DIRECTIVE — 30s cinematic single continuous take, 16:9, 24fps filmic motion cadence.
SUBJECT & STORY — [FORMAT] 16:9 aspect, 24fps, ARRI Alexa 35 capture, 17 stops of latitude, creamy highlight rolloff, natural skin rendition, Cooke S4/i glass, warm 'Cooke look', gentle skin falloff, soft creamy bokeh, 40mm near-normal, natural human perspective, mild depth separation, T2.8 aperture, photoreal live-action cinematography, real human skin texture, natural imperfections
[SCENE] EXT. PLANTING SITE OUTSIDE ERBIL — LATE AFTERNOON. LOCATION LOCK — OUTSIDE ERBIL — PLANTING SITE: A reforestation site outside Erbil: dry soil, a low sun, a line of thin wooden stakes running to the horizon, saplings and a plastic water bottle. Photorealistic observational documentary cinematography, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 2020s. Real Kurdish faces from Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Halabja — never generic international casting, never Gulf, Levantine or Turkish features. No makeup on anyone, no stylist hair, no whitened teeth, natural skin texture with pores and flyaway hair. Muted grade: warm skin, cool blue shadows, dust. Anamorphic 2x, shallow depth, handheld only where noted. No text, no captions, no logos, no watermark. This exact set, unchanged, in every shot of the scene. The one image that proves a year passed: the saplings are trees now, and she is no longer alone.
[SUBJECTS] SHENE — SHENE — 22-year-old Kurdish woman working the land outside Erbil. 1.66 m, strong build, slightly broad shoulders. The most working hands of the six: rough palms, short nails with soil under them. Sun-darkened skin with a lighter ring around the eyes from sunglasses. Light freckles on cheeks and nose. Black hair in one single braid down the back, a cotton scarf tied over the HEAD, never around the neck. ZERO makeup. CONSISTENCY MARK: a clear tan line at the wrist where the sleeve ends. Photorealistic observational documentary cinematography, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 2020s. Real Kurdish faces from Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Halabja — never generic international casting, never Gulf, Levantine or Turkish features. No makeup on anyone, no stylist hair, no whitened teeth, natural skin texture with pores and flyaway hair. Muted grade: warm skin, cool blue shadows, dust. Anamorphic 2x, shallow depth, handheld only where noted. No text, no captions, no logos, no watermark. — wearing A khaki work shirt with sleeves rolled above the elbow over a grey t-shirt, dark work trousers with soil on the knees, dusty leather boots, work gloves stuffed in the back pocket and NOT worn, cotton scarf tied over the head. (identity locked to reference, do not alter face, hair, age or build)
[BLOCKING] ONE CONTINUOUS TAKE: this 30-second clip is a single uninterrupted shot. No cuts, no edits, no dissolves, no jumps in time or place — the camera never stops rolling. The camera may move — dolly, pan, reframe, follow the actors — but it stays one operator, one roll, one piece of film. Play the action straight through in real time so the take can be cut afterwards in the edit. FRAME CHAIN: the first reference image is the literal last frame of scene 3. Open this take on that exact frame and continue moving from it — same physical location, same set dressing, same lighting state, same wardrobe, same weather. Do not cut to a new place and do not rebuild the set. STORY CONTINUES: the previous scene ended with — Two reversals in one scene: the student is now the trainer, and the boy whose voice cracked now holds the room.. This take picks the film up from there: same characters, same wardrobe, same world, later in the same story. Do not re-introduce anyone and do not restart the film. It has to hand over cleanly to the next scene — Heritage chosen, not preserved — the old weaver sees his own pattern come back, and the film breaks its palette for the only time. — so end the take on a frame that can cut straight into it. [REFERENCE MAP — bind each reference image to exactly one thing and never mix them] @image1 = the EXACT LAST FRAME of scene 3 of this same film — this take opens on this frame: same set, same camera position, same light, same wardrobe, same weather; @image2 = Shene (lead) — canonical face, hair, body and age of this actor; @image3 = Shene's ONLY approved wardrobe — Shene — signature day outfit; exact garments, materials, accessories, fit and colors; @image4 = the LOCATION of this scene — Outside Erbil — planting site (set, not a person). Each @image is that one subject only: do not merge two references into a new person, do not swap who is who, and do not invent anyone who is not in this map. [CAST + WARDROBE LOCK — SOLE AUTHORITY] The reference map contains the canonical identity portrait and the ONE approved wardrobe plate for every actor: Shene (lead). Reproduce those exact faces, hairlines, bodies, skin tones, ages, garments, accessories, materials, fit and colors for the whole take and every scene. Never re-cast, re-age, beautify, re-style, change clothes, remove accessories, blend identities or invent a face. LIVED-IN WORLD: this is a real place on a real day, never an empty set. Populate the exterior with background life at cinematic depth: pedestrians crossing and reacting, parked and moving cars, taxis, a police cruiser, delivery vans, street signage, traffic lights, litter, wet asphalt reflections. Background people are unnamed extras: out of focus or turned away, correctly scaled, never mugging at camera and never resembling the named cast. The named cast in the reference sheets stay the foreground subjects, sharp and clearly readable at all times. ABSOLUTE CONTINUITY: same wardrobe, same light, same set, same time of day for the entire take.
[CAMERA] ARRI Alexa 35 capture, 17 stops of latitude, creamy highlight rolloff, natural skin rendition, Cooke S4/i glass, warm 'Cooke look', gentle skin falloff, soft creamy bokeh, 40mm near-normal, natural human perspective, mild depth separation, T2.8 aperture
[LIGHT] motivated late afternoon light in a dust and low sun space, practical sources visible in frame, soft falloff into shadow
[ACTION] ACTION (one take, straight through):
The one image that proves a year passed: the saplings are trees now, and she is no longer alone.
[DIALOGUE] The characters speak their lines out loud on camera in English, with accurate lip sync, natural breathing and room acoustics. Generate the spoken dialogue as part of the clip audio. No narration, no subtitles, no on-screen text.
[GRADE] quiet, observational, restrained, human, hopeful without sentimentality, film-grade contrast curve, protected highlights, no digital clipping
[NEGATIVE] identity drift, different face between shots, wardrobe change mid-scene, extra fingers, deformed hands, warped faces, duplicated people, subtitles, captions, watermark, logo, text overlay, cartoon, 3d render, video game look, plastic skin, over-smoothed skin, oversaturated colours, fisheye distortion, motion blur smear, low resolution
CINEMATOGRAPHY — shot on ARRI Alexa 35 with anamorphic primes, T2.0, shallow depth of field, organic lens flares, motivated practical lighting: soft key, negative fill, hard rim for separation. Filmic contrast curve, rich blacks with retained shadow detail, subtle 35mm grain, natural skin tones, no CGI plastic sheen.
GRADE — low-key cinematic colour science, teal-leaning shadows, warm practical highlights, film-print halation on speculars.
CAMERA — one unbroken take, micro-handheld breathing, no cuts, no transitions; performance carries the shot.
SOUND — diegetic in-camera ambience, close-mic detail on the hero action, no music bed unless specified, no voice-over unless specified.
AVOID — a single slow drifting take, static talking-head boredom, warped hands or faces, morphing geometry, on-screen text, watermarks, logos, subtitles, stock-footage look, over-saturated HDR.