The Offer — Scene 3 Generation Sheet

PARKED — do not generate from this yet. Written against the outline; the

screenplay (`the-offer.fountain`) has since changed. Regenerate this sheet

from the final script before use.

Companion to `luthers-dilemma.md` (Scene 3 — Outside Luther's house). One

entry = one AI video generation. Paste the BOILERPLATE block into every

prompt, then add the clip's own text. **Rule for every generated clip: no

writing on the folded paper is ever legible.** Other text in frame is fine,

in period German. The reveal is an edited insert (INSERT-01), never a

generation.

BOILERPLATE (paste into every prompt)

Live-action cinematic footage, Germany 1539. Late-afternoon golden light, muted earthy colors, shallow depth of field, quiet domestic realism.

LUTHER: heavyset man in his mid-fifties, clean-shaven, short dark curly hair under a black scholar's cap, plain black scholar's gown over a white shirt. Calm, stubborn, at ease.
KATHARINA: woman of about forty, capable and composed, hair covered by a white linen coif, plain dark dress with a work apron, ring of household keys at her belt.
SETTING: the small courtyard outside Luther's home — timber-framed walls, a heavy wooden door, packed-earth ground with a few cobbles, a kitchen garden along the wall.
A folded paper prop recurs: palm-sized, folded in quarters, outer faces blank. It must always read as the same paper, and no writing on it is ever visible.
All text in frame is period German — never English. Any signage, printed sheet or manuscript hand accordingly; reject generations showing English.

Clips (in cut order)

S3-01 — Establishing (wide, ~6s)

Luther and Katharina step out of the heavy wooden door into the courtyard. He holds the folded paper, gesturing with it dismissively as he talks; she follows, drying her hands on her apron. Camera: static wide.

Audio: door thud, birds, distant town ambience. His words indistinct.
Paper: folded, blank. ✔

S3-02 — The dismissal (medium two-shot, ~6s)

Favor Katharina listening, arms folded; Luther in three-quarter profile, mid-explanation, unbothered. Camera: slow push in.

Audio: Luther's speech recorded separately and played as VO — keep his mouth angled away from camera so lip-sync is never scrutinized. Suggested VO (from the outline): "just another attempt to buy his writings... he will never profit from God's Word."
Paper: folded, in his hand. ✔

S3-03 — The paper (close-up insert, ~5s)

Luther's hands only: he turns the folded paper over slowly, thumb running along the crease — he knows exactly what it says. Camera: macro close-up, shallow focus.

Audio: his VO continues underneath; cloth and paper foley.
Paper: folded, blank faces only. ✔

S3-04 — The toss (medium-wide, ~5s)

Still talking, Luther tosses the paper carelessly onto the ground and half turns away toward the garden. The paper lands on the packed earth. Camera: static, paper lands lower third of frame.

Audio: VO continues; soft paper flutter.
Paper: folded. ✔

S3-05 — She picks it up (low insert, ~5s)

Low angle on the folded paper on the ground. The hem of Katharina's skirt enters; her hand reaches down and takes it. Camera: static low angle, shallow focus.

Audio: fabric rustle; Luther's VO drifts on, farther away.
Paper: folded, blank. ✔

S3-06 — She reads it (close-up, ~6s)

Katharina unfolds the paper — its face toward her, **back of the sheet to camera** — and reads. Her expression moves from mild curiosity to stunned stillness. Behind her, soft-focus, Luther still gestures toward the garden. Camera: close-up, slow push.

Audio: Luther's VO fades under; near-silence, a held breath.
Paper: back of sheet only. ✔ (Reject any generation showing marks through the paper.)

S3-07 — Her question (close-up, ~5s)

Katharina looks up from the paper toward Luther, the shock still on her face.

Audio: her line, recorded separately: **"Martin... do you know what they've offered you?"** Two ways to cover it — (a) lip-synced on her if the tool handles it cleanly, or (b) safer: play the line over S3-08 so her mouth is off-screen when she speaks.
Paper: lowered to frame edge, back to camera. ✔

S3-08 — He stops (medium, ~4s)

Luther, mid-gesture, stops and turns to look at her. A beat of silence — he knows what she has seen. Camera: static medium.

Audio: her line lands here if using option (b); then silence.
Paper: not in frame. ✔

INSERT-01 — The reveal (edited insert, not generated, ~4s)

The unfolded paper fills the frame: period handwriting, a few contract lines — and, unmistakable, "400 Gulden." Make this as a photographed real prop or a motion graphic; do not trust generation with legible text. Hold 2–3 seconds.

Audio: silence, or a single low note.

Then: the end cards

Cut to black; the narration cards from the end of Scene 3 in the outline (also made in the edit, not generated).

Continuity checklist (check every generation)

Same clothes, cap, coif, keys across all clips.
Late-afternoon light direction consistent (sun behind the house, camera-left).
Door is camera-left, garden camera-right — keep the geography.
The paper is always the same size, folded in quarters, blank outer faces.
No writing on the folded paper is ever legible in a generated frame. The number exists only in INSERT-01. Other in-frame text is fine, in period German.