Workspace and Starter Kit

You will set up a working home for one project. You will be able to show its source files, selected versions, and final output, name the required input for the first test, and avoid preparing things the project does not need yet.

What you will finish

It is easy to open five folders, save three files in Downloads, and spend the next day hunting for the one frame that was “definitely the good one.” This lesson ends that search before your first generation.

You will create a simple project home and a short work map. It will show what you are making, which materials you already have and what each one is for, what is missing, which action comes first, and where the final result belongs.

If prompt is a new word for you, it means a text instruction for a model. For example, an image prompt describes the frame you want, while a video prompt describes change over time. Later lessons will cover both in detail. For now, the important part is preparing a place where neither the instructions nor their results get lost.

Choose a home for the project

A folder works well when exact files, clear versions, and a direct path to the final output matter. A visual board works well when you need to see the task, references, options, and notes side by side. On a more complex project, you can use both: the folder stores the files, while the board keeps the work visible.

Example: a minimal folder

A minimal folder can look like this:

project-name/
  01_sources/
  02_references/
  03_tests/
  04_selected/
  05_final/
  notes.md

If you use a board, create zones for the task, references, source files, prompts, image and video results, failure notes, selected options, and the final output. The names are not sacred. What matters is that a week later you can find what you need without an archaeological expedition through Downloads.

Versions do not need their own science either. A sequence such as scene_01_test_v01.mp4, scene_01_test_v02.mp4, and scene_01_selected_v03.mp4 is enough. Do not name every file final_final_really_final. That genre has already been studied in sufficient depth.

What to prepare once and what to prepare for this project

Preparation has two layers. Your permanent workshop can serve many projects: one clear place to store files, recurring materials such as a logo or character, your own successful examples with short notes, and a rule that keeps drafts, selected versions, and final files distinct.

Your kit for the current video depends on the specific job. It usually includes a short description of what happens; a source image, video, voice recording, or other material; the exact object or text the model must not guess; and the output format plus the main constraint.

You do not need to collect everything in the world. A video about a drop of water does not require a three-hour character photo shoot. Preparation should answer the task, not the urge to make every folder look impressively full.

A quick material check

Use only the rows that fit your project. This table is not asking you to build a warehouse; it helps you spot anything that would make the first test misleading.

Build a short project map

Now connect the materials to the first action and its result. This turns a file collection into a working route.

Copy the template and fill in these eight lines:

Project goal:
Project home:
Inputs and their roles:
What is missing:
First action:
First result I can check:
Version rule:
Path to the final output:

“Inputs and their roles” is more than a file list. Add the reason each item is needed: for example, “bottle image — preserves the exact shape” or “lighting reference — sets the direction and contrast.”

The first result should be small and testable. Replace “make a beautiful video” with something like “produce a still frame in which the product shape is intact and there is clear space for text on the right.”

A small example

Imagine a short advertising shot of a bottle on black water. The first test does not need the entire future video. It only needs to verify the product shape, the lighting, and the clear space in the composition.

Project goal: produce one selected frame of a bottle on black water.
Project home: the perfume-black-water/ folder.
Inputs and their roles:
- clean bottle image — preserves the product shape;
- logo — needed for later packaging;
- lighting reference — sets the light direction;
- water reference — sets the surface character.
What is missing: nothing for the first test; voice and motion are not needed yet.
First action: build a still frame with no motion or text.
First result I can check: the bottle shape is intact and there is clear space on the right.
Version rule: scene_01_test_v01, v02; selected frame — scene_01_selected_v03.
Path to the final output: 05_final/.

After the test, copy the selected frame to 04_selected. That is enough to begin. This task does not yet need a separate voice generator, a complex board, or five subscriptions.

Practice and check

Then run a one-minute check. You should be able to:

• open the project;
• show the source files and explain the role of each required material;
• show where tests and selected versions live;
• name the one required input for the first test;
• point to anything missing and name the action that will resolve it;
• show the path to the final output;
• explain what you do not need to prepare yet.

If the check fails, do not build a new system. Fix one cause—the storage location, a material’s role, the version name, or the path to the final output—and run the check again.

Takeaway: your project has a working home, a minimal starter kit, and a clear route from inputs to the first result. Add other materials when the task needs them, not in advance just to feel more professional.

Next: “Where an AI Video Begins.” You will use this prepared workspace to start the first controlled work cycle.