Unmasking History: The Velvet Truth Behind a Legend

{
  "metadata": {
    "main_video_idea": "A cinematic retelling that begins as a dramatized legend, but transitions into factual correction, contrasting myth and history.",
    "base_style": "cinematic + educational hybrid",
    "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
    "scene_description": "A tale told in two halves: first as legend — thunder, mystery, fear — then stripped of exaggeration, showing the more accurate, historical truth.",
    "camera_setup": "Hollywood-style in Act I (dramatic lighting, sweeping shots); clean, factual style in Act II (archival style visuals, calm narration).",
    "starting_elements": "Begins with storm and drama over the Bastille, mysterious prisoner chained and masked.",
    "final_elements": "Ends with the revelation that the mask was velvet, not iron, and that the prisoner was likely Eustache Dauger.",
    "negative_prompts": "no overly dry lecture tone, no endless academic text, no fantasy creatures"
  },
  "timeline": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "timestamp": "00:00-00:05",
      "shot": "Stormy Bastille exterior",
      "camera": "wide crane shot sweeping across fortress walls with lightning",
      "action": "Dark clouds swirl above the Bastille, thunder shaking the night.",
      "audio": "thunder crack, orchestral rumble"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "timestamp": "00:05-00:12",
      "shot": "Masked prisoner in candlelight",
      "camera": "slow push-in close-up of the iron mask",
      "action": "The prisoner sits in silence, iron mask glinting under a torch.",
      "audio": "metallic echo, strings rising"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "timestamp": "00:12-00:18",
      "shot": "Guards marching prisoner",
      "camera": "tracking shot in narrow corridor",
      "action": "Heavy chains drag across stone as guards escort him deeper.",
      "audio": "clanking chains, echoing footsteps"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "timestamp": "00:18-00:20",
      "shot": "Dramatic freeze-frame",
      "camera": "sudden halt on close-up of mask",
      "action": "The screen freezes as a narrator cuts in: 'But wait — was the mask really iron?'",
      "audio": "orchestral music halts abruptly"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "timestamp": "00:20-00:25",
      "shot": "Historical correction overlay",
      "camera": "transition to clean, neutral background with text and imagery",
      "action": "Archival illustrations and calm visuals show a velvet mask, not iron.",
      "audio": "measured narration explains the correction, gentle ambient sound"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 6,
      "timestamp": "00:25-00:30",
      "shot": "Portrait of Eustache Dauger",
      "camera": "static framing of parchment illustration and Bastille sketch",
      "action": "Text overlay: 'The real prisoner was likely Eustache Dauger, arrested in 1669.'",
      "audio": "narration continues: 'Held until 1703, his mask was not iron, but velvet.'"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 7,
      "timestamp": "00:30-00:35",
      "shot": "Closing contrast",
      "camera": "split-screen: left side dramatized iron mask, right side historical velvet mask",
      "action": "The two versions fade together as text appears: 'Legend vs. History.'",
      "audio": "soft orchestral fade-out"
    }
  ]
}