Script skeleton for a 60-second short:

[00:00] HOOK (0-3s)
"You wake up to [alarm/HUD text]: 03:00:00 REMAINING."
Visual: Stickman jolts upright. Red digital timer overlays top of screen.

[00:03] RULES (3-12s)
"The rules are simple:
1. [Rule]
2. [Rule]
3. [Rule — the one that will be broken]"
Visual: Each rule pops as HUD text, stickman nods/reacts.

[00:12] ESCALATION (12-30s)
You follow the rules. Tension builds. Countdown ticks visibly.
Visual: Environment changes, red alert flickers, timer color shifts yellow→red.

[00:30] MID-TWIST (30-40s)
"But then you realize—[twist that recontextualizes the rules]."
Visual: Screen glitch/flash, HUD alert: "WARNING: [new threat]."

[00:40] DILEMMA (40-52s)
"Now you have two choices:
A) [Option with visible cost]
B) [Option with visible cost]"
Visual: Split screen A/B, timer hits final seconds.

[00:52] CLIFFHANGER (52-60s)
"What do you choose? Comment A or B — part 2 goes to the winner."
Visual: Freeze frame on stickman mid-decision, timer frozen at 00:00:01.

Progress:

• Step 1: Pick survival premise (isolated/contained scenario with clear physical stakes)
• Step 2: Set the countdown (total time + visible HUD timer format)
• Step 3: Write 3 strict rules — rule #3 must be the one later broken or twisted
• Step 4: Escalate — each beat raises tension while obeying rules
• Step 5: Insert mid-point twist (reframes a rule, reveals hidden threat, or flips who/what is dangerous)
• Step 6: Build moral dilemma — both options cost something valuable (life, ally, resource, truth)
• Step 7: End on freeze-frame cliffhanger with explicit "Comment A or B" CTA
• Step 8: Annotate visual/animation cues (HUD text, color shifts, stickman poses) alongside each line

Premise Selection

Choose confined, visually simple settings that stickman animation can render cheaply but that feel high-stakes: elevator, bunker, flooding room, forest cabin, space pod, hospital ward, subway car. Avoid settings requiring complex backgrounds.

Countdown Design

• Use a round, ominous total (03:00:00, 10:00, 60 seconds) tied to the premise's internal logic (oxygen, bomb timer, curfew).
• Timer must be visible on-screen continuously as a diegetic HUD element, not just narrated.
• Color-code urgency: green/white (safe) → yellow (escalation) → red/flashing (climax).

Rules Structure

Always exactly 3 rules, delivered fast (under 10 seconds of screen time):

1. A simple, logical safety rule.
2. A stranger, less-explained rule (plants mystery).
3. The rule that seems arbitrary but is secretly the key to the twist.

Twist Placement

Twist lands at the 50% mark, never later than 60%. It must:

• Recontextualize at least one rule (it meant something different than implied).
• Introduce a new antagonist, threat, or moral cost.
• Not require new setting/characters — reuse what's established to keep animation simple.

Dilemma Construction

Both A and B must:

• Be resolvable in one clear action (savable in a single animated beat for part 2).
• Cost something the viewer cares about (another character's life, your own safety, a secret, a resource).
• Have roughly equal appeal — avoid an "obviously correct" choice, which kills comment debate.

Example 1: Input: Premise = trapped in a smart elevator during a blackout. Output:

[00:00] HOOK: "You wake up to a flashing HUD: OXYGEN 03:00:00."
[00:03] RULES:
 1. Don't open the emergency hatch until power returns.
 2. Don't speak to anyone outside the doors.
 3. Don't let the counter hit zero while the hatch light is red.
[00:12] ESCALATION: Voices outside claim to be rescue workers. Counter ticks down, hatch light stays red.
[00:30] TWIST: "You hear YOUR OWN voice outside, pleading to be let in."
[00:40] DILEMMA:
 A) Open the hatch and let "you" in — risk it's a trap.
 B) Keep the hatch sealed and trust the rules — risk starving alone.
[00:52] CLIFFHANGER: Freeze on hand hovering over hatch latch, timer at 00:00:01. "A or B? Comment now — part 2 to the winning choice."

Example 2: Input: Premise = curfew in a locked-down apartment building during a monster outbreak. Output:

[00:00] HOOK: "You wake up to a city-wide alert: CURFEW IN 10:00."
[00:03] RULES:
 1. Lock every window before the siren stops.
 2. Never answer a knock after curfew begins.
 3. Never turn off the hallway light.
[00:12] ESCALATION: A knock comes. A child's voice begs to be let in. Hallway light flickers.
[00:30] TWIST: "The light isn't for seeing — it's what's keeping the thing OUT."
[00:40] DILEMMA:
 A) Let the child in and risk it's not human.
 B) Ignore the knock and risk the light dying from overload.
[00:52] CLIFFHANGER: Freeze on stickman's hand on the doorknob, siren at 00:00:01. "A or B?"