Research the world and Auto QC
Two optional tools on the intake: Research the world gathers facts and real photos of your subject before the story is written (Professional), and Auto QC reviews every storyboard frame and retakes the flagged ones (Director and up).
These two are the only creative tools tied to a plan tier rather than to credits alone. Both are decided at the intake, before the storyboard, and both are included in the storyboard quote so the confirmation shows the full number. Neither runs from the quick Enrich button, and neither changes the film step. Ticking one on a plan that does not include it opens the plans with the right one recommended; nothing is submitted.
#Research the world
Some films are about something real: a city, a decade, a movement, a monument. Research the world runs a web research pass on your subject before the director writes a word. It gathers stories, places and real photographs of your subject and hands them to the director as part of the brief. Think the pyramids of Egypt, the shadows of German Expressionism, a specific street in Lisbon at night.
| Research the world | Details |
|---|---|
| Plan | Professional |
| Cost | 100 credits per run, shown in the storyboard confirmation |
| When | Storyboard only, from the intake. Not available from Enrich, on the storyboard or on the film |
| Effect | Facts and real photos enter the brief; the treatment and the frames are conditioned on them |
#Auto QC & retakes
Auto QC puts a second eye on every storyboard frame. Each keyframe is reviewed against the scene direction and your references: does the main character still look like the photos, is the reference honoured, is the light where the story put it, is anything visibly wrong in the frame. A flagged frame is retaken once with the review's note appended, then reviewed again. The earlier take stays in the scene's history.
| Auto QC & retakes | Details |
|---|---|
| Plan | Director and Professional |
| Cost | 15 credits per scene, retakes included |
| When | Storyboard only, from the intake. A later unlock of the rest of the song continues with the same choice |
| Reports | On each scene card: "Reference review passed", or the problems it found and could not fix in its one retake |
| Does not | Judge motion, or measure audio and video sync. It looks at stills |
The film confirmation mentions QC too: when a film is approved from a preview with QC on, the remaining scenes are checked the same way before motion, and the estimate includes it.
#Should you turn them on?
- Research: yes when the film is about a real place, era or subject you want rendered faithfully. No for abstract or invented worlds; your own references do that job better.
- Auto QC: yes for character-heavy films where a wrong face in one scene would cost you a retake anyway, and for long films where reviewing a hundred frames by hand is a chore. No for a quick 480p test, where you will retake by eye.
- Neither replaces you. The preview is still there to judge the direction, and the scene tools are still there for the frames QC did not catch.
I ticked Auto QC but the box unticked itself
Your plan does not include it; the paywall opened with Director recommended and the box stayed clear. Nothing was submitted.
Does QC make the storyboard slower?
A little: each flagged frame is retaken and reviewed again. Frames that pass are not delayed.
Can I run QC on a storyboard I already have?
Not as a separate pass yet. Retake the scenes you are unsure of by hand, or start the next project with QC on.