Status: Candidate
Target duration: 4–5 minutes

Initial production format

The episode is designed as one coordinated audio-visual sequence:

  1. Suno music and narration — generate and approve the musical structure, two-character voices, spoken narration, spoken-word tags, and emotional performance.
  2. Palmier audio ingest — place the finished Suno song on the authoritative episode timeline before visual generation.
  3. Whisper transcription — transcribe the song and produce exact timecodes for lyrics, narration, pauses, transitions, and musical sections.
  4. Shot timing map — convert the reviewed Whisper transcript into story beats and visual shot ranges.
  5. Anima storyboard — design and approve the first frame for every planned shot against the locked Suno timing.
  6. Wan 2.2 14B image-to-video — animate each approved first frame to serve its assigned audio range.
  7. Palmier finish — assemble, time, revise, and finalize all selected Wan shots and Suno audio in Palmier while preserving prompt and workflow provenance.

The 12-panel storyboard is therefore not disposable concept art. Each approved panel is the visual start frame and continuity contract for its corresponding video shot, and each panel must reference the reviewed Whisper cue or exact Palmier time range it serves.

Story rhythm

Beat Function Typical visual language
Find A lantern glow or clue reveals today’s letter Establishing wide, insert
Meet Mia and Henry encounter the guest Two-shot, medium, reaction close-ups
Help A simple problem invites participation Over-the-shoulder, reverse, action detail
Discover The letter gains emotional and story meaning Close-up, extreme close-up, reveal wide
Sing Two voices make the discovery memorable Rhythmic coverage, performance close-ups
Shine A warm visual payoff closes the loop Hero wide, intimate final close-up

Coverage rule

A storyboard is a sequence of editorial decisions, not twelve variations of the same composition. A standard 12-panel board should contain:

  1. Establishing wide
  2. Character medium
  3. Insert or extreme close-up
  4. Over Mia’s shoulder
  5. Guest reverse close-up
  6. Mia close-up
  7. Henry close-up
  8. Balanced two-shot
  9. Low or high angle action shot
  10. Reaction extreme close-up
  11. Payoff wide
  12. Final intimate two-shot or close-up

Every shot prompt must state framing, lens intent, camera height, subject scale, foreground/background relationship, and who is visible.

Each panel must also leave a clear motion opportunity for Wan: a character action, camera move, environmental movement, or emotional performance change. Avoid frames that are attractive but have no useful next action.

Learning rule

Repeat the letter naturally in action, dialogue, and song. Do not turn the characters into quiz hosts. Participation should feel like helping.