Regenerating Frames

Regeneration is how you get a second take on a frame that didn’t land the first time. PrePrompt offers two flavors: single-frame regenerate and batch regenerate (an entire scene at once). Which to pick depends on how broken the grid is.

Regeneration is also the operation most often confused with reshot. They do different things. Using the right one will save you credits and time.

Single-frame vs. batch

Single-frame regenerate

Re-roll one frame with the same beat description, shot metadata, and assets. Use when one specific frame is weak but the rest of the scene is fine.

Batch regenerate (whole scene)

Re-roll every frame in a scene at once. Use after changing shot cinematography for the scene, swapping a Set, or when the whole scene didn’t come together.

Batch regeneration is faster than regenerating each frame individually, but it charges credits for every frame it runs. Prefer single-frame regeneration when only a handful of beats need another pass.

Single-frame regenerate

1. Open the Storyboard Node and find the frame you want to re-roll.

2. Trigger regenerate on that frame. Right-click it or use the frame’s regenerate control.

3. Wait for the new image. The beat regenerates using the same inputs — beat description, shot cinematography, scene context, approved assets.

4. Decide. Keep the new frame, restore the previous version from history, or regenerate again.

A single-frame regenerate is a clean re-roll. Same inputs, different output. It’s the right move when a frame’s composition and subject are correct but the execution is off — weak pose, awkward expression, bad background detail, or a generation that just didn’t click.

Batch regenerate

1. Open the Storyboard Node for the scene.

2. Trigger regenerate on the scene. The batch control appears at the scene level — it runs every beat in the scene through fresh generation.

3. Monitor progress. Each frame shows its individual status as generation proceeds. Failed beats stay retryable; successful ones update in place.

4. Review the grid. Because every frame is new, look for regressions as well as improvements. If a previously good frame comes back worse, regenerate it individually or roll back from history.

Batch regeneration is the right tool after a structural change that affects the whole scene — you changed the Set, adjusted every shot’s lens, or rewrote the shot list. Running frame-by-frame in that case is slow; running the scene at once matches your intent.

Batch regeneration costs credits per frame

Running a batch regenerate on a ten-beat scene runs ten generations. Credits are held per frame when the job starts and released if that frame fails. Only successful frames are charged.

Regenerate vs. reshot

This is the most important distinction in the storyboard:

Regenerate a frame

Re-rolls the frame with the same inputs. The Actor, Prop, and Set stay exactly as they were. Use when the problem is the specific rendering of this beat.

Reshot an asset

Re-generates the Actor, Prop, or Set itself. Every frame that used that asset rebuilds on the next storyboard run. Use when the problem is the asset, not the frame.

If you keep regenerating the same beat because the actor’s face looks wrong, you’re treating a symptom. The cause is the Actor. Reshot the Actor, then regenerate the beat. The frame will inherit the fixed Actor and render correctly in one pass.

Heuristic: one bad frame or one bad asset?

If only one frame looks wrong, regenerate that frame. If the same character looks wrong across many frames, reshot the Actor. Match the scope of the fix to the scope of the problem.

Iterate purposefully

Every generation consumes credits. A few habits keep that honest:

• Look at the frame, not just the thumbnail. A thumbnail can hide issues that a full-size view reveals. Zoom in before deciding to regenerate.
• Ask whether the beat description is specific enough. A vague description produces inconsistent results. Tightening the description is often faster than repeated re-rolls.
• Check the shot’s cinematography. If a frame keeps framing wide when you want tight, adjust the shot’s lens and angle rather than regenerating the frame alone.
• Reshot assets before batch-regenerating. If the whole scene looks wrong because the Set is wrong, reshot the Set first. Then batch-regenerate the scene once, not twice.

Related

Generating Frames How the Storyboard Node produces frames from beats and assets.

Reframing Beats The crop marquee tool for changing a frame's composition.

Actors and Wardrobe Reshooting an actor when the character itself is the problem.

Director Review Board The approval gate that catches weak assets before they propagate.

FAQ

Does regenerating a frame change the beat description? No. The description stays as-is. A regenerate re-runs the same prompt against the model. To change the output’s intent, edit the description first, then regenerate.

What’s the difference between regenerate and reshot? Regenerate re-rolls a single frame with the same inputs. Reshot re-generates an asset (Actor, Prop, or Set) — every frame that used that asset will rebuild on the next storyboard run. Regenerate is per-frame; reshot is global.

Does batch regeneration replace my frames even if some were already good? Yes — batch runs every beat in the scene. If you want to preserve specific frames, regenerate the weak ones individually instead.

What happens to the old version of a regenerated frame? It’s preserved in the node’s history. You can roll back to a previous generation if the new version is worse.

Why is my regenerated frame almost identical to the one I wanted to replace? The inputs are the same, so the output often is too. To get meaningful variation, edit the beat description, adjust the shot’s cinematography, or reshoot the underlying asset — then regenerate.

Are credits refunded if I don’t like the new frame? No. A successful generation is charged whether or not you keep the result. Credits are only released (not charged) when a generation fails outright. Iterate with intent.