SKELStory Keyframe Extensible Layout Open X-ray ↗
Open format · SKEL 2.10

Stories,
with structure.

SKEL turns screenplays, storyboards, and visual narratives into clean, connected production data—ready for people, software, and AI.

See a story in X-ray ↗ Explore the format ↓
story.skelVALID
ACTThe Discoveryact_1
SCENEINT. LIGHTHOUSEsc_1 · NIGHT
SHOT 03RecognitionECU · EYE · NOIR
2 ACTS3 SCENES9 SHOTS33 SEC
Built for visual storytellers
Readable by humans
Reliable for machines
01

The open format

A screenplay tells you what happens.
SKEL knows how it looks.

Traditional screenplay files stop at the page. SKEL carries the visual language of production: every composition, camera move, lighting decision, character, prop, prompt, and production state—without locking the story to one application.

THE LAST SIGNALstory.skel
shots:
  - id: sh_03
    scene_id: sc_01
    action: Harlan recognizes the pattern.
    v_setup:
      size: ecu
      angle: eye
      light: noir
      dof: shallow
    duration: 2
    status:
      image: approved
      video: pending
Native YAML · JSON interchange · Schema validated
01

Flat and relational

Acts, scenes, and shots stay simple. Stable IDs connect everything without fragile nesting.

02

Visually literate

Camera size, lens, motion, light, mood, weather, color, and focus are native vocabulary.

03

Production aware

Track prompts, durations, cast, props, continuity, and image and video approval independently.

04

Open by design

MIT licensed, schema validated, extensible, and readable by any tool that chooses to support it.

13Token categories
131Core visual tokens
4Conformance classes
∞Extensible workflows
02

The anatomy

One story.
Every layer connected.

SKEL separates narrative structure from the tools that view it, produce it, and extend it.

CORE

SKEL

The story body

  • Acts & scenes
  • Shots & dialogue
  • Visual setup
  • Assets & continuity
DATA

BONE

What attaches

  • Generation config
  • Prompt contracts
  • Model parameters
  • Output protocols
BEHAVIOR

MUSCLE

What makes it move

  • Validation hooks
  • Format adapters
  • Continuity guards
  • Workflow actions
IDENTITY

STUDIO

What stays consistent

  • Characters & voices
  • Worlds & locations
  • Props & palettes
  • Series & episodes
03

The free viewer

SKELETONX-ray

See what is
inside the story.

X-ray is the free, local-first way to open a SKEL file. Drop in a story and see its structure, camera grammar, prompts, production coverage, and diagnostics—without uploading a frame.

  • Runs in the browser on Mac, Windows, and Linux
  • Reads native .skel, YAML, and JSON
  • Works offline after the first visit
  • Your story stays on your device
Open SKELETON X-ray ↗
04

The production studio

GENLOCKSTUDIO

Where structured stories
become moving images.

Genlock Studio is the desktop production environment built around SKEL. It turns the open format into a visual workspace for authoring, generation, continuity, review, and delivery.

Visual authoringBuild chapters, scenes, shots, and prompts without editing YAML.
Generation pipelinesConnect image and video models through portable BONE definitions.
Identity continuityKeep characters, worlds, props, voices, and series consistent.
Production controlManage takes, status, proposals, audio, and delivery in one place.
Discover Genlock Studio →
05

The ecosystem

Build once.
Share everywhere.

The SKELETON Marketplace is where tools, workflows, and creative intelligence plug into the format.

BONE

Generation profiles

Portable model configuration for image, video, character sheets, storyboard grids, and future pipelines.

DATA PLUGINSAttach
MUSCLE

Creative workflows

Continuity guards, screenplay adapters, style checks, automations, and behavior that moves safely through a host.

BEHAVIOR PLUGINSMove
KITS

Production systems

Curated combinations of story templates, visual vocabularies, BONEs, and MUSCLEs for complete workflows.

WORKFLOW PACKSCreate
FOR CREATORS & DEVELOPERS

Extend the skeleton.

Publish a tool. Package a workflow. Give every SKEL-compatible host a new capability.

Explore the Marketplace →
THE SKELETON ECOSYSTEM

One open story.
Four ways forward.

01FORMAT

Write in SKEL

Portable story data that belongs to you.

02VIEWER

Open in X-ray

See, inspect, and validate for free.

03STUDIO

Produce in Genlock

Author, generate, review, and deliver.

04MARKETPLACE

Expand the system

Discover tools made for the format.

THE STORY IS YOURS

Give it
a skeleton.

Start by seeing what a structured story can become.

Open the free viewer ↗