| name | video-factory-storyboard |
| description | Turn a chosen video concept into a shot-by-shot storyboard ready to generate in Higgsfield — shot list with timing, camera move, framing, transition, and a keyframe-still prompt for every shot (because Higgsfield video models are image-to-video and animate a start frame). Use this skill any time a video idea needs to become an executable shot plan: storyboarding a hero background loop, a brand film, an explainer, a section divider, or a social spot — even when the user says "break this into shots," "plan the shots," or "what's the shot list." Second stage of the Video Factory chain; reads a concept (or a one-line idea) and hands a storyboard to video-factory-creative-direction and video-factory-higgsfield-prompt. Designs loop seams for background video and protects headline safe-areas.
|
| type | skill |
| project | skills-library |
| plugin | video-factory |
| aliases | ["video-storyboard","shot-list","shot-breakdown","storyboarding"] |
| tags | ["type/skill","plugin/video-factory","scope/specialty","topic/video","topic/storyboard"] |
| status | active |
Video Factory — Storyboard
A storyboard here is not a mood description — it's an executable plan. Because Higgsfield models are image-to-video (they animate a start frame; see ../../references/higgsfield-models.md), each shot needs a keyframe still to be generated first and then a motion described over it. So this skill produces two things per shot: the frame (what the still shows) and the move (what happens across the clip).
Load ../../references/video-factory-foundations.md for output types, registers, and the safe-area / loop-seam rules for background video.
When to invoke
- A concept is chosen and needs to become shots (normal path, after
video-factory-concept).
- The user hands a one-line idea and wants a shot plan directly — fine, infer the concept and proceed.
- An existing storyboard needs revision (re-time, re-shot, change a transition).
How to break a concept into shots
Start from runtime and placement, because they cap shot count:
- A silent background loop is usually one shot (sometimes two with a hidden cut). The whole craft is the loop seam and the safe-area. Don't over-shot it — a single, well-chosen continuous move loops better than a montage.
- A section divider / accent is one or two shots.
- A brand film / launch at 15–30s is typically 3–6 shots with a deliberate arc: open (establish), develop (the product truth), turn (the payoff), close (the loop or logo moment).
- Keep shots to the model duration limits (seedance 2.0: 4–15s; kling 3.0: 3–15s). A 6-second clip is plenty for most single beats.
For each shot decide: framing (wide/medium/close/macro/overhead), camera move (locked, slow push, slow pull, pan, orbit, handheld, rack-focus — keep moves slow and singular for editorial/premium registers), subject action (what changes in frame), transition into the next shot (cut, match-cut, dissolve, whip), and duration.
Keyframe-first discipline
The keyframe still is the look. Get it right and the motion is easy; get it wrong and no prompt saves the clip. For each shot write a keyframe prompt using the same 7-element art-direction brief the imagery skill uses — subject, setting, mood, lighting, composition, palette, and what-it's-NOT (the anti-clichés). Note which image model: nano banana pro default, chatgpt image 2 if the frame contains rendered text or a label. Keyframes are stills — describe a frozen moment, not a motion.
Background-loop specifics
When the output is a website background loop, every shot plan must answer:
- Safe-area. Where does the headline/subhead/CTA sit? Keep visual action and high contrast out of that zone so text stays legible. State the safe-area explicitly (e.g., "headline center-left third — keep it calm; action lives in the right third").
- Loop seam. Plan for the end frame to resemble the start frame so the loop doesn't jump. Note "generate with matched start/end frame" so the prompt stage uses
end_image. A slow, cyclical motion (drift, rotation, breathing light) loops far more cleanly than a directional one.
- Motion budget. Low. The video supports the headline; it doesn't compete. Prefer one gentle move over busy motion.
Output format
Write 20_Storyboard.md in the run's WIP folder.
# Storyboard — [concept name]
**Runtime:** Xs · **Aspect:** 16:9 (+ 9:16 mobile) · **Output type:** [from foundations] · **Loop:** yes/no
## Shot 1 — [label] (0:00–0:06)
- **Framing:** medium, eye-level
- **Camera:** slow push in, 10% over the shot
- **Subject / action:** [what's in frame and what changes]
- **Transition out:** match-cut to Shot 2
- **Keyframe prompt** (model: nano banana pro):
> SUBJECT: … SETTING: … MOOD: … LIGHT: … COMPOSITION: … PALETTE: … NOT: [anti-clichés]
- **Safe-area / loop note:** [for background loops]
## Shot 2 — …
End with an ASCII shot strip so the user can read the flow at a glance:
[ S1 establish ]→cut→[ S2 product truth ]→match→[ S3 payoff ]↺loop
Examples
Example 1 — single-shot background loop. Concept: "Current" (liquid-metal macro). One shot, 6s, 16:9, loop yes. Keyframe (nano banana pro): macro of a slow liquid-metal surface, single cool sidelight, shallow focus, dark-navy-to-steel palette, NOT glowing-AI-blue/circuit motifs. Camera: locked, the surface breathes. Loop note: matched start/end frame; safe-area = headline top-center, keep brightest highlight in lower third.
Example 2 — four-shot launch film. Concept: developer-tool "in control." S1 (0–4s) close on hands at keyboard, slow push, cut. S2 (4–9s) over-shoulder of the build graph resolving as light — keyframe to chatgpt image 2 (rendered text). S3 (9–13s) wide of the result shipping, slow pull. S4 (13–16s) logo moment on a clean field, dissolve, hold. Strip: [hands]→cut→[build]→cut→[ship]→dissolve→[logo].
Constraints
- Always produce a keyframe prompt per shot — a storyboard without keyframes can't be generated.
- Don't exceed the model's per-shot duration; split a long beat into two shots.
- For background loops, name the safe-area and the loop seam every time. A loop that jumps or buries the headline is a failed deliverable.
- Keep camera moves slow and singular in editorial/premium registers; save energetic moves for kinetic-register social work.
- Pass the register and palette through unchanged from the concept so
video-factory-creative-direction has something consistent to lock.
