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Ozu turns a written script into cast, sets, storyboards, and a first cut, all on iPad. This walkthrough follows the seven rooms in the top bar.

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Before you start

  1. Install Ozu on your iPad and sign in (or create an account at app.ozu.studio).
  2. Have something to film. A one-page scene, a draft screenplay, or a short moment. Fountain, FDX, or plain text all work.
New to writing for the screen? A clear Action line (INT. KITCHEN - DAY) and a few lines of dialogue are enough. Ozu fills gaps you leave open, and you can revise as you go.

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The seven rooms

Work moves left to right in the top bar: Writers’ Room → Recording Booth → Script Breakdown → Director Review Board → Storyboard → Editing Room → Export Later rooms unlock as upstream work finishes. Approving at Director Review Board unlocks Storyboard right away; you don’t wait on extra gates after that.

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Your first project

  1. Create a project. Open Ozu, start a new project, and you’ll land in Writers’ Room.
  2. Writers’ Room: get the script right. Paste or write your screenplay. Chat with Ozu (your Assistant Director) to workshop ideas, then commit edits when you’re ready. When the script feels solid, continue to the booth.
  3. Recording Booth: hear it. Cast voices, shape dialog, and lay in score / effects so the piece has a sonic spine before the visual breakdown.
  4. Script Breakdown: parts and structure. Ozu analyzes the script (and audio context) into scenes, shots, and beats, and pulls the cast, props, and sets the story needs. Each beat is tagged like 1.1.3 (Scene 1, Shot 1, Beat 3).
  5. Director Review Board: approve the looks. Review actors, props, and sets. Approve what you’ll shoot with. This gate stops a weak design from spreading across every storyboard frame.
  6. Storyboard: frame every beat. Generate one still per beat. Regenerate or reframe individual takes until the boards feel right.
  7. Editing Room: assemble the first cut. Lay boards on the timeline, sync dialog and music, trim, and play back. The room is Editing Room; the tracks strip inside is still “the timeline.”
  8. Export: take it with you. Deliver the finished film as video, a PDF presentation deck of the storyboard, or the whole project as files for Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut or Avid, then finish elsewhere if you want.

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What you just made

Assets

Actors, props, and sets approved at Director Review, reused across beats.

Frames

One still per beat: your storyboard panels.

Animatic

Timed picture with dialog and music: the first cut Ozu delivers.

Export package

Files you can hand to an editor, a producer, or yourself tomorrow.

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Core concepts

Everywhere in Ozu

The top bar, talking to Ozu, help, banners and prices: what every room shares.

Script Breakdown

How Ozu reads the script into scenes, shots and the parts list.

Storyboard

Every beat becomes a frame, then a moving clip.

Credits

How allocation and packs work on iPad and web.

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Tips for your first project

Start smallA single scene (roughly 6 to 10 beats) teaches the rooms without burning a lot of credits.
Approve before you storyboardDon’t skip Director Review Board. Fix a weak actor once upstream instead of regenerating thirty frames later.
Fix the source, not every frameIf one frame is off, regenerate that take in Storyboard. If a character is wrong everywhere, change them at Director Review (or earlier) and let downstream work catch up.
Safety blocksProviders sometimes block a prompt. If a generation fails unexpectedly, check for a safety warning and retry with adjusted wording. More on safety blocks →

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need screenwriting software? No. Plain text works. Fountain and FDX are fine if you have them. Where do I manage billing? On the web at app.ozu.studio. Creative work stays on the iPad. What happens if a generation fails? Failed jobs don’t keep the charge. Retry from the room that failed; other work stays put. Can I finish the cut outside Ozu? Yes. Export an MP4 or frames and open them in Premiere, Final Cut, Resolve, or whatever you use.

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Where to next

Writers' Room

Formats Ozu accepts and how to get cleaner analysis.

Director Review

Approving cast, props, and sets before Storyboard.

Storyboard frames

Generating, regenerating, and reframing beats.

Editing Room

Timeline tracks, playback, and first-cut assembly.