# Key frames and the board
> Build one still per world from the kit, then plan the time in the Board before you write any motion.
Canonical: https://vawe.dev/docs/key-frames
At the end of this page every world of the page has a still that you looked at. The brief has a filled “Ideas” ledger and “Board”. These are stages 4 and 5 of the loop. Both come before the motion, because a layout or timing error is cheap to fix now and costly after a render.
You need the design kit from [Design system and kit](https://vawe.dev/docs/design-kit) and a `films//page.html` with one `data-world` element for each beat.
## Build the key frames
### Build one static state for each world
Use the kit parts only. Aim for about 1 line and 2 or 3 things in each frame. Add no motion yet. Give the ground a light, grain or depth device that you named from a reference frame.
### Render the stills
```bash
bin/vawe frames films/hello/page.html
```
This writes one still for each `data-world` element, with the other worlds hidden. It also writes a contact sheet and prints the still-frame layout rules.
### Look at them at full size
```bash
bin/vawe frames films/hello/page.html --full --world s3,s5
```
`--full` writes stills at the size of the page (1920x1080 for 16:9) as `out/-frames/-full.png`. `--world` limits the run to the listed ids. Read each file. Fix text that is cramped, overlapping or unreadable now.
A key frame is the settled state of one world. If a still has a flat ground, add a device and render again. To try the lens looks on one frame, use `bin/vawe frames --looks --at `.
## Fill the ideas
Before the board, fill the “Ideas” table of `brief.md`. Write one row for each beat and each cut. Each row has a meaning and four ideas from four different devices, each with a typicality number from 0 to 1. It also has the idea you chose and a reason with the word `because`. Choose an idea that is not the most typical. The method is in `guides/IDEATE.md`. `bin/vawe check ideas ` advises on the ledger.
## Fill the board
The board is a plan for time, not for frames. Run `bin/vawe storyboard films/hello/page.html` first. It lists what the taste docs say about the plan. Add the board to `brief.md` under the heading “Board”. It has four parts.
### Rhythm
List each beat with its start, its hold and its cut-out length. The cuts must not all be equal: one under 0.4 s and one over 0.9 s.
```text
| beat | in s | hold s | cut out s (length) |
|---|---|---|---|
| cold | 0.00 | 0.70 | 0.70 (0.00) |
```
### Spectacle
Write one line: `Spectacle: the one big moment at 2.75 s`. Put the same second in ``. Plan quiet before it. The spectacle second and the meta must differ by 0.25 s at most.
### A named move for each cut
Add one row for each cut. Each row names a move from `prompts/moves/README.md` and what carries the eye. It also gives what leaves first, the overlap in seconds, the camera and the depth. The last two columns say which arrivals overshoot and what the handoff is.
```text
| cut | move (prompts/moves) | what carries the eye | what leaves first | overlap s | camera | depth | overshoots | handoff (family: object) |
```
The handoff cell holds a family of the twelve in `taste/craft/transitions.md` and the object that carries over, for example `position lock: the lockup holds while ground and ink flip`. If nothing carries over, write `deliberate cut: `. Do not use the same family on two adjacent cuts, or on more than two cuts. Do not write “fade” as a move. Use the moves you named in “Taken from”. The procedure is in `skills/vawe-transitions/SKILL.md`.
### Sound
Add rows under a table whose first column is `at s`. Plan small effects on actions: a recorded effect first, and a voice for a cut or the spectacle. Plan no bed. A silent film has one row with the voice `none`. List the voices with `bin/vawe sound`. The rules are in `taste/craft/sound.md`.
```text
| at s | voice | gain dB | for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.70 | tick | -14 | the turn cut |
```
## What you see
`bin/vawe` reads the board and advises. It never refuses. The advice lines start with `board:` or `transitions:` and say, for example, `all 5 cuts last 0.7 s; vary them` or `cuts 1 and 2 both use flood; change the family on adjacent cuts`. A plan that you keep on purpose needs no change.
The example is the “Board” section of `films/examples/colour-sting/brief.md`.
## What good looks like
* The beats of the board match the worlds of the page. The `ship` verb advises when the start of a beat differs from the page by more than 0.25 s.
* Every move in “Taken from” appears in a cut of the board.
* Every cut has a handoff, and the idea you chose for it is the one the frames show.
* Each cut says what carries the eye across it. That is the handoff.
* The spectacle has a quiet second or more before it.
## Common mistakes
| What you see | Why | What to do |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `board: cut 2 names no move` | The move cell is empty or says “fade” | Name a move from `prompts/moves` |
| `transitions: cut 3 has no planned handoff` | The handoff cell is empty | Write `family: object`, or `deliberate cut: ` |
| `the Spectacle is at 2.75 s but says 3.2 s` | The board and the page disagree | Put the big move at the board’s second, or change the board with a reason |
| A still looks flat | The ground has no light, grain or depth device | Add one from the kit and render again |
## What to read next
Stage 6: render the first draft.
Chains of moves for one short film.
{/* sources (vawe d8481cc61):
frames flags: bin/vawe frames --help; layout rules: harness/media/frames.mjs header
out/-frames.png sheet name: harness/live/stage-say.mjs (framed)
board parts, thresholds (0.4, 0.9, 0.25), advice text: harness/lib/board.mjs; stage order: harness/live/stage-say.mjs
board tables and example rows: films/examples/colour-sting/brief.md "Board"
EASE.nudge, EASE.pop, handoff column, sound without bed: skills/vawe-page/SKILL.md step 5; AGENTS.md "Hard rules"
Ideas ledger: guides/IDEATE.md; ideas gate: bin/vawe check (lists "ideas")
storyboard: bin/vawe storyboard --help; handoff advice: harness/lib/handoffs.mjs (handoffAdvice, MAX_PER_FILM)
frames --looks: bin/vawe frames --help
ship advice on beat starts and unused moves: harness/live/ship-warn.mjs, harness/lib/board.mjs
*/}