21 episodes, 10 days, one recurring cast.
Basement Boys — an animated series built from a locked character bible + a scene generator, posted twice daily.
Basement Boys is a 3D animated mockumentary shipping 2 episodes a day on Instagram. Same 8 characters, one recurring setting, 21 episodes spanning a full season arc. Built from a character-bible template + scene generator — the exact pattern taught in Module 06.
The problem
Short-form viewers want recurring characters, not one-off clips. But "make the same face appear in 21 episodes" is where most AI video pipelines collapse — drift on every regenerate, wardrobe breaks, settings never match.
The pattern that worked
Character bible with sacred accessory anchors. Each character has a locked physical description + 3-5 wardrobe "fit tiers" + one sacred accessory that NEVER changes. Kyle's white cap. Tito's socks-and-sandals. Greg's silver wedding band. Steve's backwards cap + sunglasses + beard. These anchors hold the identity when everything else varies.
Locked settings as paste-in blocks. 12 primary settings each with a wide + 180° reverse version. Setting description block is pasted verbatim into every episode prompt so lighting, props, and vibe match across episodes.
Hook → complication → cliffhanger episode shape. Every 15-second episode opens with a specific situation, escalates with a complication or new character, and ends on an unresolved beat. Viewers come back for resolution.
Batch-and-queue, never generate live. All 21 episodes packed into watermarked + captioned mp4s upfront. A launchd agent (on macOS) posts 2x daily automatically. No manual posting, no missed schedules.
The numbers
- 21 episodes locked across 6 arc phases: Hook → Hustle → Upgrades → Drama → Paranoia → Finale
- 24 reference frames across the 12 setting pairs
- 8 character bibles with locked heights (Steve 6'6" → Tito 5'8") and accessory anchors
- 10 days to run the full season at 2/day cadence
What modules taught it
- Module 06 (AI Animated Series) — the full framework: character bible template, fit tiers, sacred accessory anchors, hook/complication/cliffhanger structure, batch-and-queue cadence
- Module 02 (Cover Art & Image Gen) — every character's reference frame was generated with Nano Banana Pro at 4K before any episode kicked off
- Module 01 (Seedance 2.0 — Cinematic Clips) — the video engine each episode rendered through
Use the pattern on any cast-based idea: workplace sitcom, family mockumentary, roommate drama, detective mystery. The content varies; the framework holds.