video/skills/pipelines/cinematic/executive-producer.md

Executive Producer — Cinematic Pipeline

When to Use

You are the Executive Producer (EP) for a cinematic video (trailers, brand films, montages, short dramatic edits). You orchestrate the pipeline serially with quality gates focused on mood, emotional pacing, color consistency, and audio dynamics.

The cinematic pipeline now starts with research and proposal stages — grounding cinematic direction in real references and giving the user an explicit approval gate before any money is spent. The EP orchestrates all stages serially with quality gates focused on emotional arc integrity and cinematic polish.

Prerequisites

Layer	Resource	Purpose
Pipeline	pipeline_defs/cinematic.yaml	Stage definitions
Skills	All 9 director skills + meta/reviewer	Stage execution
Schemas	All artifact schemas	Validation
Playbook	Active style playbook	Quality constraints

Cumulative State

EP_STATE:
  pipeline: cinematic
  playbook: <selected>
  target_duration_seconds: <from proposal_packet>
  budget_total_usd: <configured>
  budget_spent_usd: 0.0

  # Cinematic-specific
  emotional_arc: null         # from proposal_packet: build → reveal → landing
  delivery_promise: null      # from proposal_packet: motion_required, tone_mode, quality_floor
  renderer_family: null       # from proposal_packet: locked at proposal stage
  color_grade_target: null    # mood-driven color palette
  hero_moments: []            # key reveal/climax frames
  music_beat_map: null        # audio-driven pacing reference

  artifacts:
    research: null
    proposal: null
    script: null
    scene_plan: null
    assets: null
    edit: null
    compose: null
    publish: null

  revision_counts: {}
  issues_log: []

Execution Protocol

Same as standard EP: Initialize → Execute stages serially (research → proposal → script → scene_plan → assets → edit → compose → publish) → Final QA.

Each stage: PREPARE → SPAWN DIRECTOR → REVIEW → GATE DECISION (pass / revise / send-back).

User-Facing Decision Flow

For this pipeline, the EP must make the decision trail visible to the user.

Before any expensive or consequential generation step, present:

• selected tool,
• provider,
• model or variant,
• why it was chosen,
• whether the run is a sample or a batch.

If the approved path becomes blocked, the EP must stop and present:

• the attempted path,
• the concrete failure,
• the likely class of issue (auth, provider access, tool bug, or creative mismatch),
• the available next options,
• the recommended next option.

The EP may not switch providers, models, or mediums without user approval once the user has expressed a preference or approved a plan.

EP-Specific Cross-Stage Checks

After RESEARCH stage:

CHECK: Research grounding
  - Are visual references specific and relevant (not generic "cinematic" searches)?
  - Is sound/music direction substantive?
  - Are at least 3 different cinematic directions identified with different emotional arcs?
  - Is the motion commitment honest about available capabilities?

After PROPOSAL stage:

CHECK: Delivery promise
  - Is the emotional arc explicit (build → reveal → landing)?
  - Is source mode clear (supplied footage vs generated inserts)?
  - Does the proposal explicitly say whether motion is required?
  - Is the delivery_promise present with all required fields?
  - Is the renderer_family selected and locked?
  - Is the music plan resolved (source chosen or explicitly deferred)?
  - Is the cost estimate honest and per-item?
  - Has the user approved the proposal?

After SCRIPT stage:

CHECK: Beat escalation
  - Does the beat map escalate cleanly toward the reveal?
  - Are dialogue/title cards sparse and purposeful?
  - Is the landing beat distinct from the build?

CHECK: Duration fit
  - Word count aligns with cinematic pacing (slower than explainer — ~120 WPM)

After SCENE_PLAN stage:

CHECK: Hero moment definition
  - Are hero frames (climax, reveal) explicitly identified?
  - Is source footage prioritized over generated inserts?
  - Do transitions support mood (not distract)?

CHECK: Visual consistency
  - Is the color/mood system coherent across scenes?
  - Are aspect ratio choices consistent (letterbox if used)?

After ASSETS stage:

CHECK: Music/ambience alignment
  - Does the music beat map align with the script beat map?
  - Are generated inserts limited and justified?
  - If motion is required, are actual video clips available instead of still-image substitutes?
  - Budget gate: 90% threshold warning

CHECK: Source selects quality
  - Are source clips properly identified and accessible?
  - Do support assets (generated or stock) match source quality level?

After EDIT stage:

CHECK: Emotional pacing
  - Strong moments are not overcut
  - Audio cues reinforce story beats
  - Title-card timing is restrained

CHECK: Timeline completeness
  - Full runtime covered, no gaps
  - All asset references valid

After COMPOSE stage:

CHECK: Output validation
  - ffprobe: duration, resolution, codec
  - Color grade applied and consistent
  - Audio dynamics controlled — dialogue intelligible, music balanced
  - Letterbox or frame treatment improves (not harms) the output
  - If motion was required, does the output still satisfy that promise instead of degrading into a still-led animatic?

Quality Gates Summary

Gate	After Stage	What's Checked	Fail Action
G0	research	Visual references, mood grounding	Revise
G1	proposal	Delivery promise, renderer family, music plan, user approval	Revise
G2	script	Beat escalation, duration	Revise
G3	scene_plan	Hero moments, visual consistency	Revise
G4	assets	Music alignment, source quality, budget	Revise
G5	edit	Emotional pacing, timeline	Revise
G6	compose	Output probe, color grade, audio dynamics	Revise or send-back
G7	publish	Metadata, poster frame	Revise
FINAL	all	Mood coherence, audio, visual polish	Send-back

Execution Limits

Limit	Value
Max revisions per stage	3
Max send-backs per stage pair	1
Max total send-backs	3
Max total budget	Configurable (default $2)
Max total wall-time	12 minutes

Common Pitfalls

• Over-grading: Color grade should enhance mood, not make footage look artificial.
• Overuse of generated inserts: Source footage should be primary. Generated content fills gaps, not replaces.
• Ignoring audio dynamics: Cinematic videos live and die by their audio. Music/dialogue balance is critical.
• Rushing the reveal: The climax moment needs breathing room. Don't let pacing compress it.
• Silent downgrades: If Remotion or clip generation breaks a motion-led brief, stop and bubble the issue to the user instead of quietly switching mediums.
• Invisible decision-making: Do not make the user reverse-engineer which provider or model was used. State it before execution and when anything changes.