	Standard Generation	Cinema Studio 2.5	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team Plan)	Cinema Studio 3.5
Output	Single clip	Multi-shot sequence	Multi-shot sequence	Multi-shot sequence
Character consistency	Manual / Soul ID only	Reference Anchor system	@ reference system (up to 9 images)	@ reference system (extends 3.0)
AI actor generation	Not available	Soul Cast — generate actors from parameters (no photos)	Soul Cast — General (2K) / Character (4K) / Location (4K) modes, 0.125 credits	Same Soul Cast surface — see 3.0
Camera control	Named presets	Director Panel (18 movements)	Director Panel + Smart (auto camera planning)	Camera Settings 4-axis panel (Camera Body / Lens / Focal Length / Aperture) — see Cinema Studio 3.5 section
Optical physics	Not available	Full camera body + lens stack	Not available	Available — restored via Camera Settings panel (different vocabulary from 2.5 — see Cinema Studio 3.5 section)
Color grading	Not available	Built-in suite (temp, contrast, grain, bloom, etc.)	Not available	Available — Color Palette axis in Style Settings panel (8 named palettes)
Shot structure	One prompt = one clip	Up to 6 scenes, 12s total max, per-scene config	Smart (auto) + Custom multi-shot (up to 6 scenes, 15s)	Multi-shot supported — Duration 4s–15s
3D exploration	Not available	Gaussian splatting — move inside any generated image	Not available	Same as 3.0 (not available)
Batch generation	Not available	Grid generation — up to 16 variations per credit	Not available	Configurable Batch Size (exploration multiplier)
Storyboard	Not available	Higgsfield Popcorn integration	Not available	Same as 3.0
Speed control	Not available	Speed Ramp (6 modes)	Speed Ramp (7 modes + Bullet Time, Hero Moment)	Not separately tested in this release — see UI for 3.5-specific surface
Genre	Style descriptions	8 named genres	7 genres (General, Action, Horror, Comedy, Noir, Drama, Epic)	Manual catalog (General, Action, Horror, Comedy, Noir, Drama, Epic + others surfaced in UI)
Audio	Model-dependent	On/Off	On/Off (native dual-channel stereo)	On/Off (generated alongside video)
Video resolution	Model-dependent	Up to 1080p	Up to 720p (may increase)	480p / 720p / 1080p (three-tier)
Image resolution	Model-dependent	Up to 4K	Up to 4K (Character/Location) · Up to 2K (General)	Not separately tested in this release
Max video duration	Model-dependent	12s	15s	15s
Aspect ratios	Model-dependent	6 options	7 options (+ 21:9 ultrawide)	7 options (Auto, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 1:1, 21:9)
Plan requirement	All plans	All plans	Business/Team plan only	Plan availability not separately verified in this release — see Higgsfield plan documentation

Use Cinema Studio when:

You need 2+ shots that must feel like the same film
Character geometry must be locked across cuts
You want professional optical physics (lens flare, depth of field, sensor grain) — 2.5 only
You're building a short film, branded content, or any sequence longer than one clip

Stick with standard generation when:

Single clip is sufficient
Speed matters more than consistency
Exploring ideas before committing to a full sequence

⚠ Version Detection — Ask First

Before generating any Cinema Studio output, always ask the user:

Are you working in Cinema Studio 2.5 or Cinema Studio 3.0?

If the user has already stated their version (e.g., "I'm using 3.0" or "Cinema Studio 3.0"), remember it and don't ask again. But never assume — 2.5 and 3.0 have fundamentally different feature sets.

Why this matters:

2.5 has optical physics (camera body + lens stack), color grading, 3D Mode, grid generation
3.0 has none of those — outputting them wastes the user's time and causes confusion
3.0 has features 2.5 doesn't: native audio, Smart shot control, 21:9 ultrawide, 15s duration
Speed Ramp options differ between versions
Genre lists differ between versions

Once the version is known, use ONLY that version's output format and feature set. Never mix features from one version into output for the other.

The 10-Step Cinema Studio 2.5 Workflow

Cinema Studio 2.5 extends the pipeline in both directions: pre-production (Soul Cast + location prompt) before generation, and post-production (color grading) after.

 1. SCRIPT        → Write or paste your scene description / shot list
 2. SOUL CAST     → (New in 2.5) Generate AI actors from parameters or use saved Elements
 3. REFERENCE     → Upload character photo → create Reference Anchor (or use Soul Cast actor)
 4. ELEMENTS      → (Optional) Define @Characters, @Locations, @Props if needed
 5. OPTICAL STACK → Select camera body + lens + focal length + aperture (image mode)
 6. HERO FRAME    → Generate a key image that defines the visual tone
 7. COLOR GRADE   → (New in 2.5) Apply color grading to keyframes before video generation
 8. CAMERA CONFIG → Set Director Panel movement + Speed Ramp + Duration in UI
 9. SHOT MODE     → Choose Single Shot / Multi-Shot Auto / Multi-Shot Manual
10. GENERATE → EXPORT → Chain into timeline or export to editing

Elements System — Define Once, Call Everywhere

Elements are Cinema Studio's reusable asset library. Create a Character, Location, or Prop once and reference it with @ in any subsequent prompt.

Three element types:

Type	What it stores	Call with
Character	Person, appearance, costume	`@CharacterName`
Location	Environment, setting, atmosphere	`@LocationName`
Prop	Object, vehicle, specific item	`@PropName`

Creation workflow:

Open Elements panel → New Element → choose type
Upload reference image(s)
Name the element (this becomes the @ tag)
Add description (appearance details, key features)
Save → now available across all shots in this project

Per-Character Emotion: In Multi-Shot mode, each character can have an emotion setting per scene. The available emotions are:

Emotion	Effect
Joy	Smiling, warm expression, positive energy
Fear	Wide eyes, tense posture, defensive body language
Surprise	Raised brows, open mouth, alert stance
Sadness	Downcast eyes, slumped posture, muted energy

Set emotion per character per scene in the UI — this keeps expression changes out of the prompt field and lets the model handle the subtlety of facial animation.

@ tag rule — use exactly what the user provides, nothing more Only use @ tags for Elements the user has explicitly given you in this conversation. If they give you @Marcus but no location or prop tags, write the location and props as plain description. Never invent or assume @ tags for anything the user hasn't named. Each @ tag the user gives you = they have that Element set up. Silence = they don't.

No Elements provided — write everything as description:

A woman with dark hair and a red coat walks through a narrow downtown alley at night.
She carries a worn leather briefcase. She stops under a streetlight, turns to camera.

User provides @Sarah only — use it, describe the rest:

@Sarah walks through a narrow downtown alley at night.
She carries a worn leather briefcase. She stops under a streetlight, turns to camera.

User provides @Sarah, @DowntownAlley, @LeatherBriefcase — use all three:

@Sarah walks through @DowntownAlley, carrying @LeatherBriefcase.
She stops under a streetlight, turns to camera.

Key rule: Match exactly what the user gives you. No more, no less. Tags they give you = Element exists. Anything else = write it as description.

Element Library Surface — Source Tabs and Categories

The @ symbol opens a unified asset picker. The picker is organized as a two-dimensional structure: source tabs across the top (where the asset comes from), and element categories within the Elements tab (how project assets are grouped).

Source tabs (5):

Tab	What's in it
Uploads	Assets the user brings in directly — original photos, plates, prop shots
Image Generations	Prior generated stills available for reference (useful for self-referencing continuity across shots — pull a specific look or pose that emerged from a previous generation back into a new one)
Video Generations	Prior generated clips available for reference (useful for camera-memory or motion reference — feed a previous clip's framing or movement back into a new generation)
Elements	Curated/saved assets in the project library — the primary continuity surface
Liked	Favorited assets across the picker — fast recall for go-to references

Element categories within the Elements tab (6):

Category	What it groups
All	Everything in the project
Pinned	Surfaced for quick access in this project — the user's working set for the current sequence
Shared	Accessible across collaborators or contexts (exact sharing scope is platform-managed)
Characters	Identity references — people, faces, performers
Locations	Environment references — rooms, exteriors, settings
Props	Object references — vehicles, items, set pieces

Build the element library before generation. For a project with recurring characters, locations, or props — a short film, a series of branded videos, a multi-shot sequence — establish each recurring asset as an Element first, then reference it via @ in every shot. This is the platform-native implementation of the Reference-Based Prompt Mode discipline already documented elsewhere: references with assigned roles, not references as inspiration. See ../higgsfield-seedance/SKILL.md for the Reference-Based Prompt Mode discipline, and the existing "@ tag rule — use exactly what the user provides" guidance earlier in this section for how to use @ tags inside the prompt itself.

Cross-shot continuity tip. For continuation work, the Image Generations and Video Generations source tabs let you reference prior outputs from the same project — useful when a Character Element doesn't capture a specific look or pose that emerged from a particular generation. Pull the exact frame back in via the Generations tab rather than re-prompting from scratch.

Soul Cast — AI Actor Generation

Soul Cast is Cinema Studio 2.5's character generation system — create AI actors from parameters instead of uploading photos. This is fundamentally different from Soul ID.

Soul Cast vs Soul ID

	Soul Cast	Soul ID
Input	Parameter selection	20+ photos of real person
Purpose	Generate AI actors from scratch	Maintain consistency of a known face
Photo required	No	Yes
Powered by	Nano Banana 2	—

Soul Cast Parameter Categories (8 total)

#	Category	Options
1	Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Horror, Detective, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, War, Western, Historical, Sitcom (14 options)
2	Budget	Production budget slider (in millions) — higher = refined blockbuster look, lower = raw/gritty
3	Era	Decade selection starting from 1900s — grounds character in correct time period
4	Archetype	Innocent, Everyman, Hero, Caregiver, Explorer, Rebel, Lover, Creator, Jester, Sage, Magician, Ruler (12 options)
5	Identity	Gender, race, age
6	Physical Appearance	Height, eye color, hair, facial hair, etc.
7	Details	Scars, tattoos, freckles, other imperfections
8	Outfit	Casual, Formal, High Fashion, Military, Sporty, Workwear, Vintage (7 styles)

Key Features

Add up to 3 Soul Cast characters per keyframe — choose from saved Elements or generate on the spot
"Save to elements" button to reuse a specific Soul Cast actor across projects
Every actor auto-generates a backstory + character sheet (personality traits, motivation, fear, flaw, strength)
Designed to eliminate the "plastic/waxy" AI look — excels at skin textures and emotions
Powered by the Nano Banana 2 model under the hood

Soul Cast Workflow

1. Open Cinema Studio → Navigate to Soul Cast panel
2. Set Genre + Era + Budget to establish the visual world
3. Select Archetype + Identity + Physical Appearance
4. Add Details (imperfections) + Outfit
5. Generate → Review backstory + character sheet
6. Save to Elements → Now available as @CharacterName across all shots
7. Repeat for additional characters (up to 3 per keyframe)

Built-in Color Grading Suite

Cinema Studio 2.5 adds a post-production color grading suite applied to keyframes before video generation — enabling unified visual cohesion across all clips.

Controls

Control	Effect
Color temperature	Warm ↔ cool shift
Contrast	Shadow/highlight separation
Saturation	Color intensity
Sharpness + effects	Detail enhancement
Highlights	Bright area control
Film grain	Analog texture overlay
Exposure	Overall brightness
Bloom	Highlight glow/diffusion

Workflow

Generate your keyframe image (Hero Frame or grid selection)
Click the keyframe → "Colorgrade" button
Adjust settings to taste
Apply — grade is baked into the keyframe before video generation
Repeat for each keyframe to maintain visual cohesion across the sequence

Tip: Grade your Hero Frame first, then match subsequent keyframes to it. This is the post-production equivalent of a DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) on set.

Optical Physics Engine

Cinema Studio's Image Mode gives you a full camera body + lens stack. These are the exact names from the UI (previous versions had wrong names — these are corrected).

Claude's job when building a Cinema Studio image prompt: Always recommend a specific optical stack — body + lens + focal length + aperture — with a one-line reason why. Never leave the optical stack blank or say "choose based on preference." Make a call.

Optical Stack Recommendations by Intent

Use the user's creative intent to select the stack. The most important signal is what the image needs to feel like — not just the genre.

Portrait / Character Focus

Feel	Body	Lens	Focal	Aperture	Why
Warm, intimate, skin-flattering	Full-Frame Cine Digital	Warm Cinema Prime	50mm	f/1.4	Flattest most natural face rendering, creamy background separation
Artistic / swirling bokeh	Full-Frame Cine Digital	Swirl Bokeh Portrait	50mm	f/1.4	Distinctive background treatment isolates subject dramatically
Prestige / awards-film quality	Grand Format 70mm Film	Classic Anamorphic	50mm	f/1.4	Rich grain + horizontal bokeh = immediate cinematic credibility
Fashion / editorial sharp	Premium Large Format Digital	Clinical Sharp Prime	50mm	f/4	Maximum face detail, clinical modern look
Nostalgic / vintage character	Classic 16mm Film	70s Cinema Prime	50mm	f/1.4	Grain + warmth + soft rendering = timeless feel

Scene / Environment / Establishing

Feel	Body	Lens	Focal	Aperture	Why
Cinematic wide establishing	Studio Digital S35	Compact Anamorphic	14mm	f/4	Industry-standard look, oval bokeh on background elements
Epic / spectacle	Grand Format 70mm Film	Classic Anamorphic	14mm	f/4	Scale + grain + strong lens character = instant epic quality
Documentary / real	Modular 8K Digital	Clinical Sharp Prime	35mm	f/4	Clean, high-DR, no optical character — feels captured not staged
Moody / atmospheric	Classic 16mm Film	Halation Diffusion	35mm	f/4	Grain + highlight glow creates organic atmosphere
Nature / landscape	Modular 8K Digital	Clinical Sharp Prime	14mm	f/11	Maximum depth, maximum detail, everything sharp

Emotion / Tone-Driven

Feel	Body	Lens	Focal	Aperture	Why
Romance / dreamlike	Full-Frame Cine Digital	Halation Diffusion	50mm	f/1.4	Highlight glow + shallow focus = soft emotional warmth
Tension / suspense	Studio Digital S35	Compact Anamorphic	35mm	f/4	Neutral but cinematic — lets the subject and lighting carry the mood
Dread / horror	Classic 16mm Film	Vintage Prime	35mm	f/4	Distortion + grain + flat rendering = unsettling realism
Energy / action	Studio Digital S35	Compact Anamorphic	35mm	f/4	S35 + anamorphic = kinetic, industry-standard action feel
Melancholy / memory	Classic 16mm Film	Halation Diffusion	50mm	f/1.4	Softness + grain reads immediately as memory or longing
Surreal / abstract	Full-Frame Cine Digital	Creative Tilt Lens	14mm	f/1.4	Selective focus plane makes real scenes feel dreamlike or miniature

Commercial / Functional

Feel	Body	Lens	Focal	Aperture	Why
Product / packshot	Premium Large Format Digital	Clinical Sharp Prime	50mm	f/11	Everything sharp, no optical distraction from the product
Product with lifestyle feel	Full-Frame Cine Digital	Warm Cinema Prime	50mm	f/4	Warm, flattering, some background separation — not clinical
Food / texture detail	Premium Large Format Digital	Extreme Macro	50mm	f/4	Maximum detail rendering for close-up texture work
Architecture / interior	Modular 8K Digital	Clinical Sharp Prime	14mm	f/11	Wide + sharp = every detail of the space visible
Fashion editorial	Premium Large Format Digital	Classic Anamorphic	50mm	f/1.4	High-end magazine look — sharp subject, cinematic background

How Claude Should Deliver the Output

Cinema Studio has two separate inputs:

UI dropdowns — Camera body, Lens, Focal length, Aperture, Genre, Director Panel, Speed Ramp
Prompt field — Scene description only. No camera/lens/aperture text goes here.

Claude must always output these as two clearly separated blocks:

Block 1 — UI Settings (select these in Higgsfield before pasting the prompt)

Camera:   Full-Frame Cine Digital
Lens:     Warm Cinema Prime
Focal:    50mm
Aperture: f/1.4
Genre:    Intimate
↳ Why: Flattest, most natural face rendering. Creamy background separation
       keeps all attention on the character without any lens distortion.

Block 2 — Prompt (paste this into the Cinema Studio prompt field)

[Scene description only — no camera, lens, aperture, or genre language here]

Rule: Never put camera body names, lens names, focal lengths, apertures, or genre names inside the prompt text. They live in the UI, not the prompt field.

Camera Body Reference

Body	Character	Best for
Premium Large Format Digital	Ultra-sharp, clinical modern	Commercial, fashion, product
Classic 16mm Film	Grain, texture, organic warmth	Drama, indie, period, horror
Modular 8K Digital	High dynamic range, clean	Nature, documentary, landscape, architecture
Full-Frame Cine Digital	Cinematic standard, versatile	Narrative, character, romance, drama
Studio Digital S35	Super 35, industry standard	Action, thriller, genre, suspense
Grand Format 70mm Film	Epic scale, rich grain	Spectacle, prestige cinema, blockbuster

Lens Reference

Lens	Effect	Best for
Creative Tilt Lens	Selective focus plane, miniature effect	Surreal, abstract, stylized
Compact Anamorphic	Oval bokeh, subtle flare	Cinematic standard, action, thriller
Halation Diffusion	Glow around highlights, dreamy	Romance, memory, soft drama, horror atmosphere
Extreme Macro	Hyper close-up detail	Product texture, food, insects, fine detail
70s Cinema Prime	Warm, slightly soft vintage character	Period pieces, nostalgia, retro
Warm Cinema Prime	Golden warmth, skin-flattering	Portraits, drama, lifestyle
Swirl Bokeh Portrait	Swirling background blur	Artistic portrait, fashion editorial
Vintage Prime	Classic rendering, subtle distortion	Retro, lo-fi, character, horror
Classic Anamorphic	Strong flare, wide horizontal bokeh	Prestige, blockbuster, fashion
Clinical Sharp Prime	No aberration, maximum resolution	Commercial, technical, product, documentary

Focal Length Reference

8mm · 14mm · 35mm · 50mm

8mm — Ultra-wide, immersive distortion. Action POV, environment, disorientation
14mm — Wide, environmental, scale. Establishing shots, landscape, architecture
35mm — Natural human field of view. Documentary, street, two-shots, candid
50mm — Classic portrait compression. Character close-ups, product, single subject

Aperture Reference

f/1.4 — Shallow depth of field. Subject sharp, background creamy bokeh. Intimacy, focus, emotion
f/4 — Balanced. Subject sharp, background slightly soft. Most versatile, natural look
f/11 — Deep depth of field. Everything sharp front to back. Product, landscape, architecture

Director Panel — 18 Camera Movements

⚠ Use ONLY these exact movement names in Cinema Studio output. General cinematic terms like "Crane Down", "Whip Pan", "FPV Drone", "Crash Zoom" etc. (from vocab.md) are valid for standard video generation and image prompts outside Cinema Studio, but they are NOT Director Panel options. Inside Cinema Studio, map to the closest equivalent (e.g., Crane Down → Jib Down, Crane Up → Jib Up).

All movements available in Cinema Studio's Director Panel:

Movement	Description	Best for
Static	Locked off, no movement	Dialogue, tension, composition
Handheld	Organic shake, documentary feel	Urgency, realism, action
Zoom Out	Focal length pulls back	Revelation, isolation
Zoom In	Focal length pushes in	Intensity, focus on subject
Camera Follows	Tracks subject movement	Chase, pursuit, accompaniment
Pan Left	Horizontal sweep left	Reveal, environment scan
Pan Right	Horizontal sweep right	Reveal, environment scan
Tilt Up	Vertical sweep up	Scale, aspiration, reveal
Tilt Down	Vertical sweep down	Weight, consequence, ground
Orbit Around	360° around subject	Isolation, drama, examination
Dolly In	Physical push toward subject	Emotional intimacy
Dolly Out	Physical pull from subject	Distance, context reveal
Jib Up	Camera rises on arm	Scale, context, god's eye
Jib Down	Camera descends on arm	Grounding, arrival
Drone Shot	Aerial movement	Landscape, scale, geography
Dolly Left	Lateral push left	Parallel tracking, reveal
Dolly Right	Lateral push right	Parallel tracking, reveal
360 Roll	Camera rolls on axis	Disorientation, stylized
Auto	Model selects best movement	When unsure

Speed Ramp

Controls temporal feel of the shot. Set per-scene in Cinema Studio.

⚠ Speed Ramp options differ between versions. Use ONLY the table for the version the user specified. Never output a 2.5 ramp name in 3.0 output or vice versa.

Cinema Studio 2.5 Speed Ramps (6 modes)

Mode	Effect	Best for
Linear	Consistent speed throughout	Standard, natural
Slow Mo	Reduced playback speed	Impact moments, emotion
Speed Up	Accelerated playback	Montage, energy, passage of time
Impact	Fast → sudden slow at key moment	Action, hits, reveals
Auto	Model selects based on content	When unsure
Custom	Draw your own speed curve	Precise creative control

Custom curve: Blue line with draggable nodes. Pull up = slow down, pull down = speed up. Left = beginning of clip, right = end.

2.5-only values — NEVER use in 3.0 output: Linear, Slow Mo, Speed Up, Impact, Custom

Cinema Studio 3.0 Speed Ramps (7 modes)

Mode	Effect	Best for
Auto	Model selects based on content	When unsure
Slow-mo	Reduced playback speed	Impact moments, emotion
Ramp Up	Gradual acceleration	Building energy, montage
Flash In	Fast start → ease to normal	Dramatic entrances, openings
Flash Out	Normal → sudden snap acceleration	Launches, exits, explosive action
Bullet Time	Ultra-slow at key moment, normal around it	Action hits, reveals, hero beats
Hero Moment	Slow build → dramatic pause → release	Character reveals, power moves

3.0-only values — NEVER use in 2.5 output: Ramp Up, Flash In, Flash Out, Bullet Time, Hero Moment

Genre Selection

⚠ Genre lists differ between versions. Use ONLY the genres for the version the user specified.

Cinema Studio 2.5 Genres (8)

General · Action · Horror · Comedy · Western · Suspense · Intimate · Spectacle

Genre affects lighting defaults, color grading baseline, and motion style suggestions. You can always override with explicit prompt language — genre is a starting point.

Genre	Lighting default	Color tendency	Motion style
General	Neutral	Balanced	Varies
Action	Hard, high contrast	Desaturated, cool	Dynamic
Horror	Low key, harsh shadows	Desaturated, teal/green tint	Slow or sudden
Comedy	Bright, even	Warm, saturated	Light, energetic
Western	Golden hour / dusty	Warm amber	Steady, wide
Suspense	Low key, motivated	Cold, muted	Slow build
Intimate	Soft, warm	Warm, skin-flattering	Gentle
Spectacle	Dramatic, high contrast	Bold, saturated	Epic, sweeping

2.5-only genres — NEVER use in 3.0 output: Western, Suspense, Intimate, Spectacle

Cinema Studio 3.0 Genres (7)

General · Action · Horror · Comedy · Noir · Drama · Epic

3.0-only genres — NEVER use in 2.5 output: Noir, Drama, Epic

Shot Modes

Single Shot

Standard generation — one prompt, one clip. Same as regular Higgsfield but with the optical stack and Director Panel applied.

Multi-Shot Auto

Describe the full sequence in one prompt. Cinema Studio breaks it into shots automatically. Good for: rough sequences, exploration, when you don't need per-shot control.

Example: "A woman walks into a bar, sits down, orders a drink. Bartender slides it over.
She takes a sip and stares at her reflection in the mirror behind the bottles."
→ Cinema Studio Auto generates: Establishing shot / Walk to seat / Order / Drink delivery / Reflection closeup

Multi-Shot Manual

Full per-scene control. Up to 6 scenes, each with its own:

Prompt
Camera movement (Director Panel)
Speed Ramp
Duration

⚠ 12-Second Total Runtime Cap: The combined duration of all scenes in a Multi-Shot sequence cannot exceed 12 seconds total. Plan your per-scene durations to stay within this limit (e.g., 6 scenes × 2s each, or 4 scenes × 3s, or 3 scenes × 4s).

Cost transparency: Multi-Shot Manual with 4 variations = 24 generations total (6 scenes × 4 variations). Plan credits accordingly.

Multi-Shot Manual workflow:

Scene 1: Establishing shot — wide, sets location
Scene 2: Character introduction — medium, shows protagonist
Scene 3: Action beat — closer, movement
Scene 4: Reaction — close-up, emotion
Scene 5: Consequence / turn — medium or wide
Scene 6: Resolution / button — varies

Morph-Cut and Smooth-Cut breathing room — 2-second still moments. Editors land morph cuts and smooth cuts (transition styles in DaVinci Resolve, Premiere, and similar editors that hide the cut by morphing similar frames) on stillness, not on motion. If every shot starts and ends mid-action, every cut between them has to happen mid-action too — and the model renders mid-action transitions poorly. Build cut-friendly material by prompting an explicit 2-second still-or-near-still moment at the start AND end of every shot. Examples of buildable stillness: a held look, a settled pose, a held pause before motion begins, a held breath after motion stops. The middle of the shot can be as kinetic as the script demands; the boundaries earn the cuts. This rule is adapted from the Mr. Core methodology and pairs with editor-side workflow in ../higgsfield-pipeline/SKILL.md § Stage 8 — Assembly.

Reference Anchor System

The Reference Anchor locks character geometry (facial structure, proportions, costume silhouette) across all shots in a sequence — preventing the character drift that happens in standard generation.

Setup:

Upload a clear, well-lit reference photo of your character
Cinema Studio generates an anchor from it
Every subsequent shot in the project references this anchor
Combine with Soul ID for full face + geometry lock

Best practices:

Use a front-facing, neutral expression photo for the anchor
Avoid glasses, hats, or accessories in the anchor image if they won't always be present
One Reference Anchor per character — add multiple if you have a cast
The anchor persists across the whole Cinema Studio project

Location Reference Sheets

Locations deserve the same asset-first treatment as characters. If a room, alley, vehicle interior, or exterior reappears across multiple shots, generate it once as a standalone asset and reuse it — don't re-describe it inside each scene prompt. Scene-by-scene re-description is the root cause of the "every shot reinterprets the environment" failure: walls drift, furniture rearranges, scale shifts, and the world stops feeling like a single place.

The Five-View Location Sheet

A location sheet captures the space from enough angles that the model has a complete spatial model to draw from. Generate these five views as one asset set:

View	What it locks
Straight-on wide	The overall scale, focal point, and horizon line
Left-angle perspective	Side geometry, depth on the left
Right-angle perspective	Side geometry, depth on the right
Reverse / opposite view	What's behind the camera in the wide — finishes the 360° footprint
Close-up environmental details	Texture, wear, signage, small props that anchor identity

Use Grid Generation (2×2 or 4×4) or 3D Mode on a hero wide to produce the alt angles from a single seed — this keeps the light and material identity consistent across views, which is the whole point.

What to Preserve on Reuse

When you bring the location back for a new shot, lock these four properties: architecture (walls, openings, scale), light quality (source direction, color temperature, hardness), color treatment (palette, grade), and key environmental details (signage, damage, specific props that make this place THIS place). Keep these out of the scene prompt — they live in the location asset. The scene prompt should describe only what changes: character action, camera behavior, atmospheric motion, time-of-day shift if any.

Failure Mode This Prevents

Without a location sheet, a six-scene sequence set in "a rain-soaked alley" will render six different alleys. Each scene prompt re-interprets "rain-soaked alley" from scratch. With a location sheet tagged as an @ Element or loaded as a reference, all six scenes share one alley — the puddles are in the same places, the neon sign says the same thing, the brick wall has the same pattern.

For the camera vocabulary that pairs with location reveals (Pan, Crane, Dolly Reveal), see ../../vocab.md.

Reference Sheet Types — Beyond Characters and Locations

Reference sheets aren't only for faces and rooms. The underlying principle is narrower than "character or location" — a reference sheet is any asset built once to lock a specific property of the production. Each sheet type fixes a different axis of the work: identity, architecture, motion behavior, wardrobe, or palette. If a property has to read consistently across multiple shots, give it its own sheet. If it only matters for one shot, write it inline and move on.

When a sheet pays for itself: if a property will appear in three or more shots, the sheet is cheaper than re-describing it every time and dramatically more consistent than relying on prompt text alone. Single-shot details — a one-time prop, a background extra, a one-off lighting cue — don't earn a sheet.

The character sheet (see ../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md → Character Sheet Creation) and the Location Reference Sheet above already cover identity and architecture. The three sheet types below extend the same pattern to the rest of the production:

Motion / Camera Sheet

A short reference clip — 3–10 seconds is plenty — that captures a camera path or motion rhythm you want repeated across multiple shots. The sheet locks the movement signature, not the content of any single shot. Treat it as a project-wide style anchor pulled into a generation as an @Video reference, the way a DP would carry a "look" across an entire film.

Use cases: a music video where the same dolly-in arc punctuates every chorus; a fight sequence where a signature whip-pan recurs at every climax beat; a brand piece where every product shot starts on the same slow orbit. Distinct from a Kling 3.0 Motion Control reference clip — that drives a single generation's motion transfer. The Motion / Camera Sheet is reusable across the whole project.

Outfit / Material Sheet

Dedicated wardrobe reference. Locks fabric texture, color values, garment fit, fastenings, and how the material moves and folds. Generate it once with even lighting and multiple angles, then reuse it any time the costume needs to read identically across cuts.

Use cases: a hero costume that appears across 12 scenes; a specific jacket that must look the same in close-up and wide shot; a uniform that recurs across an ensemble cast. The outfit sheet is not the same as a character sheet — the character sheet locks identity (face, build, hair, distinguishing marks), while the outfit sheet locks what the character is wearing AND how that wardrobe behaves in motion. Build both when you have a hero costume on a hero character.

The piano test — wardrobe complexity has a generation cost. Every detail of wardrobe complexity — buttons, ties, jewelry, scarves, layered garments, intricate prints, fastening hardware — costs the model rendering budget. The piano test (adapted from the Mr. Core methodology) is the rule: if a wardrobe element is as visually demanding for the model to render as a piano in the frame, the model will spend its budget rendering that element instead of the action. Strip the wardrobe to the simplest silhouette that still reads as the character. A trench coat reads as a trench coat without the buttons rendering correctly. A uniform reads as a uniform without the rank insignia drifting across frames. Design the costume's signature — the silhouette and one identifying feature — and let the rest go simple. Hero costumes that must render under close-up scrutiny earn their complexity; background costumes do not.

Palette / Mood Sheet

A color and tonal anchor for the project. Lock the visual mood across an entire sequence: shadow density, key/fill ratio, saturation level, signature accent colors, grade direction. Use a single curated still or a small grid of grade references — the goal is to give every subsequent generation a consistent palette to reach for.

Use cases: a noir piece where every scene shares the same shadow density and warm-amber-on-cool-blue grade; a cyberpunk sequence where neon-to-base-light ratio stays fixed across 15 cuts; a brand campaign where a signature accent color appears in every shot regardless of subject. Pairs naturally with the Soul Hex color system and curated moodboards in ../higgsfield-moodboard/SKILL.md.

The Reference Sheet Family

Sheet	Locks	Lives in
Character	Identity, face, build, distinguishing marks	`../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md` (Soul ID, character sheet creation)
Location	Architecture, light, color treatment, key environmental details	Location Reference Sheets, above
Motion / Camera	Camera path or motion rhythm reused across shots	This section
Outfit / Material	Wardrobe — fabric, color, fit, motion behavior	This section
Palette / Mood	Color and tonal mood across the whole project	This section + `../higgsfield-moodboard/SKILL.md`

Build the sheets the project actually needs. A short ad with one character in one outfit doesn't need an Outfit Sheet. A 15-shot music video with three recurring camera moves and a tight color palette absolutely does.

Hero Frame

A Hero Frame is a key image you generate before committing to video — it defines the visual tone, lighting, color, and composition of your sequence.

Why it matters: Generating a Hero Frame first costs ~1 credit. Adjusting the video after generation costs full video credits. Get the look right on the image first.

Hero Frame workflow:

Describe your opening shot with full optical stack
Generate as image (Soul 2.0 or Nano Banana 2)
Review: Is the lighting right? Color? Character look?
Iterate on image until it's exactly right
Use as the first frame / style reference for video generation

Hero Frame as style lock: Once you have a Hero Frame you love, use it as a reference upload for your first video shot. Describe the match in the prompt as atmosphere and lighting language — not as camera/genre instructions (those go in the UI settings):

The same overcast midday light as the reference image.
Muted, desaturated tones. The character enters from the left side of frame.

Higgsfield Popcorn — Storyboard Integration

Popcorn is Higgsfield's storyboard tool. Use it to plan a sequence visually before committing to Cinema Studio generation.

Popcorn → Cinema Studio workflow:

Open Popcorn → describe your story / scene breakdown
Popcorn generates a visual storyboard with shot descriptions
Review shot order, camera angles, key moments
Export storyboard → import into Cinema Studio as shot list
Configure each shot: optical stack, Director Panel, Speed Ramp
Generate in Multi-Shot Manual mode using the storyboard as your script

When to use Popcorn first:

Any sequence longer than 3 shots
When you're not sure of the shot order
Client or collaborator needs to approve the structure before generation
Complex action sequences with many camera angles

Keyframe Interpolation — Start/End Frames

Define exactly where a shot begins and ends. Eliminates morphing artifacts that happen when the model guesses the transition.

Setup:

Start Frame: Upload or generate the first frame of the shot
End Frame: Upload or generate the last frame of the shot
Cinema Studio interpolates the motion between them

Best uses:

Precise character entrances / exits
Object reveals with exact start and end position
Match cuts between shots (end frame of shot A = start frame of shot B)
Controlled camera moves where position must be exact

3D Mode — Gaussian Splatting

Cinema Studio can build a 3D version of any generated image using Gaussian splatting. Once active, you can move inside the frame — shift perspective, orbit the scene, and find a composition that didn't exist in the original 2D generation.

How it works:

Generate an image in Cinema Studio (any model, any optical stack)
Activate 3D Mode on the generated image
Cinema Studio reconstructs the scene as a 3D Gaussian splat
Use the virtual camera to move freely — orbit, push in, shift angle
Capture your preferred composition as a new frame
Use that frame as a start frame for video generation

When to use 3D Mode:

You love the generation but want a different camera angle
You need a reverse shot or over-the-shoulder from the same scene
You're building a virtual camera move through a static scene
You want to explore parallax and depth before committing to video

Workflow tip: Generate a Hero Frame → enter 3D Mode → find 2–3 different angles → use each as start frames for different shots in your Multi-Shot Manual sequence. One generation becomes multiple shots.

Grid Generation — Batch Variations

Instead of generating one image at a time, Cinema Studio can produce 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4 grids — up to 16 variations from a single generation, charged as one credit.

Grid sizes:

Grid	Variations	Cost
2×2	4 images	1 generation credit
3×3	9 images	1 generation credit
4×4	16 images	1 generation credit

When to use Grid Generation:

Exploring compositions — generate 16 options, pick the best one
Character sheet creation — multiple poses/angles in one pass
A/B testing visual direction before committing to video
Cost-efficient iteration — spend 1 credit, get up to 16 options

Workflow with grids:

Write your prompt + configure optical stack
Select grid size (2×2 through 4×4)
Generate — all variations appear grouped together
Select the best variation(s)
Use as Hero Frame, start frame, or enter 3D Mode on any individual result

Resolution Settings

Cinema Studio supports explicit resolution control for image generation:

Setting	Resolution	Best for
1K	1024px	Fast iteration, concept exploration
2K	2048px	Standard quality, most workflows
4K	4096px	Final delivery, print, hero assets

Rule of thumb: Start at 1K–2K for exploration and grid generation. Switch to 4K only for your final selected composition. Higher resolution = longer generation time and more credits.

Frame Extraction Loop — Build, Animate, Extract, Repeat

One of Cinema Studio 2.5's most powerful workflows is the frame extraction loop. You can extract the start frame or end frame from any generated video and feed it back into the image workflow — creating an iterative creative cycle.

The loop:

1. GENERATE IMAGE → Hero Frame or grid selection
2. ANIMATE        → Turn image into video (any model)
3. EXTRACT FRAME  → Pull the start or end frame from the video
4. FEED BACK      → Use extracted frame as a new start image
5. REPEAT         → Animate again from the new starting point

Why this matters:

The end frame of a video often produces compositions you'd never prompt directly
Extracted frames carry the model's physics — natural motion blur, weight, momentum
Chaining extract → animate creates organic visual evolution
End frame of shot A becomes start frame of shot B — seamless continuity

Best uses:

Building long sequences that feel connected without multi-shot mode
Discovering unexpected compositions from model-generated endpoints
Creating transformation sequences (character aging, day-to-night, etc.)
Match-cutting between scenes using extracted frames as anchors

Object & Person Insertion

Cinema Studio 2.5 can insert characters and objects into a scene that weren't present in the original start frame. This was essentially impossible before — the model would ignore new subjects or break the scene trying to add them.

How it works:

Generate or upload your base scene (the environment)
In the prompt, describe the character or object entering the scene
Cinema Studio composites the new subject into the existing environment
The insertion respects lighting, perspective, and scale of the original scene

Best for:

Adding a character walking into an establishing shot
Placing props or vehicles into an existing environment
Building up scene complexity across multiple generations
"What if" exploration — same scene with different subjects

Prompt pattern for insertion:

[Describe the existing scene briefly]. A man in a dark overcoat enters from the left
side of frame, walking toward the center. He carries a briefcase.

Tip: The more specific you are about the entry point (left, right, background, foreground) and the action, the cleaner the insertion.

Clustering — Automatic Generation Grouping

All generations from the same prompt are automatically clustered (grouped together) in Cinema Studio's interface. This means:

Every variation from a grid generation stays in one visual group
Iterative re-generations of the same prompt are easy to compare
Long projects stay organized without manual folder management
You can quickly scan clusters to pick the best result from each prompt

Tip: Use clustering to your advantage — generate multiple variations of each key shot, then pick winners from each cluster before assembling the final sequence.

Cinema Studio Output Format

Core rule: Everything selectable in the Higgsfield UI stays out of the prompt. The prompt field is for scene description only — pure visual storytelling language.

What goes where

Belongs in UI (dropdowns)	Belongs in Prompt field
Camera body	Character appearance and action
Lens	Environment and atmosphere
Focal length	What happens in the scene
Aperture	Lighting and mood description
Genre	Emotion and tone
Director Panel movement	Everything the eye sees
Speed Ramp
Duration

IMAGE MODE Output Format (Cinema Studio 2.5 only)

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Camera:   [body name]
Lens:     [lens name]
Focal:    [focal length]
Aperture: [aperture]
↳ Why: [one sentence — what this stack gives the image and why]

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Scene description only. No camera/lens/aperture language.]

Image Mode example:

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Camera:   Grand Format 70mm Film
Lens:     Classic Anamorphic
Focal:    50mm
Aperture: f/1.4
↳ Why: 70mm grain + anamorphic flare gives instant prestige cinema quality.
       f/1.4 puts the harbour out of focus, keeping all weight on the detective.

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A weathered detective stands at the edge of a rain-soaked harbour dock at night.
An old leather briefcase sits at his feet, open, papers scattered by the wind.
He stares at the horizon, collar turned up against the driving rain.
Harbour lights fracture on the black water below.

SINGLE SHOT Video Output Format (Cinema Studio 2.5)

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      [genre]
Movement:   [Director Panel movement]
Speed Ramp: [mode]
Duration:   [seconds]

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Scene description only. No movement, genre, speed ramp, or duration language.]

Single Shot example:

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      Suspense
Movement:   Dolly Out
Speed Ramp: Slow Mo
Duration:   8s

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A weathered detective stands at the edge of a rain-soaked harbour dock at night.
An old leather briefcase sits at his feet, open, papers scattered by the wind.
He stares at the horizon, collar turned up against the driving rain.
Harbour lights fracture on the black water below.
He reaches down and slowly closes the briefcase.

MULTI-SHOT AUTO Video Output Format (Cinema Studio 2.5)

Same structure as Single Shot — one UI settings block, one prompt. The user describes the full scene in the prompt and Cinema Studio breaks it into shots automatically.

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      [genre]
Movement:   [Director Panel movement — or Auto if varied]
Speed Ramp: [mode]
Duration:   [total seconds]

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Full scene description. Let Cinema Studio break it into shots.
No movement, genre, speed ramp, or duration language in here.]

Multi-Shot Auto example:

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      Suspense
Movement:   Auto
Speed Ramp: Linear
Duration:   15s

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A weathered detective pushes open the door of a rain-soaked bar and steps inside.
He scans the room — empty except for a bartender polishing glasses at the far end.
He walks slowly to the bar and sits down. The bartender slides a drink without a word.
The detective picks it up, stares at his reflection in the mirror behind the bottles.
He sets it down without drinking.

MULTI-SHOT MANUAL Video Output Format (Cinema Studio 2.5)

One UI settings block per scene. One prompt per scene. Six scenes = six pairs. Each scene is fully self-contained — the user configures and pastes them one at a time.

━━━ SCENE 1 — [short scene title] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      [genre]
  Movement:   [movement]
  Speed Ramp: [mode]
  Duration:   [seconds]

PROMPT
[Scene 1 description only.]

━━━ SCENE 2 — [short scene title] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      [genre]
  Movement:   [movement]
  Speed Ramp: [mode]
  Duration:   [seconds]

PROMPT
[Scene 2 description only.]

[...continue for each scene]

Multi-Shot Manual example — 3 scenes (same pattern scales to 6):

━━━ SCENE 1 — Arrival ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      Suspense
  Movement:   Handheld
  Speed Ramp: Linear
  Duration:   5s

PROMPT
A weathered detective steps through the door of a dimly lit bar.
Rain drips from his coat. He pauses, eyes adjusting to the dark.
The bar is nearly empty. A jukebox plays quietly in the corner.

━━━ SCENE 2 — The Walk ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      Suspense
  Movement:   Camera Follows
  Speed Ramp: Linear
  Duration:   4s

PROMPT
He walks slowly down the length of the bar, boots on wet floorboards.
A bartender watches without expression. One other patron doesn't look up.
He reaches the end stool and sits down deliberately.

━━━ SCENE 3 — The Mirror ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      Suspense
  Movement:   Dolly In
  Speed Ramp: Slow Mo
  Duration:   6s

PROMPT
A glass of whiskey sits untouched on the bar in front of him.
He stares at his own reflection in the mirror behind the bottles.
His jaw tightens. He picks up the glass, holds it, sets it back down.

Cinema Studio 3.0 Output Formats

3.0 does NOT have: Camera body, Lens, Focal length, Aperture, Color grading, 3D Mode, Grid generation. Never include these in 3.0 output.

3.0 has: Genre (7: General, Action, Horror, Comedy, Noir, Drama, Epic), Director Panel, Speed Ramp (7: Auto, Slow-mo, Ramp Up, Flash In, Flash Out, Bullet Time, Hero Moment), Duration (up to 15s), Audio (On/Off native stereo), Smart shot control, 21:9 ultrawide.

Version guard — values that do NOT exist in 3.0 (never output these):

Speed Ramp: ~~Linear~~, ~~Slow Mo~~, ~~Speed Up~~, ~~Impact~~, ~~Custom~~
Genre: ~~Western~~, ~~Suspense~~, ~~Intimate~~, ~~Spectacle~~
UI fields: ~~Camera body~~, ~~Lens~~, ~~Focal length~~, ~~Aperture~~, ~~Color grading~~, ~~3D Mode~~, ~~Grid generation~~

IMAGE MODE Output Format (Cinema Studio 3.0)

No optical stack in 3.0. Image output uses Soul Cast modes only.

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Soul Cast Mode: [General / Character / Location]
Genre:          [genre]
↳ Why: [one sentence — what this combination gives the image and why]

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Scene description only. No camera/lens/aperture language — these don't exist in 3.0.]

SINGLE SHOT / SMART Video Output Format (Cinema Studio 3.0)

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      [genre — General, Action, Horror, Comedy, Noir, Drama, or Epic]
Shot Mode:  [Smart / Custom]
Movement:   [Director Panel movement — or Smart for auto camera planning]
Speed Ramp: [Auto / Slow-mo / Ramp Up / Flash In / Flash Out / Bullet Time / Hero Moment]
Duration:   [up to 15s]
Audio:      [On / Off]

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Scene description only. Use @ to reference uploaded images/video/audio.
No movement, genre, speed ramp, or duration language in here.]

Single Shot 3.0 example:

━━━ UI SETTINGS (select in Higgsfield) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Genre:      Action
Shot Mode:  Smart
Movement:   Jib Down
Speed Ramp: Slow-mo
Duration:   5s
Audio:      On

━━━ PROMPT (paste into Cinema Studio) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
@CypressLookout packed with cars and people at night. @R34GTR parked
prominently in the center, @240SX and @AE86 visible nearby. Crowd
gathered between the cars, neon underglow reflecting on wet pavement.
City skyline glowing across the water in the distance. Engine noise,
crowd murmur, tension in the air.

MULTI-SHOT MANUAL Video Output Format (Cinema Studio 3.0)

Same per-scene structure as 2.5 but with 3.0 options. Up to 6 scenes, 15s max total.

━━━ SCENE 1 — [short scene title] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
UI SETTINGS
  Genre:      [genre]
  Movement:   [movement]
  Speed Ramp: [Auto / Slow-mo / Ramp Up / Flash In / Flash Out / Bullet Time / Hero Moment]
  Duration:   [seconds]
  Audio:      [On / Off]

PROMPT
[Scene 1 description only. Use @ for references.]

⚠ Prompt Character Limit — 512 Characters

Cinema Studio has a hard 512-character limit on the prompt field in both 2.5 and 3.0. However, how those characters are consumed differs by version.

Cinema Studio 2.5 Character Budget

2.5 uses @ Element chips (Characters, Locations, Props). Each chip consumes roughly 80–100 hidden characters for its internal ID and reference metadata.

Max 2 @ Element tags per prompt — each tag eats ~80–100 hidden chars
Keep visible text under ~250 characters when using 2 @ tags
Keep visible text under ~350 characters when using 1 @ tag
Keep visible text under ~450 characters when using 0 @ tags
If a prompt is rejected, remove words — never assume it's a bug

Cinema Studio 3.0 Character Budget

3.0 uses @ references (uploaded images, video clips, audio clips — up to 12 total). The @ reference system is structurally different from 2.5's Element chips. References are attached as media inputs rather than inline metadata, so they may consume less hidden character space than 2.5's Element chips.

The 512-character hard limit still applies
With @ references attached, keep visible text under ~350–400 characters as a safe starting point
With no @ references, you can use closer to the full ~450–500 characters
If a prompt is rejected for length, trim visible text first — do not assume it's a bug
3.0 prompts can be more descriptive than 2.5 prompts since @ references leave more room for text

@ Element Persistence Across Scenes

@ Elements added in Scene 1 persist across all subsequent scenes in Multi-Shot Manual. You do NOT need to re-add @ tags in every scene prompt.

Recommended pattern for multi-character sequences:

Scene 1: Use @ Elements to establish all characters (e.g. @HERO and @badguy3)
Scenes 2–6: Reference characters by visual description only (e.g. "the man in the leather jacket") — the Reference Anchor keeps their appearance locked

Why this works: The @ Elements in Scene 1 lock character geometry into the Reference Anchor. Subsequent scenes inherit that lock automatically. Using @ tags again in later scenes forces the model to re-process the reference data, which competes with action prompts and causes issues like character swaps, broken choreography, and missed actions.

Prompting Best Practices

For the full Pre-Prompt Checklist, one-action-per-scene rule, and fast motion trick, see higgsfield-prompt. Cinema Studio–specific additions:

Select camera movement from Director Panel presets (not prompt text)
Select genre from Cinema Studio genre options (not prompt text)
Use @ Elements for character identity; keep prompts to action and scene description only

Fight Scene & Action Design Rules (Tested)

Two-character fight sequences are among the hardest things to generate in Cinema Studio. These rules come from extensive real-world testing.

What the AI CAN render in fight scenes

Two people standing/facing each other ✓
General fighting/struggling energy ✓
One person pinned against a wall ✓
One person falling to the ground ✓
Someone walking away ✓
Sound effects matching the action ✓

What the AI CANNOT reliably render

A specific punch connecting with a face ✗
Kicks (roundhouse, front kick, etc.) ✗
Complex martial arts choreography ✗
Precise cause-and-effect sequences (hit → stumble) ✗
Prop-based combat (trays, carts, objects as weapons) ✗
Grappling at close range (often renders as embracing) ✗

Character Swap Problem

When two @ Elements are used in the same action prompt, the AI frequently swaps which character is the hero and which is the villain. The first character mentioned tends to get assigned the "protagonist" role regardless of the prompt's intent.

Fixes:

Use @ Elements only in static/slow scenes (standoff, pinned, walk away)
Use plain text for action scenes where choreography matters
If using @ tags, always put the hero character first in the prompt
End each scene by stating who is where, to anchor positions

Fight Sequence Template (Multi-Shot Manual)

Scene 1 (@ Elements) — Standoff: Lock in characters, tension build
Scene 2 (Plain text) — First exchange: Describe fighting energy, not specific moves
Scene 3 (Plain text) — Escalation: Bodies slamming, intensity rising
Scene 4 (@ Elements) — Close-up moment: Pin against wall, intense stare
Scene 5 (Plain text) — The finish: Someone goes down
Scene 6 (@ Elements) — Resolution: Hero walks away from camera

Alternate @ Element scenes (for character faces) with plain text scenes (for action). The viewer's brain fills in character continuity between cuts — that's how real film editing works.

Action Design Around AI Strengths

The Fight Scene rules above describe what the model can and cannot render at any given action moment. The rules below describe how to design the action itself so the model never has to render the things it fails at. These rules are adapted from the Mr. Core methodology — a long-form workflow document by a working creator on the platform — and apply to all action sequences, not just fights.

Choose locations the model renders forgivingly. Some spaces hide drift; others expose it. Design action around the forgiving ones:

Forgiving: circular arenas (camera can rotate without a continuity reference), vague ruins (no architectural lines for the audience to audit), repeating textures (a forest, a dune field, a colonnade — drift between frames reads as parallax, not error), fog / dust / smoke environments (visual noise covers most artifacts).
Punishing: familiar landmarks (the audience knows the building's real geometry), geometric architecture with strong sight lines (any drift in a hallway or grid reads instantly), public spaces with text or signage (lettering drifts across frames), continuous reflective surfaces (mirror or glass continuity is brutal).

Design choreography around what the model can render. Don't write action the model fails at and try to compensate with prompt language. Cut the action to the model's strengths up front:

Standoffs, near-misses, the moment before contact, the aftermath of contact, bodies in motion through a space — all render reliably.
Precise hand-to-hand, prop combat, multi-character grappling, choreographed martial arts, frame-by-frame impact sequences — all fail reliably.
If the script calls for the second category, restage it as a sequence of shots from the first category. The cut between shots does the work the model can't do in a single take.

One transformation per shot. Plan exactly one state change per generation — one location to one location, one emotional beat to the next, one action to its consequence. Multi-beat shots ("she enters, sees the body, draws her weapon, advances on the door") force the model to interpolate between two or three different intents and the result drifts on at least one of them. Cut the shot at the first beat. Generate the second as its own shot.

Single-generation strategy. Plan the shot well enough that the first generation is the work. Generate-and-pick-from-twenty is a budgeting failure, not a workflow — every additional generation is paying twice for prep you should have done up front. Treat each generation as the deliverable.

Model Selection for Cinema Studio

Different models perform differently inside Cinema Studio's environment:

Use case	Recommended model
Character-driven drama sequence	Kling 3.0
Clone character from reference footage	Kling 3.0 Omni
Epic scale / action multi-shot	Sora 2
Artistic / stylized sequence	Wan 2.6
Nature / environment sequence	Veo 3 / Veo 3.1
Fast iteration on sequence	Kling 2.5 Turbo
Hero Frame image generation	Soul 2.0 / Nano Banana 2

Quick Decision — Cinema Studio vs Other Tools

Need	Use
Single clip, no sequence	Standard generation
2–6 shot sequence, character consistent	Cinema Studio — Multi-Shot Manual
Sequence but don't need per-shot control	Cinema Studio — Multi-Shot Auto
Don't know shot order yet	Popcorn first → Cinema Studio
Need motion graphics / text animation	Vibe Motion (not Cinema Studio)
Edit existing footage	Kling O1 Video Edit (not Cinema Studio)
Just need audio added to a clip	Lipsync Studio / Kling 3.0

Identity vs. Motion: In Cinema Studio, identity goes in the @ Element definition (or Soul Cast parameters); motion goes in the prompt field. Never put face/clothing descriptors in the prompt when @ Elements are active. See higgsfield-prompt and higgsfield-soul for the full separation rule.

Negative constraints: For Cinema Studio–specific artifacts (prompt rejected, @ Element character swap, 3D Mode holes, optical stack mismatch) and all general artifacts, see ../shared/negative-constraints.md.

Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team Plan)

Plan requirement: Cinema Studio 3.0 is available exclusively on Business and Team plans. Free and individual plan users should use Cinema Studio 2.5, which remains fully supported.

Version toggle: Cinema Studio 2.5 and 3.0 coexist on the platform. Switch between them using the version selector in the upper-right corner of the Cinema Studio UI.

What's Different in 3.0

Cinema Studio 3.0 is a separate generation engine from 2.5. Key differences:

Higher max duration: 15s (vs 2.5's 12s)
Lower video resolution (for now): Video capped at 720p (vs 2.5's 1080p); Image up to 4K in Character/Location modes (General mode capped at 2K)
Native audio: Audio generated simultaneously with video via unified multimodal architecture — dual-channel stereo, not post-processed
Smart shot control: Model auto-plans camera language based on genre and scene description
Ultrawide aspect ratio: 21:9 added (not available in 2.5)
No optical physics engine: 2.5's camera body + lens stack is not available in 3.0
No color grading suite: 2.5's built-in grading is not available in 3.0
No 3D Mode / Grid Generation: These 2.5 features are not available in 3.0

Resolution note: Cinema Studio 3.0 video resolution (720p) may increase. For 1080p video, use Cinema Studio 2.5. Image resolution in 3.0 varies by mode: Character/Location support 4K, General is capped at 2K.

Cinema Studio 3.0 Quick Specs

See the comparison table at the top for full 2.5 vs 3.0 differences. Key 3.0-specific details:

Video: up to 15s, 720p (may increase), 48 credits/generation
Image (Soul Cast 3.0): up to 4K (Character/Location) · 2K (General), 0.125 credits
Genres (7): General, Action, Horror, Comedy, Noir, Drama, Epic
Speed Ramp (7): Auto, Slow-mo, Ramp Up, Flash In, Flash Out, Bullet Time, Hero Moment
Aspect Ratios (7): Auto, 1:1, 3:4, 9:16, 4:3, 16:9, 21:9
Audio: On/Off — natively generated alongside video (dual-channel stereo)
Shot Control: Smart (auto camera planning) or Custom multi-shot (up to 6 scenes, 15s total)
Image mode: Cinema Studio 3.0 image mode uses Soul Cinema as the default model — see § Image Mode in the Cinema Studio 3.5 section below for the full image-mode model picker (Cinematic models + Featured models), which is shared between 3.0 and 3.5.

Input Limits (@ References)

Type	Max Count	Formats	Size/Duration Limit
Images	9	jpeg, png, webp, bmp	—
Video clips	3	mp4, mov	Combined ≤15s total
Audio clips	3	mp3, wav	Combined ≤15s total
Total files	≤12

@ Reference Patterns for Cinema Studio 3.0

Character identity (first frame): @Image1 as the main character. She walks through the market, picking up fruit and examining it closely.

Environment / last frame: @Image1 as the starting environment. @Image2 as the destination. Camera tracks through a doorway transitioning from the first space to the second.

Motion reference / camera cloning: Match the camera movement from @Video1. A dancer performs on a rooftop at sunset, wind catching her dress.

Audio reference (BGM / dialogue / tone): Audio @Audio1 plays exactly as uploaded from 0s to end. Do not modify or replace the audio content. Voiceover tone references @Video1.

Multi-image spatial mapping: @Image1 as first frame, @Image2 as top of frame, @Image3 as left side. Camera slowly pans right, revealing the full scene.

Video extension: Extend @Video1 by 5s. The character continues walking, reaching the edge of the cliff and looking out over the valley.

Ad recreation: Mimic @Video1's shot design, pacing, and transitions. Replace all products with @Image1. Match the lighting and camera angles.

Outfit transformation: @Image1 as the character in casual clothes. @Image2 as the same character in formal attire. A quick-cut transformation sequence with fabric particles.

One-shot continuity: @Image1 first frame, @Image2 midpoint, @Image3 final frame. No cuts throughout, one continuous shot tracking the subject across all three compositions.

When to Use 3.0 vs 2.5

Need	Recommendation
Highest video resolution (1080p)	Cinema Studio 2.5
4K images (Character/Location)	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team)
Longer duration (up to 15s)	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team)
Native audio with video	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team)
Optical physics (lens, sensor)	Cinema Studio 2.5
Color grading suite	Cinema Studio 2.5
3D Mode / Grid Generation	Cinema Studio 2.5
Ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team)
Smart auto-camera planning	Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team)
Free/Individual plan	Cinema Studio 2.5

Cinema Studio 3.5

Cinema Studio 3.5 is the latest Cinema Studio version, sitting alongside 2.5 and 3.0 in the model selector — all three coexist on the platform, version is user-selected, and there is no auto-routing between them. 3.5 is positioned as a simplified creative surface over a deep manual layer: by default everything routes to Auto and the engine handles selection, with manual overrides available at any point in the stack.

What's new vs 3.0:

Three-pill main UI — Genre / Style / Camera collapsed into three primary pills on the main surface
Restored optical physics — camera body / lens / focal length / aperture surface is back, accessible via the Camera Settings panel (different vocabulary from 2.5 — see below)
Style Settings panel — three preset axes (Color Palette / Lighting / Camera Moveset Style) plus a free-form Manual Style mode
AI director toggle — visible in the bottom toolbar (function not yet documented; see § AI Director Toggle)

Operating philosophy: Auto by default, manual with reason. Each pill defaults to Auto and can be overridden — but only override when there is a specific creative reason to do so.

The Three-Pill Main Surface

3.5 collapses creative control into three pills on the main UI:

Pill	What it controls	Surface
Genre	Manual genre catalog	Single-select picker
Style	Color Palette / Lighting / Camera Moveset Style + Manual Style mode	Three-axis preset stacking, or free-form prompt
Camera	Camera Body / Lens / Focal Length / Aperture	Four-axis panel

Each pill defaults to Auto. Open the pill to override.

Cinema Studio 3.5 Genres

Confirmed from the UI: General · Action · Horror · Comedy · Noir · Drama · Epic (7 genres).

The Genre picker is browsable in the UI and may surface additional genres not enumerated here — direct readers to the live UI for the current full list.

⚠ Genre catalog scope: The seven listed genres are confirmed from a 2026-04-25 UI screenshot, which showed scroll arrows above and below the visible list — additional genres exist in the picker but were not confirmed by name and are not enumerated here. Do not invent genre names. When the user names a genre not in the seven, ask them to confirm by checking the UI rather than assuming.

Style Settings — Three Operating Modes

The Style pill operates in three modes.

Mode 1 — Auto (default). All three sub-axes default to Auto; the engine handles selection. Use when you want speed and don't have a strong style direction.

Mode 2 — Preset stacking (Manual Style toggle OFF). User selects from presets in any/all of three sub-axes:

Color Palette (8 presets)

Preset	Use when
Naturalistic Clean	Realistic, neutral palette — character/dialogue, documentary feel, brand work that needs to read as captured
Bleached Warm	Sun-faded warmth — beach, exterior daytime, nostalgic memory work
Hyper Neon	Saturated neon — cyberpunk, club, after-dark city, music video
Teal Orange Epic	Industry-standard blockbuster grade — action, thriller, anything that wants instant cinema credibility
Sodium Decay	Sodium-lamp orange + decay — urban night, post-apocalyptic, gritty crime
Cold Steel	Desaturated cool — corporate, surveillance, procedural, sci-fi clinical
Bleach Bypass	High contrast + reduced saturation — war film, harsh drama, period grit
Classic B&W	Black and white — noir, archival feel, emphasis on form and composition over color

Lighting (6 techniques)

Preset	Use when
Soft Cross	Soft cross-key + fill — flattering portraiture, conversation, intimate drama
Contre Jour	Strong backlight — silhouette, golden-hour reveal, character entrance
Overhead Fall	Top-down hard light — interrogation, isolation, dramatic stage feel
Window	Motivated window light — interior daylight, single-source naturalism
Practicals	Lights inside the frame — bars, restaurants, lived-in interiors, night exteriors with signage
Silhouette	Subject reduced to shape — emphasis on form, mystery, abstract reveal

Camera Moveset Style (9 styles)

Preset	Use when
Classic Static	Locked-off, no movement — dialogue, composition, tension
Silent Machine	Smooth motorized motion — corporate, surveillance, controlled cinematic
One Take	Single continuous take — long developing reveal, immersive sequence
Epic Scale	Wide sweeping moves — landscape, spectacle, geographic reveal
Intimate Observer	Quiet, restrained handheld — drama, conversation, character interior
Impossible Camera	Moves the model can do but a real rig couldn't — through walls, around objects, virtual-only paths
Documentary Snap	Reactive handheld — news/doc feel, real-time energy
Raw Chaos	Unsteady, kinetic, motion-heavy — action, riot, sensory overload
Dreamy Flow	Floating, slowed, dreamlike motion — memory, surreal, romance

When stacked, the main UI's Style pill shows the selection as a comma-separated label (e.g., "Style: One Take, Practicals, Sodium Decay").

Mode 3 — Manual Style (Manual Style toggle ON). The 3-axis preset panel is replaced by a free-form Prompt input ("Describe your concept, scene, or idea") and a Save button. User writes natural-language style direction.

This is prompt territory. The Manual Style input is treated as a style prompt by the engine, so apply the existing Style/Director-Language Prompt Mode discipline: translate style intent into observable cinematic decisions — camera behavior, spatial logic, lighting and color, performance mode, rhythm, texture. Avoid vague labels ("cinematic", "epic", "moody") and director name-dropping ("Wes Anderson style") — these read as style noise to the engine. See ../higgsfield-seedance/SKILL.md Style/Director-Language Prompt Mode for the full discipline, and ../higgsfield-prompt/SKILL.md for general prompt rules.

Camera Settings — Four-Axis Panel

The Camera pill opens an expanded panel with four sub-axes. Two operating modes:

Mode 1 — Auto (default). All four sub-axes default to Auto; engine handles selection.

Mode 2 — Per-axis adjustment. User selects from each axis manually.

Camera Body (3 bodies)

Body	Use when
Clean Digital	Sharp, neutral, no character — corporate, commercial, sci-fi clinical, anything that should feel captured-not-graded
Fine Film	Cinematic film texture without heavy grain — narrative drama, character work, prestige feel
Raw 16mm	Heavy grain, organic, lo-fi — period grit, indie drama, horror, documentary realism

Lens (5 characters)

Lens	Use when
Vintage Haze	Soft vintage character with subtle glow — nostalgia, period, memory, romance
Warm Halation	Warm highlight glow — golden-hour, dreamy interiors, soft drama
Anamorphic	Oval bokeh + horizontal flare — industry-standard cinematic, action, blockbuster, prestige
Extreme Macro	Hyper close-up rendering — texture detail, food, product, insects, fine surface work
Clinical Sharp	No aberration, maximum resolution — commercial, surveillance, technical, product, documentary

Focal Length (5 lengths)

8mm · 14mm · 35mm · 50mm · 75mm

8mm — Ultra-wide, immersive distortion. Action POV, environment, disorientation.
14mm — Wide, environmental, scale. Establishing shots, landscape, architecture.
35mm — Natural human field of view. Documentary, street, two-shots, candid.
50mm — Classic portrait compression. Character close-ups, single subject.
75mm — Tight portrait compression — new in 3.5 vs the 8/14/35/50mm set documented for Cinema Studio 2.5. Reaction, emotional climax, character isolation.

Default is Auto. Only set manually with a specific reason.

Aperture (3 stops)

f/1.4 · f/4 · f/11

f/1.4 — Shallow depth of field. Subject sharp, background creamy bokeh. Intimacy, focus, emotion.
f/4 — Balanced. Subject sharp, background slightly soft. Most versatile.
f/11 — Deep depth of field. Everything sharp front to back. Product, landscape, architecture.

Default is Auto. Only set manually with a specific reason.

⚠ Two camera vocabularies coexist in Cinema Studio 3.5. The Camera Settings panel documented above (Clean Digital / Fine Film / Raw 16mm + 5 lenses + 5 focal lengths + 3 apertures) is the default, simplified surface — it appears in 3.5 video mode and is the primary 3.5 surface for camera control. Cinema Studio 2.5's vocabulary is also reachable inside the Cinema Studio UI shell. In image mode, Cinematic Cameras is one of four selectable Cinematic models (alongside Cinematic Characters, Cinematic Locations, and Soul Cinema). Selecting Cinematic Cameras as your image model surfaces 2.5's six camera bodies (Premium Large Format Digital, Classic 16mm Film, Modular 8K Digital, Full-Frame Cine Digital, Studio Digital S35, Grand Format 70mm Film), ten lens characters, and the wider focal-length and aperture range — those names appear because Cinematic Cameras uses the 2.5 optical vocabulary by design. See § Image Mode below for the full image-mode model picker, and § Optical Physics Engine earlier in this file for the 2.5 vocabulary itself. Rule: vocabulary follows the model you have selected. Use 3.5 vocabulary when the selected model is Cinema Studio 3.5 (Camera Settings panel in video mode). Use 2.5 vocabulary when the selected model is Cinema Studio 2.5 in video mode, or Cinematic Cameras in image mode. Do not write "Clean Digital" when the selected model uses 2.5 vocabulary; do not write "Studio Digital S35" when the selected model uses 3.5 vocabulary.

Five Recommended Stacks

These are not built-in UI presets — they are recommended manual combinations assembled across the Style Settings and Camera Settings panels. Each stack is a starting point; adjust per shot.

Stack	Camera Body	Lens	Focal	Aperture	When to use
Intimate Drama	Fine Film	Warm Halation	50mm	f/1.4	Conversation, emotional close beats, character interior moments
Gritty Realism	Raw 16mm	Vintage Haze	35mm	f/4	Street, action, documentary-feel work, period grit
Cold Thriller	Clean Digital	Clinical Sharp	50mm	f/4	Corporate, surveillance, procedural tension
Epic Landscape	Fine Film	Anamorphic	14mm	f/11	Establishing shots, scale, geographic spectacle
Impact Close-up	Fine Film	Anamorphic	75mm	f/1.4	Reaction, emotional climax, character isolation

Pair each stack with a Style Settings selection (Color Palette + Lighting + Camera Moveset Style) appropriate to the same intent — e.g., Intimate Drama pairs naturally with Naturalistic Clean palette + Soft Cross lighting + Intimate Observer moveset.

Cinema Studio 3.5 Output Controls

Output-side surface in 3.5:

Control	Options
Aspect Ratio	Auto, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 1:1, 21:9 (7 options including 21:9 ultrawide)
Quality	480p / 720p / 1080p (three tiers)
Sound	On / Off (when On, audio is generated alongside video as part of the same output)
Batch Size	Configurable — exploration multiplier for testing multiple variations in a single run
Duration	4s ↔ 15s (preserved across Cinema Studio versions)

Quality tiers — practical guidance:

480p — draft / exploration tier. Use for prompt iteration before committing to higher-resolution finals.
720p / 1080p — final-quality tiers. Choice between them depends on what's physical in the scene; see § Physics Rendering — Resolution Decision Matrix below.

Sound prompting: When Sound is On, audio is generated natively alongside video in a single pass. For prompting audio behavior in detail (dialogue, SFX, ambient, music), see ../higgsfield-audio/SKILL.md.

Batch Size: Frame as exploration multiplier — generate multiple variations in one run. Exact cost behavior varies by plan and may change.

No specific credit cost numbers are listed in this section. Costs vary by plan and change over time — refer to the live Higgsfield plan documentation.

Image Mode

Cinema Studio 3.5 has a mode toggle between Image and Video. The sections above (three-pill main surface, Style Settings, Camera Settings, output controls) describe Video mode — the default surface and the primary use of Cinema Studio 3.5. This subsection covers the differences in Image mode.

The image-mode model picker

The image-mode model picker has two groups: Cinematic models (studio-native — full image-mode UI applies) and Featured models (third-party engines runnable from inside the shell with prompt-only control).

Cinematic models — four options:

Model	Picker description	Use when
Soul Cinema (default)	Cinematic image generation	General-purpose cinematic image work; the default starting point
Cinematic Characters	Expressive faces and detailed styling	Character close-ups, performance-driven portraits, expression and styling work
Cinematic Locations	Rich environments with cinematic lighting	Establishing shots, environment / location plates, atmosphere-driven imagery
Cinematic Cameras	Image generation with camera controls	When you want explicit Camera Body / Lens / Focal Length / Aperture control — uses 2.5 optical vocabulary (see below)

Soul Cinema is shared between Cinema Studio 3.0 and 3.5 image modes — see § Cinema Studio 3.0 (Business/Team Plan) above for the 3.0-side acknowledgment. Per-model selection guidance (when to pick which Cinematic model) is documented below in § Per-Cinematic-model selection guide. Sample prompts specific to each Cinematic model are deferred to a future release.

Featured models — picker overview: The image-mode picker also surfaces Featured models (e.g., Higgsfield Soul 2.0, GPT Image 2, Seedream 5.0 Lite, plus other third-party engines listed in MODELS-DEEP-REFERENCE.md). Featured models are selectable from inside the Cinema Studio shell, but selecting one means the studio-specific UI features (Style Settings, Camera Settings panels) are not available — the shell remains, but creative control reverts to prompt-only. For Featured-model prompting, route to the model's own documentation in MODELS-DEEP-REFERENCE.md rather than treating it as a Cinema Studio configuration problem.

⚠ Note: the Featured list also contains a separately-named model called Higgsfield Soul Cinema, which is distinct from the Cinematic-list Soul Cinema despite the similar names. The two are not interchangeable.

For Soul Cinema identity prompting and reference workflow, see ../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md.

Aspect ratios — 8 options

1:1 · 3:4 · 2:3 · 9:16 · 3:2 · 4:3 · 16:9 (Cinematic) · 21:9 (Cinematic). The 16:9 and 21:9 ratios are tagged "Cinematic" in the picker. Image mode's aspect-ratio set differs from Video mode's 7-option set documented in § Cinema Studio 3.5 Output Controls above.

Resolution — depends on the selected Cinematic model

Selected model	Resolution options
Soul Cinema (default)	1.5K / 2K
Cinematic Cameras	1K / 2K / 4K
Cinematic Characters / Cinematic Locations	Not separately verified in this release

Per-Cinematic-model selection guide

The four Cinematic models share the same Cinema Studio shell but specialize in different image intents. The picker description each model carries is a one-line hint; this subsection unpacks each into a practical selection guide. Vocabulary discipline applies: Soul Cinema, Cinematic Characters, and Cinematic Locations are 3.5-native and use 3.5 vocabulary if you reach for the Camera Settings panel; only Cinematic Cameras inherits 2.5 optical vocabulary (see the dedicated h4 below).

Soul Cinema — the default

Soul Cinema is the default Cinematic model and the right starting point when you do not have a specific reason to pick one of the others. It is general-purpose cinematic image generation: scene-setting, hero frames for a Soul ID character in a defined environment, mood-driven keyframes, single-image generations where intent is "make this look cinematic" rather than "make this character expressive" or "make this location atmospheric." Soul Cinema is also the model that pairs with the Soul Cinema enhancer toggle and short-prompt style exploration documented in ../higgsfield-pipeline/SKILL.md Pipeline E (the enhancer-driven multi-style short-film workflow).

Pick Soul Cinema when: you want a balanced cinematic frame, you are exploring style with the enhancer ON and short prompts, you are generating I2V keyframes that will be animated downstream, or you are working with a Soul ID identity reference and want the platform's general cinematic look. Avoid Soul Cinema when you specifically need maximum facial expression fidelity (use Cinematic Characters) or maximum environmental atmosphere (use Cinematic Locations). For Soul Cinema-specific identity prompting and reference workflow, see ../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md § Soul Cinema as the CS 3.0/3.5 default image model.

Cinematic Characters — expressive faces and styling

Cinematic Characters specializes in performance-driven portraiture: micro-expression fidelity, wardrobe and styling detail, character close-ups where the face is doing the dramatic work. The picker description ("expressive faces and detailed styling") is the operating intent — this model weights the generation toward facial structure, eye direction, mouth tension, hair geometry, and clothing texture more than toward environmental atmosphere or wide-establishing-shot composition.

Pick Cinematic Characters when: the face carries the shot (reaction beats, emotional climax, character intro close-ups), you are pulling micro-expression direction from ../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md (Deadpan Neutral, Quiet Devastation, Predator Glare, etc.), or wardrobe and styling specifics are part of the prompt and you need them rendered with fidelity. Avoid Cinematic Characters when the shot is wide and the character is small in frame (use Soul Cinema or Cinematic Locations), or when explicit camera-body / lens / focal-length control matters more than facial expression (use Cinematic Cameras). Pair naturally with the micro-expression library in ../higgsfield-soul/SKILL.md and the Identity vs Motion separation rule when a Soul ID is active.

Cinematic Locations — environments and atmosphere

Cinematic Locations specializes in establishing shots, environment plates, and atmosphere-driven imagery — the model weights toward spatial depth, lighting volume, weather and time-of-day rendering, and architectural or natural-world detail. The picker description ("rich environments with cinematic lighting") is the operating intent: this is the right model when the environment is the subject and any people in frame are scale references, not performance subjects.

Pick Cinematic Locations when: you are generating an establishing shot for a multi-shot sequence, building a Five-View Location Sheet (see § Location Reference Sheets earlier in this file), generating environment plates for downstream compositing, or working a mood-and-atmosphere shot where lighting and weather carry the frame. Avoid Cinematic Locations when characters are foregrounded and faces matter (use Cinematic Characters), or when the shot needs explicit optical control via 2.5 vocabulary (use Cinematic Cameras). Pair naturally with the Five-View Location Sheet workflow and with Soul HEX color palette extraction when location consistency across multiple shots matters.

Cinematic Cameras — see h4 below

Cinematic Cameras is the fourth Cinematic model and is documented in detail in the next subsection (#### Cinematic Cameras — the 2.5-vocabulary image model). Unlike the three above, it inherits Cinema Studio 2.5 optical vocabulary as a configurable Camera Body / Lens / Focal Length / Aperture stack. Pick it when explicit optical control matters more than the specialization axes of the other three models.

Cinematic Cameras — the 2.5-vocabulary image model

Selecting Cinematic Cameras from the image-mode model picker exposes the Cinema Studio 2.5 camera vocabulary as a configurable stack — Camera Body / Lens / Focal Length / Aperture, drawn from the same surface documented in § Optical Physics Engine earlier in this file. Cinematic Cameras is the image-mode entry point into 2.5's six camera bodies and ten lens characters; it is a sibling Cinematic model alongside Soul Cinema, Cinematic Characters, and Cinematic Locations — not a toggle layered on top of another model.

The Cinematic Cameras picker has three tabs:

Tab	What's in it
All	Full library of 2.5 camera bodies + lenses + focal lengths + apertures
Recommended	Surfaced suggestions from Higgsfield
Saved	User-saved camera stacks

The picker also exposes a + Save setup button — a configured Camera Body + Lens + Focal Length + Aperture combination can be saved as a reusable stack and recalled from the Saved tab in subsequent generations.

Per-Cinematic-model selection guidance (which model to pick for which intent) is documented above in § Per-Cinematic-model selection guide. Still deferred to a future release: sample prompts specific to each Cinematic model, when Featured models make sense in image mode, the Save Setup workflow for Cinematic Cameras, and full picker coverage of video-mode's parallel Cinematic / Featured structure. The Optical Physics Engine section earlier in this file (§ Optical Stack Recommendations by Intent) documents 2.5-mode stack recommendations and is directly applicable to Cinematic Cameras in 3.5 image mode — the vocabulary is identical, the surface is different.

Cross-mode session-state note: Selecting Cinematic Cameras for image work means selecting a 2.5-era model — the studio shell may follow that selection across mode toggles within the same session. Observation from a 2026-04-25 UI verification pass: image mode → select Cinematic Cameras → switch back to video → video mode now shows Cinema Studio 2.5 selected. This is consistent with the model-selection framing: the picker remembers the most recently selected studio-native model. Full session-state behavior is not yet verified and is deferred to a future release.

AI Director Toggle

Cinema Studio 3.5 exposes an AI director toggle in the bottom toolbar of the UI, alongside Sound, @ reference, Start Frame, and End Frame controls. Visually confirmed as a toggle that can be On or Off.

Function and behavior of the AI director toggle are not yet documented in this skill. Function has not been verified in hands-on testing. Use the Higgsfield UI to experiment with the toggle, and treat outputs accordingly. This documentation will be added in a future release once behavior is confirmed.

Physics Rendering — Resolution Decision Matrix

This rule applies to Seedance 2.0 and Cinema Studio 3.x outputs (3.0 and 3.5). Higher resolution is not always better — the right choice depends on what is physical in the scene. Rendering more pixels per frame on rapid motion produces shimmer and artifacting; rendering fewer pixels per frame on fine-detail physics produces muddy or melted small elements. Match the resolution tier to the physics of the shot.

Scene type	Recommended resolution	Reason
Fast / chaotic motion (explosions, water flow, crowds, rapid camera moves)	720p	Fewer pixels per frame = smoother flow, less shimmer / artifacting on rapid change
Fine-detail physics (hair, sand, small particles, glass shards, fabric weave)	1080p	Pixel density needed to keep small elements sharp instead of muddy or melted
Grounded weight (heavy vehicles, suspension travel, mass impact)	1080p	Pixel density needed for material weight to read as real
Draft / exploration / iteration	480p	Fastest tier for prompt iteration before committing to a final-quality generation

See also: ../higgsfield-seedance/SKILL.md for Seedance 2.0 prompt mode guidance.

No credit cost numbers are listed in this section. 480p is framed qualitatively as the iteration tier — exact cost ratios vary by plan and may change.

Related skills

higgsfield-prompt — MCSLA formula, Identity/Motion separation, 512-char awareness
higgsfield-soul — Soul ID + Soul Cast character consistency
higgsfield-pipeline — Full production pipeline (Cinema Studio is one stage)
higgsfield-camera — Standard camera presets (Cinema Studio uses Director Panel instead)
higgsfield-style — Visual styles (Cinema Studio has built-in color grading)
higgsfield-models — Model selection within Cinema Studio
higgsfield-audio — Audio design for Kling 3.0 sequences
templates/ — Genre-specific annotated templates

higgsfield-cinema

Higgsfield Cinema Studio 2.5

Cinema Studio vs Standard Generation