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Ozu reads what you give it. A polished screenplay gets cinematic treatment; a paragraph of prose also works. This page covers the formats the Script Node accepts, and a few conventions that make the analysis sharper.

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Formats Ozu accepts

The Script Node takes four input types:

Fountain (.fountain)

Plain-text screenplay format. Scene headings, action lines, dialogue, and parentheticals are all recognized. If you’ve used Highland, Slugline, or Beat, export as Fountain.

Final Draft (.fdx)

The industry-standard screenplay format. Upload the .fdx directly — Ozu reads structure and content from the file.

Plain text (.txt)

A text file. If it looks like a screenplay, Ozu treats it as one. If it’s free prose, Ozu still reads it and does its best with scene inference.

Markdown (.md)

Same as plain text, with your headings respected as potential scene breaks.
You can paste text directly into the Script Node’s input area, or drag a file onto it.

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The one-paragraph shortcut

You don’t need a full screenplay. A single paragraph of prose works:
Sarah walks into an empty coffee shop at dawn. The barista is setting up. She orders a flat white and takes it to a window seat. Outside, a man in a dark coat walks past and stops to look at her.
Ozu will extract a scene, infer a few shots, and create the Actors, Props, and Sets it needs. The analysis won’t be as tight as a well-structured screenplay, but it’ll get you to a storyboard fast — especially for testing an idea.
Starting loose? Use the Ozu consult. When your input is a paragraph or an early draft, Ozu’s clarifying questions fill in the gaps. See Ozu Consult.

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Structure that helps analysis

If you want Ozu to produce a well-organized breakdown, three conventions make a big difference.

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Scene headings

Use the standard format:
Ozu uses the INT./EXT. prefix, the location, and the time-of-day tag to mark scene boundaries and seed the Set node for that location. Consistent headings produce cleaner scene breaks.

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Action lines

Action lines describe what happens in frame. Write them in present tense, one beat per line or paragraph:
Each clearly separated action often becomes its own beat. If you want more granularity in your storyboard, break actions into smaller paragraphs.

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Character names

Use ALL CAPS for each character’s first appearance and in dialogue cues. Ozu uses these names to create Actor nodes automatically:
Consistent names matter. If your character is sometimes “Sarah” and sometimes “SARAH WALKER,” Ozu may create two Actor nodes. Pick a canonical form and stick with it — you can always merge or rename later.

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Dialogue

Write dialogue the normal way:
Ozu extracts lines per character and wires them to Audio Nodes for voiceover generation later.

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What to leave out

A few conventions the Script Node doesn’t need:
Skip the camera directionsLines like CLOSE ON SARAH'S HANDS or SLOW PAN ACROSS THE ROOM aren’t wrong, but Ozu infers Shots from the structure of your action. Over-specifying camera work early often produces less flexible storyboards. You can always add camera intent per-shot in the Script Node’s analysis view.
You can also skip:
  • Page numbers, revision marks, and scene numbers — Ozu numbers scenes automatically.
  • Transitions like CUT TO: or FADE IN: — they’re ignored in analysis.
  • Headers and footers — strip them before uploading if they’d confuse the text.

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Tips for better analysis

  1. Name every character who has a line or a distinct on-screen moment. Unnamed extras become generic tags; named characters become full Actor nodes.
  2. Describe physical traits once, up top. SARAH (30s, sharp features, worn leather jacket) on her first appearance. Ozu uses these details for her hero look.
  3. Be specific about props that matter. “She pulls out a small silver locket” gives Ozu a Prop node. “She pulls out an object” gives it nothing to work with.
  4. Use clear scene boundaries. When location or time changes, start a new scene heading. Short scenes are fine; Ozu doesn’t mind a 4-line scene.
  5. If you’re unsure, let Ozu ask. Don’t over-engineer the input. The Ozu consult exists to refine ambiguous details after the fact.

Ozu Consult

The optional clarifier that tightens your script before analysis.

Analysis Results

What the Script Node produces once it finishes reading.

Scene, Shot, Beat

The hierarchy Ozu extracts from your script.

Getting Started

The full first-project walkthrough, from script to export.

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FAQ

Do I need screenwriting software to write a Ozu script? No. A plain text editor is enough. Fountain is a simple plain-text format that gets you professional-looking output in any editor. What’s the minimum viable input? One paragraph of prose. Ozu will extract at least one scene and a few beats. A few lines of dialogue between named characters is usually enough to get useful Actor nodes. What’s the maximum script length? There’s no hard cap, but very long scripts take longer to analyze and cost more credits. For your first project, start with a single scene or short sequence. Can I edit the script after analysis? Yes. You can re-run analysis with a changed script. Ozu will do its best to preserve Actors, Props, and Sets you’ve already generated — rename carefully to avoid creating duplicates. Does formatting affect cost? Script analysis cost depends on script length more than format. A longer script takes more tokens to read. What if my character’s name changes over the course of the script? Add both names to the Actor node after analysis — Ozu supports aliases. Downstream nodes will track them as the same Actor. Can I write in a language other than English? Ozu’s analysis is optimized for English today. Other languages may work but expect rougher structure extraction; check the results carefully.