Cinematic Sci-Fi Mystery Short Template

# Character card

**Astronaut:** Short dark hair slicked back, white EVA suit with blue NASA-style patches, black utility trousers, magnetic boots, tablet device clutched in gloved hand.

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## ACT I: The Drift (0–5 sec)

**SHOT 1:** Wide exterior. Abandoned modular space station tumbling slowly against Earth's night side, solar panels torn, hull scorched. Cold blue moonlight rakes across damaged metal. No running lights. Lens: anamorphic flares on Earth's limb. Cut inside before the spin completes.

**SHOT 2:** Interior corridor POV. Helmet-cam shake, breath fogging visor edge. Floating debris—a clipboard, water globules, torn insulation. Lighting: single emergency strip pulsing pale blue every three seconds. Silence except suit-O₂ hiss.

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## ACT II: The Signal (5–11 sec)

**SHOT 3:** Medium shot, astronaut's gloved hand catches the tablet mid-float. Screen wakes: "INCOMING TRANSMISSION // ORIGIN: 2100-03-14." White text on black, timestamp flickering. Face reflection appears in the screen—eyes widen.

**SHOT 4:** Close-up, astronaut's face inside helmet. Pupils contract. Blue emergency light plays across visor as the message scrolls: {{message-content}}

**SHOT 5:** Over-shoulder, tablet screen. A coordinate grid materialises, red waypoint blinking over Earth. Grading shift: cold blue bleeds into sickly green monitor glow.

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## ACT III: {{reveal-image}} (11–15 sec)

**SHOT 6:** {{reveal-image}}

**SHOT 7:** Snap back to astronaut, mouth open, tablet slipping from grip. Slow backward drift into shadow. Emergency light dies. Screen goes black.

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**Music:** Low synth drone 0–5 sec, rising digital pulses 5–11 sec, single deep bass hit at 11 sec, then silence.

**Dialogue (ACT II):** Whispered reading of the coordinates, voice cracking on the last digit.

**Ending:** Hard cut to black at 15 sec, no fade.

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*Grading:* Desaturated cold palette throughout, blue-dominant 0–10 sec, green monitor contamination 10–11 sec, exposure spike during reveal, crush to black.