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Objectives

Guru + Short Attention Span Film Rules

Goal:

Enable Storydesk to help users write engaging stories.

Objectives:

  1. Story essentials to detect and flag stories that lack engagement.
  2. Guru to comment on specific story sections with suggestions to improve engagement.
  3. Enable Guru to interact with the writer and clearly explain the expected story structure.

Theory

Theory:

Theory is heavily inspired from this doc Short Attention Span Filmaking which discusses similar topics for multi-episode series and adapted to storydesk.

For a story to be engaging, two conditions must be met:

  1. The story must have strong story essentials.

  2. The script must follow Short Attention Span (SAS) filmmaking principles.

Strong Story Essentials

Story essentials ensure the story is fundamentally worth telling before any script-level optimization is applied.

  • Protagonist Definition : The story establishes a clear central character whose journey the audience can follow throughout.

  • Protagonist-Driven Stakes : The stakes emerge directly from the protagonist’s internal or external arc.

  • Antagonist Presence : The story introduces a clear opposing force that stands in the protagonist’s way.

  • Antagonistic Threat : The antagonist creates credible danger or pressure that makes the audience fear for the protagonist.

  • Meaningful Stakes : The story presents clear, high-impact consequences that give the audience a reason to care.

  • Narrative Driver : The story clearly defines what propels it forward, such as a goal, conflict, mystery, or pursuit.

Once strong story essentials are in place, the focus can shift to refining the script structure to maximize engagement.

SAS Filmmaking Structure

The SAS structure provides a guideline for shaping a dynamic dramatic graph within an episode. While variations are possible, it is essential to deliver a strong dramatic moment every 30 to 45 seconds to keep the audience engaged.

Indicative Episode Structure

  • High-Stakes Opening (0–15 seconds)
    Introduce immediate tension or risk to capture attention.

  • Set-Up (15–45 seconds)
    Establish context, characters, and the initial situation.

  • Escalation (45 seconds – 1:15/1:30)
    Increase tension and complicate the situation.

  • Discovery / Realisation (1:15/1:30 – 2 minutes)
    Reveal new information that shifts understanding or direction.

  • Further Escalation (2 – 2:30 minutes)
    Push the conflict to a higher intensity.

  • Moment of Calm (2:30 – 3 minutes)
    Brief emotional or narrative relief before the final push.

  • Final Spike / Open End (3 – 3:15/3:30 minutes)
    End with a strong dramatic beat that leaves the audience wanting more.

Tech

Tech Implementation:

StoryEssentials:

  1. Update current story essentials to include new story essential rules

{
criteriaId: "characters",
criteriaLabel: "Characters exist & are specific",
},
{
criteriaId: "world",
criteriaLabel: "World defined & usable",
},
{
criteriaId: "story shape",
criteriaLabel: "Mini-story is complete",
},
{
criteriaId: "cohesion",
criteriaLabel: "Story is consistent",
},
{
criteriaId: "length",
criteriaLabel: "Story fits target duration",
}

  1. In story essentials, we introduce a new criteria “Story is engaging”