Studio Academy
Core pack · Audio
Role Card v4.5
Academy v3.9.9

Sonic

After picture lock — score beds, foley hits, diegetic space, and mix hierarchy without reopening the cut.

Educational module for Grok Imagine Cinematic Studio. Teaches picture-lock-first audio, mix hierarchy, sparse hero foley, native audio path, and Delivery handoff — pairs with the Sound craft page.

Start lessonsSound craftStitchDelivery

Module progress

0 of 8 lessons

0%

Sonic pipeline

Picture lock → layers → hits → mix → stems → Delivery

01

Picture lock

Stitch READY_TO_LOCK

02

Score intent

Emotion + pockets

03

Layer map

Hierarchy + diegetic

04

Sync hits

Cuts & peaks

05

Beds & foley

Sparse hero only

06

Mix pass

Duck · loudness

07

Stems

Export named stems

08

Handoff

Delivery packet

Non-negotiable protocols

Role Card v4.5 — load after picture lock

PICTURE_LOCK_FIRST

Do not commit final score, stem masters, or loudness pass until Stitch picture lock is true.

Audio on a moving EDL wastes mix time and freezes the wrong cut.

SILENT_VALID

A intentional silent or music-only montage is a valid deliverable — not a failure mode.

Quota and stills-first often ship without full native audio. Intention beats noise.

MIX_HIERARCHY

Protect story intelligibility: VO/dialogue > hero foley/SFX > score > atmos. Duck lower layers under higher.

Everything at full level is not cinematic — it is soup.

SYNC_TO_BOUNDARY

Land hard hits on cut points, motion peaks, or button frames — not arbitrary mid-clip spam.

Picture already defines rhythm; fight it and the cut feels broken.

LEAVE_POCKETS

Score and atmos need quiet pockets for button moments and breathing room.

Wall-to-wall beds flatten emotion and bury picture beats.

DIEGETIC_LABEL

Label every element diegetic / non-diegetic / hybrid in the sonic brief.

Unlabeled layers get mixed as score when they should live in the room.

HERO_FOLEY_ONLY

Foley only hero contacts that sell weight or story — not every footstep.

Over-foley makes AI motion look more artificial, not less.

PLATFORM_LOUDNESS

Target platform loudness early (web / social / trailer) and leave headroom for peaks.

Hot masters clip and get crushed by platform normalization.

RIGHTS_CLEAR

Only use clearable / original / licensed beds. Note provenance on the handoff packet.

Pretty illegal stems kill delivery faster than a soft mix.

SONIC_HANDOFF

Export mix brief + stem list + picture-lock stamp into Delivery before client export.

Downstream polish and delivery need audio state, not vibes.

Lessons

8 steps · mark complete as you practice

Lesson 01

Why sonic is a gate

Audio after picture lock sells weight and emotion — or exposes a draft cut.

4 min
  • Score cannot fix a broken EDL; it can only polish a locked one.
  • Silent-with-intent beats random bed spam.
  • Activate Sonic Architect when the sequence has a locked spine.

Drill

Name one teaser that ships intentionally silent vs one that needs score.

Pack agents

Audio crew — architect, foley, beds, native, mix

Sonic Architect

Owns score intent, bed design, and overall sonic language of the sequence.

ACTIVATE SONIC_ARCHITECT
Bed Design
Score Intent
Diegetic Map
Mix Brief

Foley & SFX Designer

Hero contacts, boundary hits, and sparse SFX that sell motion weight.

ACTIVATE FOLEY_DESIGNER
Hero Foley
Boundary Hits
Sparse SFX
Sync Points

Sound Bed Curator

Atmos and bed selection with pockets for story beats.

ACTIVATE SOUND_BED_CURATOR
Atmos
Bed Pockets
Tone Match
Loop Safety

Native Audio Virtuoso

Video 1.5-native audio path — when motion and audio generate together.

ACTIVATE NATIVE_AUDIO_VIRTUOSO
Native Path
Audio Continuity
Noise Gate
Promote Heroes

Mix / Delivery Audio

Hierarchy, loudness, stems, and Delivery handoff.

ACTIVATE MIX_DELIVERY
Hierarchy
Loudness
Stems
Handoff Packet

Mix hierarchy lab

Toggle active layers — protect story intelligibility

3 active

Mix handoff builder

Session plan → copy SONIC_MIX_HANDOFF for Delivery

schema · mix_handoff

Mix packet

Copy into Delivery notes

SONIC_MIX_HANDOFF
stamp: {{timestamp}}
project: neon-alley-chase
picture_lock: LOCKED · stitch READY_TO_LOCK
deliverable: 20s teaser · score + atmos + 4 boundary hits · no VO
hierarchy: hero SFX > score > atmos · no VO
beds_score: low pulse noir · pocket at button
sync_hits: cut1 hard · cut3 whoosh · final smash
loudness_platform: web −14 LUFS · peak −1 dBTP
rights: original bed · cleared SFX pack
stems: score · atmos · foley_sfx

policy: PICTURE_LOCK_FIRST · MIX_HIERARCHY · HERO_FOLEY_ONLY · SILENT_VALID · RIGHTS_CLEAR
next: Delivery checklist · export masters

Activation lab

Copy-ready templates for teaser, native audio, stills, handoff

ACTIVATE SONIC_ARCHITECT
ACTIVATE MIX_DELIVERY

Project: neon-alley-chase
Picture lock: confirmed
Output: mix hierarchy · bed intent · sync hit list · loudness target · stem plan
Silent-valid if score would only fill noise.

Module quiz

8 checks · best score saved in progress

Question 1 / 8Score 0

When should final score stems be committed?

Lock picture. Design sound. Ship stems.

Hierarchy first. Sparse foley. Pockets in the bed. Rights clear.

SoundPolishDelivery