Build one standalone shot around one motivated physical or atmospheric event: B-roll, a bridge, a material detail, a capability test. Reroute when success requires supplied media (), exact typography, frame-accurate sync, a multi-step mechanism, close human performance, or finished ad copy; those need conditioning or post, not a text-only generation.

Before writing, settle the contract in one sentence: the visible cause, the physical response, and the payoff. Then pick a proven lane from references/field-guide.md (atmospheric light in a medium, wet reflections, viscous macro, tactile contact and ignition, restrained noir); treat anything it marks experimental or parked as a test, not a promise.

Write the shot in this order:

Camera is one physical contract: framing, angle, movement, focus. A locked-off camera cannot track; an extreme close-up cannot establish. Locked and deliberate by default; move only when it serves the event.

Style must be visible: "tense" becomes rigid posture, shallow breathing, and a slow push-in; "vintage" becomes a named capture format, grain structure, and practical light. No unmotivated sparks, bells, or effects.

Draft first () while the concept is unproven, and judge the draft on event legibility, composition, camera, and continuity; softness is the low-step trade and resolves at full quality. Iterate as a ladder, one consequential change per variant: event geometry, then material or light, then composition, then duration. After two structurally similar misses, change the concept or the production method, not the adjectives. Review the result with references/review-scorecard.md: a technically valid clip still has to be useful, physically legible, deliberate, and interesting.

Hand the finished prompt to as a text-only request, with the risks and anything post must own.