Elser is an orchestration tool focused on one job: converting a storyboard into a clean, editable timeline. In AI animation and motion comic pipelines, it bridges pre-production (boards, shot notes, beats) and production (animatics, renders, and final edits). Elser reads your panel metadata, applies timing logic, aligns audio, and outputs timelines you can preview, refine, or export to your preferred editors and AI render nodes.

Typical flow: script and beat sheet → thumbnails → storyboard → Elser (orchestrate) → animatic → AI renders (shots/sequences) → final edit and grade. Elser owns the storyboard-to-timeline step, reducing manual assembly, minimizing drift, and creating a single source of truth for shot timing across tools.

• Panel import: folders, CSV/JSON manifests, or PSD/PNG with embedded notes
• Beat mapping: duration per panel, music beat alignment, or explicit timecodes
• Transitions: cut, dissolve, hold, camera pans/zooms derived from panel notes
• Audio alignment: dialog, temp VO, and music cues snap to panels or beats
• Versioning: panel revisions relink without breaking timing
• Exports: JSON timeline, EDL/XML for NLEs, proxies for preview, shot-ID lists
• Integrations: hand off to AI render graphs (e.g., AnimateDiff/ComfyUI), or create NLE-ready bins for Premiere/Resolve/After Effects

1. Prepare inputs: numbered panels (PNG/PSD), optional CSV/JSON with durations or beat markers, and any temp audio.
2. Create project: set FPS, resolution, naming schema (e.g., EP01_SC03_SH012).
3. Import boards: point Elser to your board folder or manifest.
4. Choose timing mode: fixed durations, beat sync, or explicit timecodes.
5. Set transition rules: default cut, optional dissolve length, pan/zoom from notes.
6. Attach audio: dialog WAVs or a temp mix. Enable snap-to-beats if needed.
7. Orchestrate: generate the timeline, preview, and adjust per-shot timings.
8. Export: JSON/EDL for downstream tools, or send to your AI render pipeline.

• FPS: 12/24/30 commonly used for anime; choose based on render target.
• Resolution: e.g., 1080x1920 (portrait) for motion comics, 1920x1080 (landscape) for anime.
• Timing mode: • Duration per panel (seconds or frames) • Beat-synced (derive holds/cuts from BPM and markers) • Explicit timecodes (start–end per panel)
• Transition policy: cut default; dissolve length in frames; add-hold before/after cut.
• Camera motion: enable per-panel zoom/pan; speed curve (linear, ease-in/out).
• Naming: episode/scene/shot tokens; zero-padding for sort safety.
• Export format: JSON timeline, EDL/XML, shot list CSV; proxy mov/mp4 toggles.

1. Import 28 storyboard panels and a 30s music bed at 24 FPS.
2. Select beat-synced timing with cut on strong beats, 4f pre-hold and 6f post-hold.
3. Enable subtle 5% zoom on hero panels; ease-in over first 12 frames.
4. Snap dialog WAVs to annotated panel IDs.
5. Orchestrate and preview; nudge two shots by ±2 frames to match SFX hits.
6. Export JSON timeline for AI renders and EDL for Resolve; render proxies for review.

• Keep panel IDs stable; avoid renaming once timing starts.
• Store durations/notes alongside panels in a manifest for reproducibility.
• Use safety holds (2–6 frames) to absorb AI render variance.
• Test on a short sequence before orchestrating a full episode.
• Lock FPS early; mismatched FPS is the top cause of drift.
• Maintain a change log when revising boards; re-orchestrate only affected shots.

• Timing drift: verify FPS and audio sample rate; re-export proxies at project FPS.
• Missing assets: run relink; ensure panel IDs in manifest match filenames.
• Choppy camera moves: lower zoom amount or extend ease to 12–16 frames.
• Audio desync: disable beat-snap for dialog; align via timecodes instead.
• Transition artifacts: avoid dissolves on panels with heavy parallax; use cuts.

Manual NLE assembly is error-prone and slow for iteration. Elser centralizes timing logic, auto-aligns assets, preserves consistent shot IDs for AI renders, and exports to both creative (NLE) and technical (JSON/EDL) endpoints. The result is faster turnarounds and fewer sync errors across tools.

• JSON timeline: machine-readable for render graphs and automation.
• EDL/XML: bring timing into Resolve, Premiere, or After Effects.
• Proxies: lightweight previews for review rounds.
• Shot lists: drive batch AI renders by shot ID, including duration and framing hints.