A ceremony-style checklist for entering creative sessions with collaborators. Inspired by "Research is Ceremony," this protocol provides structured practices ensuring intent-setting, agent briefing, narrative seeding, and closure reflection maintain relational accountability throughout production.

Pre-Production Ceremony (Before Capture)

Intent-Setting (5 minutes)

• What relationship are we honoring through this work?
• What knowledge seeks to emerge through this session?
• Who/what are we accountable to in this process?

Agent Briefing (What Agents Need to Know)

• Creative signature to preserve: Your storyteller perspective and aesthetic coherence
• Relational protocols: Whose voices must be honored, what cannot be extracted
• Quality boundaries: What gets rejected if violated (persona-coherence criteria)

Narrative Cluster Seeding (Core Themes)

• What 3-5 core themes are we exploring today?
• What visual metaphors or sonic environments anchor these themes?
• What story arc might emerge from this material?

During Production (On-Set / In Session)

Observational Logging

• Belt device recording: director intent, ambient context, relational moments
• Visual capture: shot compositions, environmental conditions, unexpected witnesses