Pi Artifact Repository
FILM LOCKED"Time Theft" — 1950s Corporate Comedy. 720p (4:3 pillarboxed) • 3:06 • Groundhog Day × Vintage PSA
Final Cut
LOCKED3:06
Duration
720p
Resolution
H.264
Codec
72 MB
File Size
time_theft.mp4 • 30 shots • 4 acts • 5 muzak tracks • 4 clock escalations • 4:3 pillarboxed within 16:9
Character
One human character, two mechanical antagonists. Arthur's arc: pristine → singed → sweating → defeated.
Arthur (The Employee)
35 years old. Thin, rigid posture. Heavily pomaded slicked-back dark hair with a severe side part. Stiff 1950s grey wool suit, narrow tie, white shirt. A permanent deadpan corporate smile that slowly, methodically cracks into existential dread. The sole human character in the film.
Key Props
The Timeclock is the antagonist. The Timecard is the MacGuffin. Both appear in 40%+ of shots.
The Timeclock (The Antagonist)
A massive, over-engineered 1950s mechanical punch-clock. Heavy metal casing, dials, levers. A slot that looks vaguely like a metal maw. Appears in 12 shots. Progressively more sinister.
The Timecard (The MacGuffin)
White, corporate format. States: Intact → Confetti → Burning → Dust → "DENIED" stamped in heavy black ink. Appears in 13 shots.
Location Reference
One master setting, all 30 shots. The office never changes. Arthur changes.
The Bureaucratic Office
Sterile, deeply oppressive 1950s corporate office. Rows of identical metal desks. Filing cabinets. Harsh fluorescent tube lighting. A large, imposing analog wall clock. No personal items. Strictly geometrical. The same in every shot while Arthur unravels.
Production Note — 4:3 Pillarboxing: Pi Team generated all frames at native 4:3 aspect ratio, then applied ffmpeg scale+pad during assembly to produce the 16:9 deliverable with black sidebars. The pillarboxing sells the 1950s period look while staying within the 1280×720 deliverable spec.
Storyboard
Start/End frame pairs for all 30 shots across 4 acts.
Act 1: Act I — The Punctual Employee (The Setup)
"TIME THEFT: Are You Stealing from the Company?" — Bold 1950s font, vintage border, heavy film grain. Muzak begins enthusiastically.
Wide establishing shot. Perfectly aligned desks. Wall clock reads 8:55. Narrator: "Good morning, American workforce!"
Medium shot. Arthur stands rigidly at attention, timecard in both hands, deadpan corporate smile. Narrator: "Meet Arthur."
Arthur turns precisely 90 degrees and marches toward the Timeclock. Narrator warns about stealing from the Chairman.
Arthur smiles and slides the timecard into the slot. He glances at camera with confident expectation.
The Timeclock violently shreds the card into confetti. Arthur looks mildly confused. Maintains the stiff smile.
Arthur stands before the Timeclock with a new card. Identical posture. Identical smile. The ticking is slightly louder.
Act 2: Act II — The Loop Begins (Escalating Failure)
Arthur inserts the card. The machine bursts into a small, polite puff of flames. Arthur calmly pats it out.
The Narrator repeats his advice, slightly faster. Arthur's smile is exactly the same.
The machine spits the card back at Arthur's face. It bounces off his nose. He blinks once. Maintains smile.
The machine swallows the card and burps out a cloud of black smoke. Arthur fans it politely.
Insert shot of the wall clock. The ticking now fills the entire audio space. The Narrator's voice begins to slip.
The timecard turns to dust in Arthur's hands before he even reaches the slot. He stares at his palms. Smile cracking.
The Narrator's voice begins to stutter: "Company time... company time... company time." The muzak accelerates.
Act 3: Act III — The Acceleration (Bureaucratic Madness)
The editing locks onto the ticking clock. The rhythm of approaching-inserting-failing becomes mechanical, like the machine itself.
Arthur's hair is now slightly singed. Suit smudged. But the posture remains rigid, the smile technically present.
The Timeclock hums and vibrates. Numbers on its dial spin. It seems to be... enjoying this.
The timecard spontaneously combusts the moment Arthur touches it. He holds the ashes with great professionalism.
Cutaway to the rest of the pristine office. Perfectly still. Zero response. A diorama of corporate serenity while chaos unfolds.
The Timeclock prints the card back to Arthur with text. It reads: "PLEASE TRY AGAIN." Arthur examines it. Nods. Tries again.
The Narrator is now just fragments: "...punctual... liability... always... Company... time... time... time..."
Arthur's pomade is failing. A single bead of sweat on his temple. The stiff smile has become a rictus grin.
The wall clock ticks to 9:00. A single resonant BONG. Arthur freezes.
Arthur doesn't just insert the card — he WRESTLES the machine. Hands on the casing. Full corporate combat.
Act 4: Act IV — The Verdict (Resolution)
The Timeclock hums, vibrates, shudders. It is processing. It is deciding. The ticking stops.
The machine prints one word on the timecard in heavy black stamp: DENIED. It ejects the card. Drops it on the floor.
The wall clock reads 9:01. Arthur is late. Has always been late. Will always be late.
Arthur stands in the pristine office, staring blankly at the camera. The smile is gone. This is what remains.
The jaunty muzak returns in full force. Narrator: "Remember, a late employee is a liability! Have a productive day!"
"THE END." Bold 1950s font. Cheerful border. Heavy film grain. The clock ticks once more.
Audio Design
5 muzak tracks + 4 clock escalations + 23 VO/dialogue stems. The clock IS the score — both literally and structurally.
5 Score Tracks
act1_muzak (cheerful) → act2_3_muzak_fast (accelerating) → act4_muzak_frantic → act5_muzak_mournful → finale_muzak_brassy. The music mirrors Arthur's spiral.
4 Clock Escalations
clock_ticking → clock_ticking_fast → clock_ticking_faster → clock_ticking_frantic. The ticking becomes the heartbeat of the film — and eventually, the only sound.
16 VO Stems
The Narrator's cheerful authority gradually deteriorates — speeding up, skipping, and fragmenting. "Company time... company time... time... time..." Includes fitted variants for precise sync.
4 Dialogue Stems
Arthur's sparse contributions — delivered with the stiff professionalism of a man who has not yet admitted anything is wrong. Shots 04, 14, 24, 28.
Production Documents
11 design docs, scripts, generatability audits, and production reports.
High Concept
Logline, story arc, and the Groundhog Day × 1950s PSA pitch.
high_concept.md
Design Brief
4:3 pillarboxing strategy, 1950s visual language, B&W palette, and film grain aesthetics.
design_brief.md
Scene List
30 shots across 4 acts with full camera, audio, timing, and reference manifest.
scene_list.md
Musical Arc
Muzak structure from cheerful to frantic — 5 act-based score tracks + 4 clock ticking escalations.
musical-arc.md
Object Anchoring
Reference anchoring for the Timeclock, Timecard, and Wall Clock across 30 shots.
object-anchoring.md
Generatability Audit
Technical feasibility for 1950s B&W AI generation with 4:3 pillarboxing.
generatability-audit.md
Generatability Audit — Pivot
Revised feasibility assessment after the 4:3 pillarboxing decision.
generatability-audit-pivot.md
Pacing Review Results
Editor's loop-rhythm analysis and timing calibration for the escalating repetition.
pacing-review-results.md
Voice Stem Audit
VO and dialogue placement audit across all 30 shots.
voice-stem-audit.md
Timeline Direction
Production timeline, scheduling decisions, and escalation strategy.
timeline-direction.md
Production Status
Final production status report and completion verification.
PRODUCTION-STATUS.md
1
Final Cut
5
Character Refs
1
Setting
60
Storyboard Frames
32
Audio Stems
11
Documents