# Filmsers Proof-of-concept workbook Five editable resources · v1 ## Start here Premise → Workflow → Timed board → Teaser map → Lock report. Use the fictional example to understand the decision, then complete the blank worksheets. Keep planned material, locked references and open approvals visibly separate. Save locally in any text or Markdown editor; nothing here is uploaded or automatically applied to the demo. --- # Logline & premise Filmsers · Proof-of-concept pack · Worksheet v1 Make the film understandable in one breath, then give a decision-maker enough story shape to judge the idea without pretending a full script exists. ## How to use 1. Write who wants what, what blocks them and what changes if they fail. 2. Draft three loglines with different emphasis: character, pressure and image. 3. Expand the chosen line into a short premise with a beginning, turn and consequence. ## Fictional worked example — The Last Signal An original teaching example, not a customer result. Any referenced media or approvals are illustrative and not included. ### Working title and promise The Last Signal / A small choice becomes a public act of courage during one storm-bound night. ### Character, want and obstacle Mara wants a rescue call through before the relay loses power, but the remaining charge can send only one transmission. ### Three logline options Character: A stranded technician gives up her rescue call to warn a valley. Pressure: With one transmission left, a technician must choose who gets the signal. Image: In a dark relay room, one switch turns a private rescue into a public warning. ### Fifty-word premise As a storm kills the relay station, Mara tries to reach the road home. When the rescue channel fails, she can spend the last charge on herself or the valley below. She chooses the valley. One distant light answers, while her packed tools remain untouched. ### Open pitch questions Storm scale, valley-response design, transmission duration and whether the ending stays quiet or becomes a wider chain of lights remain open. ## Blank worksheet Project: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Approval status / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Working title and promise Name the film and state the experience the audience should carry away. Your notes: ____________________ ### Character, want and obstacle Who acts, what do they want now and what concrete force prevents it? Your notes: ____________________ ### Three logline options Write three one-sentence versions, each with a different emphasis. Your notes: ____________________ ### Fifty-word premise Describe the setup, pressure, decision and final image in roughly fifty words. Your notes: ____________________ ### Open pitch questions List what a producer must still approve before this becomes a production plan. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] The protagonist makes a visible choice, not only a claim. - [ ] The premise separates confirmed story decisions from pitch questions. - [ ] The final image proves how the ending differs from the opening. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with the pitch materials. These notes do not create footage, sync to the shared demo or replace production, legal or editorial approval. --- # Cinematic workflow Filmsers · Proof-of-concept pack · Worksheet v1 Turn the pitch into a small graph that can be reviewed, stamped and expanded without losing the story decision that made the concept worth making. ## How to use 1. Create one scene for the contained moment the pitch actually proves. 2. Add only the shots needed to establish, turn and pay off the idea. 3. Mark every unresolved dependency before calling the board ready for review. ## Fictional worked example — The Last Signal An original teaching example, not a customer result. Any referenced media or approvals are illustrative and not included. ### Scene card CS1 / INT. RELAY ROOM / storm dusk / make contact / failing power and static / Mara changes the call from RESCUE to ALL. ### Shot sequence CS1A valley wide; CS1B Mara reaches the radio; CS1C decision close-up; CS1D selector insert; CS1E answering valley light. ### Lock references Mara v1, relay-room look v1, station set v1, selector panel v1. The panel markings remain an approval dependency. ### Pitch proof frame CS1D: Mara's hand moves from RESCUE to ALL. The label and the hand decision are both readable. ### Open graph decisions Shot durations are starting estimates. The answering-light design and final transmission sound are not locked. ## Blank worksheet Project: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Approval status / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Scene card Record location, time, objective, obstacle and the turn that changes the scene. Your notes: ____________________ ### Shot sequence List the minimum shots in order and give each one a story job. Your notes: ____________________ ### Lock references Name the character, look, location and prop versions the board depends on. Your notes: ____________________ ### Pitch proof frame Choose the single frame that must communicate the idea if someone sees only one still. Your notes: ____________________ ### Open graph decisions List graph fields that are still estimates or placeholders. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] The graph contains a beginning, decision and consequence. - [ ] Every shot can be explained without saying it is simply beautiful. - [ ] Open locks are visible instead of being implied to be finished. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with the pitch materials. These notes do not create footage, sync to the shared demo or replace production, legal or editorial approval. --- # Timed scene board Filmsers · Proof-of-concept pack · Worksheet v1 Test whether the concept reads in sequence before a full production commitment by assigning provisional durations and checking the handoff between shots. ## How to use 1. Give each shot a starting duration based on the action it must communicate. 2. Read the sequence aloud and note where the audience needs more time or a cleaner cut. 3. Keep timing provisional until the board has been reviewed by the story owner. ## Fictional worked example — The Last Signal An original teaching example, not a customer result. Any referenced media or approvals are illustrative and not included. ### Target runtime 00:26 for the proof scene: enough time to establish the valley, show the choice and hold the answer without presenting a finished edit. ### Timed rows CS1A 6s / valley darkens / storm rumble; CS1B 5s / Mara reaches radio / hiss carries; CS1C 4s / she decides / cut on glance; CS1D 3s / selector clicks; CS1E 8s / light answers / hold. ### Readability check After CS1A: the valley is at risk. After CS1C: Mara chooses others. After CS1E: the warning had a consequence. ### Timing risks CS1D needs readable switch labels. CS1E may need the light to arrive late enough to feel earned. ### Review decision Director to test CS1C at 4s and 6s in board v2. Producer confirms the 26s target after review. ## Blank worksheet Project: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Approval status / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Target runtime Set the intended scene or sizzle duration and explain why it is the right size. Your notes: ____________________ ### Timed rows Record shot ID, duration, action and the cut or sound handoff. Your notes: ____________________ ### Readability check Write what a first-time viewer should understand after each beat. Your notes: ____________________ ### Timing risks Name any shot whose meaning depends on more time, sound or a missing reference. Your notes: ____________________ ### Review decision Record the requested change, owner and next version. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] Each duration supports a readable action rather than padding a runtime. - [ ] The board names uncertainty where a still cannot prove motion or sound. - [ ] A requested change has an owner and version. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with the pitch materials. These notes do not create footage, sync to the shared demo or replace production, legal or editorial approval. --- # Trailer / teaser map Filmsers · Proof-of-concept pack · Worksheet v1 Choose a small set of truthful beats that make the film legible as a pitch without claiming finished footage, audience response or a completed cut. ## How to use 1. Define what the teaser must make clear: character, pressure, visual world or question. 2. Map three to five beats to existing graph nodes and label any planned material. 3. End with a next decision, not an invented release promise or performance claim. ## Fictional worked example — The Last Signal An original teaching example, not a customer result. Any referenced media or approvals are illustrative and not included. ### Teaser job Will Mara use the last transmission for herself or for the valley? The teaser should make that choice unavoidable. ### Beat map Open on the dark valley / red power gauge / hand over the selector / ALL label / distant light answering. ### Source status Gauge: planned shot. Selector: storyboarded. Valley light: open design. No finished footage is represented by this map. ### On-screen language THE LAST SIGNAL / A short film concept by Copper Canyon Films. Avoid a release date or claims about audience response until approved. ### Handoff Producer reviews source status and legal names. Director approves the final beat order. Editor receives the map only after both approvals. ## Blank worksheet Project: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Approval status / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Teaser job State the one question or feeling the preview must leave behind. Your notes: ____________________ ### Beat map List the opening image, pressure beat, turn, proof image and closing hold. Your notes: ____________________ ### Source status Mark each beat as locked still, planned shot, reference or open decision. Your notes: ____________________ ### On-screen language Draft only the minimum title or caption language and identify claims that require approval. Your notes: ____________________ ### Handoff Name the person who decides whether the teaser can be assembled and what evidence is still required. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] Every teaser beat maps to a graph node or is clearly marked planned. - [ ] The copy does not imply finished footage, distribution or results that do not exist. - [ ] The closing beat points to a decision the team can actually make. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with the pitch materials. These notes do not create footage, sync to the shared demo or replace production, legal or editorial approval. --- # Lock report Filmsers · Proof-of-concept pack · Worksheet v1 Show what the proof package has actually held, what changed between versions and what must be resolved before the concept can move forward. ## How to use 1. List the identity, look, location, graph and pitch decisions under review. 2. Compare the current version to the last approved version and describe meaningful drift. 3. Assign unresolved items instead of hiding them inside a polished preview. ## Fictional worked example — The Last Signal An original teaching example, not a customer result. Any referenced media or approvals are illustrative and not included. ### Report scope The Last Signal / sizzle v1 / director and producer review / premise, Mara identity, relay-room look and five-shot proof board. ### Held decisions Mara is a relay technician; the story turn is personal rescue to public warning; the room stays cool with one warm practical; the selector reads RESCUE and ALL. ### Changed decisions The ending changed from a single light to a chain of two lights after review. Update CS1E and the teaser closing beat; do not silently revise the premise. ### Open risks Panel markings need a supplied reference. Weather and transmission sound are concept decisions, not captured production media. Permission for any external reference remains pending. ### Next approval Producer approves the evidence labels and director approves the two-light ending before a full scene board is presented. ## Blank worksheet Project: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Approval status / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Report scope Record the project, version, reviewer and decisions included in this report. Your notes: ____________________ ### Held decisions List the choices that are stable enough to carry into the next review. Your notes: ____________________ ### Changed decisions Describe what changed, why it changed and which shots or documents it affects. Your notes: ____________________ ### Open risks Name unresolved facts, permissions, references or technical assumptions. Your notes: ____________________ ### Next approval State the smallest decision that moves the package to its next stage and who owns it. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] The report distinguishes held, changed and open decisions. - [ ] Every change names its downstream shot or document impact. - [ ] The next approval is small enough to resolve without pretending the whole film is locked. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with the pitch materials. These notes do not create footage, sync to the shared demo or replace production, legal or editorial approval.