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Maps a documentary subject's narrative arc across a film or series: entry state, turning points, end state, and footage needs.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/autopunk-media-skills:character-arc-plannerThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Maps the narrative arc of a key documentary subject across the full film or series structure, identifying their entry state, dramatic turning points, and end state, and recommending what footage is needed at each stage.
Maps the narrative arc of a key documentary subject across the full film or series structure, identifying their entry state, dramatic turning points, and end state, and recommending what footage is needed at each stage.
Required: A description of the documentary subject (who they are, what they do, what they represent in the context of the film); the film's central subject or argument; the documentary's format (single film or number of episodes) Optional: What you already know about the subject's past and present; any key events in their life that relate to the film's themes; how they came to be involved in the story; the film's intended tone and approach
Structured planning document, 500–900 words. Sections: Subject Profile, Entry State, Arc Structure (with 3–5 key moments), Filming Requirements (per arc moment), Dramatic Assessment, and a "From Arc Notes To Shooting Plan" table that translates each arc moment into a concrete shoot block (days, locations, crew, access, scheduling window). Professional development register — written to be shared with a director, producer, or commissioning editor. Output ends with a "Next Step" note: the single most critical access or information gap to resolve before committing to production, and whether to run subject-research-brief or pitch-treatment-writer as the immediate next skill.
Documentary: A single feature film about the efforts to restore salmon populations in a Pacific Northwest river system that was dammed in the 1960s Subject: Ruth Takahashi, 71, a retired marine biologist who spent her career studying the river and now volunteers with the restoration project. Her father was one of the engineers who helped build the original dam. Film tone: Contemplative, character-driven, environmentally engaged Format: Single 85-minute feature
Character Arc Plan — Ruth Takahashi Documentary: Pacific Northwest Salmon Restoration Feature
Subject Profile
Ruth Takahashi, 71, is a retired marine biologist who spent forty years studying the ecosystem effects of the Clearwater Dam on the river's salmon population. She is now a core volunteer in the restoration project working to remove the dam. Her father, Kenji Takahashi, was a civil engineer on the original dam construction in 1963. She has lived most of her adult life in proximity to both the river and her father's legacy.
Entry State
At the start of filming, Ruth is a woman who has made her peace — or believes she has — with the complexity of her position. She is committed to the restoration work and speaks about it in the language of science: fish counts, water temperature, sediment flow. She does not easily speak about her father. The dam is her work problem, not yet her emotional problem. She represents, at this point, the story the film appears to be telling: the technical challenge of ecological restoration.
Arc Structure
Moment 1 — The Ordinary World (opening) Ruth at work: surveying salmon run data, attending restoration meetings, walking the river bank. Establishes her expertise and her relationship to the landscape. The dam is visible but unremarked.
Moment 2 — The Complication (approx. 20–25 minutes) A setback in the restoration process — a funding gap, a regulatory delay, or a new environmental survey with discouraging data — forces Ruth to articulate why this work matters beyond the scientific. In doing so, she begins to speak about her father for the first time on camera. Not with anger. With something more complicated.
Moment 3 — The Deepening (approx. 45–50 minutes) Ruth visits the archive. She finds engineering documents, photographs, or correspondence from her father's time working on the dam. This is the film's private hinge — a woman reading her father's handwriting, understanding for the first time what he saw when he looked at this river. Does she see the same thing?
Moment 4 — The Maximum Pressure (approx. 65–70 minutes) A decision point in the restoration project — a vote, a final permit, a point of no return. Ruth is asked to testify publicly, or to make a choice that requires her to stake something personally. The film's external and internal stories converge.
Moment 5 — Resolution (final act) Not a clean ending. The dam's fate is settled one way or another. Ruth's relationship to her father's legacy is not. The final image of Ruth is at the river — the same river, but now seen differently by the audience than at the start. The film does not resolve what she cannot.
Filming Requirements
| Arc Moment | Required Footage |
|---|---|
| Entry State | Observational footage of Ruth in her working environment (surveys, meetings, river walks); baseline interview establishing her scientific framing |
| Moment 2 | Extended interview after the setback; if possible, observational footage of her working through the setback in real time |
| Moment 3 | A dedicated archive visit session filmed observationally; follow-up interview about what she found |
| Moment 4 | Approval to film the key decision moment (testimony, vote, or equivalent); Ruth's reaction immediately after |
| Resolution | Return to locations established in the opening; final extended interview after the outcome is known |
Dramatic Assessment
This arc is viable. It has movement — Ruth travels from analytical distance to personal reckoning — and the father's legacy provides an internal counterpoint to the film's external restoration story. The arc's viability depends on two access decisions: (1) Ruth agreeing to discuss her father on camera, and (2) being able to film the archive visit. If neither is granted, the arc loses its private dimension and the film risks becoming a process documentary without a human center.
The connection to the film's larger argument is strong: Ruth embodies the question the film is asking — can you repair something if you are partly made of the forces that broke it?
From Arc Notes To Shooting Plan — Worked Example
The arc structure above is a development document. To activate it on the calendar, translate each arc moment into a discrete shoot block with crew, days, locations, and access requirements. The following is a working shooting plan derived directly from Ruth's arc, suitable for handing to a producer to budget against and to schedule:
| Shoot Block | Arc Moment Served | Days | Locations | Crew | Access / Permission | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block 1 — Establish working life | Entry State + Moment 1 (Ordinary World) | 4 days observational + 1 day baseline interview | Restoration project HQ; river survey site; Ruth's home; council meeting room | DP, sound, director, producer | Restoration project's standard filming agreement; town council filming permission for any meeting attended | Pre-restoration-vote, early in production schedule (months 1–2 of shoot) |
| Block 2 — The setback | Moment 2 (Complication) | 2 days observational + 1 day extended interview | Restoration office at moment of bad news; Ruth's home for follow-up sit-down | DP, sound, director | Trigger-based — crew on standby with 48-hour call window during expected setback period | Reactive, months 3–5 |
| Block 3 — The archive | Moment 3 (The Deepening) | 1 day archive observational + 1 day reflective interview at home | Regional historical society or county archive holding the dam construction records; Ruth's home | DP, sound, director | Archive filming permission (90-day lead time typical for state archives); Ruth's written consent to film private reading of family papers | Months 4–6, after archive request is filed and access cleared |
| Block 4 — Public stake | Moment 4 (Maximum Pressure) | 1 day at the decision event + 1 day immediate aftermath | Public hearing room or council chamber; Ruth's home or a riverbank location for immediate-aftermath interview | DP, second camera, sound, director | Public hearing filming clearance from the relevant authority; B-roll permission for the riverbank | Locked to the actual decision date — must be scheduled the moment the date is announced |
| Block 5 — Resolution | Moment 5 (Resolution) | 2 days observational + 1 day final interview | Original opening locations (river bank, restoration HQ) for visual rhyme; Ruth's home for final interview | DP, sound, director | Renew prior location agreements for return visit | Final 4–6 weeks of shoot, after the project's outcome is known |
Translation rules used to build this table:
The arc plan owes the production three things to be actionable: (a) a calendar with each block scheduled relative to either fixed dates or trigger events, (b) a permissions tracker showing which blocks are gated on which paperwork, and (c) a fallback plan for Blocks 2 and 4 if the triggering events do not occur within the production window. The producer can build (a)-(c) directly from the table above.
npx claudepluginhub ur-grue/autopunk-media-skills --plugin autopunk-media-skillsGenerates a structured research brief on a documentary subject before filming, covering background, on-camera track record, and narrative territory.
Maps and repairs character arcs and thematic arcs by aligning external plot events with internal change. Use when an arc feels unearned or a change feels sudden.
Creates a protagonist's internal transformation arc using K.M. Weiland's framework. Ensures plot events mirror character growth, making stories feel inevitable rather than contrived.