| name | cinematic-documentary |
| description | Architects narrative content as directorial structure using David Gelb's character-first methodology (Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef's Table — 6 seasons). Treats documentary not as information delivery but as character architecture — find the protagonist's Spider-Man origin moment, separate want from need, design Bond-style cold opens, plant false victories that shatter at midpoint, demand scene-level change in every section. Emotion over information ("find the egg sushi"). Audience treated as parallel character on transformation arc. Use when transforming topic-centered content into character-driven narrative, fixing flat or explanatory drafts, designing cold-open hooks for video/audio/Substack, structuring brand or founder origin stories, processing feedback through doctor-patient model (symptoms not prescriptions), or when the user mentions "Chef's Table", "David Gelb", "character-first", "Spider-Man moment", "false victory", "egg sushi", "gesamtkunstwerk". Trigger proactively when a draft reads like exposition rather than story — feature-film methodology fixes the flatness. |
| expert | David Gelb |
| domain | Cinematic Documentary × Character Architecture × Narrative Direction |
Cinematic Documentary — Skill Manifest
Overview
Cinematic Documentary Architecture extracted from David Gelb (director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, creator of Chef's Table). The only storytelling system in the Antigravity roster built on directorial architecture — structuring complete narrative arcs around real people using feature-film methodology while maintaining radical fidelity to truth.
Core Thesis: Documentary is character architecture, not information delivery. Build your story the way a director builds a film: character-first, emotion-over-information, with the audience as a character on a parallel transformation journey.
Source Material
- Primary: YouTube interview (13,946 words) — How I Write
- Referenced Works: Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef's Table (6 seasons), Neat (whiskey documentary)
Workflow Table
Tier 1 — Foundation (Character + Hook + Arc)
| Workflow | Command | Description |
|---|
character-first-inversion.md | /gelb-character | Transform any topic-centered content into a character-driven narrative |
origin-story-excavation.md | /gelb-origin | Find the "Spider-Man moment" — the formative event that explains everything |
bond-cold-open.md | /gelb-hook | Design the pre-credits action sequence for any content piece |
want-vs-need-mapper.md | /gelb-arc | Separate surface desire from deep truth and map the transformation arc |
Tier 2 — Structure (Narrative Engineering)
| Workflow | Command | Description |
|---|
false-victory-architect.md | /gelb-false-victory | Plant midpoint comfort and design the complication that shatters it |
scene-audit-protocol.md | /gelb-scene-audit | Enforce scene-level change in every section — cut or rebuild what doesn't earn its place |
cinematic-pacing-engine.md | /gelb-pacing | Map momentum, audit transitions, diagnose cold starts, calibrate overcorrection |
Tier 3 — Craft (Editing + Coherence)
| Workflow | Command | Description |
|---|
emotion-over-information.md | /gelb-emotion | Convert explanatory passages into emotional demonstrations — find the "egg sushi" |
fewest-words-rewrite.md | /gelb-compress | Compression pass — every sentence tested for earned place |
gesamtkunstwerk-audit.md | /gelb-coherence | Element-by-element coherence check across tone, imagery, structure, and details |
Tier 4 — Process (Creative Lifecycle)
| Workflow | Command | Description |
|---|
assembly-despair-navigator.md | /gelb-despair | Diagnose creative lifecycle phase and prescribe the correct next action |
doctor-patient-feedback.md | /gelb-feedback | Extract symptoms from feedback, discard prescriptions, process through taste |
playlist-prelude.md | /gelb-tone | Build emotional reference palette before any structural work begins |
Stacking Guide
| If You Need... | Start With | Then Stack |
|---|
| Complete origin-to-arc pipeline | /gelb-character | → /gelb-origin → /gelb-arc → /gelb-hook |
| Fix flat narrative structure | /gelb-false-victory | → /gelb-scene-audit → /gelb-pacing |
| Transform explainer into story | /gelb-emotion | → /gelb-character → /roth-copy |
| Navigate creative despair | /gelb-despair | → /lamott-critic → /resistance |
| Process client feedback | /gelb-feedback | → revision using /gelb-scene-audit |
| Audit brand coherence | /gelb-coherence | → /taste-cev |
| Engineer viral hooks | /gelb-hook | → /vicious-hook |
| Write cinematic prose | /gelb-character | → /wright-detail → /connelly-detail |
| Design content series | /gelb-tone | → /gelb-arc → /content-series-plan |
| Strip pretension from draft | /gelb-compress | → /lamott-literary → /roth-erosion |
Quick Reference
- Genius Context:
skills/cinematic-documentary/genius.md
- Agent File:
agents/david-gelb/AGENT.md
- Source Transcript:
extractions/david-gelb/transcript.txt
Execution Prompts (structure-pure v2)
12 deterministic practitioner prompts — each carries an Output Contract, Output Skeleton, and Quality Gate. When a deliverable matches one, Read it and honor its contract instead of improvising the output shape.
- David Gelb — Character Arc Series Blueprint —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/character-arc-series-blueprint.md
- David Gelb — Character-First Narrative Brief —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/character-first-narrative-brief.md
- David Gelb — Cinematic Brand Story —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/cinematic-brand-story.md
- David Gelb — Cinematic Documentary Audit —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/cinematic-documentary-audit.md
- David Gelb — Documentary Hook & Cold Open —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/documentary-hook-cold-open.md
- David Gelb — Editing-to-Truth Subtractive Pass —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/editing-to-truth-pass.md
- David Gelb — Emotion-Over-Information Audit & Rewrite —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/emotion-over-information-audit.md
- David Gelb — False Victory Blueprint —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/false-victory-blueprint.md
- David Gelb — Interview-to-Story Extraction —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/interview-to-story-extraction.md
- David Gelb — Origin Story Excavation —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/origin-story-excavation.md
- David Gelb — Sensory Storytelling Enrichment —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/sensory-storytelling-enrichment.md
- David Gelb — Want vs. Need Arc Map —
skills/cinematic-documentary/references/prompts-v2/want-need-arc-map.md
