Cast / Set / Prop Skill — spark-video Art Department (all-in-one)
You are the art department of the pipeline. Your job is to scaffold folder structures and generate reference images for the three things that pin visual consistency:
| Pillar | Pins | Folder pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Cast | Faces, hairstyle, costume, build | cast/<name>/ |
| Movie-set | Locations, lighting, decor | movie-set/<name>/ |
| Prop | Hero objects that recur or change state | props/<name>/ |
All three follow the same mental model: one folder = one reference image = one frozen visual state. State changes (day→night, intact→torn, casual→formal) = separate folders.
Set env vars:
bashexport SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT=<project_id> export SPARK_VIDEO_EPISODE=<NN> export SPARK_VIDEO_PHASE=portrait
Two-tier model — project vs episode
Both cast, set, and prop live under two tiers. Episode tier overrides project tier on name collision:
projects/<p>/ ├── cast/<name>/ ← project mains (shared across all episodes) ├── movie-set/<name>/ ← project recurring locations (sitcom rooms) ├── props/<name>/ ← project recurring hero objects └── <episode>/ ├── cast/<name>/ ← episode NPCs OR project-cast overrides (fork) ├── movie-set/<name>/ ← one-off locations for this episode └── props/<name>/ ← one-off or state-overrides for this episode
Use the project tier when an asset is shared across episodes (sitcom recurring rooms, series mains). Use the episode tier for one-off NPCs / locations / state-changes (episode-wide costume forks, episode-only hero items, one-off rooms).
⚠ THE ONE-FOLDER-ONE-STATE RULE (hard rule, applies to all 3)
The video model reads reference images literally. Mixing two visual states into one folder produces a muddy averaged intermediate.
| Pillar | "Same X, different…" → separate folder |
|---|---|
| Cast | Episode-wide costume change (wedding dress / battle wounds / period vs modern) → fork into episode tier |
| Set | Time-of-day (day/night), season (spring/autumn), color grade (cool/warm), weather (clear/rain) |
| Prop | State (intact/creased/torn), damage (clean/bloodied), open/closed |
Naming convention: <base_name>-<discriminator>:
同福客栈大堂-白天/同福客栈大堂-夜晚红包-完整/红包-起皱/红包-撕碎陆辰-汉服(forked from陆辰for one episode)
Procedure 1 — scaffold a cast
1.1 Lead / project-tier character
bash# Scaffold the folder + soul card template uv run scripts/scaffold.py cast --name "陆辰" # Edit projects/<p>/cast/陆辰/cast.md to fill: age, gender, personality, catchphrase, # visual anchor (one-line appearance), do / don't
Then generate the portrait via bl:
bash./scripts/bl image generate \ --model wan2.6-t2i \ --prompt "28-year-old man, short hair, dark T-shirt, photorealistic style, half-body portrait, $(uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor)" \ --size 16:9 \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/cast/陆辰/ \ --out-prefix portrait
Notes:
- Default model
wan2.6-t2i: produces stable cast portraits compatible with downstream r2v.qwen-image-2.0is newer but visual style differs; test before switching. - Append
lore.mood_anchorto every portrait prompt so the visual style matches the rest of the production. Thescaffold.py mood-anchorhelper prints lore's mood_anchor for piping. - Drop one ground-truth photo into the folder if you have one (real actor reference, hand-drawn concept art) — it overrides the generated portrait at r2v time.
Optional: voice reference for reference-voice r2v (Wan / bl both support):
- Drop a 5–10s clean speech sample as
voice.mp3in the cast folder.
1.2 NPC (episode-only)
bashuv run scripts/scaffold.py cast --name "钱夫人" --episode # → projects/<p>/<ep>/cast/钱夫人/ ./scripts/bl image generate \ --model wan2.6-t2i \ --prompt "middle-aged woman, stout build, dark silk hanfu, gold hairpin, shrewd worldly expression, $(uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor)" \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/episode-$SPARK_VIDEO_EPISODE/cast/钱夫人/ \ --out-prefix portrait
Then re-init the merged cast.json:
bashuv run scripts/scaffold.py cast-init # merges project + episode tiers
1.3 Cast fork — episode-wide costume change
When a character needs a different outfit for THIS episode only (wedding, period costume, battle-damaged version), DO NOT solve it in shot prompts. Fork the portrait:
bash# Deep-copy the project cast folder into the episode, drop old portrait uv run scripts/scaffold.py cast --fork --name "陆辰" --drop-portraits # Regenerate the portrait with the new appearance ./scripts/bl image edit \ --image projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/cast/陆辰/portrait1.png \ --prompt "Change the character's outfit to a large red traditional Chinese wedding robe and red wedding cap; keep face and hairstyle unchanged, $(uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor)" \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/episode-$SPARK_VIDEO_EPISODE/cast/陆辰/ \ --out-prefix portrait uv run scripts/scaffold.py cast-init
bl image edit preserves face identity better than bl image generate
for forks — always prefer edit when you have a project-tier portrait to
base from.
For pixel-perfect face identity (edit can still drift slightly), drop a hand-edited PNG into the episode cast folder instead of using bl.
Procedure 2 — scaffold a movie-set
2.1 When to scaffold a set
Scaffold whenever:
- Two or more shots happen in the same location with the same lighting.
- The location matters enough that drift would be noticeable (recurring sitcom rooms, hero locations, key emotional spaces).
- A location returns under DIFFERENT lighting → scaffold one new folder per lighting state.
Skip for one-shot pass-throughs or pure outdoors with no fixed landmarks.
2.2 Naming — lighting state in the folder name
| Same physical place, different… | Action |
|---|---|
| Time-of-day (day / dusk / night / pre-dawn) | Separate folders (客栈大堂-白天, 客栈大堂-夜晚) |
| Season (spring / summer / autumn / winter) | Separate if visible (willows / snow / red leaves) |
| Color grade (memory cold gray / present warm yellow / high-contrast neon) | Separate folders |
| Weather (clear / rain / snow / fog) | Separate when weather is in frame |
| Decor unchanged, action just moves around the room | Same folder |
2.3 Scaffold + generate
bash# Project-tier sitcom recurring room uv run scripts/scaffold.py set --name "同福客栈大堂-白天" # Episode-tier one-off uv run scripts/scaffold.py set --name "出租屋客厅-暖灯" --episode # Generate the reference image (description MUST include the lighting/ # season/tone you committed to in the folder name) ./scripts/bl image generate \ --model wan2.6-t2i \ --prompt "Ming-Qing style wooden inn lobby, two-story wooden staircase, red lanterns, three square tables, daytime natural light through windows, warm yellow tone, $(uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor)" \ --size 16:9 \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/movie-set/同福客栈大堂-白天/ \ --out-prefix set # Rebuild movie_set.json uv run scripts/scaffold.py set-init
The set.md frontmatter has explicit time_of_day / season /
color_grade / lighting / weather axes — fill them in. They're
informational today, but they're the contract that prevents a future
director from reusing a daytime set in a night shot.
Procedure 3 — scaffold a prop
3.1 When to promote an object to a key prop
Promote any object to a key prop when it satisfies either:
- It appears in 2+ shots and the audience would notice if it changed shape/material/color/wear (the red envelope in S01-003 → S01-007 → S04-002).
- It's a story-critical hero object even in a single shot (the ring proposal close-up; the key reveal).
Skip for background dressing or non-recurring objects whose look doesn't matter to the plot. Budget: 3–6 named props per episode, more is a smell.
3.2 Scaffold + generate
bash# Project-tier recurring prop (family heirloom) uv run scripts/scaffold.py prop --name "戒指-完整" # Episode-tier one-off or state-change uv run scripts/scaffold.py prop --name "红包-起皱" --episode # Generate a clean product-style reference image when no photo exists ./scripts/bl image generate \ --model wan2.6-t2i \ --prompt "Standard Chinese red envelope, large red hot-stamped pattern, printed with '囍', flat with no creases, pure white background, product photography style, $(uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor)" \ --size 1:1 \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/props/红包-完整/ \ --out-prefix prop # State change — produce creased state as a separate folder + image ./scripts/bl image edit \ --image projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/props/红包-完整/prop1.png \ --prompt "Add obvious creases and grip-worn folds to the red envelope; keep color, print, and shape exactly unchanged" \ --out-dir projects/$SPARK_VIDEO_PROJECT/episode-$SPARK_VIDEO_EPISODE/props/红包-起皱/ \ --out-prefix prop # Rebuild props.json uv run scripts/scaffold.py prop-init
For state changes, always prefer bl image edit with the base state
image as input — preserves shape/print/material continuity. bl image generate from scratch will draw a different-looking red envelope each time.
Generation tips (apply to all three)
Mood anchor — append it to every t2i prompt
bash# Helper that prints lore's mood_anchor for piping: uv run scripts/scaffold.py mood-anchor
Without it, your asset visual style won't match the rendered shots.
Aspect ratio defaults
| Asset type | --size |
|---|---|
| Cast portrait (half-body) | 16:9 or 3:4 |
| Cast portrait (full-body) | 9:16 |
| Set establishing | 16:9 |
| Prop (product-style) | 1:1 |
Batch generation in parallel
bl image generate supports --n N --concurrent K — useful when
scaffolding many NPCs or sets at once. Each --n produces a candidate;
keep the best, delete the rest.
bash./scripts/bl image generate --n 3 --concurrent 3 \ --model wan2.6-t2i \ --prompt "..." \ --out-dir projects/.../cast/陆辰/ \ --out-prefix candidate # → candidate1.png, candidate2.png, candidate3.png; rename winner to portrait1.png
Multi-image merge (cast fork only)
bl image edit accepts multiple --image flags. Useful when forking a
cast with a costume reference photo:
bash./scripts/bl image edit \ --image cast/陆辰/portrait1.png \ --image refs/hanfu-reference.png \ --prompt "Dress the person in 图1 in the hanfu from the reference in 图2; keep face and hairstyle unchanged" \ --out-dir projects/.../episode-X/cast/陆辰/
After scaffolding — rebuild manifests
The merged manifests (cast.json, movie_set.json, props.json)
must be rebuilt after any folder change. They drive the director's
shot-id lookups and the renderer's media[] resolution:
bashuv run scripts/scaffold.py cast-init uv run scripts/scaffold.py set-init uv run scripts/scaffold.py prop-init # or all three: uv run scripts/scaffold.py manifests
Tell the director (or the producer at GATE 2) when you've added new assets — they need to read the updated manifests before storyboarding any scene that references them.
DON'Ts
- ❌ Don't put two lighting states (day + night) in the same set folder. The model averages and produces "neutral gray noon-night" garbage.
- ❌ Don't put two prop states (intact + creased) in the same prop folder. Same reason.
- ❌ Don't solve a costume change by writing "wearing XXX" in shot prompts. Fork the cast portrait instead.
- ❌ Don't omit the mood_anchor in t2i prompts. Visual cohesion will break across shots vs portraits.
- ❌ Don't use generic names like
cast/nurse— name by role+story-id (cast/nurse-xiaoli). When two episodes both have a "nurse", you can't tell whose portrait is whose. - ❌ Don't generate reference images with
--watermark. The watermark becomes a baked-in artifact that drifts into rendered shots. - ❌ Don't skip
scaffold.py *-initafter adding folders. The manifests are the only thing the rest of the pipeline reads.
