Getting started — your first script and PDF in 5 minutes

The core flow of Shortime Studio is: create a project → write a script → export a PDF. These three steps work as they are, with no AI key or extra setup.

Writing it yourself is the default. You write the script; AI (co-writer, images, video) is an option that helps when you get stuck and with repetitive work. Follow sections 1 and 2 below and you can finish your first episode without calling AI even once. The journey guides cover the AI paths one by one.

1. Create a project

If you have no projects yet, My works opens on the start screen — the place where you write an idea in the box in the middle and create a new project.

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If you already have projects, the "Shall we pick up where you left off?" screen opens: at the top is a card for the project you were working on last (Continue working · View planning), and below it All projects shows every project as a card. Create a new project with + New project in the first slot, or with the New project button in the left tree — both open the start screen described above.

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The left tree also takes you back to the projects and episodes you were working on (the current project plus its episode list). Once you have more than 8 projects, a title search appears above the tree. On narrow screens the tree tucks away into a drawer.

The fastest way — start with a blank script

1. From the top menu, go to My works → + New project.
2. Click [Start with a blank script] at the bottom right. You don't need to type anything.
3. A project and its first episode are created and the editor opens right away. Continue to section 2.

This is the path we recommend. If you already know what you want to write, stop here and start writing.

Worth writing down (optional)

• Idea box — Describe the story that comes to mind in as much detail as you like: who it's about,

what situation they're in, where the story is headed, even works you drew on or the tone you want. What you write is kept as is in the project's planning. You can start without writing anything. If you're stuck on what to write, try one of the starting points below the box (I only have a genre · I have characters · I'll start from a news story or true event · I have an ending in mind). A sentence template with blanks comes in, and you fill it in. No AI is called.

• Title — If you leave it empty, the first line of your idea is suggested as the title; if the idea is

empty too, a name like "Untitled 1" is assigned automatically. You can change it any time on the project home.

Add episodes with the button named for your project type — for a short drama it's New episode.

Choosing a format and a style

At the top of the Start something new screen, pick a format (Short drama / Short anime) and a style. Each format already has its first style selected, so you can start without choosing.

• Style presets — Short drama has Modern K-drama and Modern cinematic; short anime has TV anime,

Feature anime, K-webtoon and Watercolor. Selecting a card shows the style's key traits and four images (face, full body, background, detail) in the preview below. Switching formats goes back to that format's first style.

• Create from images (your own style) — the last card in the grid. Add 1–4 images you made or have the right

to use (JPG or PNG, up to 10MB each, 1:1 recommended) and a name, and it's saved as your style and selected right away. The description is optional; when you save, the images and description are used to fill in rendering, color, proportions and background tone, and each image is sorted as character, background or color (no credits are used). If that automatic step fails, the style is still saved with its images. Your styles are saved to your account so you can pick them in other projects; edit or delete one from the card's … menu. This card appears only when you're signed in and saving to the server.

• Creating a project copies the style into it. Editing or deleting your style later doesn't change projects

you've already made. You can change a project's style afterwards in its project look.

If you want to shape the idea first — Develop idea

When you're still unsure what to write, you can talk with the AI co-writer to work out a logline, characters, and structure. Whatever you wrote in the idea box is passed along. If you haven't typed a single character, this button can't be clicked.

Good to know: the co-writer is still being refined, so the conversation may not always be smooth. If you don't like the result, go to the editor and write it yourself any time — the project and episode that were created stay as they are. You can reopen the co-writer from the project home whenever you like.

In the idea box, Enter adds a line break. ⌘+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows) is the same as clicking the Develop idea button. AI runs only when you click this button (or press this shortcut) yourself, and credits are used only then. In the title field, Enter starts a blank script.

When you're signed in, projects and episodes are saved to the server; before you sign in, they're saved only in this browser. Sign in to use them on multiple devices.

2. Write the script

Open an episode and you're in the script editor. Write from top to bottom as you normally would; learn a few conventions and the structure (scenes and dialogue) is recognized automatically.

A blank page shows a faint first-line hint. It tells you how to start a scene, how to call a character, and that you can paste in a script you've already written. It disappears as soon as you type a character.

If you have an existing script, paste it in. Paste plain text copied from Hangul, Word, or Notepad as is, and scene headings and character dialogue are recognized and converted into structure. Scene numbers like S#1 or 씬 1 (and SCENE 1), dialogue in the Minsu: form, and name lines set apart by blank lines above and below are read as character cues. Fix anything that was misread by hand, and press ⌘/Ctrl+Z to undo.

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Registering characters first makes this more accurate. A name registered in planning is read as dialogue even if it appears only once in the pasted text. An unregistered name is recognized only when the same name appears two or more times, or when it's a common surname or role name (detective, clerk, and so on).

Starting a scene

Use whichever of the formats below is most comfortable for the scene heading line. As soon as you type it, it's recognized as a scene and appears in the outline on the right.

INT. 카페 - 낮
S#1. 카페 / 낮
씬 1: 카페

English headings work too:

INT. CAFE - DAY
SCENE 1: CAFE

Dialogue

Write the Korean-style form with a colon after the name as is. The @name form works too.

민수: 어제 왜 안 왔어?
지영: (웃으며) 말하자면 길어.

The same works with English names:

MINSU: Why didn't you come yesterday?
JIYOUNG: (smiling) It's a long story.

#### Dialogue heard from off screen

For a phone call or radio, or when the character isn't visible, still write that character's name as is, and add how it's heard in parentheses after the name.

@민수 (F)
(다급하게)
지금 어디야?

Don't create a new name like "Voice on the radio." The same person gets split into two characters, appears twice in the character list, and comes out as a different person when you make video. Even for a voice whose identity you'll reveal later, use the real name from the start and let the action lines do the hiding — for example, Their face is not visible.

A sound whose source is never revealed (announcements, loudspeakers) is written as an action line, not dialogue.

스피커에서 안내방송이 흘러나온다. "곧 문이 닫힙니다."

(In English: An announcement plays over the speaker. "The doors are closing.")

You don't need to worry about saving

• When you stop typing, it saves automatically after a moment. To save immediately, press ⌘S (Ctrl+S on Windows).
• The save indicator in the toolbar even tells you where it was saved — Saved 3 min ago · Saved to server

or · Saved in this browser only. If you haven't edited the open script yet, it shows No changes (it used to show "Not saved yet" in this case too).

• Paste in a script you wrote elsewhere as is, and scenes and dialogue are parsed automatically.
• Click a scene in the outline on the right to jump to that spot.

3. Export a PDF

Get your PDF from one place: [Export] next to [Share] on the project home (the episode editor has no PDF item). It uses the Nanum Myeongjo manuscript format, and the basic promise of this tool is that what you write on screen becomes the print manuscript as is. You choose everything in one dialog.

• Scope — Script (default) / Planning doc + script / Planning doc only. The planning doc includes only the

planning notes and characters marked as leads; locations are not included. If there are no leads, the character pages are empty, and the dialog tells you in advance.

• Episode selection — Choose from a checklist (all selected by default, with select all / clear all buttons). You can

pick non-consecutive episodes, such as sending only episodes 2 and 5, and the file name gets a suffix like "Ep. 2·5".

• Author name — Goes on the cover and the copyright line. If empty, it's filled with your profile name; if you edit

it, it's also saved to the project info.

• Include empty episodes — Choose whether to include episodes with no body text as divider pages only.
• Recipient watermark (free) — Enter a name and it's placed on each page in large diagonal text.
• Remove Shortime Studio credit — 1 credit per page — Removes the service name at the end of the footer. The page count

is taken right before download and that many credits are deducted; if your balance is short, it stops without deducting (uncheck it to download for free). The export date/time and copyright line remain.

Page numbers count across the whole document, planning doc and script combined. The footer shows the export date and time.

That's the basics — all without a key

Pick the next steps when you need them:

• AI writing assist — select a passage that's bothering you and polish it, and review the episode once the draft is done.

(Covered in the journey guide "Writing scripts")

• Planning assets — set up characters, locations, and props so the same reference is passed to images and video,

reducing inconsistent results. Image and video generation proceeds only once the required assets are ready.

• Production — attach characters, locations, and props as references to generate images and video. Download finished clips

from the archive and assemble them in the editing tool you use.

AI features require sign-in, credits, and a provider key configured in the service environment. Credits are deducted for what you use, and failed generations are not charged.

If you get stuck, sign in and ask [Help] at the bottom right of the screen — it answers based on this guide and gives the sources (no credits used). Details are in "Is there somewhere to ask right on the screen?" in the FAQ.

Mobile is read-only — you can read scripts, comment, and play from the archive; writing, planning, and production are done on desktop. The exact scope is in "What can I do on mobile?" in the FAQ.