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STANDARD vs CUSTOMIZED — The Rule

The most important fan-out concept. Get this right and fan-out is mechanical. Get it wrong and your workflows silently diverge over time, breaking variants and making everything hard to maintain.

What it means

In a multi-account workflow, every piece of content falls into one of two columns:

STANDARD CUSTOMIZED
Same across all accounts — set once, reused verbatim Different per account — set per tab
Identical text, identical references Per-tab variation expected

When you fan out from one account to others, STANDARD content stays byte-identical. CUSTOMIZED content gets the per-account swap.

What's STANDARD

Typically:

  • Base scene composition (setting, camera angle, lighting direction, aesthetic)
  • Script beats and dialogue structure (what each scene says at a high level)
  • Compliance rules (banned words, approved angles, symptom framing)
  • Product references (product photo, generic product close-up shots)
  • Case-study character references (if generic, not account-bound)
  • Timing / word budgets per scene
  • Base B-roll prompts (if B-roll exists in the source)

These are the shared bones of the workflow. They define what the video IS, regardless of who's in front of the camera.

What's CUSTOMIZED per avatar

Typically:

  • Avatar character reference sheet (R2 URL)
  • Avatar name in node titles (for visual clarity in PatchWork)
  • Clothing / wardrobe description in scene prompts
  • Hand / watch / accessories detail
  • Voice characteristics in Veo prompts (accent, pitch, energy)
  • Dialogue hooks that reference the avatar persona ("my mom" vs. "one of my patients" — persona-specific)
  • Account-specific setting or prop overrides

These are the things that make each account's version feel like that account's content, even when the workflow is shared.

How you decide which is which

When you encounter something that could go either way, ask:

If I shipped this exact element to all 5 accounts, would viewers notice it's the same?

  • Yes, it would feel wrong/repetitive → CUSTOMIZED. Each account needs its own version.
  • No, it would feel fine → STANDARD. Share it.

Examples:

Element Question Decision
Camera angle (front ¾ selfie) Would all 5 accounts using the same angle feel weird? STANDARD — no
Dialogue script Would all 5 saying the exact same words feel weird? STANDARD if scripted, CUSTOMIZED if persona-driven
Wardrobe (white linen shirt) Would all 5 avatars in the same shirt feel weird? CUSTOMIZED — yes
Persona reference ("my mom") Does each avatar have a "mom" or might one say "patient"? CUSTOMIZED — depends on archetype
Product photo Would all 5 using the same product photo feel weird? STANDARD — no, it's the product
Lighting style Would all 5 using the same lighting feel weird? STANDARD — no

The drift trap

Without the STANDARD vs CUSTOMIZED rule, here's what happens over time:

  1. Account A's workflow gets a small edit that "reads better"
  2. Three weeks later, someone notices Account B's version of the same workflow doesn't have that edit
  3. Now Account B is "behind" — but is the original right or is A's edit right?
  4. Both? Neither? Re-test on B? Roll A back?

With the rule, this can't happen silently. Any change to STANDARD content gets applied to all tabs uniformly. Any change to CUSTOMIZED content is per-tab by design.

The "if I want to change a STANDARD item" rule

If during fan-out (or later editing) you find yourself wanting to change a STANDARD item because it "reads better" for one account, stop. Either:

  • (a) Promote that change to STANDARD and apply it to all tabs uniformly, or
  • (b) Move it to the CUSTOMIZED list and document why this account needs the override

Never silently diverge a single tab from the standard. Silent divergence is what breaks multi-account workflows.

Tracking STANDARD vs CUSTOMIZED per workflow

During the testing phase (before fan-out), build a two-column checklist for the workflow:

# Variant Checklist — XYZS1-V2

## STANDARD (same across all accounts — set once, reuse verbatim):
- [x] Base B-roll prompts (product close-up + ingredient shot)
- [x] Base scene composition (kitchen setting, 3/4 selfie, window light from L)
- [x] Script beats and dialogue structure
- [x] Compliance rules (banned words, approved angles)
- [x] Product reference image (R2 URL)
- [x] Case-study character refs (generic)
- [x] Timing / word budgets per scene

## CUSTOMIZED per avatar (swap per account):
- [ ] Avatar character reference sheet (R2 URL)
- [ ] Avatar name in node titles
- [ ] Clothing / wardrobe description in scene prompts
- [ ] Hand / watch / accessories detail
- [ ] Voice characteristics in Veo prompts
- [ ] Dialogue persona references ("my mom" vs. "my patient")
- [ ] Any account-specific setting overrides

Save this as projects/{month}/{brand}/Assets/{workflow}/variant-checklist.md. Reference it during fan-out (each CUSTOMIZED item is what you swap per tab) and during future edits (each STANDARD item should never diverge between tabs).

How the fan-out protocol enforces this

The 7-step Fan-out Protocol bakes the rule in:

  • Step 5 walks the CUSTOMIZED checklist per avatar
  • Step 6 explicitly verifies STANDARD items are byte-identical across tabs
  • The rule about "if you want to change a STANDARD item, stop and decide" prevents drift mid-fan-out

If you skip the protocol and ad-hoc fan-out tabs, you lose this safety net. Don't.

When you're ready

→ Next: Recovery from Failed Fan-out — what to do when something breaks during a fan-out pass and you need to restore a clean state.