create-storyboard

Transform screenplays into animatics through a collaborative creative dialogue.

Philosophy: The skill acts as your cinematographer - it doesn't just execute, it thinks with you. It makes suggestions, explains rationale, asks for your input, and learns from completed projects.

Quick Start

# Start a new storyboard session (will ask questions)
./run.sh start screenplay.md --json

# Continue with answers to questions
./run.sh continue --session <ID> --answers '{"camera_s1": "sounds good"}'

# Auto-approve all suggestions (non-collaborative mode)
./run.sh start screenplay.md --auto-approve

Collaboration Loop

The skill operates in a question-answer loop with the calling agent:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    COLLABORATION LOOP                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  1. Agent calls: ./run.sh start screenplay.md --json         │
│                         ↓                                    │
│  2. Skill returns: {                                         │
│       status: "needs_input",                                 │
│       suggestions: [                                         │
│         "For Scene 3 where Sarah confronts the villain,      │
│          I'm thinking a Panaflex with low-key lighting       │
│          would enhance the tension. A slow pan from her      │
│          face to the window would build suspense.            │
│          What do you think?"                                 │
│       ],                                                     │
│       session_id: "storyboard-20260129-abc123"               │
│     }                                                        │
│                         ↓                                    │
│  3. Agent/User reviews suggestions, provides feedback        │
│                         ↓                                    │
│  4. Agent calls: ./run.sh continue --session ID --answers    │
│                         ↓                                    │
│  5. Skill proceeds or asks more questions                    │
│                         ↓                                    │
│  6. Repeat until status: "complete"                          │
│                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Creative Suggestions

Instead of dry questions like "What emotion for Scene 3?", the skill offers filmmaker suggestions:

💡 Scene 3 - Camera Suggestion

"In Scene 3 where Sarah confronts the villain, I'm thinking we should use a slow push-in as the tension builds. It would really draw the audience into the character's anxiety."

Rationale: The cautious movement and sparse dialogue suggest building dread - a push-in amplifies this without words.

Alternatives: locked-off static for uncomfortable stillness, handheld for visceral unease

→ sounds good / prefer static / let's try handheld / suggest something else

Memory Integration

The skill queries

/memory

# When screenplay references "Blade Runner 2049"
techniques = recall_film_reference("Blade Runner 2049")
# Returns learned techniques from /ingest-movie

# The skill incorporates this into suggestions:
"I see you've referenced 'Blade Runner 2049' for Scene 1.
 From my memory of that film:
 • 2049 Minimal Composition: Desolate, geometric framing...
 • 2049 Hologram Lighting: Magenta/cyan holographic glow...
 Should I apply these techniques?"

Memory scopes used:

• horus-storyboarding

  - Storyboard-specific learnings

• horus-movies

  - Techniques from ingested films

Commands

start

Start a new storyboard session.

./run.sh start screenplay.md [options]

Options:
  --output-dir, -o   Output directory (default: ./output)
  --fidelity, -f     Panel fidelity: sketch|reference (default: sketch)
  --format           Output format: mp4|html|panels (default: mp4)
  --auto-approve, -y Skip all questions, use defaults
  --json, -j         Output structured JSON for agent consumption

continue

Continue an existing session with answers.

./run.sh continue --session <ID> --answers '<JSON>' [options]

Options:
  --search-dir       Directory to search for session files
  --json, -j         Output structured JSON

status

Check status of an existing session.

./run.sh status --session <ID>

demo

Run a demo with sample screenplay showing the collaboration loop.

./run.sh demo           # Interactive with questions
./run.sh demo -y        # Auto-approve, skip questions
./run.sh demo --json    # JSON output for agents

Output Formats

mp4

html

panels

Panel Fidelity

sketch

reference

generated

Integration Points

/create-movie

This skill is a sub-phase of

/create-movie

/create-movie workflow:
  RESEARCH → SCRIPT → [STORYBOARD] → BUILD TOOLS → GENERATE → ASSEMBLE
                ↑
         /create-storyboard

/create-story

Takes screenplay output as input:

# After /create-story generates screenplay.md
./run.sh start /path/to/screenplay.md

/memory

Queries for learned filmmaking techniques:

from memory_bridge import recall_film_reference, learn_technique

# Recall techniques
techniques = recall_film_reference("The Godfather")

# Store new technique after project
learn_technique(
    "Tension Push-In",
    "Slow 10-second push-in during confrontation",
    source="Project: Dark Horizon"
)

/ingest-movie

Techniques ingested via

/ingest-movie

# Ingest a film's techniques
/ingest-movie "Blade Runner 2049"

# Later, /create-storyboard can recall:
"From my memory of Blade Runner 2049:
 • Minimal Composition: Desolate, geometric framing..."

Structured JSON Output

For agent consumption, use

--json

{
  "status": "needs_input",
  "phase": "camera_plan",
  "session_id": "storyboard-20260129-abc123",
  "questions": [
    {
      "id": "camera_s1",
      "scene_number": 1,
      "question_type": "creative_suggestion",
      "question": "For Scene 1, I'm thinking a slow push-in...",
      "options": ["sounds good", "prefer static", "suggest something else"],
      "context": "The cautious movement suggests building dread..."
    }
  ],
  "partial_results": {
    "total_shots": 5,
    "total_duration": 21.5,
    "shot_plan_file": "output/.../shot_plan.json"
  },
  "message": "Generated 5 shots. Please review my creative suggestions.",
  "resume_command": "./run.sh continue --session ... --answers '<JSON>'"
}

Status values:

• needs_input

  - Waiting for answers to proceed

• in_progress

  - Phase executing, will continue

• complete

  - All phases done, outputs ready

• error

  - Something failed

File Structure

create-storyboard/
├── SKILL.md                 # This file
├── run.sh                   # Entry point
├── orchestrator.py          # Main CLI with collaboration loop
├── screenplay_parser.py     # Parse markdown/Fountain screenplays
├── camera_planner.py        # Auto-select shots, estimate timing
├── panel_generator.py       # Generate visual panels
├── animatic_assembler.py    # Create MP4/HTML output
├── collaboration.py         # Session state, questions, structured output
├── creative_suggestions.py  # Natural language filmmaker suggestions
├── memory_bridge.py         # /memory integration
├── shot_taxonomy.py         # Camera shot definitions
└── sanity/                  # Dependency verification
    ├── ffmpeg_concat.sh
    ├── pillow_composite.py
    └── run_all.sh

Example Session

$ ./run.sh start screenplay.md

============================================================
📊 Status: NEEDS_INPUT
📍 Phase: camera_plan
🔑 Session: storyboard-20260129-134523-a1b2c3
============================================================

🎬 CREATIVE SUGGESTIONS

Here's what I'm thinking for the visual approach:

### 1. Scene 1 - Camera Suggestion

💡 For Scene 1 in the APARTMENT, I'm thinking we should use a slow
   push-in as the tension builds. It would really draw the audience
   into the character's anxiety.

   *Why*: The cautious movement and sparse dialogue suggest building
   dread - a push-in amplifies this without words.
   *Or*: locked-off static for uncomfortable stillness, handheld for
   visceral unease

   → sounds good / prefer static / let's try handheld / suggest something else

### 2. Scene 1 - Reference Suggestion

💡 I see you've referenced 'Blade Runner 2049' for Scene 1. I could
   search my memory for specific techniques from that film - the color
   grading, the shot composition, the pacing. Should I pull those details?

   *Why*: The reference to Blade Runner 2049 gives us a visual language
   to draw from.

   → yes_search_memory / no_skip / skip_all_references

============================================================
Reply with your thoughts on each, or just say 'looks good' to proceed.
============================================================

▶️  To continue: ./run.sh continue --session storyboard-20260129-134523-a1b2c3 --answers '<JSON>'

Camera Shot Taxonomy

Dependencies

• Python 3.11+
• FFmpeg (for video assembly)
• Pillow (for panel generation)
• Typer (CLI framework)

Run sanity checks:

./sanity/run_all.sh