Submitted:
16 October 2025
Posted:
17 October 2025
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Abstract
Keywords:
1. Introduction
1.1. Research Questions
- How can screenplay formats integrate human artistic expression with machine-readable instructions while maintaining narrative coherence?
- What technical and legal mechanisms enable authorship protection for AI-assisted creative content at the conception stage?
- How can morphological modifiers embedded in natural text provide precise AI instructions without disrupting human readability?
- What evaluation frameworks assess the effectiveness of prompt-screenplay approaches across different media formats?
1.2. Contributions
2. Related Work
2.1. Prompt Engineering and Creative Collaboration
2.2. Multimodal AI Content Generation
2.3. Authorship Protection and Copyright in AI-Generated Content
3. Methods
3.1. Research Design
- Conceptualization: development of a theoretical model of the prompt-screenplay based on analysis of existing formats (classic screenplay, Fountain, game scripts) and requirements of contemporary generative models.
- Formalization: creation of a system of structural elements, morphological modifiers, and commands ensuring balance between human readability and precision of machine interpretation.
- Validation: pilot application of the developed system for content creation and evaluation of protective mechanism functionality.
3.1.1. Prompt-Screenplay Creation Tools
3.1.2. Typology of Prompt-Screenplays
3.2. Interconnected elements System:
3.2.1. Classic Screenplay Blocks
- Scene Heading (Slug Line): location, time of day, shooting type
- Action: description of visible actions and sounds
- Character: name of speaking character
- Parenthetical: dialogue annotations
- Dialogue: character speech
- Transition: transitions between scenes
3.2.2. Technical Location and Shooting Markers
3.2.3. Shot Type and Timing Markers
3.2.4. Audio Markers
3.2.5. Final Scene Markers
3.3. Morphological Modifier System:
3.3.1. Letter Modifiers
- Function: adding visual emphasis to an object
- Application: AI generator increases visual significance of the object in frame
- Example: “On the tablee lies a letter” → table becomes compositional center
- Function: adding sound from an object
- Application: audio generator creates corresponding sound effect
- Example: “Doorrr creaked” → creaking door sound is added
- Function: marking inessential word
- Application: can be replaced by synonym or removed without loss of meaning
- Example: “Person quickl walked” → “quickly” may be replaced by “swiftly”
- Function: semantic emphasis
- Application: AI accounts for heightened concept significance
- Example: “He felt Fear” → emotion becomes central theme of moment
- Function: atmospheric word for detailing
- Application: word influences overall mood but not specific objects
- Example: “Rain drizzled quietly, gloom.” → “gloomily” sets generation tonality
- Function: denoting word weight in terms of priority and value
- Application: allows independent prioritization of words for use in generation
- Function: marker that object should be animated
- Application: AI considers object animation options on scene according to context
3.3.2. Spatial Modifiers
- Function: pause or blackout
- Application: creating temporal interval or fade-out effect
- Example: “He left _ room emptied” → pause between actions
- Function: visual connection between objects
- Application: AI generates objects in close compositional proximity
- Example: “hand-gun” → hand and gun perceived as single visual unit
- Function: hidden emphasis with subsequent mention
- Application: visual element is embedded that will manifest later
- Example: “mirrore hung” → mirror will be important in following scenes
3.4. Inline Command System
3.4.1. Commands Between Words
3.4.2. Commands at Sentence Beginning
3.4.3. Commands at Sentence End
3.5. Creation and Interaction Processes
3.5.1. Interactive Author Interviewing
3.5.2. Gamification of the Writing Process
- Points: author receives scores for using markers, shot variety, creating visual accents
- Tasks: AI sets mini-challenges (“add detail for consistency,” “create sound accent”)
- Levels: advanced markup capabilities unlock as writing progresses
- Achievements: rewards for completed scenes, balanced timing, effective use of morphological modifiers
3.5.3. Interactive Screenplay Reading
3.6. Cryptographic Consistency Framework
- Documenting authorial intention independent of technical implementation
- Structuring narrative through visual semantic nodes
- Adapting content for different audiences and perception contexts
- Personalizing experience based on individual viewer characteristics
- Synthesizing analytics for comprehensive work evaluation
- Genre and typological characteristics: genre definition (drama, comedy, thriller), subgenres, modality (linear/nonlinear structure, interactivity)
- Type and form of realization: target format (short-form vertical video, feature film, interactive game, comic, novel)
- Complexity parameters: narrative complexity levels (number of plot lines, temporal layers, degree of metaphoricity)
- Target audience: demographic, psychographic, and cultural characteristics of intended viewers
- Number of nodes: total number of semantic blocks, their hierarchy and grouping
- Work size: timing, volume (for text), number of scenes
- Form of expression: dominant media (visual, audio, textual), showing/telling ratio
- Implementation tools: technical requirements for generative models
- Personal meaning: unique authorial interpretations that should not be changed by AI
- References and allusions: cultural codes, allusions, citations with explicit marking
- Factual data: historical, geographical, scientific facts requiring accuracy
- Homages: conscious references to other works
- “World bible”: compendium of fictional universe rules (for sci-fi/fantasy)
| [GENRE: psychological thriller] [FORM: vertical video, 15 episodes × 90 sec] [TARGET_AUDIENCE: 18-35 years, active TikTok users] [KEY_IDEA: nature of memory and identity] [TONALITY: tense, claustrophobic] |
- Color coding: by emotional tonality, genre, intensity
- Block size: proportional to timing or element quantity
- Shape: rectangle for linear scenes, diamond for choice points, circle for cyclical elements
- Status icons: completion indicators, AI-generated content presence, connections
- Scene description with prompts: Textual description of actions, dialogue, and visual elements with embedded prompts and markers for AI generation, as previously described in prompt-screenplay structure.
- Connections with preceding and subsequent nodes: Linear connections (chronological), parallel montage, flashback/flashforward with explicit marking; Semantic connections (cause-effect, thematic, symbolic).
- Off-chain semantic connections: Special type of connections not visible in linear viewing but existing at the meaning level—hidden parallels, leitmotifs, symbolic arcs.
- Nested hidden nodes: Within large nodes, nested micro-nodes can exist—detailing visible only when “expanding” parent node. This allows working at different detailing levels: macro-view (20-50 nodes), meso-view (100-200 nodes), micro-view (500+ nodes).
- Self-reflexive references: Elements commenting on the work’s own nature—metafictional devices, fourth wall breaking, references to creation process.
- Timeline mode: horizontal time scale with nodes positioned proportionally to timing
- Graph mode: network visualization emphasizing semantic connections
- Text mode: classic screenplay format with one-click switching to node visualization
- Split mode: simultaneous text and graph display for navigation convenience
- Natural Language Processing: sentiment analysis of dialogue and descriptions, topic modeling for thematic cluster identification, stylometric analysis for authorial style assessment
- Computer Vision (for visual content): composition and color palette analysis, visual leitmotif detection, visual consistency evaluation between scenes
- Recommender systems: collaborative filtering based on viewer data, content-based recommendations by structure similarity, hybrid approaches for personal suggestions
- Predictive analytics: predicting work success before release, identifying problematic scenes, optimization recommendations
- Readability: expert and general reader screenplay readability surveys
- Artistic value: expert narrative quality assessment
- Ease of writing: screenplay creation time and author cognitive load
- Parse success rate: percentage of correctly interpreted markers
- Generation quality: automatic quality assessment of generated content (FID, CLIP score)
- Consistency score: visual consistency metric for characters and locations between scenes
- Watermark detection rate: percentage of successful watermark detection
- Blockchain verification time: authorship verification speed through blockchain
- Legal admissibility: expert assessment of protective mechanism legal significance
4. Results
4.1. Pilot Application: Transformation of “SKOR” Screenplay into Prompt-Screenplay
4.2. Analysis of Original Screenplay Structure
4.2.1. Structural Features
4.2.2. Narrative Structure
- Beginning (S) — 1:16 min — world introduction, protagonist and his task
- Inciting incident (K) — 1:30 min — conflict with “Omniron” system, rescuing girl
- Complication (I) — 0:85 min — immersion into virtual reality
- Development (E) — 2:05 min — mass consciousness update, explosion
- Cliffhanger (R) — 0:45 min — revelation and elevator stuck
4.3. Transformation into Prompt-Screenplay
4.3.1. Master Prompt Application (Layer 1)
| [GENRE: cyberpunk, sci-fi thriller, dystopia] [SUBGENRE: techno-noir, social fantasy] [FORM: vertical video, episode 1 of series, 6:20 min] [STRUCTURE: five-part acronym dramaturgy SKOR] [TARGET_AUDIENCE: 18-35 years, tech-savvy audience familiar with cyberpunk] [MODALITY: linear with interactive elements in future versions] [KEY_IDEA: technological consciousness control vs. individual freedom] [TONALITY: anxious, claustrophobic, with irony elements] [TEMPO: high, dynamic editing] [VISUAL_STYLE: neon palette, contrast dark dungeons and bright AR interfaces, rusty techno] [COLOR_PALETTE: dominant black, orange, scarlet, neon blue] [WORLD_BIBLE: - Two-level city: upper (rich) and lower (underground market) - “Omniron” system: corporation controlling consciousness through VR/AR - Robot-courier: autonomous agent with mysterious mission - Protagonist Anton: hacker with AR implants, invisible in system - Elevator as metaphor for vertical mobility and social stratification] [CHARACTER_CONSISTENCY: - Anton: not shown physically until finale, only POV and thoughts - Red-haired girl: short haircut, mole on neck, black dress - Robot-courier: rusty, |0|0| symbol on face, C-shaped container - Person in yellow cloak: sun-helmet, mask of many faces] [NODE_COUNT: 27 main shots] [AVERAGE_NODE_DURATION: 14 seconds] [IMPLEMENTATION_TOOLS: text-to-video (RunwayML, Pika), Midjourney for concept art, AI voice for internal monologue, generative music] |
4.3.2. Node Transformation (Layer 2)
| [NODE_05] [TIME: 00:18] [INT] [MS→CU] Beloww on storefrontss many vintagee and homemadee goodss, K peoplee pass in 20th centuryy clothingg, but nobody payss attentionn to elevatorr. A Atmosphere of oblivion and ordinariness of the fantastic. In doorwayy appearss and freezess someone in baggyy darkk clothingg with hoodd. K He holds in hands oval containerr shaped like letter “C” with K black heartt inside. V [SOUND: underground market hum, indistinct voices, rattling mechanisms] [VO: “Robot-courier delivers trouble? Interesting…”] Behind him suddenlyy visiblee crimsonn flashh and soundss sirenn. F On stranger’s facee ignites symbolll |0|0|, he throwss off clothingg and we seee rustyy robott with tracess from bulletss and blows. A He raisess hand before curtain, it disappearss, container with heart hides in robot’s body, and he runss into elevator and presses button. M F [EM: anxiety, curiosity] [KEY: robot-courier carries something important related to “C” (first letter SKOR)] [LINK: NODE_04 (cause-effect), NODE_06 (direct continuation)] [OFF-CHAIN_LINK: NODE_23 (heart appears again in final segment)] |
- Letter doubling (storefrontss, goodss) — visual accents for AI
- K-markers — elements critical for consistency (people in 20th century clothing, black heart, robot)
- V-markers — important elements for plot understanding
- A-markers — atmospheric accents
- F-command — fade-out/pauses at action ends
- M-command — adding musical accompaniment
- [LINK] — indication of connected nodes
- [OFF-CHAIN_LINK] — “heart” leitmotif passes through entire episode
4.4. Metadata Generation for AI
4.4.1. Key Element Weight Coefficients
- Robot: 1.8 (main object)
- C-shaped container: 1.7 (plot-important item)
- Black heart: 1.6 (leitmotif)
- |0|0| symbol: 1.5 (robot identifier)
- 20th century clothing: 1.2 (atmospheric detail)
- Storefronts: 0.9 (background)
- Market people: 0.7 (extras)
5. Discussion
5.1. Implications for Creative Industries
5.1.1. Comparison of Screenplay Writing Formats in Generative AI Context
| Criterion | Traditional Screenplay | Fountain | Executable Screenplay | Dramatron / AI Co-Writing | Prompt-Screenplay |
| Primary Purpose | Guide for film crew | Human-readable, tool-independent format | Game engine control | Automatic script/storyboard generation from text | Multimodal generation + authorship documentation |
| AI Generation Support | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Indirect (via engine scripts) | ✅ Yes (text, static images only) | ✅ Yes (text, video, audio, interactive) |
| Dynamic Shot (camera movement, duration) | Described in prose | Described in prose | ⚠️ Partial (via events) | ❌ Only static frames | ✅ Explicit timing, shot types, movement markup |
| Vertical Format (mobile cinema) | Not considered | Not considered | Limited | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Explicit support (shots, composition, timing) |
| Machine Readability | Low (PDF/FDX) | Medium (text with syntax) | High (code) | High (prompts + tags) | ✅ High (structured tags + JSON/YAML export) |
| Embedded Authorship Metadata | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ Only visual tags | ✅ Consistency tags, watermark annotations at conception stage |
| Multimodal Support (audio, text, video, game) | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Game only | ⚠️ Image only | ✅ Complete: video, audio, comic, novel, interactive |
| Human-AI Co-Creation Flexibility | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Engine-limited | ⚠️ Partial (one-way generation) | ✅ Bidirectional: AI suggests, author controls priorities |
| Legal Significance | External docs | External docs | Code repository | ❌ No | ✅ Embedded markers as proof of authorial intent before generation |
- Existing formats are either human-centric (traditional screenplay) or techno-centric (executable scripts), but do not account for hybrid nature of AI-assisted authorship.
- Approaches like Dramatron make important steps toward automation but remain in static image paradigm and do not address copyright issues.
-
Prompt-screenplay is the first format that simultaneously:
- o
- Preserves artistic expressiveness for humans
- o
- Provides structured instructions for AI
- o
- Embeds legally significant metadata at conception stage, not post-factum
5.2. Technical Innovation and Morphological Modifiers
5.3. Legal and Authorship Considerations
5.4. Limitations and Future Research
5.5. Democratization and Industry Impact
6. Conclusion
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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