Write Directions, Not Names: How to Refer to Someone Who Is Off-Screen in a Single-Person Shot

Quick answer: In a shot that shows one person, do not name the person they are talking to or looking at. ‘Mei glares at Jun’ makes Jun a candidate for the frame, and the usual result is a second person appearing or Mei’s face drifting toward Jun’s. Write the relation as a direction: Mei glares toward frame left, eyes on the door behind the camera, turns to the voice off-screen right. The site already rewrites off-screen names into directions before generating, but text you write as directions from the start is clearer and survives editing. When two people must be seen together, there are only two honest framings: a side-on two-shot, or over one shoulder at the other; ‘A faces B, B in the background’ is a camera position that does not exist.

Still from “The Last Envelope”, an AI short drama generated end-to-end by SceneMixer (6 characters, 1 episode) — Sample: “The Last Envelope” — Realistic HD, 1 episode, produced end-to-end by SceneMixer from the script · watch the episodes

Open a segment, find a shot listing one person in frame, and read its text: any other character’s name in it is a risk; replace it with a direction and regenerate.

Why naming an off-screen person is dangerous

The models draw what is named. A name in the text is matched to that character’s sheet and the sheet is a strong pull; in a single-person shot the pull lands on the only person available, so features blend, or a second figure is invented. Directions carry the same staging information without the pull. Who the shot shows is decided by the in-frame list, and the text should agree with it: Who Is in Frame.

A storyboard segment: location, time and weather fields, then numbered shots with durations, asset chips and spoken lines — A shot on one person names only that person; the other's position is a direction, not a name.

How to write it

Gaze: eyes toward frame right, looks straight into the lens, looks down and to the left. Address: speaks toward the door off-screen. Reaction: flinches from something at frame left. Movement: walks out of frame right. Left and right are the picture’s left and right, as the audience sees them. Keep the other person’s name for the shots they are actually in. How to Write One Shot.

What the site does for you

Before a clip is generated, names of characters who are not in the shot are replaced with direction words, and their sheets are not attached. The same for a character who exists only as a body or a corpse in that shot. It is a safety net: a shot written with names and later edited may slip past it, and directions you wrote yourself read better.

Two people who must share the frame

Side-on two-shot: both in profile or three-quarter, facing each other across the frame. Over-the-shoulder: one person’s shoulder in the near corner, the other’s face beyond it. Those are the two ways a camera can show two people facing each other. ‘A faces B, with B behind her in soft focus’ asks for A to face away from B and toward B at once; the model picks one and the staging breaks. Depth words (in the background, behind) are camera positions; use them only when the geometry works. Spatial Consistency.

Keeping sides consistent

Once A looks frame-left at B in one shot, B looks frame-right at A in the reverse. Keep that across the segment; swapping sides between shots reads as the two having changed places. The storyboard’s axis rule is written for this.

Instead of	Write
Mei glares at Jun (Jun not in frame)	Mei glares toward frame left
He answers Father on the phone	He answers, eyes down, phone to his ear
She watches Jun leave	She watches something exit frame right
A faces B, B in the background	Over A's shoulder: B's face beyond it
The corpse of Wei at her feet	A body at her feet, face down

FAQ

If the site fixes names anyway, why should I care?

The fix is a net, not a guarantee; and a direction tells the model where to look, which a removed name does not.

Can I name someone off-screen who is speaking?

Mark the line as off-screen; the speaker's name stays on the line, not in the picture text.

Which left is 'frame left'?

The audience's left, looking at the picture.

Why did a second face appear in a close-up?

Almost always a named off-screen character. Replace the name with a direction.

How do I show two people talking?

Side-on two-shot or over-the-shoulder; nothing else.

Point, don't name

Directions stage the shot without inviting anyone in.

Open the editor

Updated September 27, 2026