Wiki / Making something
From song to shots
Turn a finished song into a shot list: one device for the whole film, one shot per lyric line, and a review before anyone spends video credits.
The storyboard is where a song becomes a list of things to generate. It is the cheapest place to fix a film, so take your time here.
One device
Every Aivy treatment has a device: one visual rule that runs the length of the film and carries its idea.
- CONTEXT WINDOW: lit windows go dark behind her, carriage by carriage, on the bar.
- HELPFUL: every new request card starts a new verse and a new key.
- TRELLIS: whatever someone hands her stays in every later frame.
When you don't know what a shot should be, ask what the device needs at that point in the song.
One shot per line
Write the lyrics down the left of a sheet. Next to each line write one shot:
| Line | Shot | Framing | Look | Moves? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (verse 1, line 1) | Aivy writes in the notebook at the window | CU | window-seat | yes |
| (verse 1, line 2) | Insert: the pencil, the lit window behind | insert | window-seat | no |
- Framing sets which identity text the prompt uses.
- Moves? decides the cost. A still with a slow push-in in the edit costs 2 credits; a generated clip costs 50.
Aim for her on screen in about two thirds of the shots. Inserts and the world fill the rest and give the cut room to breathe.
Cut rhythm
Fast songs want short shots, but no shot under one bar. Hold the hook shots longer than the verse shots so the chorus feels bigger. Save the widest, most expensive shot for the moment before the last chorus.
The review
Before anyone generates a clip, one person reads the whole board top to bottom with the song playing and answers three questions:
- Does every shot serve the device?
- Can a stranger follow the story with the sound off?
- Which five shots could go? Cut them.
Then generate stills for every shot, pick, and only animate the shots marked "moves".
Markdown version: /wiki/storyboard.md