# Directing Engine — Genre Worked-Example Library

On-demand companion to [`directing-engine.md`](directing-engine.md). Load this only when you want a fully worked example in a specific genre.

The canonical lane criteria and records live in [`directors-read.md`](directors-read.md); the Coherence Principle, Director's Voice, and long-form spine live in the engine. These entries apply both layers. Every narrative entry writes all ten canonical fields, while every utility, product-only, process, or ambient entry uses only the two-field non-narrative record. Each then runs the same read -> intention -> voice -> coherent setup -> performance -> compiled-prompt procedure, and the contrast across genres is the lesson: the voice and instruments change because the scene is doing something different.

## Worked Examples by Genre

Each example runs the same procedure: read, intention, voice, coherent setup, performance, and one compiled prompt sentence. Notice that the voice and instruments change because the scene is doing something different every time. Keep faces, hands, logos, and text stable in every prompt.

### Product / commercial reveal

- **Idea:** "a luxury watch ad."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: prove the watch's brushed-steel case, dial text, and second-hand movement remain precise through a silhouette-to-hero reveal; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented wearer, desire, rivalry, seduction, status psychology, or dramatic power shift
- **Intention:** make the audience covet the craftsmanship. **Voice:** composed classicist.
- **Setup:** locked slider from a raking silhouette to a front three-quarter hero ending on the dial; gentle compression; one narrow warm key sweeping the brushed case with controlled speculars on black; clean room tone with a single mechanical tick.
- **Performance:** the watch is the performer - the second hand completes one precise sweep.
- **Prompt:** `@Image1 is the watch; preserve case, dial, hands, and logo exactly. Slow slider from a raking silhouette to a front three-quarter hero ending on the dial; gentle compression; one narrow warm key sweeps the brushed steel with controlled speculars on a black background; the second hand completes a single smooth sweep; low room tone with one soft mechanical tick; do not alter case shape, dial text, or proportions.`

### Music video beat

- **Idea:** "a singer in a neon room for a synth track."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: release the synth build on one earned downbeat; `turn`: held restraint to one sharp physical release; `POV`: the singer caught inside the rhythm; `power shift`: the singer holds the frame until the downbeat lets music and light take control; `hidden want/objective`: contain the body's impulse until the track authorizes release; `obstacle/tactic`: the rising synth keeps delaying the payoff, so the singer locks both shoulders square through the build; `subtext/contradiction`: severe self-control makes the eventual euphoria credible; `visible suppressed behavior`: both shoulders stay square until one sharp head-and-shoulder snap lands on the downbeat; `non-transferable detail`: the left magenta tube beside the microphone blinks once a beat late; `stock solution refused`: no rapid-cut performance montage, free-floating neon haze, or motion on every beat
- **Intention:** make the body feel the downbeat hit. **Voice:** expressive stylist.
- **Setup:** a designed move that snaps from a slow push to a held wide on the drop; bold magenta and cyan from visible practical tubes; saturated signature palette; the cut and a light pulse lock to the beat; gestural performance.
- **Performance:** the artist holds stillness through the build, then one sharp gesture lands exactly on the downbeat as the lights pulse.
- **Prompt:** `Character A at a microphone in a neon room lit by visible magenta and cyan tubes; both shoulders stay square through the build, then one sharp head-and-shoulder snap lands on the downbeat as the camera changes from a slow push to a held wide; the left magenta tube beside the microphone blinks once a beat late; saturated high-contrast palette; keep the face stable and put motion only on the release.`

### Horror / suspense

- **Idea:** "someone hears a noise in the basement."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: build dread without spending the unseen threat; `turn`: protected landing to trapped threshold; `POV`: the listener at the top of the basement stairs; `power shift`: she owns the lit landing until the off-screen scrape takes control of the stairwell; `hidden want/objective`: identify the sound without stepping below the bulb; `obstacle/tactic`: darkness hides the source, so she stops breathing and listens through the rail; `subtext/contradiction`: her searching gaze advances while the rest of her body wants to retreat; `visible suppressed behavior`: her thumb rubs the chipped green paint on the rail once and then stops; `non-transferable detail`: chipped green paint on the rail casts a thin shadow across the third stair; `stock solution refused`: no creature reveal, jump cut, reaction close-up, or score sting
- **Intention:** make the audience afraid of what they cannot see. **Voice:** intimate minimalist tilting to graphic.
- **Setup:** a very slow creeping push on a doorway that keeps the danger unseen; high-ratio low-key with one bare practical and deep pooling shadow; sound thickens with one off-screen cue inside held silence; no jump, only withholding.
- **Performance:** she stops, holds her breath, hand on the rail, eyes searching the dark - the one true gesture is the breath she does not take.
- **Prompt:** `Medium shot of Character A at the top of a basement stairwell, one bare bulb throwing hard shadow; she stops, holds her breath, and rubs the chipped green paint on the rail once with her thumb before going still, eyes searching the dark below; the rail casts a thin shadow across the third stair; very slow push that keeps the bottom unseen; near-silence with one low off-screen scrape; no on-screen reveal; keep the face stable.`

### Anime / 2D power-up

- **Idea:** "an original anime hero gathers resolve before a fight."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: convert doubt into controlled commitment before the fight; `turn`: coiled hesitation to a planted stance; `POV`: the hero reading the opponent from inside the pause; `power shift`: the implied opponent owns the wait until the hero closes a fist and reclaims the frame; `hidden want/objective`: stand ground without exposing fear; `obstacle/tactic`: a loose wrist wrap betrays the tremor, so the hero reties it before moving; `subtext/contradiction`: repair of the costume carries the vow that dialogue would overstate; `visible suppressed behavior`: two fingers retie the loose knot once, pause, and only then close into a fist; `non-transferable detail`: a torn red wrist wrap has one visible white repair stitch; `stock solution refused`: no screaming transformation, expanding energy sphere, orbiting rubble, or photographic lens move
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the charge of resolve. **Voice:** expressive stylist in 2D grammar.
- **Setup:** no photographic lens language; a held tense frame then a burst of radiating motion lines and one impact frame on the power-up; flat but dramatic cel light with a hard rim; saturated key color; one held beat, then a hard snap. Load [2d-anime-grammar](2d-anime-grammar.md).
- **Performance:** the body holds coiled, then a single explosive stance change on the burst frame.
- **Prompt:** `Original 2D cel-animated hero with a torn red wrist wrap and one white repair stitch; in a held coiled frame, two fingers retie the loose knot once, pause, and close into a fist before one explosive stance change with radiating motion lines and a single impact frame; saturated key color, flat cel lighting, hard rim light, no photographic lens language; keep the character design and silhouette consistent.`

### Action / pursuit

- **Idea:** "a courier runs from someone through a market."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: narrow the courier's escape choices while keeping the route legible; `turn`: open market lane to near entrapment; `POV`: the runner measuring the next obstacle over one shoulder; `power shift`: the courier owns the gap until the pursuer enters the same stall lane; `hidden want/objective`: reach the blue awning before the pursuer can cut off the exit; `obstacle/tactic`: a fruit stall blocks the line, so the courier plants one palm and redirects around it; `subtext/contradiction`: protecting the delivery matters more than looking back at the threat; `visible suppressed behavior`: the courier clamps the torn satchel strap to the chest instead of turning to check the pursuer; `non-transferable detail`: green limes roll away from a dented brass market scale; `stock solution refused`: no speed ramp, impossible whip pan, random collision montage, or changing screen direction
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the closing distance. **Voice:** kinetic visceral.
- **Setup:** handheld tracking at the runner's shoulder; strict screen direction; hard high-contrast daylight between stalls; sound thickens to breath, footfalls, and clatter; one clear physical objective.
- **Performance:** effort and consequence - a shove off a stall, a stumble and recovery.
- **Prompt:** `Handheld tracking at Character A's shoulder as he runs left to right through a crowded market, clamping a torn satchel strap to his chest instead of looking back; he plants one palm on a fruit stall and recovers as green limes roll from a dented brass scale while the pursuer closes in the same lane; hard daylight between stalls; breath, footfalls, and market clatter; keep screen direction consistent and the face stable enough to read effort.`

### Comedy pratfall

- **Idea:** "a confident man walks into a glass door."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: puncture self-importance in one dry, observable mistake; `turn`: composed entrance to exposed embarrassment; `POV`: the lobby's static witness; `power shift`: the man controls the stride until the glass and held frame get the last word; `hidden want/objective`: pass reception without acknowledging the collision; `obstacle/tactic`: the glass stops him, so he repairs his appearance and continues; `subtext/contradiction`: the careful recovery insists nothing happened while proving that it did; `visible suppressed behavior`: his palm stops short of his sore nose and redirects to straighten his collar; `non-transferable detail`: a crooked red VISITOR sticker stays folded on his left lapel; `stock solution refused`: no reaction zoom, cutaway witness, canned laugh, or music cue
- **Intention:** land the timing of the pratfall. **Voice:** graphic formalist, deadpan.
- **Setup:** a locked symmetrical wide with clean geography so the glass is fair but invisible; a deadpan hold past comfort; one absurd visible beat; a single dry SFX; no camera reaction.
- **Performance:** full commitment - confident stride, the smack, a beat of stillness, then he straightens his collar and continues.
- **Prompt:** `Locked symmetrical wide of a clean glass-fronted lobby; Character A, wearing a crooked red VISITOR sticker folded on his left lapel, strides into the glass door with one dry thud and holds; his palm stops short of his nose and redirects to straighten his collar before he continues; flat even light, no camera movement or reaction zoom; hold the frame past comfort.`

### UGC / caught real moment

- **Idea:** "a phone clip of a dog stealing a sandwich."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: catch the theft before the phone holder can intervene; `turn`: quiet lunch setup to a failed kitchen chase; `POV`: the late-reacting person behind the phone; `power shift`: the filmer owns the frame until the dog seizes the sandwich and exits; `hidden want/objective`: snatch the sandwich and escape before the reaching hand arrives; `obstacle/tactic`: the counter edge and dish towel reduce traction, so the dog crouches before one committed lunge; `subtext/contradiction`: the half-second-late rescue attempt becomes the joke; `visible suppressed behavior`: one front paw slides on the blue dish towel, catches, and launches without a second attempt; `non-transferable detail`: the sandwich is wrapped in a green checked napkin with one corner trailing; `stock solution refused`: no stabilized chase, slow motion, reaction insert, or added music
- **Intention:** make it feel genuinely caught, not staged. **Voice:** observational naturalist with a phone-UGC source lock.
- **Setup:** vertical handheld phone footage, slight grip sway, an auto-exposure shift on the pan, ambient kitchen sound; embrace the artifacts, because faux-clean reads fake. Load the source-look lock in [seedance-style](../skills/seedance-style/SKILL.md).
- **Performance:** the dog's one decisive lunge and grab; a human hand reaches a half-second too late.
- **Prompt:** `Vertical handheld phone footage with slight grip sway and an auto-exposure shift; a dog on the counter crouches, one front paw slides on a blue dish towel and catches, then it lunges once, grabs a sandwich wrapped in a green checked napkin with one corner trailing, and bolts as an off-screen hand reaches a half-second too late; kitchen room tone, no music; keep the grab the single beat.`

### Transformation / VFX brand reveal

- **Idea:** "frost spreads across a window and stops at a logo."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: show frost crystals advancing from the glass edge while the etched logo remains clear, exact, and legible at the endpoint; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented sentient cold, brand rivalry, seduction, character objective, or emotional reveal
- **Intention:** make the transformation feel inevitable and exact. **Voice:** composed classicist.
- **Setup:** a locked macro so the change is fully legible; cool motivated side light that rakes the crystal growth; one cause - cold - with visible consequences; a clean bed with a faint crackle; ends on the protected logo.
- **Performance:** the material is the performer - crystals advance and halt cleanly at the logo edge.
- **Prompt:** `Locked macro on a clear glass pane; over the clip, frost crystals grow inward from the edges and halt cleanly at the etched logo, leaving it clear; cool motivated side light rakes the crystal growth; one cause, cold, with visible crystal advance; quiet bed with a faint ice crackle; preserve the logo shape and keep the camera locked.`

### Establishing / landscape

- **Idea:** "a fishing village wakes at dawn."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: establish the harbor's dawn geography and change from still water to visible work by anchoring on one fisherman coiling rope; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented protagonist quest, private grief, nostalgic backstory, power struggle, or forced story turn
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the world breathe awake. **Voice:** observational naturalist.
- **Setup:** a wide-to-medium move that finds one human in the geography; low warm sun breaking over moored boats; layered depth into haze; ambient gulls and water; the human is the anchor that saves it from an empty vista.
- **Performance:** one fisherman coils a rope and looks to the horizon.
- **Prompt:** `Wide establishing of a small fishing harbor at first light; a slow move settles on one fisherman coiling a rope on the dock and looking to the horizon; low warm sun breaks over the moored boats with layered depth into morning haze; ambient gulls, lapping water, and a distant engine; keep the human as the anchor and the move motivated.`

### Beauty / cosmetics

- **Idea:** "a serum drop meets skin."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: demonstrate one serum drop spreading and absorbing while natural skin texture and controlled specular detail remain visible; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented seduction, self-esteem crisis, human transformation, product desire, or personality for the serum
- **Intention:** make the skin look luminous and the product credible. **Voice:** composed classicist.
- **Setup:** locked macro; a large soft frontal key for flawless even light with controlled speculars; neutral clean background; one continuous absorb; quiet bed.
- **Performance:** the drop spreads and absorbs; if a face, one slow serene blink.
- **Prompt:** `Locked macro of a serum drop meeting clean skin; the drop spreads and absorbs to a soft luminous sheen under a large soft frontal key with controlled speculars on a neutral background; one continuous gentle motion; quiet ambient bed; keep skin texture natural and the product the single beat.`

### Food / culinary

- **Idea:** "a knife cuts into a seared steak."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: reveal crust, pink interior, beading juice, and steam through one continuous knife cut without hiding doneness; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented diner reaction, chef rivalry, appetite psychology, dramatic conflict, or anthropomorphized food
- **Intention:** make the audience hungry. **Voice:** composed classicist, macro sensory.
- **Setup:** locked macro; a warm soft key raking the crust; shallow focus; steam catching light; one continuous cut; sound is the sizzle and the knife.
- **Performance:** the food performs - the cut, the beading juices, the rising steam.
- **Prompt:** `Locked macro on a seared steak; a knife makes one slow continuous cut revealing the pink interior as juices bead and steam rises into a warm soft key from the right; shallow focus, raking light on the crust; sound is a gentle sizzle and the soft cut; no fast motion, keep the food the single sensory beat.`

### Automotive / commercial

- **Idea:** "a car carves a coastal road at dusk."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: prove the car's body proportions, coastal-road handling, and stable reflected light through one continuous dusk bend; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented driver psychology, chase, competition, romance, or character arc for the machine
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the engineered motion. **Voice:** composed classicist with kinetic accents.
- **Setup:** a tracking move matched to the car's speed; a low hero three-quarter; golden low sun with clean body reflections; one continuous arc; engine note and tire hum.
- **Performance:** the car is the performer - a clean confident arc through the bend, reflections sweeping.
- **Prompt:** `An original sports car carving a coastal road at golden dusk; a tracking move matched to its speed holds a low hero three-quarter as it arcs confidently through a bend, low sun sweeping clean reflections across the body; engine note, tire hum, and wind; keep the car's shape and proportions stable, one continuous motion.`

### High fashion / editorial

- **Idea:** "an editorial frame of a model in a sculptural coat."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: reveal the coat's construction through the model's refusal to perform warmth; `turn`: frontal statue to asymmetrical volume; `POV`: a gallery viewer inspecting silhouette and restraint; `power shift`: the blank backdrop owns the geometry until the model's quarter-turn breaks it; `hidden want/objective`: make the viewer inspect construction without inviting personal access; `obstacle/tactic`: heavy wool can collapse against the torso, so the model holds one elbow clear during the turn; `subtext/contradiction`: a nearly aborted grooming gesture makes the deadpan distance feel chosen; `visible suppressed behavior`: the left hand begins to smooth the lapel and stops two centimeters short; `non-transferable detail`: one off-center bone button closes the coat at the throat; `stock solution refused`: no wind machine, flash-cut posing, orbiting camera, or anonymous luxury surface
- **Intention:** make the garment feel like sculpture. **Voice:** graphic formalist.
- **Setup:** precise centered composition; one hard shaped key with clean falloff; limited palette; a slow deliberate move or a locked frame; deadpan stillness.
- **Performance:** one slow controlled quarter-turn reveals the silhouette; the gaze stays cool and direct.
- **Prompt:** `Original fashion model in a sculptural wool coat closed by one off-center bone button at the throat; precise centered composition against a seamless backdrop, one hard shaped key and limited monochrome palette; the left hand begins to smooth the lapel and stops two centimeters short, then a slow quarter-turn with one elbow held clear reveals the silhouette; no handheld; preserve garment shape and fabric texture.`

### Fashion runway

- **Idea:** "a model walks the runway in a flowing gown."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: demonstrate the gown's motion while letting the model earn command; `turn`: measured approach to ownership of the runway endpoint; `POV`: the centered front-row eye; `power shift`: runway distance controls the entrance until the model holds the final turn; `hidden want/objective`: show the full hem flare without breaking the walk's precision; `obstacle/tactic`: the flowing skirt threatens the pivot, so the model shortens one step and plants the left heel; `subtext/contradiction`: the correction is nearly invisible, which makes control read as effortless; `visible suppressed behavior`: the right fingers start to gather the skirt and release it before the pivot; `non-transferable detail`: a silver seam along the left hem catches the hard runway key; `stock solution refused`: no speed ramp, confetti, audience cutaway, or wind-blown entrance
- **Intention:** make the fabric move like water. **Voice:** graphic formalist.
- **Setup:** a slow dolly-back matching the walk; a hard runway key; a clean dark surround; the gown's movement is the subject; rhythmic ambient.
- **Performance:** a steady confident walk, then one decisive turn that flares the fabric.
- **Prompt:** `An original model walks toward camera in a flowing gown with a silver seam along the left hem catching the hard runway key; a slow dolly-back matches the approach, her right fingers start to gather the skirt and release it, then one shortened step plants the left heel for a decisive turn that flares the fabric; clean dark surround and rhythmic ambient; keep the face and garment stable.`

### Real estate / property tour

- **Idea:** "a walkthrough of a sunlit apartment."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: map the apartment's spatial continuity from entry to living room to window while preserving straight verticals and natural-light changes; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented resident, family memory, aspirational romance, property psychology, or staged emotional welcome
- **Intention:** make the audience feel at home in the space. **Voice:** observational naturalist.
- **Setup:** a single continuous steady forward path; natural light changing zone to zone; balanced exposure; ambient room tone only; no cuts.
- **Performance:** no performer - the space and light perform as the path reveals each zone calmly.
- **Prompt:** `A single continuous steady forward glide through a sunlit apartment, moving from entry to living room to a window view; natural light shifts gently from zone to zone with balanced exposure; ambient room tone only, no music; one unbroken take, no cuts; keep verticals straight and motion smooth.`

### Talking-head pitch (口播)

- **Idea:** "a founder pitches a product to camera."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: earn enough trust for one concrete next step; `turn`: viewer skepticism to provisional willingness to try; `POV`: the viewer addressed across the lens; `power shift`: the viewer withholds belief until the founder points to physical proof; `hidden want/objective`: secure a trial without sounding as if the result is guaranteed; `obstacle/tactic`: the benefit sounds abstract, so the founder redirects the claim toward the prototype; `subtext/contradiction`: the restrained gesture admits that proof, not charisma, must carry the pitch; `visible suppressed behavior`: the thumb taps the prototype's chipped blue corner once before the hand opens toward it; `non-transferable detail`: a scratched palm-sized prototype has one chipped blue corner; `stock solution refused`: no frantic jump cuts, floating interface graphics, magic transformation, or repeated call-to-action
- **Intention:** make the audience trust and act. **Voice:** composed classicist, caption-safe.
- **Setup:** locked medium close-up; soft even key; a tidy on-brand background; minimal head motion; caption-safe headroom; clean room tone; short quoted lines.
- **Performance:** steady eye contact, one open-hand gesture on the key point, restrained.
- **Prompt:** `Locked medium close-up of an original founder addressing camera with a scratched palm-sized prototype on the desk, one blue corner chipped; soft even key with caption-safe headroom; steady eye contact as the thumb taps that chipped blue corner once, then one open-hand gesture directs the viewer back to the prototype; minimal head motion and clean room tone; keep framing stable for captions.`

### Sports / hype

- **Idea:** "a sprinter explodes out of the blocks."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: convert held training pressure into the first three strides; `turn`: loaded stillness to low forward drive; `POV`: ground level beside lane four; `power shift`: the starter owns the silence until the sprinter takes the frame through launch; `hidden want/objective`: win the first three strides without lifting the torso early; `obstacle/tactic`: nervous weight presses forward, so the athlete checks the block strap and resets the hips; `subtext/contradiction`: one private equipment ritual contains the pressure that hype language would announce; `visible suppressed behavior`: the right thumb presses the frayed blue block strap once and releases at the start; `non-transferable detail`: lane four's starting block has a frayed blue strap around its rear brace; `stock solution refused`: no speed ramp, training montage, impact shake, or cutaway crowd roar
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the explosion. **Voice:** kinetic visceral.
- **Setup:** a low ground-level angle; hard directional sun; a snap from locked tension to a fast lateral track on the drive phase; sound cracks from silence to the start and footfalls; one objective.
- **Performance:** coiled stillness, then full-body drive - muscle, breath, the first three strides.
- **Prompt:** `Low ground-level shot beside lane four: an original sprinter coils over a starting block with a frayed blue strap around its rear brace; the right thumb presses the strap once, releases at the crack, and she drives low through three strides as a fast lateral track takes over; hard directional sun, sound jumping from silence to start and footfalls; keep the face and bib stable, launch as the single beat.`

### Fitness / workout

- **Idea:** "a battle-rope set in a gritty gym."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: make fatigue visible so the final rope slam is earned; `turn`: controlled cadence to a compromised but completed final push; `POV`: low beside the rope anchor; `power shift`: the rope's rebound dictates the middle until the athlete recovers the last repetition; `hidden want/objective`: finish one final slam without losing the stance; `obstacle/tactic`: the forearms begin to fail, so the athlete resets the left foot over a floor mark; `subtext/contradiction`: a quiet technical correction carries persistence better than shouted motivation; `visible suppressed behavior`: the right grip opens one finger-width and clamps shut before the final pull; `non-transferable detail`: a white tape cross sits under the left shoe beside the chalky black rope; `stock solution refused`: no screaming coach, rapid montage, gratuitous sweat macro, or camera shake on every slam
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the burn. **Voice:** kinetic visceral.
- **Setup:** a hard directional key catching sweat and chalk; a punchy low angle or tight track; sound thick with breath and rope impact; one set as the beat.
- **Performance:** full-effort slams, ragged breath, one harder rep through visible fatigue.
- **Prompt:** `Low angle beside a chalky black battle rope as an original athlete works over a white tape cross under the left shoe; under a hard directional key, the right grip opens one finger-width and clamps shut, the left foot resets on the cross, and one final rope slam lands through visible fatigue; ragged breath and rope impact only; keep the face and motion legible.`

### Travel / cinematic vlog

- **Idea:** "arriving at a mountain village."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: share arrival by letting the place interrupt the travel task; `turn`: route-finding motion to surrendered stillness; `POV`: the traveler emerging from behind the stone wall; `power shift`: the map controls the walk until the village takes the whole field of attention; `hidden want/objective`: confirm the route without turning the arrival into a performance for camera; `obstacle/tactic`: the wall hides the destination, so the traveler steps past it and checks the horizon; `subtext/contradiction`: lowering the map rather than celebrating lets the landscape answer; `visible suppressed behavior`: the traveler lifts the folded map, almost opens it, then lowers it unopened; `non-transferable detail`: a faded red bus ticket protrudes from the map's center fold; `stock solution refused`: no drone orbit, arms-wide pose, travel slogan, or accelerated landmark montage
- **Intention:** make the audience feel they arrived too. **Voice:** observational naturalist with expressive accents.
- **Setup:** a reveal move from a foreground element to the wide vista; warm motivated light; layered depth; one human for scale; ambient wind and distant life.
- **Performance:** the traveler steps into frame and stops, taking it in.
- **Prompt:** `A reveal move passes a stone wall into a wide mountain village in warm low light; a traveler steps into frame, lifts a folded map with a faded red bus ticket protruding from its center fold, almost opens it, then lowers it unopened and stops; layered depth into haze, ambient wind and faint village sounds; keep the human as scale and the reveal motivated.`

### Dialogue-driven two-hander

- **Idea:** "two colleagues over coffee; one is about to betray the other."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: let a polished reassurance betray itself; `turn`: ordinary trust to privately confirmed suspicion; `POV`: Character B listening for the lie; `power shift`: Character A controls the talk until Character B stops participating and gains knowledge; `hidden want/objective`: verify the betrayal without revealing that it has been detected; `obstacle/tactic`: Character A's smile never slips, so Character B tests the silence instead of accusing; `subtext/contradiction`: warm words and a motionless hand point in opposite directions; `visible suppressed behavior`: Character B's index finger circles the cup rim once and stops before lifting it; `non-transferable detail`: the cobalt coffee cup has a chip in the glaze beside its square handle; `stock solution refused`: no villain smirk, Dutch angle, accusatory dialogue, or musical sting
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the trust curdle. **Voice:** composed classicist.
- **Setup:** clean opposed singles at matched eye-level, then a subtle size or height imbalance as power shifts; soft even cafe light cooling slightly; sparse ambient; cut on the line that lands.
- **Performance:** one keeps a too-steady smile; the other's hand pauses on the cup as the realization arrives.
- **Prompt:** `Two original colleagues at a cafe table in clean opposed singles at eye level; Character A keeps a steady, too-warm smile while Character B's index finger circles once around a cobalt coffee cup with chipped glaze beside its square handle, then stops without lifting it; soft cafe light and sparse ambient; hold on the motionless hand before Character B looks up; keep both faces stable.`

### Short drama (短剧)

- **Idea:** "she reads the text that changes everything."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: end the vertical clip on concealment rather than explaining the message; `turn`: routine phone check to privately recognized threat; `POV`: the recipient protecting what the entering person cannot yet see; `power shift`: she controls the scroll until the sender's message dictates her body; `hidden want/objective`: hide the message before the approaching footsteps reach the room; `obstacle/tactic`: a reply has already begun, so she traps the thumb and turns the screen inward; `subtext/contradiction`: the face remains composed while the phone disappears from view; `visible suppressed behavior`: her thumb begins a reply and freezes over the case's cracked yellow corner; `non-transferable detail`: a faded Route 17 sticker crosses the cracked yellow phone case; `stock solution refused`: no scream, flash-frame message insert, hard light change, sound sting, or consequence inside this clip
- **Intention:** make the audience need the next clip. **Voice:** kinetic visceral, vertical and tight.
- **Setup:** tight vertical framing; a fast push to a held close-up on the reaction; a hard light shift on the reveal; a sound sting, then cut on the beat; two or three labeled beats.
- **Performance:** the face does it - neutral, then the freeze, then the held breath.
- **Prompt:** `Vertical tight framing on Character A checking a phone in a cracked yellow case crossed by a faded Route 17 sticker; approaching footsteps enter the room tone as her thumb begins a reply and freezes over the cracked corner, then she turns the screen inward and looks up; one restrained half-step push ends on the hidden phone and held face; do not reveal the message, reserve the consequence for the next clip.`

### Romance

- **Idea:** "two people almost hold hands on a bench."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: stage mutual risk without completing the touch; `turn`: guarded parallel stillness to a shared almost-choice; `POV`: the gap between both resting hands; `power shift`: neither person leads until one pinky moves and the other closes half the distance; `hidden want/objective`: test whether contact is welcome without forcing an answer; `obstacle/tactic`: either movement can be misread, so both keep their bodies still and let fingers negotiate; `subtext/contradiction`: the smaller the gesture, the larger the unspoken request; `visible suppressed behavior`: one thumb rubs an orange thread knot at the wrist, stops, and releases the pinky toward the gap; `non-transferable detail`: a short orange thread is tied with a double knot around the left wrist; `stock solution refused`: no kiss, swelling score, orbiting camera, dialogue confession, or lens-flare climax
- **Intention:** make the audience ache for the touch. **Voice:** intimate minimalist.
- **Setup:** a close two-shot; warm low golden light; a very gentle drift; shallow focus on the gap between the hands; soft ambient. The negative space between hands is the subject.
- **Performance:** fingers inch closer, a held breath, one tentative shift toward the other.
- **Prompt:** `Close two-shot of two original people on a park bench, shallow focus on the gap between their resting hands; one thumb rubs the double knot of a short orange thread around the left wrist, stops, and lets the pinky move toward the gap as the other hand closes half the distance, no touch; gentle drift and soft birdsong; keep faces and hands stable.`

### Noir / detective

- **Idea:** "a detective lights a cigarette under a streetlamp in the rain."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: turn exhausted surveillance into one chosen pursuit; `turn`: concealed waiting to a committed step into danger; `POV`: a watcher across the rain reading the detective's ritual; `power shift`: the unknown figure owns the off-screen space until the detective steadies the match and moves; `hidden want/objective`: identify the tail without revealing it has been seen; `obstacle/tactic`: rain and reflections obscure the street, so the detective uses the match flare to check the glass; `subtext/contradiction`: a routine cigarette light becomes a private signal that waiting is over; `visible suppressed behavior`: the match trembles once against the crushed corner of the matchbook and then steadies; `non-transferable detail`: a silver matchbook stamped THE MERIDIAN has one crushed corner; `stock solution refused`: no weary voice-over, Venetian-blind shadow, Dutch angle, or saxophone cue
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the weary tension. **Voice:** graphic formalist, low-key.
- **Setup:** a hard single sodium key from above; deep shadow; wet reflective pavement; a slow dolly or a locked frame; rain and a distant siren; high ratio.
- **Performance:** a slow exhale of smoke, eyes lifting to something off-screen, then a decisive step.
- **Prompt:** `Low-key shot of an original detective under a sodium streetlamp in steady rain; a match trembles once against the crushed corner of a silver matchbook stamped THE MERIDIAN, then steadies as its flare catches the wet shop glass; he lifts his eyes to something off-screen and takes one decisive step; hard top light, rain and distant siren; keep the camera quiet.`

### Fantasy / epic

- **Idea:** "a lone figure approaches a colossal ancient gate."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: make crossing the ancient threshold a chosen cost; `turn`: dwarfed approach to consent to enter; `POV`: the traveler measuring the gate from below; `power shift`: the sealed gate owns the landscape until the traveler releases the wrist and steps forward; `hidden want/objective`: enter before the last shaft of daylight leaves the opening; `obstacle/tactic`: scale and silence provoke hesitation, so the traveler grips a wrist token and counts one breath; `subtext/contradiction`: the body remains small while the released hand makes the decision large; `visible suppressed behavior`: fingers tighten around the wrist ribbon, hold for one breath, and let it fall free; `non-transferable detail`: a frayed red wrist ribbon carries one thumb-sized brass bell; `stock solution refused`: no swirling runes, floating particle field, sky beam, triumphant pose, or destiny narration
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the scale of fate. **Voice:** expressive stylist.
- **Setup:** an extreme wide with the figure tiny against the gate; a slow crane reveal; motivated god-rays through mist; a deep layered palette; swelling ambient. The smallness is the point.
- **Performance:** a slow steady approach, the head tilting up in awe.
- **Prompt:** `Extreme wide of a lone original traveler tiny before a colossal ancient stone gate; a frayed red wrist ribbon with one thumb-sized brass bell is held tight for one breath and released before the figure steps forward; a slow crane reveals shafts of late daylight entering through real cracks above the gate and catching mist; ambient wind and one faint bell; keep the scale contrast and light physically motivated.`

### Sci-fi

- **Idea:** "an astronaut sees an anomaly through the viewport."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: join wonder and threat to a contained decision not to alert the crew; `turn`: routine viewport inspection to silent alarm; `POV`: the astronaut comparing the anomaly with its reflection; `power shift`: she owns the checklist until the warm anomaly locks her attention; `hidden want/objective`: verify that the sight is real without touching the alarm; `obstacle/tactic`: condensation doubles the reflection, so she clears one narrow viewing arc; `subtext/contradiction`: the hand approaches communication while the body chooses silence; `visible suppressed behavior`: one gloved finger stops above the recessed red comm switch and curls back; `non-transferable detail`: a hairline crack crosses the small star decal on the viewport rim; `stock solution refused`: no hologram swarm, siren, spinning camera, shouted exposition, or full anomaly reveal
- **Intention:** make the audience feel sublime unease. **Voice:** composed classicist with graphic restraint.
- **Setup:** a slow push on the astronaut's face reflected in the viewport; a cool clinical key with one warm anomaly glow; a controlled palette; a low building hum. The reflection ties the subject to the unknown.
- **Performance:** stillness, then the eyes widen and the breath catches - contained awe.
- **Prompt:** `Slow push on an original astronaut's face reflected in a viewport whose rim has a small star decal crossed by a hairline crack; she clears one narrow arc of condensation, then one gloved finger stops above the recessed red comm switch and curls back; cool clinical cabin key with one warm anomaly glow beyond the glass, low hum; keep the face and reflection legible, do not reveal the full anomaly.`

### Nostalgia / vintage memory

- **Idea:** "a summer afternoon remembered."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: let a joyful summer action reveal the loss built into remembering it; `turn`: running presence to an empty wet patch that the camera cannot keep; `POV`: an adult rememberer who never enters frame; `power shift`: the child's movement fills the image until time takes the child out of it; `hidden want/objective`: keep the child in the frame for one more pass; `obstacle/tactic`: an unseen caller pulls attention away, so the camera holds instead of following; `subtext/contradiction`: the warm activity continues while the abandoned object carries absence; `visible suppressed behavior`: the child looks once toward the unseen caller, almost stops, and chooses one last run; `non-transferable detail`: a red plastic sandal with a sun-faded rocket sticker remains beside the sprinkler; `stock solution refused`: no sepia wash, fake film burn, sentimental score, slow-motion embrace, or explanatory voice-over
- **Intention:** make the audience feel a warm ache of memory. **Voice:** observational naturalist with a vintage source lock (see [seedance-style](../skills/seedance-style/SKILL.md)).
- **Setup:** grainy film texture; gate weave; halation on highlights; a warm faded palette; a gentle handheld drift; soft ambient. Embrace the era's artifacts.
- **Performance:** an unhurried real moment - a child running through a sprinkler as the sun flares.
- **Prompt:** `Grainy vintage film with gate weave and restrained halation; a child in warm afternoon light looks once toward an unseen caller, almost stops, then makes one last run through the garden sprinkler and exits frame, leaving a red plastic sandal with a sun-faded rocket sticker beside the water; the gentle handheld camera does not follow; soft ambient only, hold on the wet empty patch.`

### 3D / CG animation

- **Idea:** "a chubby robot greets a butterfly."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: earn affection through the robot's restraint around something fragile; `turn`: routine waddle to offered trust; `POV`: an audience close enough to read the robot's small correction; `power shift`: the robot's heavy body controls the approach until the butterfly makes it wait; `hidden want/objective`: inspect the butterfly without frightening it away; `obstacle/tactic`: the reaching claw is too large, so the robot folds it away and lowers the head; `subtext/contradiction`: refusing contact proves curiosity better than a delighted face; `visible suppressed behavior`: one metal claw starts to reach, stops, and folds behind the robot's back; `non-transferable detail`: the left antenna is patched with two wraps of yellow tape; `stock solution refused`: no particle shower, giant pleading eyes, weightless bounce, or instant friendship montage
- **Intention:** make the audience adore the robot. **Voice:** expressive stylist in 3D grammar.
- **Setup:** 3D-rendered, weighted squash-and-stretch motion; soft global illumination with a warm key; an appealing rounded silhouette; a gentle dolly follow; one clear beat.
- **Performance:** a weighted waddle, an anticipation crouch, then a delighted head tilt at the butterfly.
- **Prompt:** `Original 3D-animated chubby robot in a soft meadow, its left antenna patched with two wraps of yellow tape; it waddles forward with weighted motion, one metal claw starts to reach toward a butterfly, stops, and folds behind its back as the robot crouches and tilts its head; the butterfly lands on the patched antenna; warm global light and a gentle dolly; keep design consistent and motion weighted.`

### Stop-motion / claymation

- **Idea:** "a clay creature builds a tiny fire."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: make persistence create a believable pocket of warmth; `turn`: shivering darkness to a small working shelter; `POV`: a tabletop observer sharing the creature's scale; `power shift`: the damp twigs defeat the first arrangement until the creature changes the stack; `hidden want/objective`: light the fire before the final match is spent; `obstacle/tactic`: one damp twig smokes without catching, so the creature removes it and rebuilds the center; `subtext/contradiction`: the pause to warm empty hands admits fear without naming it; `visible suppressed behavior`: both clay hands move toward the weak ember, stop, and return to place one last twig; `non-transferable detail`: a blue matchbox bears a hand-drawn crescent moon on its sleeve; `stock solution refused`: no smooth CG morph, flawless clay surface, magical ignition burst, or weightless flame
- **Intention:** make the audience feel the handmade tactility. **Voice:** expressive stylist, stop-motion grammar.
- **Setup:** visible fingerprints and seams embraced; a slightly staccato frame cadence; a warm practical glow building; a shallow tabletop set; no smooth photographic motion.
- **Performance:** deliberate, charmingly jerky placement of each twig, then a satisfied lean back as the glow rises.
- **Prompt:** `Original clay creature beside a blue matchbox with a hand-drawn crescent moon, visible fingerprints and seams throughout; one damp twig smokes, so both clay hands move toward the weak ember, stop, and return to rebuild the center with one last twig; a warm practical glow finally rises in slightly staccato stop-motion cadence; no smooth photographic motion; keep character and texture consistent.`

### Kids / children's content

- **Idea:** "a toddler discovers bubbles in the garden."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: share the child's first successful prediction of where a bubble will move; `turn`: cautious tracking to delighted repetition; `POV`: camera held at the child's standing height; `power shift`: drifting bubbles control the first reaches until the child times one clean pop; `hidden want/objective`: touch one bubble without losing balance; `obstacle/tactic`: the breeze pulls it sideways, so the child plants one boot and waits; `subtext/contradiction`: intense concentration makes the laugh feel discovered rather than performed; `visible suppressed behavior`: the tongue presses one lip corner while a single finger tracks the bubble before the pop; `non-transferable detail`: the left yellow rain boot carries a red ladybug sticker above the ankle; `stock solution refused`: no confetti, exaggerated reaction, camera spin, nursery-song cue, or shower of impossible bubbles
- **Intention:** make the audience smile with the child. **Voice:** observational naturalist, bright and soft.
- **Setup:** camera low at child height; bright soft daylight; a gentle follow; bouncy small motions; a warm pastel feel; light ambient giggles.
- **Performance:** small bouncy motions - the reach, the pop, the laugh, the wobble.
- **Prompt:** `Camera at toddler height in a sunny garden; the child's left yellow rain boot, marked by a red ladybug sticker above the ankle, plants as the tongue presses one lip corner and a single finger tracks a bubble drifting sideways; one clean pop releases a laugh and a small wobble; bright soft daylight, gentle follow, breeze and natural giggle only; keep face stable and motions small.`

### Documentary interview

- **Idea:** "an older craftsperson speaks about their trade."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: let craft memory interrupt a prepared interview answer; `turn`: guarded explanation to candid demonstration; `POV`: the interviewer listening from slightly off axis; `power shift`: the question frames the opening until the craftsperson's hands choose what matters; `hidden want/objective`: explain the trade without turning private pride into a performance; `obstacle/tactic`: formal words keep distance, so the subject reaches for the worn tool and lets the hands lead; `subtext/contradiction`: the voice stays plain while touch reveals attachment; `visible suppressed behavior`: the thumb rubs the crescent wear mark once and both hands settle before speech resumes; `non-transferable detail`: a beech hand plane has a hand-carved crescent and a dark wear mark below it; `stock solution refused`: no inspirational score, B-roll montage, tearful close-up, or heroic trade slogan
- **Intention:** make the audience lean in and believe. **Voice:** observational naturalist.
- **Setup:** a medium close-up slightly off-axis; a soft motivated window key; natural workshop bokeh; a barely-breathing camera; real room tone. Use an original subject, never a real-person likeness.
- **Performance:** honest micro-behavior - a pause, a glance down, hands that still remember the work.
- **Prompt:** `Medium close-up of an original older craftsperson in a workshop, slightly off axis under a soft window key; the subject lifts a beech hand plane with a hand-carved crescent and dark wear mark, rubs that mark once with the thumb, lets both hands settle, then resumes speaking; a barely breathing locked camera, real room tone, no music; keep the face stable and the exchange unstaged.`

### Nature / wildlife

- **Idea:** "a fox pauses in snowfall."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: reveal alert intelligence without imposing a chase; `turn`: resting stillness to precise attention; `POV`: a distant observer who cannot influence the animal; `power shift`: snowfall owns the quiet until an off-screen twig redirects the fox; `hidden want/objective`: locate the sound without exposing the body to it; `obstacle/tactic`: snow muffles direction, so ears swivel independently while the paws stay planted; `subtext/contradiction`: the almost-step carries more survival pressure than a run; `visible suppressed behavior`: the front right paw lifts two centimeters and returns to the same print; `non-transferable detail`: one burdock burr is caught in the fox's left shoulder fur; `stock solution refused`: no chase, slow-motion leap, orchestral wonder, predator reveal, or human reaction cutaway
- **Intention:** make the audience hold their breath with the animal. **Voice:** observational naturalist, long-lens patience.
- **Setup:** long-lens compression; a locked or barely drifting frame; soft natural overcast light; falling snow catching it; shallow focus isolating the fox; ambient hush.
- **Performance:** the fox is the performer - ears swivel, a held alert gaze, one breath of vapor.
- **Prompt:** `Long-lens compressed shot of a fox in soft snowfall, one burdock burr caught in its left shoulder fur; in a barely drifting locked frame, the ears swivel independently, the front right paw lifts two centimeters and returns to the same print, and breath vapor rises as the fox holds its gaze toward an off-screen twig sound; natural overcast light and ambient hush only; keep observation patient.`

### Pet / animal portrait

- **Idea:** "a cat watches rain from a windowsill."
- **Read - narrative lane.** `dramatic function`: make companionship legible through one incomplete reach; `turn`: tucked rest to shared notice of a raindrop; `POV`: the owner watching at sill level; `power shift`: the warm resting place holds the cat until the moving drop redirects attention; `hidden want/objective`: track the drop without leaving the warm spot; `obstacle/tactic`: the glass prevents contact, so the cat follows with paw, ear, and tail instead; `subtext/contradiction`: curiosity advances while the body chooses comfort; `visible suppressed behavior`: one front paw rises toward the glass, stops, and tucks back under the chest; `non-transferable detail`: a loose red thread is snagged in the wicker sill mat beside the tucked paw; `stock solution refused`: no human-like smile, cute voice-over, music-box cue, costume, or exaggerated head tilt
- **Intention:** make the audience feel cozy. **Voice:** intimate minimalist.
- **Setup:** camera at the cat's level; soft window light; shallow focus; a locked or tiny drift; rain ambient; warm.
- **Performance:** a slow blink, an ear flick, the tail tip curling as a raindrop tracks the glass.
- **Prompt:** `Camera at sill level beside a cat watching a raindrop track down the glass; a loose red thread is snagged in the wicker mat beside its tucked paw; one front paw rises toward the glass, stops, and tucks back under the chest as an ear flicks and the tail tip curls; soft cool window light, shallow focus, tiny drift, gentle rain ambient; keep motion small.`

### Time-lapse / hyperlapse

- **Idea:** "a city square from day to night."
- **Read - non-narrative lane.** `utility intent`: compress afternoon-to-night crowd and light changes while one stable architectural anchor proves the square's fixed geography; `non-narrative refusal`: no invented city personality, protagonist, crowd conflict, emotional arc, or anthropomorphic urban pulse
- **Intention:** make the audience feel time rushing. **Voice:** graphic formalist.
- **Setup:** a locked wide for time-lapse or a smooth stabilized push for hyperlapse; light sweeping day to dusk to night; streaking crowds and clouds; consistent framing; a rhythmic ambient build.
- **Performance:** no performer - the crowd and light are the motion; one stable anchor holds the frame.
- **Prompt:** `Locked wide time-lapse of a city square from afternoon to night; light sweeps warm to blue as crowds and clouds streak through and the lights switch on; one stable architectural anchor holds the frame; rhythmic ambient build; keep the framing fixed and the streaking motion the subject.`