# Serialized Drama Production Schema

Use this schema for any serialized narrative profile where the work must scale beyond one bespoke shot.

The key rule:
**Do not confuse profile, project world, and scene packet.**

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## Layer 1 — Generic Serialized Drama Profile

This is the reusable engine for serialized drama production.

### Purpose
Support repeatable production for episodic drama through:
- continuity-first thinking
- episode -> scene -> beat -> shot decomposition
- reusable shot classes
- controlled iteration by failure layer

### Core assumptions
- The unit of planning is not “a cool prompt”; it is a **shot serving a beat**.
- The unit of continuity is not “the whole series at once”; it is **scene block state**.
- The unit of production scaling is not “one long video”; it is **many reusable shot patterns**.

### Canonical hierarchy
1. **Series / Project**
2. **Episode**
3. **Scene**
4. **Beat**
5. **Shot**

### Profile-level invariants
These are broad, genre-structural rules, not project aesthetics.
- Plan by dramatic beats, not by raw script lines only
- Keep one shot focused on one dominant beat
- Preserve character continuity across scene blocks
- Preserve location continuity across scene blocks
- Track visible state changes explicitly
- Review failures by layer instead of blind re-prompting

### Mandatory production entities
Every serialized-drama workflow should define:
- **character bible**
- **location bible**
- **project world/tone package**
- **episode outline**
- **scene packet**
- **shot list**
- **continuity state**

### Generic shot taxonomy
These are reusable categories, not project-specific aesthetics.

#### A. Establishing
- world establishing
- neighborhood / exterior establishing
- room establishing
- arrival / departure establishing

#### B. Master coverage
- two-character master
- group master
- room geography master
- entrance/interruption master

#### C. Character coverage
- reaction close-up
- power close-up
- vulnerable close-up
- profile tension close-up
- silent listening close-up

#### D. Insert / detail
- hands
- object
- fabric
- food/drink
- message/phone
- eyes
- door/lock
- mirror/reflection fragment
- environmental detail

#### E. Motivated perspective
- POV
- over-shoulder
- reflection view
- obstructed partial reveal

#### F. Punctuation beats
- pause after line
- turn-away
- splash/impact
- object drop
- look hold
- silence beat

### Risk framework
Treat risk as a production routing tool.

#### Low risk
- static close-up
- simple insert
- single subject in clear environment

#### Medium risk
- two-character master
- partial action with props
- environment continuity dependent shot

#### High risk
- reflection logic
- multi-character geometry under motion
- contact + hands + props together
- wardrobe state transition
- difficult implied action that must stay tasteful or off-screen

### Failure diagnosis layers
When a shot fails, classify the failure before retrying:
- identity
- staging/geography
- location readability
- emotional tone
- motion tempo
- camera logic
- hand/prop anatomy
- reflection/mirror logic
- sound/lipsync

### Model policy
- Default still model: **Nano Banana 2** when quality/identity/staging matter
- **Wan is not an automatic fallback**; use only when Dmitri explicitly requests it
- Default motion model: Kling O3 PRO reference-to-video unless the project proves a better route

### Operator rule for risky content
If a shot is strategically useful but model/risk handling suggests a manual Wan bridge or a non-default workaround, escalate to Dmitri instead of silently changing strategy.

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## Layer 2 — Project / World Layer Schema

This layer describes the actual dramatic world.
It is narrower than the generic profile, but broader than any one scene.

### Required fields
- **project name**
- **format** (vertical, widescreen, hybrid)
- **genre family**
- **delivery context**
- **world premise**
- **social environment**
- **tone package**
- **visual package**
- **camera package**
- **character set**
- **location family**
- **continuity expectations**

### Tone package
Project-level, not profile-level.
Examples:
- luxury romantic drama
- working-class family melodrama
- social drama about racism/class
- hospital/factory/school drama
- rural tragedy

### Visual package
Project-level, not profile-level.
Examples:
- soft daylight realism
- harsh fluorescent realism
- moody overcast interiors
- heightened glossy soap aesthetic
- handheld documentary tension

### Character set
For each principal character track:
- identity anchor
- age band
- silhouette / wardrobe identity
- emotional baseline
- relation graph role
- what must never drift visually

### Location family
For each recurring location track:
- name
- visual anchor
- spatial logic
- repeatable features
- common blocking patterns
- continuity-critical objects

### Project continuity rules
Examples:
- never glamorize X character
- always preserve class contrast in wardrobe
- keep family resemblance between Y and Z
- certain actions must remain implied rather than shown
- specific spaces must always read as the same room

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## Layer 3 — Scene Packet Schema

This is the operational packet used for generation.

### Required fields
- **scene id**
- **episode id**
- **scene objective**
- **location**
- **time of day**
- **characters present**
- **continuity-in state**
- **continuity-out target**
- **beat list**
- **shot list**
- **risk notes**
- **model notes**

### Beat schema
Each beat should define:
- beat id
- dramatic function
- who drives it
- who receives it
- emotional delta
- what becomes newly visible/known
- whether the beat should be shown directly or implied

### Shot schema
Each shot should define:
- shot id
- beat id
- shot class
- priority
- characters in frame
- framing / angle
- visible action limit
- dialogue / sound
- continuity requirements
- risk level
- still strategy
- motion strategy
- review checklist

### Continuity-in / continuity-out
Track concrete state, not vibes.
Examples:
- hair dry/wet
- shirt closed/opened
- seated/standing
- object in hand/not in hand
- mirror fogged/wiped
- who is in room
- who is off-screen
- emotional posture entering scene
- emotional posture leaving scene

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## What belongs where

### Profile level
- serialized-drama workflow rules
- shot taxonomy
- risk model
- escalation rules

### Project/world level
- luxury vs poor district vs hospital vs school
- class/race/family themes
- visual spine of this specific world
- cast/world anchors

### Scene level
- bathroom scene
- mirror shot
- coercion beat
- food table fight
- hospital corridor reveal
- anything specific to one scene block

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## Practical use order
1. Select profile: serialized drama
2. Fill project/world layer
3. Build scene packet
4. Expand scene -> beats -> shots
5. Choose 2–3 representative test shots
6. Generate stills first
7. Review by failure layer
8. Only then move to motion