small figure and the sheet says what it does; the cutdown keeps it.
The lid stop is a hard event on the effects track, and the music's last note is placed after it.
Taught in 25.3 Whether music enters, and the composer brief.
Written for this book · beauty and personal care · a spotting sheet for the 30-second face-cream spot of Example 25.1, no tool; its layout is the template for every scene · times are seconds+frames at 24 fps and illustrative: on a real sheet each is read on the selected take · written for this book; not run
Example 25.2 — the cream spot, spotted
SPOTTING — face-cream spot, 30 s — rough cut v2 — 24 fps — times as seconds+frames
Row: shot · time · event (object, material, action, surface, force) · perspective · event / continuation / bed · owner · planned source · hard sync? · dialogue space
1 · 0+00 to 30+00 · one dry small studio, nothing moving in it · close · bed · AMB · record 30 s of the room · hard sync: no
1 · 0+10 · a small frosted-glass jar set down gently on a thick glass shelf: one glass-on-glass contact · close · event · FLY · record, three forces · hard sync: yes
1 · 1+01 · cue 1 enters, one beat after the jar lands · outside the world of the scene · event · MX · cue 1 (Example 25.1) · hard sync: no
2 · 2+14 to 3+02 · the lid turned a quarter turn: fine thread friction · very close · continuation · FLY · record · hard sync: no
2 · 3+02 · the lid lifts free: one soft release · very close · event · FLY · record · hard sync: yes
2 · 3+15 · the lid laid flat on the shelf: one light metal-on-glass contact · very close · event · FLY · record · hard sync: yes
3 · 4+10 to 5+04 · a fingertip presses into the cream, then lifts · very close · continuation, then release · FLY · record the real product; no generated fallback · hard sync: no
4 to 5 · 6+00 to 24+00 · voice-over, a close female voice · close · line · DX · Chapter 21 · dialogue space: music sparse in the middle register
4 · 9+00 to 15+00 · two fingertips spread the cream in a slow circle on the back of a hand: soft wet skin contact · very close · continuation · FLY · record the real product; no generated fallback · hard sync: no
5 · 15+00 to 22+00 · the face in close-up, nothing touching it · close · bed only, no event · AMB · the studio bed · hard sync: no · the voice-over and the cue carry the shot
6 · 24+10 · the lid screwed shut, final stop · very close · event · FLY · record · hard sync: yes
6 · 24+16 · cue 1's resolved last note, decaying through the hold · outside the world · event · MX · cue 1 · hard sync: no · nothing else may fill the beat
6 · 28+12 to 30+00 · music ends; room tone only, to the last frame · close · bed · AMB · the studio bed · hard sync: noWhy it works
Contact, continuation and release are separate rows, each with its own frame: the lid's turn and its release are two jobs.
Every row has one owner. The lid's stop belongs to Foley, so the cue is free of it and its last note is placed after the stop.
A row with no generated fallback says so: the cream's own texture is recorded from the real product.
Taught in 25.6 Spotting: every event, its frame and its owner.
Template: the handoff sheet (written for this book; not run)
HANDOFF — [project] [scene] — cut [name, date]
Tracks: DX [ ] · AMB [ ] · FLY [ ] · SFX (designed) [ ] · MX [ ]
Row [n] · file [name] · frame [n] · offset [s] · source and settings [ ] · raw / processed / placed [y/y/y] · rights [the 34.10 line]
Masking check: [lines checked] · Slate: [DRAFT — NOT FOR APPROVAL / ROUGH CUT vN — FOR EDIT DECISION: … / final]Taught in 25.16 The handoff to the mix.
Template: the cue's handoff record (written for this book; not run)
Cue [id] v[n] — handoff for picture [cut name, date]
Selected stereo reference: [file] · source in/out: [s–s] · start origin on the timeline: [timecode]
Actual duration: [s] · tempo mode: [fixed grid n BPM / original timing]
Hard events: [what, s] · flexible structure: [what may move] · endings: [full length / cutdown, how made] · handles: [s head / s tail]
Files: [name] — [generated whole mix / separated from the mix (tool, date) / independently generated part / recorded / composer-rendered]
Checks: sample rate [n] · channels [n] · clipping [none] · start / middle / end against the reference [ok / offset]
Rights line (34.10): [as written when the file was made]Taught in 25.16 The handoff to the mix.
Chapter 26 · Suno
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, a score cue in Custom mode
Template — the finished cue
STYLE: A [adjectives of behaviour] [form] for [what it does for the picture], built on one [size] figure, [contour and rhythm], first stated [alone / by instrument]. The figure [what it does: returns / breaks into cells / rises an octave / thins under the voice] and is never [what it must not become]. Roles: [lead] leads; [two or three supports]; [what accompanies only after the figure is established]; no [what is absent]. [Mode or key], [one characteristic interval], [cadence behaviour]. Recorded [close / wide], [dry / roomy], [what detail is audible]; [steady / rubato], about [n] BPM. The [middle] register stays [nearly empty] for [the voice]. It ends [on the tonic, a held note, a decay to near silence, a clean stop on the beat], never a fade.
LYRICS: [Instrumental] [Intro: ...] [Phrase: ...] [Lift: ...] [Outro: ...] [End]
INSTRUMENTAL: on
EXCLUDE STYLES: [vocals, choir, and up to three sounds this cue could turn into]
TITLE: [neutral file name, no brand]
CONTROLS (set in the interface, not typed): model [v6] · Weirdness [n] · Style Influence [n] · Variety [0] · plan [Pro / Premier]Written for this book · template; not run · test grade, a temp cue or a direction check
Template — the test cue
An instrumental [character] piece for [film use]: [lead] over [support], [how it starts], [how it moves], ending on [clean stop / tail]. Two sentences at most.
CUSTOM MODE, INSTRUMENTAL: on, EXCLUDE STYLES: vocals. No tags, one generation. Label the file TEMP.Written for this book · template; not run · the repair and continuation lines, one per operation
Template — Replace Section, Extend, rights line
REPLACE SECTION (select the region with a bar of lead-in): Keep the existing tempo, harmony, [lead], and the transitions into and out of this region. [One change]. Keep the ending as it is and keep the cue instrumental.
EXTEND (from the last approved bar): Next: [what happens musically], then [the ending]. Name the figure: [the figure, in one phrase].
LYRICS from the extension point: [Section: ...] [End: ...]
RIGHTS LINE (34.10): [cue id] v[n] (a stem: separated by Suno [date]) · kind cue · source class generated cue · maker and product Suno · plan [plan] · model [as recorded] · medium [online / TV / film / radio / games] · generated [date] · downloaded [date, on which plan] · uploads [none / file, origin] · terms read [page, date, saved copy] · consent [n/a, or record, scope] · ships [yes / no / pending, and what it waits for]Chapter 27 · Eleven Music
Written for this book · template; not run · finished grade, a cue as a plan (human-readable; compile it into the request's fields)
Template — the plan
MODEL: music_v2_5 · composition plan · store for inpainting: true · output format: [named]
Chunk n: [ms]
text: [Section] {[short direction]}
positive_styles: instrumental, [ensemble, feel, mode, tempo]
negative_styles: vocals, [what must not appear]
context_adherence: [high / medium / low]Written for this book · template; not run · test grade, a prompt for a temp cue
Template — the test prompt
[Genre], [mood], [instrumentation], [tempo], [production era]. Instrumental only. [How it starts], [how it ends].
force_instrumental: true · music_length_ms: [n] · model_id: music_v2_5Chapter 28 · Sound-effect and music generators
Written for this book · Adobe Firefly · sound effect, finished and test grade · template; not run
FINISHED
Prompt: [material and object] [action verb], [force or quality], [close / medium / far], [space]
Voice guide (performed, not typed): [what you perform, over which frames; the release on its own frame]
Record: Firefly sound effects · clip [name] · playhead [frame] · duration max [s] · variation [1–4] · [date]
TEST
[object] [verb], [quality] — no guide, duration 2 to 5 s, judge all four variationsWritten for this book · Stable Audio 3 · sound effect, finished and test grade · template; not run
FINISHED
TrackType: SFX, [object] of [material] [action] on [surface], [force], [microphone and room], [attack], [decay]. No music, no voices.
Record: [small-sfx / medium / large] · duration [s] · seed [n] · init audio [file / none] · noise level [ ] · mask [s–s / none]
TEST
TrackType: SFX, [object] [action], [room] — duration 3 s, fixed seedWritten for this book · Google Lyria · music cue, finished and test grade · template; not run
FINISHED
[Length] instrumental cue for [job]. Instrumental only, no vocals. [Figure]; [roles]; [harmony, room]; [speech space]; about [n] BPM, [key].
[0:00 - 0:0x] [Section]: [what happens]
[0:0x - 0:xx] [Section]: [what happens]
[0:xx - end] Ending: [behaviour: held chord that decays, no fade]
Record: [lyria-3-clip-preview / lyria-3.5] · [MP3 / WAV] · run [1, 2] · [date]
TEST
A 30-second instrumental [genre] cue, [three instruments], [mood], about [n] BPM.B.6 Edit, finish and delivery
Chapter 29 · Editing AI footage, and judging the work
Template: a log line (written for this book; not run)
Log line: [shot] · [take] · [in, out) at [fps] · onset [frame] · contact or reaction [frame] · completion [frame] · usable: [yes / no] · reason: [defect] from frame [n] · observed / uncertain: [which events]Taught in 29.4 Logging a take by its usable interval.
Template: reducing a duration (written for this book; not run)
Reduce this [N]-second cut to [M] seconds. Keep [the protected beats] and [the brand hold]. First list dead lead-ins, repeated information and completed-action tails; propose exact removals with their effect. Keep every approved word and the reaction's thought. If the length cannot be met without touching a protected beat, show the smallest compromise; never speed up speech.Taught in 29.9 Rhythm and sound-led timing.
Template: a missing-coverage entry (written for this book; not run)
[shot] · missing: [the event or state] · stands in meanwhile: [select, still or slug] · replacement brief: [yes / no] · entry state: [outgoing shot's exit] · needed interval: [seconds] plus handles · approval: [budget reference]Taught in 29.11 Back to generation.
Chapter 30 · Finishing, captions and graphics
Template: Arabic captions (written for this book; not run)
Build Arabic captions for [shot] from the canonical line [line], not the engine spelling. Time them to [the shipped audio: the locked take / the clip's own audio]. Break at phrase boundaries; keep dialect as spoken unless the localisation decision says otherwise. Return the caption file and list the timings you measured.Taught in 30.7 Captions, and Arabic text.
Template: the graphics route decision (written for this book; not run)
Graphic: [name] · copy may change after delivery: [yes/no] · data may change: [yes/no] · editable graphics promised: [yes/no] → route: [native / generated / composite] · reason: [one line] · builder: [motion designer / MOGRT]Taught in 30.9 Motion graphics: native or generated.
Chapter 31 · Handing over
Template: the edit folder (written for this book; not run)
<Mac>/Projects/<YYYY>_<client>_<project>/10_edit/
<SEQ>.xml <SEQ>.otio manifest.json RELINK_NOTE.txt edit_plan.json
media/ flat, ASCII names: clips, keyframe PNGs, locked voice takes, bed, Foley, music, cards
01_Sources/ Video/{Generated, Upscaled, Practical} Audio/{VO_LOCK, BED, FOLEY, MUSIC, STEMS} Graphics/{Cards, Fonts}
02_Sequences/ Seq_16x9_v<N> Seq_9x16_v<N> (one per deliverable format; each cutdown its own)
03_Finishing/ Grade/ Captions/{ar, en} Upscale/
04_Exports/ 00_MASTERS/ 01_REVIEW/ 02_DRAFTS/
verification/ the screenshots of each step of the checkTaught in 31.2 The folder, the names and the slates.
Template: the two slates (written for this book; not run)
DRAFT — NOT FOR APPROVAL · v04
ROUGH CUT v3 — FOR EDIT DECISION: does the pour or the pack shot open the film?Taught in 31.2 The folder, the names and the slates.
Template: the handoff and its verification (written for this book; not run)
Build the Premiere handoff for [sequence] from [inventory] and [edit plan]. Keep every accepted range. Before substituting anything, report missing files, rate mismatches and operations the exporter cannot carry. Validate the ranges, then list the native finishing operations. After import on the Mac, on a copy: check the sequence settings and every link, perform [each promised revision], save, close, reopen and render; compare with [reference render]. Move the package and relink; count manual locates. Report each step as executed or implemented, and which items remain baked. Do not describe successful XML parsing as successful film delivery.Taught in 31.5 Building and verifying a handoff.
Template: the editability table (written for this book; not run)
Item | Class, from the result | Evidence |
Cuts, trims, track layout | [native-editable / baked, source kept / not carried] | [step, build, date] |
Keyframes; cross-dissolves; speed changes | [ ] | [ ] |
Title cards (PNG with alpha); captions | [ ] | [ ] |
Grade, LUT, effects | [ ] | [ ] |
Taught in 31.5 Building and verifying a handoff.
Chapter 32 · Premiere Pro and the finishing tools
Written for this book · finished-grade template · finishing requests for Premiere and the upscalers · template; not run
Finished-grade template — three requests
UPSCALE PREVIEWS · [shot] · interval [in, out) of [file], sequence [start–end]
Probe: [size] · [fps] · [frames] · colour tags [tags] · audio [streams]
Delivery: [size, aspect] for [deliverable]. Grade: [one grade for both previews]. Framing: identical.
A: native original scaled to [delivery size] in Premiere.
B: [engine and settings, exactly as in 32.6] from job [id].
Compare in motion at 100 % and 200 %: [skin / hair / edges / label / Arabic letters / reflections].
Record: engine, version, settings, date, debit. Recommend for the delivery size.
CAPTION SPEC · [film] · version [vN]
Canonical lines: [approved Arabic, copied, never retyped]
Spoken dialect: [dialect]. Subtitle languages: [ar as spoken / en approved translation]
Timing authority: [the locked take / the clip's own audio] · file [name]
Tracks: one caption track per language; Text Engine per track: [setting]
Export: [sidecar / embed / burn-in] per version. QC: in [the real player] on [device].
GENERATIVE EXTEND · [file] · [head / tail] · +[frames] at [fps] (limit 2 s)
Needed because: [operation] needs [n] frames beyond the interval; the file has [m].
Before: probe; note the last clean frame. After: inspect every new frame at 200 %.
Record: the transform line (range, tool, version, date). Fallback: [hard cut / shorter dissolve / longer generation].Written for this book · test-grade template · one cheap proof of a finishing route · template; not run
Test-grade template — one interval, one setting
Proof of [route] on [one 3–5 s interval of the hardest shot]. One engine, one setting, [source size] to [target]. Native original beside it. Slated "DRAFT — NOT FOR APPROVAL". Look only at [face / label / edges] in motion. Record the debit and the verdict. Not a delivery; never shown as the model of a finished version.B.7 Running the production
Chapter 33 · Higgsfield
Written for this book · template; not run · the finished-grade request
Template: a finished-grade request
ROUTE Shot [id] · invariant: [what must survive] · operation: [as 13.3; for a still, text to image or anchored still; for the pass on a plate, lip-sync pass] · grade: finished · model and mode: [exact id, and its mode] · inputs in order: [role: file, version, upload or job id] · settings: [every exposed setting, typed] · reason: [one line] · fallback: [written now; running it is a new lock]
ADMITTED [date]; provider [as listed]; engine named [yes: maker]; contract read [date]
RIGHTS [source class of every input]; client's written agreement to the upload [y/n]; release covers AI and training [y/n or n/a]
QUOTE [credits, exact, media attached]; [date]; packet [name]; cap [credits]; retry allowance [n]
PROMPT v[n] (the exact text, kept whole)
→ job number [written down before the wait] → ledger → download → probe → contact sheet → RUN RECORD → the director's eye and earWritten for this book · template; not run · the run record line
Template: the run record line
[shot]_a[attempt] · asked [id · settings] · recorded [id · settings, as the record shows them] · billed "[ledger label]" · host and interface ·
inputs: [role → what it must not give → local file · checksum · upload or job id] · parent: [start frame or earlier candidate] ·
prompt v[n] (exact text kept) · job [id] · submitted [time] · quote [x] · charged [from the ledger] · elapsed [request to file] ·
file [name · checksum] · probe [w×h · fps · frames · seconds · audio] · accepted interval [in, out) at [fps] ·
defect class [none, or a class from the shot record's watch list] · disposition [selected | rejected | held] · why [one line] ·
verdict [accepted / rejected: what failed / pending] · tech read [anyone else's technical observation; never a verdict] ·
origin [generated | upscaled | painted over | composited | practical | client-supplied | stock]Written for this book · template; not run · the test grade: prove a route, spend the least
Template: a test-grade route check
Admission [date]; [id or tool]; provider [as listed]; engine named [yes: maker / no] → [excluded | not used | admitted, unproven]
models_explore get [exact id] and search [family name] (zero spend)
Quote: [the exact cheapest request, media attached]; get_cost: true → [credits, date]
Only if a behaviour must be confirmed, inside an approval: one job at the cheapest shape → job number → ledger → probe → run record
Result labelled by scope: [task; route; date; "one job, one asset"]; it never becomes a defaultChapter 34 · Money, rights and terms
Template: the approval line and the ledger line (written for this book; not run)
Approval: [the director] on [date] · batch [name] · cap [credits] · ends [date, no later than the next reset] · retry allowance [n, on which failures] · "[the approval, in the director's words]"
Line: [date time] · [shot] · [attempt] · [model] · quote [x] · charged [y, from the ledger] · running total [z] / capTaught in 34.3 Spending inside an approval.
Template: the name-anchor decision (written for this book; not run)
Name anchor · [project] · person: [name] · living or deceased: [ ] · work: [period reconstruction / private / branded or commercial] · decision: [off | on, inside the locked clause, beside the forensic layer] · rights basis: [release | estate's release | counsel's written view] · photographs, if living: [the approved set, each with its source and consent] · decided by [the director] on [date]Taught in 34.7 Real people, and the references you attach.
Template: the rights line (written for this book; not run)
[file or cue id] · kind [voice / cue / effect] · source class [actor recording / consenting clone / library voice / designed / converted / generated cue / generated effect / library file] · maker and product [ ] · plan [ ] · model [id, as recorded] · medium [online / TV / film / radio / games] · generated [date] · downloaded [date, on which plan] · uploads [none / file, origin] · terms read [page, date, saved copy] · consent [record, scope] · ships [yes / no / pending, and what it waits for]Taught in 34.10 The rights line, and what may ship.
Next: Reference C · Checklists
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