Eta Team Friction Log

Coach: Eta Pilot Coach Date: 2026-05-17 Team: Eta Team (eta-idea, eta-techlead, eta-editor)

Log Entries

[2026-05-17] - Initialization

• Initialized Eta Pilot Coach.
• Directories ready for /workspace/shared-dirs/eta-team/.
• Created team briefs for Idea Person, Technical Lead, and Editor.
• Kid-friendly mandate (Claymation vs 3D Animation) enforced.
• Started eta-idea, eta-techlead, eta-editor.
• Monitoring for Step 1 completion.

[2026-05-17 02:45] - Step 1 Progress: Consensus Reached

• Team selected Option A: Claymation.
• Story Title: “The Cloud-Catcher’s Hiccup”.
• High Concept, Design Brief, and Character Bios verified.
• Creative Alignment: Excellent fit for kid-friendly mandate.
• Status: Waiting for 2,000-word short story completion.

[2026-05-17 02:46] - Step 1 Milestone: GREEN LIGHT

• Success: eta-idea produced a 2,716-word short story with a complete narrative arc.
• Success: Style Choice (Claymation) and Design Brief locked.
• Verification: Word count 2716 verified. Narrative is kid-friendly and tonally consistent.
• Action: Granted clearance for Step 2.

[2026-05-17 02:47] - Step 2 Gate: HELD (Duration Violation)

• Friction: Shot breakdown totals 159s (2:39), missing the 3:00-4:00 minute target.
• Action: Denied Green Light. Instructed team to expand Scene 3 and Scene 4 to meet the duration mandate.

[2026-05-17 02:49] - Step 2 Gate: HELD (Duration Overrun)

• Friction: Updated breakdown totals 370s (6:10), exceeding the 5-minute Playbook limit.
• Action: Denied Green Light. Instructed team to trim durations (specifically Scene 5 and the Scene 3 montage) to fit the 180-300s window.

[2026-05-17 02:50] - Step 2 Milestone: GREEN LIGHT

• Success: eta-editor adjusted the shot breakdown to 200s (3:20).
• Success: Mathematical pacing verified against Playbook (3-5 min target).
• Success: Scene list and audio notes align with Kid-Friendly Claymation theme.
• Action: Granted clearance for Step 3.

[2026-05-17 02:54] - Step 3 Gate: HELD (Resolution Violation)

• Friction: Character reference images generated at 1376x768.
• Mandate: All visual assets must be exactly 1280x720.
• Action: Issued Production Halt. Instructed eta-techlead to standardize all assets to 720p.

[2026-05-17 02:56] - Step 3 Gate: RESOLUTION FIXED

• Success: eta-techlead bootstrapped Pillow and standardized Pippa images to 1280x720.
• Verification: headshot.png and body_sheet.png confirmed at 1280x720.
• Status: Proceeding with Barnaby and Voice stems.

[2026-05-17 03:00] - Step 3 Update: Mandate Clarification

• Clarification from tool-maker: The >1MB mandate applies to final rendered video clips and the assembled output, NOT individual mono VO stems.
• Status: Pippa and Barnaby references verified at 1280x720. 8/17 VO stems generated. Waiting for completion of voiceover batch.

[2026-05-17 03:02] - Step 3 Milestone: GREEN LIGHT

• Success: Pippa and Barnaby reference sets verified at 1280x720.
• Success: 17 Voiceover stems (.wav) generated and verified.
• Success: Team effectively utilized the new genmedia-resize-image tool.
• Action: Granted clearance for Step 4.

[2026-05-17 03:03] - Step 4 Progress: Storyboarding Commenced

• Team started generating 74 storyboard frames (start/end for 37 shots).
• Plan: TechLead leading generation with reference image chaining.
• Monitoring: Ensuring all frames hit exactly 1280x720.

[2026-05-17 03:37] - Step 4 Gate: HELD (Machine Drift)

• Friction: Shots 31-32 showed machine drift (Nebula-9000 became a grey box).
• Action: Idea Person denied clearance for those shots. TechLead is reshooting with strong Scene 1 references.
• Progress: 68/74 frames generated. Scene 5 in progress.

[2026-05-17 03:47] - Step 4 Milestone: GREEN LIGHT

• Success: 74 storyboard frames generated and verified at 1280x720.
• Success: Machine design drift (Shots 31-32, 35) corrected via reshoots.
• Success: Creative audit by Idea Person and Editor approved.
• Action: Granted clearance for Step 5.

[2026-05-17 04:08] - Step 5 Update: Scene 1 Verified

• Success: Shots 01-07 generated and verified.
• Specs: 1280x720, 8s duration, all >1MB.
• Status: Moving to Scene 2 (Shots 08-15).

[2026-05-17 04:34] - Step 5 Milestone: GREEN LIGHT

• Success: 37 video shots generated and verified at 1280x720.
• Success: All shots >1MB (real files).
• Action: Granted clearance for Step 6.

[2026-05-17 04:38] - Step 7 Milestone: FULL WRAP

• Success: Final film ‘output.mp4’ assembled and verified.
• Specs: 1280x720, 192.6s (3:12), 92.1MB.
• Creative: Claymation style, kid-friendly narrative, professional L/J-cuts and audio ducking.
• Outcome: Eta Team Pilot successfully builds on all prior lessons. Production concluded.

[2026-05-17 05:35] - Doctrine Shift: Mandate Revision

• Friction: Strict 720p mandate for intermediate assets caused significant rework and reduced detail for anchoring.
• Policy Pivot: Mandates updated to allow native resolution intermediates (e.g. 1376x768) while keeping strict 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Outcome: Faster TechLead throughput and improved character consistency by providing more detail to generative models.