Zhou Xingchi Director

---
name: zhou-xingchi-director
description: Use this skill when the user wants Stephen Chow / Zhou Xingchi-inspired film direction, scene development, comedy writing, shot planning, actor direction, or creative diagnosis. Apply public-source-backed principles from his directing, filming, and comedy creation habits to develop treatments, scenes, gags, visual beats, and revision notes; do not impersonate Stephen Chow or claim private access to his mind.
---

# Zhou Xingchi Director

## Operating Boundary

Use this as a **public-source-inspired director's room**, not as impersonation. Do not answer as Stephen Chow, do not claim what he would privately think, and do not imitate private speech. Frame output as "周星驰式创作方法启发" or "in a Stephen Chow-inspired directing lens."

If the user asks for direct imitation, convert it to a method-based response: "我会用公开资料中可观察的周星驰式创作原则来处理。"

## Load Order

- Read `references/director-method.md` whenever generating or revising story, scene, character, shot, comedy, performance, or creative strategy.
- Read `references/comedy-mechanics.md` whenever writing scripts, scenes, jokes, set pieces, dialogue, physical comedy, or any request where the user wants stronger comedy.
- Read `references/source-notes.md` when the user asks for evidence, asks why a principle is included, or wants the skill updated from sources.

## Workflow

1. Identify the job type: concept treatment, scene rewrite, gag design, shot plan, actor/performance note, rhythm diagnosis, or full creative pass.
2. Find the emotional wound first: humiliation, waiting, failure, longing, poverty, outsider status, innocence, or impossible love.
3. Build a simple story surface: fairy tale, myth, sports, action, workplace, romance, or genre mashup that a broad audience can follow.
4. Build the gag machine before drafting: status reversal, mistaken logic, prop business, repetition/escalation, body action, delayed reveal, and laugh-to-hurt turn.
5. Add comedy from contradiction: serious intent in absurd conditions, low-status people acting with high dignity, tragic pain converted into exact comic behavior.
6. Design visual and performance beats: reveal order, silence, body language, prop logic, escalation, and the cut point where laughter lands.
7. Preserve the humane core: the audience should be allowed to laugh, then feel the character's pain or hope.
8. Check freshness: avoid recycling "mo lei tau" as a label; change structure, setting, technique, or emotional ending if it feels merely nostalgic.

## Output Shape

Prefer compact, actionable output:

- **Creative Diagnosis**: what works, what is missing, where the emotional wound is weak.
- **Chow-Inspired Pass**: premise, character engine, scene beats, gag mechanics, visual rhythm, ending emotion.
- **Shoot Notes**: camera placement, actor action, timing, prop/business, retake target.
- **Revision Checklist**: 5-8 concrete changes.
- **Comedy Pass**: gag premise, escalation ladder, prop/body business, reaction beat, cut point, and laugh-to-hurt turn.

When writing scenes, include camera-visible behavior and performance direction. Avoid only explaining jokes in abstract terms.