# Film Release Gate > Sequences film and short-form narrative work and defines the finish line. Use FIRST for any film, short, series episode, trailer, or narrative video work — before writing a script, designing a shot, or generating a single frame. Also use when asked to review, certify, or ship a cut. Refuses to certify without evidence. - Skill: `frankxai/film-release-gate` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add frankxai/film-release-gate` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/frankxai/film-release-gate/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: frankxai (https://skillmd.com/u/frankxai) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/frankxai/film-release-gate --- # film-release-gate The entry point for narrative film work. It does two jobs: it **sequences** the other artifacts in the `film-excellence` pack, and it **defines done**. It is the film equivalent of `web-release-gate`, and it works the same way: you don't get to self-certify. --- ## Read order (do not skip) 1. The repo's own `film-design.md` and `film-taste.md` if they exist — **they outrank everything below.** 2. `DOCTRINE.md` — the five laws and the refusal list 3. `LANGUAGE.md` — before any dialogue is written 4. `film-design.md` (pack template) — the token contract 5. `CREW.md` — which chair, which model 6. `PIPELINE.md` — the eight stages --- ## Sequence Refuse to jump stages. The most common and most expensive error in generative film production is starting at stage 7. ``` 1 BIBLE → turn stated in one line, formal rule declared 2 CHARACTERS → Word Ledger + locked visual string per principal 3 BEATS → timecoded, turn located between 2:30 and 3:10 4 SCRIPT → LANGUAGE.md checklist passes 5 LOOK+SOUND → sound map written BEFORE any frame is generated 6 SHOTLIST → rule_check = yes on every row 7 GENERATE → character IDs reused, every generation logged 8 CUT → assembled to the sound map, then this gate ``` If a user asks to "just generate some shots" before stage 5 exists, say what is missing and what it will cost — a bin of unusable clips and a face that drifts — then offer the shortest real path: bible and beats first, one hour. --- ## The gate Certification requires **all** of the following as artifacts, not assertions: - [ ] **The turn**, in one line, in the form *they think X; actually Y* - [ ] **The formal rule**, declared, plus the two places it hurt (shot ids) - [ ] **Sound map**: bed per location · foley on three actions · music in/out · the planned silence with its function and duration - [ ] **Three hand shots**, timecoded - [ ] **Three deliberate imperfections**, timecoded - [ ] **Language pass** logged — the eleven-item checklist from `LANGUAGE.md` - [ ] **Speech-free ≥ 20%** of runtime, measured not estimated. *Speech-free* means nobody is talking; room tone and foley continue. Do not accept a signal-free track as evidence — that is a dropout. A deliberate **total silence** is a separate, timecoded entry in the sound map - [ ] **Generation ledger** complete — every shot reconstructible from seed - [ ] **Cold watch**: one person who did not make it watched at 1× with no scrubbing and can answer *what did she want* and *what changed* - [ ] **Runtime** inside the target window - [ ] **Submission copy** passes the language refusals in `film-taste.md` Missing any item → **not certified.** Report which, and the shortest path to each. Do not soften this and do not average the criteria into a score. **Never assign a numeric quality score to your own work.** The gate is pass/fail on evidence. A score is a way of feeling finished without being finished. --- ## Adversarial pass Before certifying, run one deliberate hostile read. The prompt to yourself is not "is this good" — it is: > **"A jury has watched four hundred of these this week. Give me the three > sentences they will use to dismiss this one."** If those three sentences are true, the film is not ready. If you cannot produce three, you are not looking hard enough — produce them anyway, then check. --- ## Anti-patterns this gate exists to catch | Pattern | What it actually is | |---|---| | "The visuals are stunning" | No turn | | "It's more of a mood piece" | No want | | "The music really carries it" | The performances don't | | "We'll fix it in the edit" | Stage 3 was skipped | | "Every shot took forty retries" | Character IDs weren't used | | "I'd give this a 9" | Self-certification | --- Built on SIP.