Thirty-one specialist prompt modules

Append the relevant module to a core prompt or bounded task. Use the same approved brief, canon, assets and scene ID. Replace bracketed context in the shared envelope with your actual information; no default actor, genre, tool, lens, music or spend is implied. Select only modules needed for this shot. Definitions, ownership and acceptance criteria are in the department playbook.

Shared envelope

Project / scene / shot: [IDs]
Task owner / module IDs: [roles and selected Mxx modules]
Pinned inputs: [brief/script/canon/asset versions, paths and hashes]
Current stage / requested deliverable: [specific output]
Authority and limits: [allowed actions, write scope, time, cumulative attempts/spend]
Observed tool capabilities: [supported controls and unknowns]
Apply the selected specialist module below. Preserve approved canon and reference scopes.
Return the artifact/candidate version, decisions, evidence-backed acceptance results, limitations, unresolved dependencies and next owner. Unknown is not pass. Propose only the smallest necessary next step; a planning prompt is not authorization to launch media jobs or publish.

M01 — Development and story

Owners: EP / WR. Expected artifact: Brief, beat sheet, script, research/world-rule log, runtime budget.

Turn the supplied premise into an observable causal chain. For each beat name the audience information change, required image/sound and minimum coverage. Identify one costly dependency and a story-preserving simpler version.
Acceptance: Each required payoff has a visible/audible setup; runtime arithmetic includes all material; claims needing evidence are marked.
Known limitation: A fluent script is not proof of production feasibility.

M02 — Production, line production and assistant direction

Owners: PM / EP. Expected artifact: Schedule, task graph, budget/attempt ledger, daily status, fallback decision.

Build the smallest executable wave plan. State dependencies, owner, input versions, outputs, acceptance tests, deadline, remaining attempt scope and fallback. Calculate whether remaining work fits the reserve.
Acceptance: Critical path plus protected reserve fits deadline; rerouted/renamed jobs retain prior spend and attempts; uncertain jobs are reconciled.
Known limitation: Queue estimates vary; a planning document cannot enforce leases, payments or deadlines by itself.

M03 — Direction, casting and performance

Owners: DR / WR / SD. Expected artifact: Director intent, casting/voice decision, performance card, approved take selection.

Write a playable performance card: desire, concealed feeling, gaze target, posture, action, pause and end state. Supply exact words only where authorized. Describe an observable pass/fail and a quiet fallback.
Acceptance: Action communicates the intended change; expression does not contradict subtext; identity, accent and delivery stay consistent; exact dialogue is checked by listening.
Known limitation: Subtle acting and lip sync are unreliable; select takes, shorten beats or use an editorial reaction rather than piling on adjectives.

M04 — Visual development and concept design

Owners: CV / DR / PD. Expected artifact: Look bible, approved concept set, palette/texture sheet, reference authority notes.

Propose a compact visual grammar with a reason for each choice. Separate immutable design from scene-specific lighting/state. Return reference scopes, representative checks and a cheaper implementation path.
Acceptance: Across representative day/night/interior/exterior needs, motifs remain recognizable and support the story; references have explicit permitted influence.
Known limitation: A mood board may contaminate faces or geography if attached indiscriminately; expensive equipment tags do not establish a look.

M05 — Art direction, sets and environments

Owners: PD / CV / CC. Expected artifact: Location bible, plan/elevation sketch, view list, set-dressing and state map.

Map the scene location from its action requirements. Label fixed landmarks, paths, camera zones, light sources and approved views. Identify unsupported angles and the reference needed before generation.
Acceptance: A reviewer can map adjacent shots to the same place; door/window positions, usable space, landmarks and relative scale agree.
Known limitation: AI camera changes can rebuild the set; approved alternate views or a simple 3D/previs plate may be needed.

M06 — Props, mechanisms and practical action

Owners: PD / CC / FX. Expected artifact: Prop sheet, state diagram, contact/occlusion map, mechanics test and insert requirement.

Describe the object at rest, contact, movement, consequence and final state. Name the hand, contact point and occlusion. Design the shortest test that proves causality and a fallback that does not invent missing action.
Acceptance: Count and scale stay fixed; fingers contact the correct surface; release follows support; mechanism moves once and causes the intended result.
Known limitation: Text cannot reliably repair contradictory image geometry; split close interaction into supported shots, composite or simplify.

M07 — Costume, hair and makeup continuity

Owners: CC / PD / DR. Expected artifact: Character turnaround, costume detail sheet, appearance-state timeline.

Create an appearance continuity card with invariant details, authorized state changes and excluded additions. Explain which references control face, body and clothing; list checks at wide, medium and close framing.
Acceptance: Silhouette and distinctive details match at relevant framings; lighting does not disguise an unapproved redesign; changes occur only at approved story events.
Known limitation: Repeated new character generations often create a new person; post-lock work makes views/states of the approved identity.

M08 — Cinematography: composition and shot language

Owners: DP / DR / SB. Expected artifact: Camera/coverage plan, composition frames, reveal map and framing tolerances.

For each beat choose framing, camera position/height, subject placement and what remains unseen. Explain the narrative reason, required visible detail, cut partner and observable composition check.
Acceptance: The story subject/action reads at delivery size; composition carries the intended information; reframing/crops preserve necessary hands, props and gaze room.
Known limitation: A framing label is approximate in generated media; inspect actual composition, not just the prompt.

M09 — Lenses, perspective, focus and depth

Owners: DP / SB. Expected artifact: Lens/geometry intent card, focus map, near/far anchors, supported-control record.

Describe the viewpoint, distance relationships, field of view, sharp region and focus target in observable language. Add numerical lens values only with an explicit assumption/control. Give a static-focus fallback.
Acceptance: Near/far size relationships fit the intended viewpoint; critical target is readable; a focus pull changes sharpness rather than morphing objects.
Known limitation: Camera position determines perspective; focal length and sensor format affect field of view. Numeric lens/aperture prompts are intent cues unless the tool implements them.

M10 — Camera operation, blocking, movement and grip translation

Owners: DP / SB / CC. Expected artifact: Camera path, blocking/eyeline map, axis notes, motion reference and boundary card.

Plan one primary camera move around one action. Record start/end framing, path, pace, screen direction, eyeline target and axis side. Explain any crossing and provide a locked-camera coverage alternative.
Acceptance: Landmarks/parallax remain plausible; gaze has a stable target; entrances/exits preserve direction; any axis crossing is re-established visibly.
Known limitation: Grip/support names describe desired stability or path, not real hardware in AI; complex orbit plus fine interaction is high risk.

M11 — Lighting design and gaffer translation

Owners: DP / PD / CF. Expected artifact: Lighting diagram/state map, approved keyframes, shadow/reflection continuity notes.

Describe motivated sources and their effect on subject/background, including direction, softness, contrast and colour relationship. Define before/after states for practicals and checks on shadows, reflections and exposure.
Acceptance: Faces/action remain readable; shadows, reflections and highlights agree with sources; a source change affects the appropriate surfaces and adjacent shots.
Known limitation: Lighting prose is approximate; invented fixtures or inconsistent shadows require reference/selection/compositing. No physical rigging instructions are provided.

M12 — Camera pipeline: exposure, motion and colour intent

Owners: DP / CF / AR. Expected artifact: Image pipeline note, source metadata ledger, transform/LUT provenance, reference export.

Specify visible exposure and motion goals, then separately list verified file properties and supported settings. Map input→working→output colour handling and flag unknown transforms before grading.
Acceptance: Important detail survives highlights/shadows; cadence and blur suit action; transforms are applied once; output tags/spec match actual encoded content.
Known limitation: Writing cinema/log/HDR in a prompt does not create corresponding metadata or latitude. Standards workflows are optional and require correctly identified inputs.

M13 — Storyboards, animatics and previs

Owners: SB / DP / FX. Expected artifact: Numbered panels with state labels, timed animatic/shot list, source-to-timeline duration map.

Build a timed board plan with exact panel count, camera/action/state/sound and incoming/outgoing boundaries. Separate edit duration from supported generation settings. Label every board planning-only or attachable, and justify it.
Acceptance: Panel count equals stated grid; source clips cover edit duration plus handles; shot boundaries preserve axis/state; each cell shows one moment.
Known limitation: A multi-panel board may generate a collage; planning frames are not automatically valid start-image inputs. Animatic rhythm does not prove generated timing.

M14 — Script supervision and continuity

Owners: CC / ED / DR. Expected artifact: Continuity ledger, cut-boundary cards, discrepancy report, change-impact list.

Compare incoming/outgoing states across this shot and its neighbours. Return exact mismatches with source times, scope, required modality and smallest repair. Do not promote a rejected frame to a reference.
Acceptance: Both sides of each join match or have a deliberate motivated transition; accepted state comes from actual selected frames; contradictions have an owner/decision.
Known limitation: A still cannot establish temporal continuity or sound; inspect full relevant motion and listen when required.

M15 — Model feasibility and prompt engineering

Owners: ML / DP / DR. Expected artifact: Final prompt, negative/exclusion list where supported, attachment map, capability/unknown log.

Compile the packet into one model-compatible prompt. Preserve exact canon and dialogue, separate settings from prose, resolve conflicts and name the highest-risk request. Return attachment IDs and observable acceptance tests.
Acceptance: Prompt is complete and internally consistent; each reference has control/exclusion scope; critical requests map to supported settings or tested intent cues.
Known limitation: Long prompts and named premium models do not guarantee compliance; unsupported exact timing/control must remain an uncertainty.

M16 — Generation operation and job reconciliation

Owners: GO / PM / AR. Expected artifact: Preflight evidence, job ID/status, actual cost, original output and provenance record.

Prepare or inspect the preflight record for this authorized operation. Compare expected versus observed account, prompt, attachments, mode, settings and cost. Return hold on any unresolved mismatch; do not infer submission.
Acceptance: Observed composer matches expected state; job/output mapping is exact; no duplicate submission or exhausted scope; candidate status remains unapproved.
Known limitation: A UI click or progress badge is not proof of attachment, export or job success. Tool/account availability must be checked at execution.

M17 — Asset library, DIT and data management

Owners: AR / CC / PM. Expected artifact: Asset registry, checksums, source-proxy map, manifest, backup/restore evidence.

Inventory sources and candidates with versions, hashes, approvals, dependencies and intended reference scope. Identify missing/duplicate/stale entries and propose recoverable active pointers without deleting originals.
Acceptance: Every accepted artifact resolves to exact bytes and provenance; proxies map to originals; a sample restore/relink succeeds within the declared scope.
Known limitation: Hash equality proves bytes, not creative approval or rights. Avoid leaking private evidence into reusable/public packages.

M18 — VFX supervision, compositing and repair

Owners: FX / DP / CC. Expected artifact: VFX shot brief, layer/matte package, before/after, change mask, reviewed composite.

Design the smallest repair with exact frame range, protected elements, required layers, tracking/contact/lighting rules and acceptance checks. State what cannot be reconstructed honestly from the available source.
Acceptance: Effect attaches to the world with correct scale, occlusion and timing; protected identity/background remain unchanged; no matte chatter, halos or invented action.
Known limitation: Video inpainting may regenerate outside the mask; unavailable depth/clean plates limit repair. Compare all affected frames, not one hero frame.

M19 — Editorial, assistant edit and conform

Owners: ED / AR / DR. Expected artifact: Edit project, EDL/source-time map, review cut, picture-lock record, change list.

Build an edit decision plan with source in/out, timeline in/out, story purpose, transition and sound bridge. Flag missing coverage. Preserve approved music timing during picture-only repair unless a change is authorized.
Acceptance: Every timeline event resolves to an approved source; action/consequence remains visible; all joins/cards/crops pass; reconform retains timing and audio sync.
Known limitation: Editing cannot manufacture missing causality; generative text should normally be replaced by controlled typography. New picture timing invalidates affected audio/reviews.

M20 — Sound supervision and spotting

Owners: SD / DR / ED. Expected artifact: Spotting/cue sheet, sound bible, cue hierarchy, stem plan, sound risk list.

Spot this cut beat by beat. Name the audible focus, listener position, required cues, silence, source/rights status, sync point and edit tails. Identify contaminated or unavailable stems explicitly.
Acceptance: Each story-critical audible event has a source/owner/time; dominant cues are identified; picture changes propagate to relevant cues.
Known limitation: A native mixed soundtrack may be inseparable; an audio stream does not prove dialogue, sync or clean stems.

M21 — Dialogue recording, voice, ADR and dialogue edit

Owners: SD / DR / LR. Expected artifact: Dialogue takes and selects, pronunciation sheet, sync map, clean dialogue stem, transcript.

Prepare a voice/ADR card with exact text, pronunciation, objective, pauses, breaths, timing window and approved voice source. Define sync anchors and an editorial fallback if speech cannot fit naturally.
Acceptance: Every word matches approved text; voice identity/perspective is consistent; no clipped consonants or obvious sync offset; line remains intelligible in full mix.
Known limitation: Cloned likeness/voice requires applicable permission; plausible timbre is not proof of consent. Lip sync and denoising artifacts need actual listening/viewing.

M22 — Foley performance and edit

Owners: SD / ED. Expected artifact: Foley cue sheet, separate clips/takes, sync notes, Foley stem.

List only meaningful visible contacts with time, material, weight, perspective and dynamic priority. Write short individual sound briefs, then specify sync/trim checks and where Foley should remain understated.
Acceptance: Contacts occur at visible impact; surface, weight and distance fit; footsteps do not continue after stopping; no needless emphasis masks performance.
Known limitation: Sound generation may produce extra impacts or wrong materials; split cues, trim and sync manually rather than accepting a whole noisy bed.

M23 — Designed sound effects

Owners: SD / FX / DR. Expected artifact: SFX design sheet, licensed/generated sources, layered session, rendered effects stem.

Design the effect from its physical or fictional cause. Specify onset, body, tail, material, distance and emotional role. Separate literal mechanism from optional dramatic layer; give sync and contamination checks.
Acceptance: Sound follows the intended mechanism once; onset/decay and space match picture; layers avoid unintended associations or masking the causal cue.
Known limitation: A cinematic whoosh is not a substitute for a missing switch/contact; generated effects may contain unwanted speech or music.

M24 — Ambience, room tone and acoustic continuity

Owners: SD / ED. Expected artifact: Ambience map, clean beds/loops, room-tone patches where relevant, edit tails/stem.

Map each location to a restrained base bed and optional events. Specify perspective, transition overlap, loop-safe ranges, exclusions and how the bed changes with the character crossing a boundary.
Acceptance: Cuts do not expose holes or abrupt noise changes; loops avoid audible repetition; distance/interior/exterior shifts are motivated; beds leave speech room.
Known limitation: Static images cannot verify acoustic continuity; generated ambience may add anachronistic traffic, voices or score.

M25 — Music, composition and clearance

Owners: SD / DR / LR. Expected artifact: Music brief, cue map, source/license log, final masters/stems if available, temp-replacement list.

Write a music brief from the scene emotion and structure: cue purpose, motif, instrumentation, start/release/silence and protected timing. Mark temp/final status, rights evidence and missing stems; do not add score by default.
Acceptance: Every final cue has an approved source/use scope; temp tracks are replaced or cleared; entrances/releases serve story; critical speech is not masked.
Known limitation: A platform subscription alone does not establish every distribution right; generated music may lack clean stems. No filmmaker/composer imitation is required.

M26 — Sound edit, re-recording mix and mastering

Owners: SD / ED / QC. Expected artifact: Mix session, final mix, aligned D/M/E stems where available, measurement report, listening/QC notes.

Create a mix plan around the dominant cue per beat. Specify balance, automation, perspective, transitions, stem alignment and measured destination targets. Separate measured compliance from listening judgments and list unavailable checks.
Acceptance: Full mix is intelligible and free of clipping/clicks/gaps; sync holds start to end; measured target matches destination; recombined stems match the intended mix or differences are documented.
Known limitation: There is no universal web loudness target. A limiter cannot restore clipped source; one headphone/device check does not certify every playback environment.

M27 — Colour, online and finishing

Owners: CF / DP / ED. Expected artifact: Conformed timeline, grade/project, graphics sources, export settings, versioned review master.

Write the conform/grade/export plan from actual metadata. Separate balancing from creative look, protect approved timing and list comparison frames plus full-motion checks for artifacts and graphics.
Acceptance: No stale/proxy source remains unexpectedly; neighbouring shots match intent; no crushed essential detail, banding or unintended colour shift; mix/timing/captions match lock.
Known limitation: Grading cannot recover absent information or fix physical continuity; a LUT is not a substitute for correct source identification.

M28 — Quality control and accessibility

Owners: QC / SD / LR / DA. Expected artifact: Timecoded QC report, modality coverage, corrected access files, pass/hold per requirement.

Audit the supplied exported artifact against explicit requirements. Record timecoded findings, what you viewed/heard/measured, accessibility checks and unknowns. Sweep similar boundaries after a repeated defect; report release hold only for actual unmet requirements.
Acceptance: Every required modality is actually reviewed; caption text/timing survives delivered playback; required failure/unknown cannot be averaged into pass.
Known limitation: Automated transcription/metrics and sparse contact sheets cannot certify full viewing/listening. Applicable access/destination needs must be established, not invented.

M29 — Rights, provenance and release review

Owners: LR / EP / AR. Expected artifact: Clearance/provenance matrix, attribution/disclosure list, specific release holds.

Reconcile the final asset list with evidence of use scope and current destination requirements. Return supported, missing or disputed facts with exact sources and smallest resolution; do not infer permission from availability.
Acceptance: Every included external asset/likeness/voice has applicable evidence or explicit unresolved status; current requirements are verified at release time.
Known limitation: This is an evidence workflow, not legal advice or a claim that generated material is automatically clear. Seek qualified counsel for material legal uncertainty.

M30 — Delivery, distribution, archive and handover

Owners: DA / AR / PM. Expected artifact: Delivery manifest, playback evidence, submission receipt, archive manifest, handover/lessons.

Prepare a destination-specific release and archive receipt. Separate local export, upload, published playback, submission and recovery evidence. List missing checks and next owner without declaring completion from a status badge.
Acceptance: Uploaded version matches approved content; required link/visibility/captions work; actual submission is confirmed; archive omissions and restore test are explicit.
Known limitation: Upload success is not submission success; a public link can change later. Archive manifest alone does not prove restore without testing.

M31 — Physical production, stunts and specialist applicability

Owners: PM / DR / LR. Expected artifact: Applicability record and human specialist handoff; synthetic staging constraints.

Classify planned work as synthetic, ordinary real recording or requiring specialist review. Name relevant human expertise and unresolved dependencies. For purely AI scenes give continuity/visual intent only; do not generate real hazardous execution instructions.
Acceptance: Every physical activity has an appropriately qualified responsible human and required local process; AI artifacts remain creative planning only.
Known limitation: Prompts do not replace on-set expertise, inspections or real safety planning; this package provides no stunt/rigging/hazard execution procedure.