storyboard-director

name	storyboard-director
description	Translate approved manga canon into a video-frame storyboard by default, with page/panel planning only when explicitly requested, plus a continuity ledger for downstream rendering.

Storyboard Director

Use this skill to turn the showrunner package into a renderable storyboard and continuity ledger.

Expected Inputs

• series-bible.md
• character-bible.md
• character-registry.md
• series-state.md
• chapter-registry.md
• chapters/<chapter-id>/chapter-plan.md

Produced Artifacts

• chapters/<chapter-id>/storyboard.md
• chapters/<chapter-id>/continuity-ledger.md

Use:

• storyboard-template.md
• continuity-ledger-template.md

Required Shared Reads

• Start by reading production-principles.md.
• Use it as the shared reference for pacing, continuity, and motion-comic realism.

Workflow

Step 1 - Confirm the production unit

• Read the canon package fully.
• Identify the concrete unit being produced now:
  • pilot chapter
  • short arc
  • episode-ready subset
• If the chapter plan is still too loose to stage, route a Story Direction Gap or Canon Gap back to manga_showrunner.
• Treat chapter-plan.md as chapter intent and scope only. The job of this stage is to turn that into the actual production blueprint.

Step 2 - Write chapters/<chapter-id>/storyboard.md

Translate the selected chapter or arc into ordered scenes and renderable visual units.

Before detailing scenes, declare the chapter render-unit contract:

• video-frame
• page-composed
• panel-first
• key-asset preview

If the chapter is intended for narrated or motion-comic video delivery, choose video-frame unless the user explicitly asked for printable/readable manga pages or separate panel assets as the primary deliverable. video-frame means one immersive full-bleed still per visible beat at the locked series video aspect ratio. It must not be a printed manga page, a two-panel or three-panel page layout, a contact sheet, a reference sheet, a collage, or an image with paper margins. Layered action inside one video frame is acceptable only when it still reads as one full-screen cinematic frame, not as rows of printed panels. If the user asked for a real manga chapter, do not choose key-asset preview. If page-composed is chosen, the storyboard must make the page-level coverage clear enough that the illustrator can account for every page. If panel-first is chosen, every renderable panel id must stay stable and complete. If video-frame is chosen, every renderable frame id must stay stable and complete, and each frame should carry one visible beat.

For each scene, capture:

• scene id
• narrative goal
• location and time
• render-unit range
• video-frame ids for video delivery, or page/panel ids only when an explicit non-default contract requires them
• visible action
• camera or framing note
• acting beat
• on-screen text and SFX text
• audio beat ids with spoken text, speaker or narrator, subtitle text, preferred subtitle-window plan when needed, line-break hints when needed, sync note, and estimated audio seconds
• pacing note
• asset-reuse note when relevant

If the contract is video-frame, capture explicit frame-level authority for each covered visual beat:

• frame id
• linked scene id and source audio beat ids
• inherited locked series aspect ratio and orientation
• single visible action
• camera or framing
• subject-safe zone and subtitle-safe zone
• on-screen text or SFX, if any
• transition note
• split note when a long beat needs more than one frame

Do not write prompts or storyboard entries that ask the illustrator to render "two panels", "three panels", "page layout", "manga page", "clean manga borders", or "panel grid" for a video-frame contract. If the story needs several simultaneous actions, split them into sequential video frames or make one coherent full-screen composition instead of packing multiple mini-images into one frame.

If the contract is page-composed, also capture explicit page-level layout authority for each covered page:

• page id
• page purpose
• panel ids in reading order
• page-turn or reveal note when relevant
• lettering density note when relevant

The storyboard should be specific enough that the illustrator can render without inventing new plot logic. Once the storyboard exists, it becomes the source of truth for image generation, spoken-line segmentation, dialogue packaging, subtitle text, and video timing. For manga-style motion comics, assume one visible beat usually supports one speaker and one short clip. Do not board one unchanged image to carry a long multi-turn exchange. If a still unit would need roughly more than 8 to 10 seconds of uninterrupted speech or more than one clear speaker turn, split it into more video frames, panels, pages, or audio beats instead of leaving that compression for the voice stage. If a beat is long enough that portrait-safe subtitle layout is likely to matter, the storyboard should also specify the preferred subtitle-window split and any important line-break intent instead of leaving that entirely to the final burn stage. If the chapter uses narrator-led or hybrid delivery, the storyboard must explicitly record those narrator beats instead of leaving them implicit for the voice stage to invent later. If the chapter introduces a new recurring character, mark the debut clearly in the storyboard so downstream roles know when that character becomes production-real.

Step 3 - Write chapters/<chapter-id>/continuity-ledger.md

Track continuity-sensitive state across the whole production unit.

At minimum, track:

• location and time
• cast present in each scene
• debut, return, exit, injury, disappearance, or death events when relevant
• outfit state
• prop state
• injury or body-state changes
• emotional state
• relationship state
• knowledge state
• special effect or power-state notes
• visual references that must carry forward

Step 4 - Handoff to manga_illustrator

• Send the cumulative package forward.
• Explicitly call out:
  • the chapter render-unit contract
  • the scenes that depend most on character likeness
  • the scenes that require recurring props or locations
  • the scenes where visual drift would break the story
• Keep every declared render-unit id stable because later prompt logs and audio logs will refer back to those ids.

Blocking Rules

• Do not turn an unclear chapter plan into a fake-detailed storyboard.
• If a reveal depends on an upstream world rule that does not exist yet, stop and route it back.
• If the scene order is still unstable, do not start continuity bookkeeping as if it were final.

Storyboard Standards

• Make the emotional turn in each scene legible.
• Prefer clear, renderable staging over overly cinematic but ambiguous directions.
• Keep the visual units compatible with still-image manga production and motion-comic assembly.
• For video delivery, prefer immersive full-screen frame coverage over page-composed manga layouts.
• Do not leave the illustrator guessing about the delivery target. For video delivery, that target is immersive video-frame coverage.
• If the storyboard is not specific enough to drive the next stage without guesswork, it is not finished.