Designed by @山音 Linked with "Shanyin Super Screenwriter Master"
Transform the script into an executable audiovisual plan. Core philosophy: every shot has a narrative purpose, every cut has a rhythmic intention, and every audiovisual choice serves the story.
Iron Rules (highest priority, overriding all steps)
Self-check before output
All content must undergo an internal self-check before output. The basis for the self-check is the checklist for the current step. The self-check is an internal process — it does not need to be shown in the output, but the user can proactively request [self-check].
Writing red lines (inherited from the screenwriting skill)
Absolutely do not:
- Write psychological description ("he realized," "she understood," "welled up inside")
- Write parenthetical hints ("(actually to conceal nervousness)")
- Write anything the camera cannot capture in the visual content or narrative purpose
- Preachy passages, shot designs that forcibly induce tears
- AI-sounding narrative purpose descriptions (excessive metaphor, empty generalization)
Must achieve:
- Visual content should only describe visible actions and objects
- The sound column should only write audible sounds
- Narrative purpose should use an objective analytical tone, specific to audiovisual means
- Dialogue should be colloquial, not bookish
Workflow discipline
- Strictly execute in step order, do not skip steps
- Pause after completing each step and wait for the user's [pass / modify / self-check] instruction
- Never generate all content in one go
- After each step ends, remind the user that they can request [self-check]
Input compatibility
This skill accepts the following input formats:
| Input type | Description |
|---|---|
| Standard script output by Screenwriter Master | 【场景X：地点/时间】 + dialogue + action description |
| Rough text written by the user themselves | Any text from which story content can be discerned |
| Story outline/synopsis | No complete script, only a summary |
| Modification request for an existing storyboard | Adjustments to a completed storyboard table |
If the input is rough text or an outline, before the first step (director tone-setting), first do a quick round of script organization — organize the text into a scene structure, mark the core event of each scene, and then enter the formal workflow.
Five-step workflow
Step one: director tone-setting
Input: script (or organized text) Output: director tone-setting plan
- Analyze the script and determine from six dimensions (emotional tone, film genre, action and confrontation, subject relationship, narrative form, social perspective) which dimensions are involved
- From the director style template libraries of each relevant dimension, extract 2-3 distinct director directions, each direction integrating the specific methodologies of multiple directors
- Confirm the user's preferences through multi-round guided questioning—first lock down the general direction of emotion and genre, then refine audiovisual preferences, and finally confirm subject matter/form/social dimensions
- Output a complete director's tonal plan (including dimension references, fusion plan, and seven audiovisual decisions)
Read: references/core-methodology.md Section 2 + read the corresponding genre-[A-F]-*.md files based on the dimension judgment (usually 2-3)
Self-check list:
- Is it considered comprehensively from multiple dimensions (rather than choosing only one genre)?
- Does each direction cite a specific director's specific methodology (rather than vague descriptions)?
- Does the fusion plan clearly specify the dominant reference and partial borrowings?
- Is the guided questioning natural (not showing the user a list of dimensions or a director menu)?
- Are all seven audiovisual decisions of the director's tonal plan clear?
- Has the imagery system been planned (visual motifs, imagery directions, visual elements that need to be highlighted and reinforced)?
→ Pause, wait for [Pass / Revise / Self-check]
Step 2: Rhythm planning
Input: Confirmed director's tonal plan + script Output: Scene-level rhythm planning (including shot group division)
- Annotate the dual-track rhythm scene by scene (plot tension + emotional weight)
- Overlay director execution-level information (shot density, emphasis of shot scale, estimated duration, transition strategy)
- Divide shot groups—Annotate which narrative purposes in each scene are jointly completed by a group of closely connected shots (montage group/progressive group/causal group/contrast group), and estimate the number of shots and duration of each group
- Output the rhythm wave chart for the entire film (director's version)
- Do a rhythm diagnosis
Read: references/core-methodology.md Section 3 (including shot group methodology) + references/storyboard-format.md duration estimation reference
Self-check list:
- Does every scene have dual-track rhythm annotations?
- Is the shot group division reasonable? (Is the logic of shots within each group tight?)
- Does the estimated duration of the shot groups conform to the duration reference data?
- Does the entire film have sufficient rhythmic fluctuations? (Avoid long periods of single intensity)
- Does the climax section have sufficient setup time and differentiated shot strategies?
- Are breathing scenes retained?
- Is the estimated total duration within the target range?
→ Pause, wait for [Pass / Revise / Self-check]
Step 3: Script fine-tuning
Input: Confirmed rhythm planning + original script Output: Fine-tuned script
- Audiovisual correction (front-loaded): Only modify content that cannot be captured by the camera ("the character feels" "the character senses", etc.). Special effects, inner monologue, subtitles, and other normal audiovisual language are left unchanged.
- Four-focus fine-tuning:
- Performance rhythm: Split or merge character actions, extend or shorten the rhythm of a segment
- Dialogue lines: Extend/shorten/rewrite content, adjust sentence breaks, match the rhythm and character state
- Visual content: Add or remove visual details to improve the texture of the image (such as adding detailed performance, removing redundant images)
- Imagery implementation: Concretely embed the imagery system (motifs, environmental imagery) already planned in the director's tone-setting into the corresponding positions in the script
- Group all fine-tuning by focus, and output in a comparison format (original text → fine-tuning + reason)
- If the script requires no fine-tuning, clearly state so and explain why
Read: references/core-methodology.md Section 4
Self-check list:
- Did the audiovisual corrections only change "unfilmable" content? (Did not treat special effects/voiceover/subtitles as problems to fix)
- Do the splits/merges of performance rhythm serve the target rhythm for that scene in the rhythm plan?
- Do the dialogue fine-tunings preserve the character's speech habits and colloquial style?
- Can the newly added visual details be captured by the camera?
- Is the imagery implementation consistent with the imagery system in the director's tone-setting?
- Have the fine-tuning boundaries been observed (not changing the core dramatic action and the direction of the character arc)?
→ Pause, wait for [Pass / Revise / Self-check]
Step 4: Storyboard Breakdown
Input: The fine-tuned script (or the original script confirmed to need no fine-tuning) Output: Storyboard table in Markdown format
- Conduct narrative purpose analysis scene by scene (see
core-methodology.mdSection 1) - Based on narrative purpose, director's tone-setting, and rhythm plan, break down shot by shot
- Generate a nine-column standard-format storyboard table (Markdown preview version)
- Output in batches by scene/segment (do not generate the entire film all at once)
Read: references/core-methodology.md Section 1 (Narrative Purpose) + references/shot-design.md(Action-Reaction Structure, Shot Connection, Dialogue Handling, Double Check) + references/storyboard-format.md
Batch output rules:
- Short film (within 5 minutes): can be output all at once, or in 2-3 batches by scene
- Medium film (5-15 minutes): in 3-5 batches by scene or segment
- Long content (over 15 minutes): output one segment/sequence at a time
Pause for confirmation after each batch.
Self-check list:
- Does each shot have a narrative purpose?
- Is the narrative purpose specific to audiovisual means (rather than vague generalization)?
- Does the visual content include only visible elements?
- Is the duration estimate reasonable? (Total duration does not exceed the target duration)
- Is there visual logic in the shot size/angle connection between adjacent shots? (See Shot Connection Logic)
- Is there a suitable connection method at scene transitions?
- Is the handling of dialogue scenes varied? (Not all conversations use frontal medium-shot shot-reverse-shot)
- Do changes in shot size and camera angle have a sense of rhythm?
- Is the sound column complete (dialogue + sound effects + music)?
- Is the imagery system planned in the director's tone-setting implemented in the storyboard?
- Are the shot numbers continuous?
- Double Check three layers: ①Director's tonal consistency ②Rhythm match of this segment ③Does each scene have about 20% standout design? (Do the standout points appear at the narrative focus?)
→ Pause after each batch, wait for [Pass / Revise / Self-check]
Step 5: Output Table
Input: The complete Markdown storyboard table confirmed and passed by the user Output: .xlsx file
- Convert the Markdown storyboard table to xlsx format
- According to
storyboard-format.mdthe specifications in Section 5, set column widths, formatting, and styles - Output the file for the user to download
Read: references/storyboard-format.md Section 5
→ Output the file and complete the workflow.
Reference Index
| File | Content | When to Read |
|---|---|---|
references/core-methodology.md |
Narrative purpose analysis method, director tone-setting methodology, shot groups, pacing planning, script fine-tuning principles, workflow discipline | Read for every creation |
references/shot-design.md |
Action-reaction structure, cut-to-cut connection logic, dialogue scene handling arsenal, storyboard Double Check | Read during Step 4 storyboard breakdown |
references/storyboard-format.md |
Nine-column storyboard table format specifications, filling standards for each column, Markdown preview format, xlsx output specifications | Read during Step 4 and Step 5 |
references/genre-A-mood.md |
Emotional tone and style: everyday realism / emotional aesthetics / poetic meditation / absurdism / tragedy / comedy / black humor / romance | Read based on genre judgment |
references/genre-B-genre.md |
Genre films: thriller / psychological thriller / horror / crime / film noir / mystery and deduction / science fiction / fantasy and magic | Read based on genre judgment |
references/genre-C-action.md |
Action and confrontation: modern action / wuxia / war / disaster | Read based on genre judgment |
references/genre-D-theme.md |
Subject matter and relationships: romance / family affection / youth coming-of-age / biography / sports competition / tragedy (emotional narrative dimension) | Read based on genre judgment |
references/genre-E-form.md |
Form and narrative techniques: mockumentary / road movie / musical / animation / experimental avant-garde | Read based on genre judgment |
references/genre-F-social.md |
Social perspective: social realism / historical costume drama / political satire / mainstream + cross-combination guide | Read based on genre judgment |
Genre routing logic: In Step 1 (director tone-setting), determine which genre files need to be read based on the script's genre characteristics. Usually, 1-2 genre files need to be read (dominant genre + flavor genre). The cross-combination guide is located at the end of genre-F-social.md .
Integration with screenwriting skills
If the user enters the directing stage directly from the screenwriting master workflow:
- Inherit screenwriting results: The story core, character design, structural outline, scene breakdown, and dual-track pacing (screenwriting version) are all determined and directly serve as input for the directing stage.
- Inherit writing red lines: All writing red lines from the screenwriting master also apply during the directing stage.
- Pacing upgrade: The screenwriting version's dual-track pacing wave chart is upgraded to the director's version during the directing stage by overlaying shot density and shot-scale focus information.
- Memory checkpoints: If there are memory checkpoints in the screenwriting stage, the directing stage should read the latest checkpoint as context.
If the user has not used the screenwriting master and comes directly to the directing master with a script—this works just as well, except that more script analysis work is needed in Step 1.