Concept
Susan's note, verbatim, then the working read. Nothing here is final until she signs off.
Why the joke lands
“Divisible load” is the regulator's own term. Santa is arguing that a sleigh of gifts splits into legal loads — so he shouldn't need an oversize permit. It only works on an audience that knows the term. That audience is the customer. It is the one line that must survive every cut.
The cut is the joke
Santa says his line, and we cut. No loading scene, no explanation — the audience fills the gap faster than we could shoot it. Coming in on the reefer doors already swinging shut on a wall of presents is funnier than showing the work, and it buys back seven seconds for the closing VO.
The closing line has to come down
Susan's VO runs about twenty seconds spoken. In a 24-second spot it cannot — it would swallow the entire scene. Same idea, half the words:
“Santa might get the credit. But we know who really makes Christmas happen. Merry Christmas from all of us at Coast 2 Coast.”
This is the one approval that blocks the back half of the cut. Everything else can move around it.
Beat sheet
Seven beats, 24 seconds. Nothing here is padding — every second is a decision.
Inside the cab — open on the two of them
No establishing shot; vertical hates wides. Amara driving, Cal beside her, headlights raking something on the shoulder ahead. She leans in.
“Looks like someone is up ahead.”The stop
Exterior close on the tractor, air brakes, snow swirling in the beam. Two seconds, no more.
Reveal
Santa, roadside, sleigh on a flatbed, cruiser's light bar washing the snow red and blue. Vertical framing: Santa and the lights stacked in frame.
Cal leans across her
His arm past Amara to the window, half a grin, breath fogging the glass. Tight — two faces in a tall frame.
“Hey, you need a hand?”The money line
Close on Santa — exasperated, mittens, clipboard edge in frame. The whole spot hangs here.
“He says it's a divisible load!”Hard cut — the payoff
Cut on the laugh. Reefer doors swinging shut on a wall of presents, latch thunk, wheels turning. No loading scene, no explanation.
Pull away · VO · logo
Tail lights shrinking into the snow. VO runs the last seven seconds; logo lands in the final two, mid-frame so platform UI doesn't eat it.
“Santa might get the credit…”Shot list
Seven setups, all vertical. Every one is a close-up — 9:16 punishes wides, so the establishing shot is gone.
Cab interior — Amara and Cal
Opens the spot. Headlights raking the shoulder ahead. Delivers line 1.
generated · characterTractor comes to a stop
Exterior close, air brakes, snow in the beam. Two seconds.
generated · plateReveal — Santa and the cruiser
Stacked vertical: Santa, sleigh on flatbed, light bar washing red/blue.
generated · compCal leans across her
Two faces in a tall frame; her reaction carries the beat. Line 2.
generated · characterSanta — the money line
Close, exasperated, officer's clipboard edge in frame. Line 3.
generated · characterHard cut — doors on presents
Reefer doors swinging shut on a wall of boxes, latch thunk. Decal composited.
fx · overlayPull away · VO · logo
Tail lights shrinking. VO over the run, logo mid-frame in the last two seconds.
motion · graphicsCast
Per the character bible. Both drivers are confirmed; Santa is the only build from scratch.
Amara
Freightliner, reefer, white with teal accents. Beanie, denim jacket, work boots. Sharp, dry, unbothered — she spots the problem and decides. Her cab is the only interior we build, and the only truck in the spot.
- Asset
- Full design spec on file
- Status
- Ready to generate
Calvin “Cal”
68, calm authority, patient. He rides with Amara and delivers line 2 from the passenger seat. He never leaves the cab — no full-body build, no truck, no door decal needed.
- Asset
- No design spec yet
- Status
- Seated reference build
Santa new
Stylized 3D to sit with the cast — not a mall Santa, not a Coke Santa. Road-worn, red suit under a hi-vis vest. Dignity intact, day thoroughly ruined.
- Asset
- Design from scratch
- Status
- Look test needed
DOT officer
Keep him off camera. A uniform invites credibility problems and a real-agency read. Clipboard edge, a shoulder, a voice — that's all the scene needs.
- Asset
- None
- Status
- Recommend off-screen
Deliverables
Vertical only — no landscape master, and that is a real constraint: keep the logo and any text inside the middle 70% of the frame. Platform UI eats the bottom 15% and the right edge.
9:16 · 24s
1080×1920 H.264, high bitrate. The spot as written — Facebook Reels/Stories and TikTok.
9:16 · 15s
Same story, faster cut: S01, S03, S05, S06, S07. For TikTok, where completion rate is the whole game.
Burned in
All three lines as styled subtitles. Both platforms autoplay, and Facebook often starts muted — the joke has to survive sound off.
3 vertical
9:16 frames pulled from the grade for feed posts and thumbnails.
2 captions
One per platform, written to the format — TikTok copy is not Facebook copy.
Project bundle
Resolve project, plates, generated assets, prompts used.
Schedule
Back-planned from a Dec 15 air date. Five weeks, and the generation block is the long pole.
Checklist
Checked state saves in this browser. It's a working list, not a record.
Open items
What's blocking, and who can unblock it.
Susan's line is ~20s spoken and the spot is 24s. The proposed cut is on the concept panel above. Nothing else moves until this is approved.
SusanStylized, road-worn, hi-vis over the red suit. The only character built from scratch — blocks S03 and S05.
SusanRecommend yes. Facebook often autoplays muted, and "divisible load" only lands if it's readable.
SusanSeven setups, two passes, vertical. Set a ceiling before the Nov 13 block opens.
JeremyCosts one more assemble. Worth it on TikTok, near-useless on Facebook Stories.
SusanAssets
Where everything lives on the work machine.
├── brief.md — concept, beats, cast mapping, open items
├── script.md — pending
├── refs/ — tone and look references
├── assets/ — generated characters, plates, stock
├── drafts/ — review cuts
├── renders/ — Resolve exports
└── site/ — this dashboard