Core pack · Post

Role Card v4.5

Academy v3.9.9

Polish

After picture lock — grade, upscale, face restore, and final sheen without reopening the cut.

Educational module for Grok Imagine Cinematic Studio. Teaches post-lock grade, hero-first upscale, DNA-safe face restore, artifact recheck, audio lock, variants, and Delivery handoff — never polish a draft cut.

Start lessons Stitch Delivery

Module progress

0 of 8 lessons

I will polish only after picture lock + QA Go, preserve DNA on restore, and recheck artifacts before ship.

Polish pipeline

After Stitch lock — grade, restore, export, deliver

Confirm lock

Stitch + QA Go

→

Grade

DoP look packet

→

Upscale

Heroes first

→

Restore

DNA-safe face pass

→

Recheck

Artifacts + identity

→

Audio

Lock to picture

→

Export

Master + variants

→

Deliver

Checklist + pack

Non-negotiable protocols

Role Card v4.5 — load after picture lock

PICTURE_LOCK_FIRST

Never run AI Polish, heavy grade, or multi-ratio master export until Stitch picture lock is true.

Upscale and face restore on a moving EDL burns quota and freezes the wrong cut.

QA_STILL_GO

Confirm Chain QA Go and stitch preflight READY_TO_LOCK before polish spend.

Polish does not heal critical identity or hand fails — it amplifies them.

DNA_PRESERVE

Face restore and beauty passes must honor Identity Lock inject — no soft age-down or twin morph.

Restore that rewrites the face undoes the entire chain.

GRADE_INTENT

Apply DoP look card (or declared grade packet) — no freestyle LUT after lock.

Last-minute palette freestyle breaks continuity with stills and key art.

HERO_FIRST_UPSCALE

Upscale hero masters and close-ups first; batch B-roll only after heroes clear restore QA.

Quota-aware post: heroes sell the package.

ARTIFACT_RECHECK

After restore/upscale, re-scan hands, edges, and face geometry before delivery package.

Upscalers invent detail — including bad detail.

AUDIO_AFTER_PICTURE

Sonic / Foley final mix locks to picture-locked timeline; do not remix mid-polish reorders.

Audio joins die when picture keeps moving.

VARIANTS_LAST

Social crops (9:16 · 1:1 · 16:9) and trailer cutdowns only from polished masters.

Cropping drafts multiplies QC surface area.

NO_BIBLE_REWRITE_IN_POLISH

Post cannot rewrite Production Bible or DNA to “fix” a grade — recut or re-gate instead.

Editorial panic in post reopens identity and spend gates.

POLISH_TO_DELIVERY

Export polished masters list + grade notes + restore log into Delivery checklist before client ship.

Delivery is the ship gate; polish is not silent done.

Lessons

8 steps · mark complete as you practice

Lesson 01

When polish is allowed

Polish starts only after Stitch picture lock and Chain QA still Go.

4 min

No polish on draft EDLs or open criticals.
Delivery checklist still runs after polish — not instead of it.
Quota: post is spend, not free cleanup.

Drill

Name two gates that must pass before ACTIVATE AI_POLISH_DIRECTOR.

Pack agents

Post crew — polish, QA, grade, audio, variants, key art

AI Polish Director

Owns post-lock upscale, face restore, artifact cleanup, final sheen.

ACTIVATE AI_POLISH_DIRECTOR

Upscale

Face Restore

Artifact Cleanup

Final Sheen

Quality Assurance Guardian

Confirms picture lock and re-scans after polish before Delivery.

ACTIVATE QA_GUARDIAN

Lock Confirm

Artifact Recheck

Delivery Gate

Director of Photography

Grade intent and look card the polish pass must honor.

ACTIVATE DOP

Look Card

Skin Protect

Contrast

Practicals

Sonic Architect

Final audio lock to picture-locked cut — beds, cues, native notes.

ACTIVATE SONIC_ARCHITECT

Native Audio

Music Cues

SFX Beds

Dialogue Spec

Cinematic FFmpeg Lead

Master mux and social variants from polished masters only.

ACTIVATE CINEMATIC_FFMPEG

Mux

16:9

1:1

9:16

Key Art & Poster

Still package and poster frames from polished heroes.

ACTIVATE KEY_ART

Poster

Key Still

Title Lock

Social Frame

Pass ladder

Spend-aware order — heroes before variants

Confirm lock

Picture lock + QA Go

spend low

Grade pass

DoP look · skin protect

spend med

Upscale heroes

CU + master first

spend high

Face restore

DNA-preserving clarity

spend high

Artifact recheck

Hands · edges · melt

spend low

Audio lock

Sonic / Foley final

spend med

Master export

Project aspect master

spend med

Variants

1:1 · 9:16 · teaser

spend med

Delivery gate

Checklist + client pack

spend low

Polish preflight

Criticals must pass before upscale or restore spend

HOLD_POLISH

Stitch picture lock = locked

critical

EDL frozen; no pending clip swapsRecovery: Return to /stitch preflight and lockChain QA still Go

critical

No open criticals on masters setRecovery: Re-gate; fix_list before polishDNA inject available for restore

critical

Identity Lock block for every hero faceRecovery: Pull inject from Identity Lock / DNA toolGrade / DoP look packet set

critical

Look name, skin rule, contrast intentRecovery: Copy from DoP card or color moduleHero asset list prioritizedCU and master ordered before B-rollRecovery: Mark heroes in polish planTarget resolution declarede.g. 1080p master / 4K hero stillsRecovery: Set targets before upscale batchAudio plan declaredSonic lock or silent OKRecovery: Activate Sonic or mark silentVariant plan declaredWhich ratios and teaser lengthsRecovery: List 16:9 / 1:1 / 9:16 needs

POLISH_PREFLIGHT
stamp: {{timestamp}}
project: neon-alley-chase
decision: HOLD_POLISH
critical_fails: picture_lock, chain_qa_go, dna_inject, grade_packet

checks:
  [FAIL] picture_lock (critical) — Stitch picture lock = locked
  [FAIL] chain_qa_go (critical) — Chain QA still Go
  [FAIL] dna_inject (critical) — DNA inject available for restore
  [FAIL] grade_packet (critical) — Grade / DoP look packet set
  [FAIL] hero_list (advisory) — Hero asset list prioritized
  [FAIL] target_res (advisory) — Target resolution declared
  [FAIL] audio_plan (advisory) — Audio plan declared
  [FAIL] variant_plan (advisory) — Variant plan declared

policy: no upscale/restore on HOLD_POLISH

Polish plan builder

Heroes, grade, restore notes → copy POLISH_PLAN packet

schema · polish_plan

Project slug *Picture lock *Grade look *Hero assets (priority order) *Target resolution *Face restore notes *Audio planVariants

Plan packet

Copy into chat / handoff

POLISH_PLAN
stamp: {{timestamp}}
project: neon-alley-chase
picture_lock: locked
policy: PICTURE_LOCK_FIRST · DNA_PRESERVE · HERO_FIRST_UPSCALE · VARIANTS_LAST

grade_look: neon teal/amber · skin protect · mild contrast
heroes: clip_04_button_cu · clip_03_face · master_16x9
target_res: master 1080p · hero stills 4K
restore_notes: Preserve age_band adult_30s · scar left brow · no beauty morph
audio: Sonic lock · bed + foot SFX · button sting
variants: 16:9 master · 1:1 · 9:16 · 15s teaser

passes:
  1. confirm lock + QA Go
  2. grade
  3. upscale heroes
  4. face restore
  5. artifact recheck
  6. audio lock
  7. master + variants
  8. Delivery checklist

Activation lab

Copy-ready templates for polish, grade, restore, audio, full post

Project slug

ACTIVATE AI_POLISH_DIRECTOR
ACTIVATE QA_GUARDIAN

Project: neon-alley-chase
Require: Stitch picture_lock=locked · Chain QA Go
Passes: grade intent → hero upscale → face restore (DNA preserve) → artifact recheck
Refuse polish on draft EDL or open criticals.

Module quiz

8 checks · best score saved in progress

Question 1 / 8Score 0

When may you activate AI Polish Director?

Lock → polish → ship

Stitch freezes the cut. Polish grades and restores. Delivery is still the client gate.

Stitch Color craft Delivery