Story Architecture & Beat Map

Story Architecture — Acts & Beats

The film spans ~3 weeks and follows a 2:2:1 structural ratio: Act I (order & denial), Act II (collapse & isolation), Act III (understanding & restoration).

Chronological Story Bible (Day 0–19)

Cold Open — Ray Hanlon in fog; dog, trowel, truffle; battery swap; pressure drop; offscreen strike. Day 2 broadcast. Mason’s errands. Weekend carcasses. Night 5 search and first vanishings. Night 6 tower outage and Mason’s death. Morning 7 discovery. Night 9 Liv & Hall on the porch; later, Hall’s fatal crash. Day 11 false relief after a lion is shot. Night 12 Ruiz brothers. Day 13 FR‑12 closure. Days 14–17 isolation. Day 18 Liv constructs the lure. Night 18 barn & clearing. Dawn 19 restoration with white porch light.

Shotlists — Key Sequences

Cold Open — “Volunteer Naturalist”

70 mm wide: Ray + fog + beam; breath silver.
Insert: trowel pulls pale truffle; cloth bag drop.
CU: game camera LED — red→green; forest sound drains.
Tele: cougar silhouette crossing a gap — eyeshine; gone.
MS: bear carcass — ribs bowed outward; no drag.
Audio motif: dog bark (off) → “Home.” → two shots → vacuum.
Hold: revolver + trowel in leaf duff; oval depression.

Hall’s Crash

Locked 70 mm, distant; cruiser glides through fog.
Overhead shadow passes as abstract motion blur.
Instinctive swerve; gravel spray; pine impact.
One headlight cone; hissing steam; white airbag.
Hold for absence; cut on wind’s return.

Barn & Clearing (Finale)

Liv rigs flicker relay; lays humming cord; door ajar.
Flicker → failure; pressure drop; dust ripples under sill.
Zippo arc; ignition; propane roar; barn ruptures.
Owl emergence → glide → crash (see Visibility Doctrine).
Liv cross‑yard, breath visible; three measured shots.
Silence; white porch bulbs installed at dawn.

Scene Modules (Reproducible Blocks)

Porch Visit: two‑shot on stoop; fluorescents hum; dialogue in clipped procedurals; cut on ambient.
Search Grid: handheld 16 mm; green LED face‑isolation; fog density mid; radios degrade to squelch.
Tower Maintenance: long lens lattice geometry; human vs. structure; red pulse cadence as metronome.
Isolation Montage: generator hum, tarp nail‑down, frost on glass; no talking heads.

Beat Matrix — Day‑by‑Day

Day	Weather / Light	Causality Focus	Key Sounds	Editorial Rhythm
NIGHT 0	Patchy snow, low fog	First pattern stimulus (flicker, maintenance)	Wind pause → displacement thump → vacuum	Long holds; cut on absence
DAY 2	Overcast AM	Institutional explanation forms (press)	Fluorescent buzz, small room tone	Procedural inserts; calm pace
DAYS 3–4	Cold clear; frost	Evidence misread; fear organizes	Diner clatter; scanner hiss	Still frames, insert cutaways
NIGHT 5	Dense fog; windless	First escalation; search failure	Green LED halos; radio squelch	Handheld 16 mm; interrupted screams off
NIGHT 6	Fog bands, light snowmelt	Outage → maintenance → kill	Generator hum; cable creak	Telephoto geometry; fall on silence
MORNING 7	Pale overcast	Consequences; Liv’s interior shift begins	Wind on lattice; unused words	Locked tableau discovery
NIGHT 9	Haze, porch fluorescent	Empathy without answers; fatal commute	Thermos set; distant engine; crash hush	Two‑shot → static crash frame
DAY 11	Flat daylight	False culprit killed	TV VO; click‑off	Short, factual beats
NIGHT 12	Fog back; headlight flicker	Random cost; FR‑12 closes	One radio squelch; then none	Telephoto observation; no approach
DAYS 14–17	Warm thaw; cold nights	Isolation; Liv studies manuals	Generator hum; tarp nails	Montage of doing
DAY/NIGHT 18	Twilight → fire	Liv imitates pattern; lure armed	Flicker relay; pressure drop	Compression; cause & effect converge
DAWN 19	Frost return; white	Restoration without triumph	Ambient morning; one crow	Static hold; cut to black