Scene Designer
Build a scene on a spine of craft beats, then flesh it out with supporting cards and connections.
A scene is laid out like a strip of film. Each shot is a frame, left to right, in the order it plays — and that order is yours to arrange. Pick a craft framework and it lays down the spine of shots for you; fill each one's structured slots, tether supporting cards to the moments they colour, and let the cast stand above the strip. Guidance for every card is a click away, and the finished strip can render as a storyboard.
Scene Designer — the film strip and its bands
✦Quick start
- 1Open Scene Designer from the Story menu, then pick a chapter and create a scene.
- 2Choose a framework — Action, Sequel, Dialogue, or Reveal — and it lays down the spine shots.
- 3Fill each shot's slots, and add more shots from the empty frame at the end of the strip.
- 4Drag a frame to reorder it — the other shots slide aside to open its place.
- 5Attach sensory or subtext cards to a shot, and open any card's guidance to see what belongs there.
The Film Strip
- Every shot is a uniform frame on the strip — the sequence reads at a glance
- Drag a frame along the strip to reorder it; the shots you pass slide over to make room
- The strip's order IS the scene's order — it's what the storyboard draws
- An empty frame at the end is where the next shot goes
Frameworks
- Action — Goal → Conflict → Disaster, for scenes that drive forward
- Sequel — Reaction → Dilemma → Decision, for the fallout after a blow
- Dialogue — Setup → Exchange → Turning Point, for scenes carried by talk
- Reveal — Setup → Discovery → Repercussion, for the moment something surfaces
- Each spine shot has structured slots that prompt exactly what it needs
Cast, Attachments & the Shelf
- A standing band above the strip holds the scene's conditions and its cast — the characters and items in play
- Attach sensory, subtext, or set-dressing cards to a shot; they ride in the gutter beside it
- The shelf keeps your craft notes and references — real thinking with nothing to draw
- Every card carries craft guidance — its purpose, what goes in it, and common pitfalls
- Arc-beat cards link live to a character's Arc Map — edit in one place, updated in both
✦
Not sure which framework fits? The picker describes each one and what it's best for. Action and Sequel alternate beautifully — a punch, then its consequences.