@kolbo/mcp/skill/references/workflows/micro-drama/writing.md

Kolbo AI MCP Server - Generate images, videos, music, speech, and sound effects from Claude Code

# Micro-drama — writing (series, season, episode)

Story craft comes from `references/filmmaking/scene-engine.md` (Goal → Obstacle → Tactic → Reversal → value shift). This file adds the micro-drama format and the anti-slop rules.

## Format

- Vertical, 45-90 s per episode by default (the user's kickoff answer wins). Length follows the story; never rush a scene to fit a credit number. If budget is tight, cut episodes, not pace.
- Write the full natural scene first, then split it into parts of about 15-25 s (one Seedance 2.5 generation each, max 30 s), at most four dialogue lines per part, with room for silent beats.
- **Works with the sound off.** A viewer must follow the episode from the picture: glances, props, geography, reactions. Dialogue is sparse and sharp. Proven serials carry an episode on 4-10 short lines.
- **Pace:** Episode 1 may breathe (longer takes for the meet or the setup). From Episode 2 the cut settles near 2 s per shot, with emotional beats on face close-ups and shot/reverse.

## Episode beat structure

| Beat | Job |
|---|---|
| Hook (0-2 s) | the situation in one image or one line only this character would say |
| Re-establish | answer last episode's question; show the geography / relationship |
| Tactic / counter-tactic | 2-4 short exchanges; want vs want; power shifts once |
| Stakes | someone or something could end it |
| Cliff | a reveal that adds a person or a fact; the last line implies, never explains |

Per part: name the **value shift** ("she arrives in control → leaves exposed"). If nothing turns, rewrite. Mark 2-3 **trailer moments** per episode (a striking entrance, a look, a one-line punch) that work out of context.

Deliverable per episode: beats table, dialogue timeline (`0.5s - NAME, delivery: "line"`), part split, continuity / final frame per part, trailer moments, value shift.

## Genre templates (starting points, not formulas)

| Genre | Engine | Hook | Cliff pattern | Look |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romance / revenge | hidden identity, betrayal, second chance, rival | a humiliation or a collision | the rival enters frame / the identity slips | warm glamour, practicals, rain, nostalgia |
| Thriller / mystery | a secret someone will kill for, a clock | a body, a message, a wrong number | a new fact reverses who we trust | cool night, hard light, reflections |
| Brand series | a recurring cast whose lives touch the product naturally | a relatable problem in 2 s | a personal stake left open, never a sales line | the brand's palette as the world grade |
| Comedy / sitcom | a fixed group, a fixed place, escalating misunderstandings | the absurd premise in one line | a callback or a worse misunderstanding | bright, even light, wider shots |

Brand series rules: the product is a prop in the story (it changes access or information), never a feature list; the brand name appears in the caption and key art, sparingly on screen; every claim about the product comes from the client's own material.

## Anti-slop rules

- **Names:** real names people of that origin and era have. Banned AI defaults: Elara, Lyra, Kael, Seraphina, Aria, Nova, Lucien, Orion, Zara, Luna, Kai, "Blackwood"-type surnames.
- **One odd true detail per character** (she counts stairs when nervous; he keeps a dead colleague's voicemail).
- **Lines only this character would say.** Kill swappable lines ("We shouldn't be doing this", "You don't know what you do to me").
- **Specific nouns** ("a 1994 Saab with a cracked tail light", not "a luxury car").
- **Props change access or information.** A card is thrown away, then retrieved; a key opens the wrong door.
- **Characters do concrete tasks** while they talk (sorting mail, packing a box), never stand and deliver.
- **Surprise test:** one moment per episode the viewer did not predict from the logline. A guessable cliff gets rewritten.
- **Audit before approval:** flag every generic line or name and replace it before production.

## Safety

Every character 21+ and visibly adult; no school or teen framing. Consent explicit in romantic beats. No real people; real companies stay unnamed unless the user owns the brand. Villains are not ethnic or religious stereotypes.