Start with what you have
If you have an idea, write three sentences: what the main character wants, what gets in the way, and what remains unresolved at the end. If you already have a script, go straight to the eight-shot walkthrough. If you have an authorized reference video, you can study its shot choices first. That is an optional research step.
Start with the five-column shot sheet. Add the detailed records when you need to hand work over or revise a shot. You do not need to fill in every worksheet before writing.
This guide covers preparation for production. It does not include a generated film, voice track or tested model workflow. The times below are editing targets for an original fictional example.
Give the episode one clear turn
In The No. 17 Key, Ning brings a brass key to a locksmith's shop just before closing. The matching drawer is empty. A collection slip bears her own name, although she says this is her first visit. A key begins to turn in the front door.
The episode moves from “collect an item” to “someone has collected it in her name.” It leaves the person outside unidentified.
| Planned interval | Story purpose | What the viewer sees or hears |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–00:12 | Establish the request | Ning places key 17 on the counter. The locksmith expects the item to be there. |
| 00:12–00:28 | Reveal the first problem | Drawer 17 holds only a folded collection slip. |
| 00:28–00:44 | Make the problem personal | The slip is signed “Ning.” She says she has never been here before. |
| 00:44–01:00 | Leave an open question | A key turns outside. Both characters look toward the closed door. |
The eight shots total 60 planned seconds. This is an editorial choice for the example, not a rule for short dramas. Read the dialogue aloud and adjust the timing when you rehearse or edit.
The exercise uses one location, two visible adult characters and a planned vertical frame. This English edition translates the Chinese teaching script and keeps Ning's name. It has not been tested for audience response or localized for a particular English-speaking market.
1. Write actions you can show
“Ning feels deceived” leaves the visual decision open. A more useful instruction is: she stops reaching toward the slip, looks up at the locksmith and says, “This is my first time here.”
Keep motivation in your writing notes. In the shot sheet, describe the action that could support that reading. The script-to-shot walkthrough includes the whole short script and its shot assignments.
2. Identify the people, place and props
The example labels Ning C01, the locksmith C02, the shop L01, the key P01 and the slip P02. Stable IDs help you keep track when names or descriptions change.
Keep a written description separate from an approved reference image. These worksheets contain text descriptions only; no reference images, voices or videos have been created.
Decide which details need to carry across shots. Ning wears a dark blue jacket and places the key with her right hand. The key stays on the counter for the rest of the scene. If a later version needs her to hold it, add the action that gets it back into her hand.
Open the reference example or download the blank reference sheet.
3. Give each shot a job
Choose a shot size around what the viewer needs to notice. In shot 5, the signature matters. The note “close-up of a slip” is incomplete unless the words can be read.
You could film a real slip or add the text during editing. This example does not establish that a particular model can reliably produce the lettering or hand action.
The detailed sheet records the story beat, action, sound, references, planned duration, incoming state, outgoing state and review point. Planned edit duration is separate from the length of any individual generation request.
4. Check the plan before making every shot
Check that each shot adds information. Confirm that required people and props have references, that important text has a practical treatment, and that the outgoing state of one shot can lead into the next. Record where images and sounds will come from and whether you can use them.
For this example, try the two-person dialogue in S02 and the hand-and-slip action in S05 first. This is a proposed test, not one we have run. Read the dialogue aloud before committing to seven seconds for S02.
S05 asks for several actions and a readable signature in eight seconds. If that is too much, simplify it to an insert of the opened slip or move time from another shot. Update the plan and review the transitions before making the remaining shots.
Your chosen production tool may require different input formats, reference assets or clip lengths. These worksheets do not promise direct import compatibility.
5. Record what you actually made
Once a clip exists, enter its actual filename, selected version, problems and review result. Check the face, hand action, key position and slip text against the intended shot.
A name such as KEY17_E01_S05_v01 identifies episode 1, shot 5, version 1. It is a naming example here; the pack contains no file with that name.
If the writing is unreadable, record that specific problem before deciding whether to regenerate, film the paper or composite the text. Keep rejected versions so that a new attempt does not erase an earlier option.
6. Hand over the open issues too
Send the shot sheet, selected-file list, change log and unresolved checks to the editor. Mark an unmade shot “not produced.” A finished plan is not an accepted film.
The workflow sheet lists deliverables at each stage. The review checklist leaves every media check unverified until actual material exists.
Need to study an existing reference video?
If you are unsure how a scene places a reveal or a reaction shot, examine a video you own or are licensed to analyze. StoryTeardown produces timecoded shot drafts that you can check against the footage. Narrative interpretation still needs your judgment.
Take a structural observation, such as “the object is shown before the reaction,” and design your own scene around your own story. Do not copy a reference work's characters, dialogue or specific sequence of shots into your script. If your plan is already clear, continue with production.
See what a video-to-shot-list output looks like. StoryTeardown currently analyzes existing videos; it does not turn these worksheets into storyboard images, reference art, prompts or video.
Questions before you start
Should I choose a model before writing the scene?
First decide what happens and what remains unresolved. Then check which parts your chosen tools can produce. Their limits may require changes to the plan.
Will the reference sheet guarantee consistent characters?
No. It records the details you intend to preserve. Consistency must be checked in the actual images and clips.
Must I upload a video to download the worksheets?
No. The worksheets are independent files. Video upload is needed only if you choose to use the analysis workspace, under its current terms and input requirements.
Is there a finished film for this example?
No. The pack contains original writing and production plans, with no generated images, audio or film. It cannot demonstrate a model's output quality.