← All drafts
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
legible writing anywhere in frame.** 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 is ever visible.
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 legible text in any generated frame. The number exists only in
- INSERT-01.