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Every project in Ozu is built as a pipeline — a sequence of connected Nodes on the Flow canvas. The script is the first node; the export is the last. Everything in between is made of nodes wired together, each one responsible for a single piece of the work.

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The Flow canvas

Open a project and you land on the Flow canvas. It’s an infinite workspace where nodes live. Pan, zoom, select, connect — the same way you’d work in a node-based tool for compositing or audio. Each node does one thing. Nodes connect sequentially: the output of one becomes the input of the next. Work flows left to right in the default layout, but you can arrange the canvas however you want.
Think of the pipeline like an assembly line. The script enters at one end, assets get built in the middle, and an exported animatic comes out the other side. Every station on the line is a node, and you can rework any station without tearing down the rest.

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What a Node is

A Node is a stage on the canvas. Every node follows the same contract:
  • It accepts specific inputs from upstream nodes.
  • It performs a single defined function.
  • It produces outputs that downstream nodes can use.
Nodes don’t reach outside their inputs for data. If a wire is missing, the downstream node doesn’t get that piece of information — you have to connect it.

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The pipeline stages

The end-to-end flow moves through five stages: Script → Assets → Storyboard → Timeline → Export. Each stage is represented by one or more nodes.

1. Script

The Script Node reads your screenplay, optionally runs an Ozu consult, and extracts scenes, shots, beats, and every Actor / Prop / Set that appears in the story.

2. Assets

Actor, Prop, and Set nodes auto-spawn from the Script Node. Each one generates a hero look and variants. The DRB Node gates them for approval before anything moves forward.

3. Storyboard

The Storyboard Node reads approved assets and generates one frame per beat. You can reframe, reshot, or reshuffle frames here.

4. Timeline

The Timeline Node assembles frames into a playable animatic. Audio and Song nodes feed voiceover and music into it; color, transitions, and keyframes live here too.

5. Export

The Export Node packages everything — PDF Storyboard, ZIP Frames, or MP4 Animatic. Pick the format and download.

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Node types

Ozu ships with these node types today:

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Coming soon

These node types are in development — docs are here for reference as the features land.
  • Prompt Node — a standalone prompt holder that can be wired into any asset node as a text input.
  • Placeholder Node — a slot for an asset you haven’t generated yet, so you can scaffold a pipeline before the work is done.
  • Reference Node — a mood-board-style node that holds reference images for asset generation.

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Connections

Nodes connect by wires from output to input. A connection tells a downstream node, “this upstream data is available to you.” A few rules worth knowing:
  • Every wire matters. The Storyboard Node only sees Actors that are wired into it. An unconnected Actor is invisible to the storyboard even though it lives in the same project.
  • Wires are typed. The Script Node outputs asset data; the Storyboard Node only accepts asset and scene data. The canvas won’t let you make a meaningless connection.
  • Upstream changes propagate downstream. If you reshot an Actor, the Storyboard Node knows on its next run to use the new version.

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Why a pipeline?

Three reasons the pipeline paradigm is worth the extra structure:

Reproducibility

Every stage produces structured, human-readable output. You can open any node and see exactly what went in and what came out. No black boxes.

Partial re-runs

Change an Actor’s wardrobe? Only the frames that feature that Actor rebuild. The rest of the storyboard stays intact. Credits stay on the work that actually changed.

Asset reuse

Actors, Props, and Sets live as their own nodes. One Actor, wired into every scene they appear in, keeps the character consistent across the whole project.

Scene, Shot, Beat

The hierarchy the pipeline uses to organize everything downstream.

Frames and Animatics

What the pipeline actually produces at the end.

Credits

How generation at each pipeline stage is billed.

Getting Started

The fastest route through the pipeline, end-to-end.

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FAQ

Do I have to use every node type? No. A minimal project is Script → Storyboard → Timeline → Export. Audio, Song, and Camera View are optional. Actor/Prop/Set nodes only exist if your script needs them. Can a node have more than one input or output? Yes. The Storyboard Node typically has many inputs — every Actor, Prop, Set, and the Script Node wire into it. The Timeline Node reads from the Storyboard, Audio, and Song nodes. What happens if I delete a node mid-pipeline? Anything downstream loses that input. If you delete an Actor, the Storyboard frames that featured them will need to be reshot with a replacement. Ozu warns you before a destructive delete. Can I run nodes in parallel? Yes. Asset nodes (Actors, Props, Sets) can all generate at the same time. The Storyboard Node waits until its upstream assets are approved via the DRB. The canvas handles scheduling for you. Do I need to understand graphs or programming to use the Flow canvas? No. If you can drag a line from one box to another, you can use the canvas. The pipeline structure is there when you need it and out of the way when you don’t. Why are Prompt, Placeholder, and Reference nodes listed if they’re not live? Because they’re coming soon and this page will be a reference when they ship. Until then, you won’t see them in the node picker.