Build the Folder Before the First Scene

Fade in:

The context folder comes first

Before an agent touches a scene, create the project folder it will work in. Its files keep the team brief, evidence, and decisions available between sessions. A folder does not prove that the agent read every file, and it is not a security boundary. Require the agent to list the files it used.

1. Clear the preflight; create the folder. Before adding material, confirm the team-approved tool and account, which client or organization files may be stored there, what the vendor retains, and who may access them. Name the folder something like AVS-Team-Brain and open it as the agent’s working folder.

   Initialize local version control to restore approved states. A snapshot labels a point in that history; it is not a backup. Do not send confidential material to a remote unless AVS approves its destination and access controls.

2. Use an interview to draft the master brief and working agreement. Your first session:

   The Writer

   (to the agent)

   Interview me about the audience, deliverables, review stages, reviewers, and what gets praised or sent back. Follow up on unclear answers. Then PROPOSE team-brief.md and working-agreement.md in full. The agreement must require source citations, unchanged source scripts and raw notes, labeled inferences, PROPOSE for creative edits, named targets before changes, and a stop when sources conflict or cannot be read. Save nothing.

   You should get: two full previews and no file changes. Next: correct them, then APPLY only those two approved files. After saving, ask the agent to name the loaded brief and working folder. If needed: “Read [brief path]. State its scope and your working folder before doing anything else.”

3. Pair each draft with its notes. Keep passed and sent-back drafts with their verbatim notes; record the date, reviewer, stage, and outcome. Preserve originals. Use the review PDF for page references and Fountain or plain text for working drafts; recheck pagination after conversion.

   Test access first: “Open every supplied file. List each file read and each failure with its error. Change nothing.” If the archive is thin, mark criteria unknown — do not manufacture a rule.

4. Have the agent draft a rubric that shows its work.

   The Writer

   (to the agent)

   PROPOSE only. Read every file in evidence/. Group the evidence by review stage and reviewer. For each proposed criterion, quote the source note and identify the draft. Label the criterion explicit, inferred, disputed, or production-specific. Record the reviewer, stage, date, any contrary examples, and confidence. Keep committee-wide patterns separate from individual reviewer preferences. Flag insufficient evidence. Show the proposed rubric and profiles. Change nothing.

   You should get: proposed criteria and profiles with citations, context, uncertainty, and confidence, with no files changed. Next: correct each proposal, then issue a separate APPLY instruction naming only the approved files in rubrics/.

   The rubric is a diagnostic working document, not a recipe or a prediction. One line might read:

   Structure & pacing — REVIEW WHEN the inciting incident lands after p. 12 in the cited 30-minute examples. Evidence: Ryan’s notes on [Draft A/date], [Draft B/date], [Draft C/date], and [Draft D/date]; example: “We’re waiting too long for the engine to start.” Contrary examples: [none found or citations]. Confidence: medium. Check production-specific exceptions.

5. Add shared files without creating competing versions. Put standards, templates, and a why-it-passed note beside each exemplar. Keep one authoritative copy. Give each production a work area and record its shared-context version. Folder scope helps focus; verified permissions still control access.

   The folder at a glance

   AVS-Team-Brain/

   ├─ CLAUDE.md · AGENTS.mdagent instructions; verify which file loads

   ├─ team-brief.mdpurpose, audience, deliverables, review path

   ├─ working-agreement.mdcitation, change, and approval rules

   ├─ rubrics/committee criteria + stage reviewer profiles

   ├─ evidence/raw drafts + paired notes, unchanged

   ├─ exemplars/approved scripts + why they passed

   ├─ standards/ · templates/voice, format, repeatable forms

   └─ projects/one work area + context version each

6. Test the folder; update it after reviews. After every approval or rejection, archive the notes verbatim. Have the agent propose cited rubric updates without changing files, then apply only the updates a person approves.

   Ready when

   The agent can state the audience, deliverable, and stage; name files read and unreadable; trace two criteria to original notes; and run one coverage pass without editing the draft.

Cut to:

Put it to work: the daily practice

The folder does not make the agent a mind reader. It gives the agent sources, boundaries, and a way to show its work. Name the mode before each task:

Guardrails. You are the author — the voice, credit, and responsibility are yours. Use only approved tools, accounts, and material; follow AVS and client policies, contract terms, and any applicable guild or union rules. Source scripts and raw evidence stay unchanged unless a person explicitly authorizes a change. Self-coverage is a gate, not a sign-off. Nothing is submitted outside the working team without human approval.

Fade out.