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Lvl 3: Environment / Camera / Setting Change

A bigger variant than Lvl 1-2 — this is where you change how the scenes look, not just what's said in them. New environment, different camera angle, different lighting setup, fresh setting.

Unlike Lvl 1-2 (which auto-approves), Lvl 3 goes through a testing phase before it graduates.

When you'd do this

  • Move the workflow from a "kitchen counter" setting to a "bathroom vanity" setting
  • Switch from selfie-style framing to a tripod-mounted medium shot
  • Try the same script with the avatar in a car instead of at home
  • Add stronger lighting (ring light) where the original used natural window light
  • Refresh a winning workflow for a new season (snowy outdoor scene instead of cozy indoor)

If the structure of the workflow changes (add scenes, remove scenes, new prehook) — that's Lvl 4.

What you do

You: Lvl 3 variant of XYZS1-V1 — move the setting from kitchen counter
     to bathroom vanity. Keep the dialogue, keep the scene count, keep
     the avatar wardrobe. Just change where they are.

Claude:
  Lvl 3 variant scoped. Confirming direction:

    Original setting: kitchen counter, natural window light from
                      camera-left, minimalist countertop
    New setting: bathroom vanity mirror, ring light + ambient bathroom
                 light, tiled wall behind, vanity counter

    Dialogue: unchanged
    Wardrobe: unchanged
    Scene count: unchanged

  Lvl 3 variants enter a testing phase under the next major's -0-N
  suffix. Starting at V2-0-1 (testing toward V2).

  Image Prompter and Veo Prompter are rewriting the prompts to use
  the new setting. Storyboard is being updated to match.

  Proceed?

Once you confirm, the work happens:

  1. Visual Planner updates the storyboard with the new setting
  2. Image Prompter rewrites the per-scene image prompts
  3. Veo Prompter updates the per-scene video prompts where the setting affects motion
  4. PatchWork Importer (Patch Mode) updates the existing .nbflow with the new prompts

The output lands at XYZS1-V2-0-1.nbflow in testing/. Not in approved/. Not yet.

What changes in the .nbflow

A lot more than Lvl 1-2. Touched:

  • Image prompts — almost every scene's image prompt is rewritten (new environment, lighting, camera)
  • Video prompts — may be updated (some motion description depends on setting)
  • Setting / background descriptions in the storyboard
  • Lighting descriptions in image prompts
  • Camera angle / framing notes if camera style changed

Unchanged: - Dialogue text - Scene count and structure - Avatar reference sheets - Per-account wardrobe (unless wardrobe is part of the change)

Why a testing phase

Lvl 1-2 changes are predictable — dialogue swaps and wardrobe edits land cleanly almost every time. Lvl 3 changes are unpredictable. A new setting means:

  • New compositions you haven't seen before
  • New lighting that might interact weirdly with the avatar's face
  • New camera angles that might not flatter the subject
  • New props that might introduce unexpected AI tells

You need to see the output before approving. Hence: testing phase.

Version naming during testing

Lvl 3 variants get a V{next_major}-0-N suffix during testing:

V1   → V2-0-1     Lvl 3 variant of V1 enters testing
V2-0-1 → V2-0-2   iteration during testing
V2-0-2 → V2-0-3   another iteration
...
V2-0-N → V2       graduates to V2 in approved/ when you approve

This mirrors how new workflows go through V0-N → V1. Lvl 3 variants are big enough to deserve the same testing rigor.

Workflow during testing

After the variant is built:

  1. Run the Generation Runner on V2-0-1.nbflow
  2. Review in PatchWork — look at the new setting in action
  3. Identify scenes that need work
  4. Either:
    • Edit prompts and bump to V2-0-2
    • Use prompt-tuning on stubborn scenes
    • Wait for the auto-rerun to handle AI tells
  5. Iterate until the test account looks clean
  6. Approve → graduate to V2 in approved/

You can stay in testing for 5+ iterations if needed. There's no upper bound.

Iteration example

V2-0-1: first build with new setting. 2 scenes look great. 3 need work.
        Avatar's face is too darkened by the new lighting in Scene 03,
        Scene 05's composition feels cramped, Scene 07's background
        is busier than the workflow's aesthetic.

V2-0-2: editing image prompts:
        Scene 03 — add "soft fill light from camera-front to lift the
                    face out of shadow"
        Scene 05 — wider framing, pull back camera
        Scene 07 — simpler background description (matte wall instead
                    of tiled)
        Regen the 3 scenes. Other 5 stay cached.

V2-0-3: 5/8 scenes good. Scene 03 still slightly dim. Run prompt-tuning
        on Scene 03 specifically (4 iterations).

V2:     all 8 scenes clean. User approves. Graduate to V2 in approved/.

Each iteration bumps the V2-0-N suffix and archives the previous version to backups/. Standard.

When to graduate

A Lvl 3 variant graduates to V{N+1} (drop the -0-N suffix) when:

  • The test account's outputs are clean (3 of 4 acceptable candidates per scene)
  • No AI tells the user is willing to accept
  • The user explicitly approves the variant

Approval is required. The pipeline doesn't auto-graduate.

After graduation, the variant is ready for fan-out (same flow as a new workflow — see Chapter 6 — Fan-out).

Lvl 3 across multiple accounts

A common pattern: you do the Lvl 3 work on Account A, get it to graduate to V2, then fan out V2 to the other accounts.

V1 (all accounts approved) →
V2-0-1 (Account A testing) →
V2-0-2 (Account A iteration) →
V2-0-3 (Account A iteration) →
V2 (Account A approved) →
V2-1 ? (or fan-out to other accounts in V2 directly)

The fan-out itself can stay as part of V2 (single file, multiple tabs added) or bump to V2-1 if the fan-out introduces meaningful per-account changes. Use judgment.

When you're ready

→ Next: Lvl 4: Structural Change. Even bigger — adding / removing / splitting scenes, adding a new prehook, reshaping the workflow's bones. Same testing-phase logic applies.