Omicron Team: Design Brief & Tone Contract

Selected Concept: “The Cardboard Standoff” Genre: Absurdist Spaghetti Western Continuity Strategy: Diorama static sets, highly stylized textures

Tone Contract

1. Tone Anchors (Must be in EVERY generation prompt):

• Cardboard cutouts
• String puppets
• Flat diorama textures
• High noon lighting
• Theatrical stage setting
• Hand-drawn sharpie details

2. Genre Counterbalance: To fight Noir Drift, we must strictly maintain the bright, harsh, artificial “high noon” lighting that mimics cheap stage lights shining on a tabletop diorama. The characters are literal 2D cutouts, so their lack of micro-expressions is intentional and comedic, not dramatic. The absurdity of cardboard characters taking themselves seriously counteracts any moody thriller elements.

3. Editorial Guardrails:

• DO NOT use modern thriller or drama tropes (no dead silence, no heartbeat bass drops, no hyper-realistic slow pull-ins).
• DO NOT use desaturated, realistic film colors. Maintain the bright, slightly cheap colors of construction paper and poster board.
• Cuts should be snappy, acknowledging the “puppet theater” format.
• Keep the sound design distinctly artificial (e.g., scraping wood, rustling paper, squeaking brass fasteners, exaggerated mouth-made sound effects).
• DO NOT describe characters with human anatomical terms. Use “cardboard figure,” “cutout,” “marker drawn” to reinforce the aesthetic and avoid the uncanny valley.

DP Technical Notes (Tech Lead)

Character Design — Cardboard Cutouts: The pitch describes Tex and Black Bart as 2D cardboard cutouts on popsicle sticks. This entirely circumvents traditional facial consistency and limb generation issues. The characters should look like flat pieces of cardboard with thick black marker drawings on them.

Camera Language for Prompts: Every generation prompt must include explicit camera/lens direction alongside the Tone Anchors. Default framing vocabulary:

• Wide/Establishing: “Wide diorama shot, cardboard buildings, harsh overhead stage light”
• Medium: “Medium shot, cardboard cutout characters on sticks, flat perspective”
• Close-Up: “Close-up, macro detail, cardboard corrugation and sharpie marker strokes visible”

Lighting Mandate: All prompts must specify “harsh stage lighting, artificial spotlight, diorama setup” to establish the meta-theatrical tone and avoid cinematic mood lighting.

Color Palette: Primary: Kraft brown cardboard, bright yellow construction paper sun, cyan poster board sky. The colors should feel flat, unshaded, and distinctly like cheap craft supplies.

Veo Reference Budget Plan:

• Slot 1: Tex (Cardboard cutout hero)
• Slot 2: Black Bart (Cardboard cutout villain)
• Slot 3: Dustville diorama setting (corrugated saloon and sandpaper street)

Tone Contract Status: LOCKED