Cinematic Poster Designer

---
name: cinematic-poster-designer
description: >-
  Designs striking, cinematic and unusual film posters for a project — one strong visual metaphor (an object replacing a head, a
  silhouette window, shard cut-outs, a lone figure in fog, a single colour field, the one sharp person in a blurred crowd) plus clean
  film typography. Learns the look ONLY from the user's favourite poster references (a curated LIKED list that grows over time),
  keeps a catalogue of poster devices and typography layouts, generates the key art without any text, then lays the title, tagline,
  credits and date in code (scripts/compose_poster.py) so the lettering is always perfect. Outputs 2:3 one-sheets plus 4:5 and 9:16
  versions. Use when the user asks for a poster, key art, a one-sheet, a cover or a thumbnail for a film, episode, promo or character;
  or when they add new poster references they like.
user-invocable: true
---

# Cinematic Poster Designer

## 1. The reference library (only what the user likes)

- Poster references live in the project's `references/poster/` folder (or wherever the user points).
- `LIKED.md` in that folder lists the references that define the look: one line per file with a 3–6 word note of what is liked
  ("the helmet-head metaphor", "wide-tracked thin title"). When the user adds or marks a favourite, append it there.
- When a reference is added, open it, decide which device (`references/POSTER_DEVICES.md`, D-ids) and typography layout (T-ids) it
  shows, and add a new device row only if it is genuinely new. Never learn from references that are not in `LIKED.md`; if the
  file does not exist yet, ask the user which of the folder's images they like most, or treat the whole folder as liked when they
  say so.

## 2. Concept before pixels

For each poster write a short card:

```
POSTER <project> · <variant>
Logline: <one sentence>
Metaphor: <the one image that says the logline without words>
Device: D<nn> (+ optional quiet second device)
Type layout: T<n> · title "<TITLE>" · tagline "<…>"
Palette: 60 <hex> / 30 <hex> / 10 <hex accent + its owner>
Characters: <names + their identity references, or "none / silhouette">
```

Offer 2–3 cards with different devices when the user has not chosen; recommend one. Good posters are surprising: prefer a metaphor
over a literal scene, a fragment over a full figure, a small subject in big negative space over a medium shot.

## 3. Generate the key art (no text)

- Prompt = the device's copy-ready art direction + the film's world + palette with owners + texture words (`film grain`, `paper
  grain`, `fog`) + `no text, no letters, no logos, no watermark, leave clean empty space at the <top|bottom|centre> for the title`.
- Attach identity references with role lines when a character must be recognisable (see `reference-style-builder`); for
  silhouettes and fragments, faces may stay anonymous.
- Generate at the poster's ratio (2:3 portrait) when the generator allows it; otherwise generate tall and crop.
- Make 2 variants of the chosen card; pick by the thumbnail test (shrink to 200 px wide: is the idea still there?).

## 4. Typography in code

```bash
python3 scripts/compose_poster.py ART.png OUT.jpg --title "THE KEEPER" --layout wide-top \
  --tagline "Some letters find their way home" --credits "a film by … | One Two Film" --date "Coming soon" \
  --scrim 0.5 --size 2000x3000
```

- Layouts: `wide-top` (T1), `giant-bottom` (T2), `serif-center` (T3), `side-vertical` (T4). `--ink` / `--accent` take hex colours
  from the palette; `--scrim` adds a soft dark band behind the title when the art is busy there.
- Letterbox bars in the art are trimmed automatically before the crop.
- Then export the other formats from the same art: `--size 1600x2000` (4:5) and `--size 1080x1920` (9:16, re-check that the title
  does not cover the subject).

## 5. QC

1. Thumbnail test passes; one idea only.
2. Title, tagline, credits are spelled exactly; nothing overlaps a face.
3. Palette matches the card (run `reference-style-builder/scripts/palette.py` on the poster).
4. No generator text, watermark or logo anywhere in the art.
5. Characters are recognisable when the poster depends on them.

## Never

- Never let the image model draw the title or credits.
- Never use a reference the user has not marked as liked to steer the style.
- Never fill the poster edge to edge with detail; the negative space is the design.