@mytechtoday/augment-extensions 0.7.0 → 1.2.0

package/augment-extensions/writing-standards/screenplay/genres/rules/musical.md

@@ -1,294 +1,294 @@
-# Musical Genre
-
-**Category**: Screenplay Genre  
-**Type**: Primary  
-**Complexity**: High
-
-## Overview
-
-Musicals integrate songs and dance into narrative storytelling. The genre emphasizes emotional expression through music, spectacle, and the heightened reality where characters naturally break into song.
-
-## Core Concept
-
-Musical screenplays use songs as narrative and emotional tools, not interruptions. Success depends on integrating music organically, using songs to advance plot or deepen character, and creating a world where musical expression feels natural. Great musicals use music to express what dialogue cannot, creating emotional peaks that justify the heightened form.
-
-## Core Rules
-
-### Rule 1: Songs Must Advance Story or Character
-
-**Description**: Every musical number should reveal character, advance plot, or deepen emotional understanding. No filler.
-
-**Why It Matters**: Songs that don't serve the story stop momentum and feel indulgent.
-
-**Examples**:
-- ✅ **Good**: "I Want" song establishing character desire, duet showing relationship shift
-- ❌ **Bad**: Generic production number with no narrative purpose
-
-**Film Reference**: Hamilton (2015) - Every song advances plot, reveals character, or develops themes.
-
----
-
-### Rule 2: Establish Musical Rules Early
-
-**Description**: Set up when and why characters sing within the first 10-15 minutes. Create consistent logic.
-
-**Why It Matters**: Audiences need to accept the musical convention. Establish it quickly and maintain consistency.
-
-**Examples**:
-- ✅ **Good**: Opening number establishes that this world includes song
-- ❌ **Bad**: First song appears randomly 30 minutes in with no setup
-
-**Film Reference**: La La Land (2016) - Opens with "Another Day of Sun" establishing musical world immediately.
-
----
-
-### Rule 3: Earn the Big Numbers
-
-**Description**: Major production numbers should be emotional climaxes, earned through buildup and character development.
-
-**Why It Matters**: Spectacle without emotional foundation is empty. The biggest numbers should be the biggest emotional moments.
-
-**Examples**:
-- ✅ **Good**: Climactic number after emotional journey makes audience feel catharsis
-- ❌ **Bad**: Spectacular number with no emotional stakes or buildup
-
-**Film Reference**: The Greatest Showman (2017) - "This Is Me" earned through characters' journey to self-acceptance.
-
----
-
-### Rule 4: Integrate Music with Narrative
-
-**Description**: Songs should feel like natural extensions of scenes, not interruptions. Transition smoothly between dialogue and music.
-
-**Why It Matters**: Jarring transitions break immersion. Smooth integration maintains flow.
-
-**Examples**:
-- ✅ **Good**: Dialogue builds to song organically, or song transitions seamlessly back to scene
-- ❌ **Bad**: Abrupt stops and starts that feel like separate elements
-
-**Film Reference**: West Side Story (1961/2021) - Music and dance integrated into street life and conflict.
-
----
-
-### Rule 5: Use Music for What Dialogue Can't Express
-
-**Description**: Songs should express emotions, desires, or internal states too big or complex for dialogue alone.
-
-**Why It Matters**: This is musical theater's unique power. Use it to justify the form.
-
-**Examples**:
-- ✅ **Good**: Internal conflict, overwhelming emotion, or transcendent joy expressed through song
-- ❌ **Bad**: Songs that just repeat information already conveyed in dialogue
-
-**Film Reference**: Les Misérables (2012) - "I Dreamed a Dream" expresses Fantine's despair beyond what dialogue could.
-
----
-
-## Guidelines
-
-### Structure
-
-- **Act I**: Opening number establishes world, "I Want" song shows protagonist's desire, inciting incident
-- **Act II**: Relationship/conflict develops through songs, production numbers, possible "Dark Night" song
-- **Act III**: Climactic number, resolution, finale that reprises themes
-
-### Pacing
-
-- Balance dialogue scenes with musical numbers
-- Build to bigger production numbers
-- Use songs to compress time or montage
-- Vary tempo and energy between numbers
-- Allow breathing room between big numbers
-
-### Character Archetypes
-
-- **Protagonist**: Often dreamer or outsider with clear desire expressed in song
-- **Love Interest**: Duets reveal relationship development
-- **Antagonist**: Often has their own musical theme or number
-- **Ensemble**: Chorus provides spectacle and community
-
-### Tone and Atmosphere
-
-- Heightened reality where song is natural
-- Emotional expressiveness and sincerity
-- Can range from joyful to tragic
-- Spectacle and visual grandeur
-- Often optimistic or cathartic
-
-### Visual Style
-
-- Choreographed camera movement
-- Colorful, expressive production design
-- Dynamic editing during numbers
-- Wide shots for dance, close-ups for emotion
-- Visual motifs that recur with musical themes
-
-### Dialogue
-
-- Often more stylized than naturalistic
-- Builds toward or transitions from song
-- Can be minimal - let music do the work
-- Lyrics function as heightened dialogue
-- Subtext in what's sung vs. what's said
-
-## Common Pitfalls
-
-### Pitfall 1: Songs That Stop the Story
-
-**Problem**: Musical numbers that feel like interruptions rather than integral to narrative.
-
-**Solution**: Every song should advance plot, reveal character, or deepen emotion.
-
-**Example**: Chicago (2002) - Musical numbers are fantasy sequences that reveal character psychology.
-
----
-
-### Pitfall 2: Inconsistent Musical Logic
-
-**Problem**: Unclear rules about when/why characters sing, or breaking established rules.
-
-**Solution**: Establish clear logic early and maintain it throughout.
-
-**Example**: Dancer in the Dark (2000) - Musical numbers are Selma's escapist fantasies, clearly established.
-
----
-
-### Pitfall 3: Weak Book (Non-Musical Scenes)
-
-**Problem**: Strong songs but weak dialogue scenes or story between numbers.
-
-**Solution**: Non-musical scenes must be as strong as musical ones. Story works even without songs.
-
-**Example**: West Side Story - Strong dramatic scenes between musical numbers.
-
----
-
-## Film Examples
-
-### Example 1: La La Land (2016)
-
-**Director**: Damien Chazelle
-
-**Why It Works**: Modern musical about dreamers in LA. Romance and ambition. Bittersweet ending.
-
-**Key Scenes**:
-- **"Another Day of Sun"**: Opening number establishes musical world
-- **Planetarium Dance**: Romance through movement and music
-- **"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"**: Emotional climax earned through journey
-
-**Techniques Used**:
-- Long takes and choreographed camera movement
-- Songs advance relationship and character arcs
-- Musical numbers as emotional peaks
-- Bittersweet ending subverts genre expectations
-
----
-
-### Example 2: Chicago (2002)
-
-**Director**: Rob Marshall
-
-**Why It Works**: Musical numbers as fantasy sequences revealing character psychology. Dark, cynical tone.
-
-**Key Scenes**:
-- **"All That Jazz"**: Establishes Roxie's fantasy world
-- **"Cell Block Tango"**: Each woman's story through song
-- **"Razzle Dazzle"**: Courtroom as performance
-
-**Techniques Used**:
-- Musical numbers are fantasies, not diegetic
-- Dark satire of celebrity and justice
-- Integrated staging (stage and reality blur)
-- Songs reveal character psychology
-
----
-
-### Example 3: West Side Story (1961/2021)
-
-**Director**: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins / Steven Spielberg
-
-**Why It Works**: Romeo and Juliet as musical gang conflict. Dance and music express tribal identity and forbidden love.
-
-**Key Scenes**:
-- **"America"**: Cultural identity through song and dance
-- **"Tonight"**: Romance and impending tragedy
-- **"Somewhere"**: Hope amid violence
-
-**Techniques Used**:
-- Dance as expression of gang identity
-- Music integrated into street life
-- Tragedy in musical form
-- Choreography as storytelling
-
----
-
-### Example 4: Hamilton (2015)
-
-**Director**: Thomas Kail (filmed stage production)
-
-**Why It Works**: Hip-hop musical about founding fathers. Every song advances plot or deepens character.
-
-**Key Scenes**:
-- **"My Shot"**: Hamilton's ambition and drive established
-- **"The Room Where It Happens"**: Political maneuvering through song
-- **"It's Quiet Uptown"**: Devastating grief and forgiveness
-
-**Techniques Used**:
-- Hip-hop and R&B for historical story
-- Rapid-fire lyrics advance plot quickly
-- Diverse casting reimagines history
-- No wasted songs - all serve narrative
-
----
-
-## Integration with Other Features
-
-### Compatible Themes
-
-- **Dreams and Ambition**: Pursuing goals (La La Land, A Star Is Born)
-- **Love and Romance**: Relationships through song (West Side Story, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
-- **Identity**: Finding yourself (Hairspray, The Greatest Showman)
-- **Social Issues**: Commentary through music (Rent, Hamilton)
-- **Show Business**: Backstage stories (Chicago, Singin' in the Rain)
-
-### Compatible Styles
-
-- **Classic Musical**: Golden age Hollywood (Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music)
-- **Rock Musical**: Contemporary music (Rent, Rock of Ages)
-- **Jukebox Musical**: Existing songs (Mamma Mia!, Bohemian Rhapsody)
-- **Animated Musical**: Disney and others (The Lion King, Moana)
-
-### Hybrid Combinations
-
-- **Musical + Romance**: Love stories with songs (Moulin Rouge!, Grease)
-- **Musical + Drama**: Serious themes (Les Misérables, Dear Evan Hansen)
-- **Musical + Comedy**: Humor-driven (The Producers, Hairspray)
-- **Musical + Biography**: Musicians' lives (Walk the Line, Rocketman)
-
-## Best Practices
-
-1. **Songs Serve Story**: Every number advances plot or character
-2. **Establish Rules Early**: Set up musical logic in opening
-3. **Earn Big Numbers**: Spectacle follows emotional buildup
-4. **Smooth Integration**: Transitions between dialogue and song
-5. **Express the Inexpressible**: Use music for what dialogue can't convey
-6. **Strong Book**: Non-musical scenes must be compelling
-7. **Variety**: Mix tempo, tone, and style of numbers
-8. **Character-Specific Songs**: Music reflects who's singing
-9. **Build to Finale**: Climactic number resolves themes
-10. **Emotional Honesty**: Sincerity even in spectacle
-
-## Resources
-
-- "The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater" by Richard Kislan
-- "Writing Musical Theater" by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus
-- "Hamilton: The Revolution" by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
-- "La La Land" screenplay by Damien Chazelle
-- "West Side Story" screenplay by Ernest Lehman
-
----
-
-**Depth Coverage**: 85%
-**Last Updated**: 2026-01-31
-**Version**: 1.0.0
-
+# Musical Genre
+
+**Category**: Screenplay Genre  
+**Type**: Primary  
+**Complexity**: High
+
+## Overview
+
+Musicals integrate songs and dance into narrative storytelling. The genre emphasizes emotional expression through music, spectacle, and the heightened reality where characters naturally break into song.
+
+## Core Concept
+
+Musical screenplays use songs as narrative and emotional tools, not interruptions. Success depends on integrating music organically, using songs to advance plot or deepen character, and creating a world where musical expression feels natural. Great musicals use music to express what dialogue cannot, creating emotional peaks that justify the heightened form.
+
+## Core Rules
+
+### Rule 1: Songs Must Advance Story or Character
+
+**Description**: Every musical number should reveal character, advance plot, or deepen emotional understanding. No filler.
+
+**Why It Matters**: Songs that don't serve the story stop momentum and feel indulgent.
+
+**Examples**:
+- ✅ **Good**: "I Want" song establishing character desire, duet showing relationship shift
+- ❌ **Bad**: Generic production number with no narrative purpose
+
+**Film Reference**: Hamilton (2015) - Every song advances plot, reveals character, or develops themes.
+
+---
+
+### Rule 2: Establish Musical Rules Early
+
+**Description**: Set up when and why characters sing within the first 10-15 minutes. Create consistent logic.
+
+**Why It Matters**: Audiences need to accept the musical convention. Establish it quickly and maintain consistency.
+
+**Examples**:
+- ✅ **Good**: Opening number establishes that this world includes song
+- ❌ **Bad**: First song appears randomly 30 minutes in with no setup
+
+**Film Reference**: La La Land (2016) - Opens with "Another Day of Sun" establishing musical world immediately.
+
+---
+
+### Rule 3: Earn the Big Numbers
+
+**Description**: Major production numbers should be emotional climaxes, earned through buildup and character development.
+
+**Why It Matters**: Spectacle without emotional foundation is empty. The biggest numbers should be the biggest emotional moments.
+
+**Examples**:
+- ✅ **Good**: Climactic number after emotional journey makes audience feel catharsis
+- ❌ **Bad**: Spectacular number with no emotional stakes or buildup
+
+**Film Reference**: The Greatest Showman (2017) - "This Is Me" earned through characters' journey to self-acceptance.
+
+---
+
+### Rule 4: Integrate Music with Narrative
+
+**Description**: Songs should feel like natural extensions of scenes, not interruptions. Transition smoothly between dialogue and music.
+
+**Why It Matters**: Jarring transitions break immersion. Smooth integration maintains flow.
+
+**Examples**:
+- ✅ **Good**: Dialogue builds to song organically, or song transitions seamlessly back to scene
+- ❌ **Bad**: Abrupt stops and starts that feel like separate elements
+
+**Film Reference**: West Side Story (1961/2021) - Music and dance integrated into street life and conflict.
+
+---
+
+### Rule 5: Use Music for What Dialogue Can't Express
+
+**Description**: Songs should express emotions, desires, or internal states too big or complex for dialogue alone.
+
+**Why It Matters**: This is musical theater's unique power. Use it to justify the form.
+
+**Examples**:
+- ✅ **Good**: Internal conflict, overwhelming emotion, or transcendent joy expressed through song
+- ❌ **Bad**: Songs that just repeat information already conveyed in dialogue
+
+**Film Reference**: Les Misérables (2012) - "I Dreamed a Dream" expresses Fantine's despair beyond what dialogue could.
+
+---
+
+## Guidelines
+
+### Structure
+
+- **Act I**: Opening number establishes world, "I Want" song shows protagonist's desire, inciting incident
+- **Act II**: Relationship/conflict develops through songs, production numbers, possible "Dark Night" song
+- **Act III**: Climactic number, resolution, finale that reprises themes
+
+### Pacing
+
+- Balance dialogue scenes with musical numbers
+- Build to bigger production numbers
+- Use songs to compress time or montage
+- Vary tempo and energy between numbers
+- Allow breathing room between big numbers
+
+### Character Archetypes
+
+- **Protagonist**: Often dreamer or outsider with clear desire expressed in song
+- **Love Interest**: Duets reveal relationship development
+- **Antagonist**: Often has their own musical theme or number
+- **Ensemble**: Chorus provides spectacle and community
+
+### Tone and Atmosphere
+
+- Heightened reality where song is natural
+- Emotional expressiveness and sincerity
+- Can range from joyful to tragic
+- Spectacle and visual grandeur
+- Often optimistic or cathartic
+
+### Visual Style
+
+- Choreographed camera movement
+- Colorful, expressive production design
+- Dynamic editing during numbers
+- Wide shots for dance, close-ups for emotion
+- Visual motifs that recur with musical themes
+
+### Dialogue
+
+- Often more stylized than naturalistic
+- Builds toward or transitions from song
+- Can be minimal - let music do the work
+- Lyrics function as heightened dialogue
+- Subtext in what's sung vs. what's said
+
+## Common Pitfalls
+
+### Pitfall 1: Songs That Stop the Story
+
+**Problem**: Musical numbers that feel like interruptions rather than integral to narrative.
+
+**Solution**: Every song should advance plot, reveal character, or deepen emotion.
+
+**Example**: Chicago (2002) - Musical numbers are fantasy sequences that reveal character psychology.
+
+---
+
+### Pitfall 2: Inconsistent Musical Logic
+
+**Problem**: Unclear rules about when/why characters sing, or breaking established rules.
+
+**Solution**: Establish clear logic early and maintain it throughout.
+
+**Example**: Dancer in the Dark (2000) - Musical numbers are Selma's escapist fantasies, clearly established.
+
+---
+
+### Pitfall 3: Weak Book (Non-Musical Scenes)
+
+**Problem**: Strong songs but weak dialogue scenes or story between numbers.
+
+**Solution**: Non-musical scenes must be as strong as musical ones. Story works even without songs.
+
+**Example**: West Side Story - Strong dramatic scenes between musical numbers.
+
+---
+
+## Film Examples
+
+### Example 1: La La Land (2016)
+
+**Director**: Damien Chazelle
+
+**Why It Works**: Modern musical about dreamers in LA. Romance and ambition. Bittersweet ending.
+
+**Key Scenes**:
+- **"Another Day of Sun"**: Opening number establishes musical world
+- **Planetarium Dance**: Romance through movement and music
+- **"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"**: Emotional climax earned through journey
+
+**Techniques Used**:
+- Long takes and choreographed camera movement
+- Songs advance relationship and character arcs
+- Musical numbers as emotional peaks
+- Bittersweet ending subverts genre expectations
+
+---
+
+### Example 2: Chicago (2002)
+
+**Director**: Rob Marshall
+
+**Why It Works**: Musical numbers as fantasy sequences revealing character psychology. Dark, cynical tone.
+
+**Key Scenes**:
+- **"All That Jazz"**: Establishes Roxie's fantasy world
+- **"Cell Block Tango"**: Each woman's story through song
+- **"Razzle Dazzle"**: Courtroom as performance
+
+**Techniques Used**:
+- Musical numbers are fantasies, not diegetic
+- Dark satire of celebrity and justice
+- Integrated staging (stage and reality blur)
+- Songs reveal character psychology
+
+---
+
+### Example 3: West Side Story (1961/2021)
+
+**Director**: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins / Steven Spielberg
+
+**Why It Works**: Romeo and Juliet as musical gang conflict. Dance and music express tribal identity and forbidden love.
+
+**Key Scenes**:
+- **"America"**: Cultural identity through song and dance
+- **"Tonight"**: Romance and impending tragedy
+- **"Somewhere"**: Hope amid violence
+
+**Techniques Used**:
+- Dance as expression of gang identity
+- Music integrated into street life
+- Tragedy in musical form
+- Choreography as storytelling
+
+---
+
+### Example 4: Hamilton (2015)
+
+**Director**: Thomas Kail (filmed stage production)
+
+**Why It Works**: Hip-hop musical about founding fathers. Every song advances plot or deepens character.
+
+**Key Scenes**:
+- **"My Shot"**: Hamilton's ambition and drive established
+- **"The Room Where It Happens"**: Political maneuvering through song
+- **"It's Quiet Uptown"**: Devastating grief and forgiveness
+
+**Techniques Used**:
+- Hip-hop and R&B for historical story
+- Rapid-fire lyrics advance plot quickly
+- Diverse casting reimagines history
+- No wasted songs - all serve narrative
+
+---
+
+## Integration with Other Features
+
+### Compatible Themes
+
+- **Dreams and Ambition**: Pursuing goals (La La Land, A Star Is Born)
+- **Love and Romance**: Relationships through song (West Side Story, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
+- **Identity**: Finding yourself (Hairspray, The Greatest Showman)
+- **Social Issues**: Commentary through music (Rent, Hamilton)
+- **Show Business**: Backstage stories (Chicago, Singin' in the Rain)
+
+### Compatible Styles
+
+- **Classic Musical**: Golden age Hollywood (Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music)
+- **Rock Musical**: Contemporary music (Rent, Rock of Ages)
+- **Jukebox Musical**: Existing songs (Mamma Mia!, Bohemian Rhapsody)
+- **Animated Musical**: Disney and others (The Lion King, Moana)
+
+### Hybrid Combinations
+
+- **Musical + Romance**: Love stories with songs (Moulin Rouge!, Grease)
+- **Musical + Drama**: Serious themes (Les Misérables, Dear Evan Hansen)
+- **Musical + Comedy**: Humor-driven (The Producers, Hairspray)
+- **Musical + Biography**: Musicians' lives (Walk the Line, Rocketman)
+
+## Best Practices
+
+1. **Songs Serve Story**: Every number advances plot or character
+2. **Establish Rules Early**: Set up musical logic in opening
+3. **Earn Big Numbers**: Spectacle follows emotional buildup
+4. **Smooth Integration**: Transitions between dialogue and song
+5. **Express the Inexpressible**: Use music for what dialogue can't convey
+6. **Strong Book**: Non-musical scenes must be compelling
+7. **Variety**: Mix tempo, tone, and style of numbers
+8. **Character-Specific Songs**: Music reflects who's singing
+9. **Build to Finale**: Climactic number resolves themes
+10. **Emotional Honesty**: Sincerity even in spectacle
+
+## Resources
+
+- "The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater" by Richard Kislan
+- "Writing Musical Theater" by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus
+- "Hamilton: The Revolution" by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
+- "La La Land" screenplay by Damien Chazelle
+- "West Side Story" screenplay by Ernest Lehman
+
+---
+
+**Depth Coverage**: 85%
+**Last Updated**: 2026-01-31
+**Version**: 1.0.0
+