# Character Anchor Trial Plan

## Status

- Document status: pending review.
- Execution status: planning only; do not generate images from this file.
- Scope: character anchor trial for `在路上`.
- Next gated action after approval: rebuild the character anchor prompt through the `gpt-image-2` Skill workflow.

## Why This Plan Exists

The current character work has two separate goals:

1. deliver the character anchor assets needed by this MV project;
2. validate which parts of the character-anchor workflow should become reusable Video Workbench knowledge later.

These goals must stay separate. Project-specific execution should not be mistaken for public workflow rules, and public workflow candidates should not be promoted before they have been tested through real image generation and review.

## Current Issue

`character-anchor-board-v1.md` is a useful content draft, but it is not generation-ready.

Problems:

1. It was drafted directly from project summaries and intake notes instead of the `gpt-image-2` Skill workflow.
2. It does not record Skill mode, template/reference path, or source files actually used.
3. It does not clearly separate image-model responsibilities from later document/page annotation responsibilities.
4. It does not include the user's source photo as an explicit identity reference input.
5. It compresses character-board, transparent-slice, and later execution-asset work into one document.

Therefore, it should be treated only as a non-generation-ready draft and rebuilt before any image generation.

## Source Reliability Assessment

### Primary Sources

These are the most reliable project sources for character-anchor work:

| Source | Role | Reliability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `intake/阶段四-人物锚点板策划说明.md` | Defines why a character board is needed, background strategy, output types, and review priorities. | High as accepted GPT planning; still requires Codex execution judgment. |
| `intake/阶段四-人物锚点板页面结构建议稿.md` | Defines page structure, layout modules, labels, and review focus. | High for board structure; must be adapted for image-model limits. |
| `intake/阶段四-人物锚点板文案标注稿.md` | Explains why labels matter and which identity features should be stabilized. | High for review logic; image text must be handled carefully. |
| User source photo, once provided/readable | Identity reference for face direction and lived-person basis. | High for identity direction; not an edit target and not a passport-photo style target. |

### Execution Control Sources

These files are useful but secondary:

| Source | Role | Reliability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `visual-system/visual-system.md` | Condensed accepted visual system and materialization targets. | Reliable summary, but not a substitute for primary intake. |
| `execution-plan.md` | Current phase, batch order, and gate sequence. | Reliable for sequencing, not for detailed prompt construction. |
| `project.md` | Project state and next action. | Reliable for status only. |

### Skill / Workflow Sources

These govern prompt production:

| Source | Role | Reliability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `gpt-image-2` Skill `SKILL.md` | Required mode-aware workflow for image prompts and generation. | Required workflow source. |
| `gpt-image-2/references/prompt-writing.md` | Template design method: fields, source mapping, parameter strategy. | Required when building structured prompt documents. |
| `gpt-image-2/references/portraits-and-characters/character-sheet.md` | Closest current template for character board / three-view sheet. | Useful but not perfect; must be adapted from anime/IP defaults to documentary road-film character reference. |
| `investigations/2026-06-23-gpt-image-2-advisor-prompt-quality-v2-broader-use-cases/提示词质量综合调研报告.md` | Evidence that Advisor prompts outperform direct prompts for Video Workbench prompt quality. | Strong process evidence; final image quality still unverified. |

## Assessment Of GPT Character Drafts

The three GPT character files are directionally sound but should not be treated as final execution.

### What Looks Reasonable

- Use a shallow gray-white or light warm-gray clean background for the main board.
- Create a board for identity consistency, not a finished MV shot.
- Prioritize front / side / back full-body views.
- Include half-body state, walking side, and walking back to test motion identity.
- Track old coat, old backpack, and old boots as core recognition anchors.
- Review the balance between tiredness and dignity.
- Avoid fashion model, homeless, drunk, hero-poster, and travel-blogger drift.

### What Needs Adaptation

- GPT assumes text labels can be part of the board; image models may create unreliable or fake text.
- GPT mixes main board and transparent slices; these should be separate gated steps.
- GPT gives a human-readable board plan, not a `gpt-image-2` Advisor prompt.
- GPT does not define the source photo role.
- GPT does not separate project-specific identity from reusable character-anchor workflow.

## Should We Extract The GPT Drafts?

Yes, but into two different layers.

### Layer 1: Project Execution Extraction

Extract what this project needs:

- traveler identity;
- board layout;
- view list;
- clothing / prop anchors;
- allowed and forbidden drift;
- source-photo role;
- review checklist;
- generation gate sequence.

This becomes the basis for the rebuilt project prompt.

### Layer 2: Public Workflow Candidate Extraction

Extract what might become reusable later:

- character anchor purpose definition;
- source hierarchy;
- standard deliverables;
- prompt workflow;
- text-label handling rule;
- review rubric;
- gate sequence.

This layer remains a candidate until validated by this trial.

## Project-Specific Character Work Package

The current project should perform the following work, one gated step at a time.

### Step 1: Trial Plan

Output:

- `visual-system/characters/character-anchor-trial-plan.md`

Purpose:

- decide what is being validated;
- separate project work from reusable workflow candidates;
- identify source reliability and prompt-production rules.

Gate:

- user review.

### Step 2: Character Execution Brief

Output:

- `visual-system/characters/character-anchor-brief-v1.md`

Purpose:

- extract the accepted character definition from primary intake sources;
- record source-photo role;
- define required views and objects;
- define review criteria before prompt writing.

Gate:

- user review.

### Step 3: Skill-Based Prompt Document

Output:

- `visual-system/characters/character-anchor-prompt-v1.md`

Purpose:

- run and record the `gpt-image-2` mode check;
- record template/reference files used;
- map source material into a structured Advisor prompt;
- separate image-model output from later annotation/document responsibilities;
- include negative constraints and acceptance criteria.

Gate:

- user review before generation.

### Step 4: Main Character Anchor Board Generation

Output:

- first generated main board image;
- prompt trace if required by the active Skill mode;
- `visual-system/characters/character-anchor-review-v1.md`

Purpose:

- test whether a single board can lock the character consistently enough.

Gate:

- user review before any transparent slices.

### Step 5: Transparent Character Slices

Output candidates:

- front full body;
- side full body;
- back full body;
- walking side;
- walking back.

Purpose:

- create execution references for later shot prompts or compositing reference.

Gate:

- only after main board is accepted.

### Step 6: Character Identity Lock

Output:

- `visual-system/characters/character-identity-lock.md`

Purpose:

- record the accepted stable identity features after image review;
- provide a compact reference for style anchor and five-shot prompt work.

Gate:

- only after at least one board or slice set is accepted.

## Candidate Reusable Character-Anchor Structure

These items are candidates for future Video Workbench knowledge, but should not be promoted until this project validates them.

### Candidate Standard Deliverables

1. `character-anchor-trial-plan.md`
2. `character-anchor-brief-v1.md`
3. `character-anchor-prompt-v1.md`
4. generated main board image
5. `character-anchor-review-v1.md`
6. transparent slices, when needed
7. `character-identity-lock.md`

### Candidate Source Hierarchy

1. user-provided source/reference images;
2. accepted GPT intake files;
3. project-local visual-system summary;
4. project-local execution plan;
5. prior generated assets and review records.

### Candidate Review Rubric

1. same-person consistency across front / side / back;
2. back-view recognition without face;
3. walking state naturalness;
4. identity stability when scaled down;
5. clothing and prop stability;
6. balance between expressive character and non-portrait role;
7. project-specific drift avoidance;
8. usefulness for later shot prompts.

### Candidate Text Responsibility Rule

For image generation, avoid relying on generated readable labels as the source of truth.

Preferred split:

- image model: visual board, views, silhouettes, clothing, props, empty label zones if useful;
- project document: exact labels, review criteria, identity-lock fields;
- later page/layout layer: any final readable Chinese labels if required.

### Candidate Gate Sequence

1. trial plan;
2. execution brief;
3. Skill-based prompt;
4. main board generation;
5. review and repair;
6. transparent slices;
7. identity lock;
8. use in shot tests.

## Trial Validation Questions

This project should answer these questions before any rule becomes public knowledge.

1. Can the three GPT character files be reliably transformed into a concise project execution brief?
2. Does the `gpt-image-2` Advisor workflow produce a better prompt than direct drafting for this character board?
3. Can one generated board maintain same-person consistency across front / side / back / walking views?
4. Does the user's source photo help establish identity without turning the output into a portrait or passport-photo derivative?
5. Are image-model text labels usable, or should all exact labels be handled outside the generated image?
6. Does the accepted main board actually improve later five-shot test prompts?
7. Which review criteria are general enough for future projects, and which are only specific to `在路上`?

## Do Not Promote Yet

The following should not be added to stable knowledge yet:

- a final character-anchor directory standard;
- a mandatory fixed board layout;
- a universal prompt template;
- a universal source-photo policy;
- a claim that text labels should or should not be generated inside the image;
- a claim that one board is enough before transparent slices.

These can be considered only after this trial has produced and reviewed real images.

## Immediate Next Step

After this plan is approved, create:

```text
visual-system/characters/character-anchor-brief-v1.md
```

That brief should use the three GPT character intake files as primary sources, include the source-photo role, and prepare the material for a `gpt-image-2` Skill-based prompt document.