Hit for Six — ball storyboards and the commentator

Every ball on the wall is a three-beat scene, the same shape as the walk-in that already works: set-up → delivery → payoff, with a commentator line before and after that reads the state of the innings. Nothing on the wall says "1 run" any more; it shows a single being run and a man sliding his bat over the line.

Timings are for the wall engine (web/public/cricket.html). Footage is photoreal broadcast style (v3) and every ball is two shots cut together, the way a broadcast covers a delivery:

1. The delivery (clip_bowl, 4.2 s): the real broadcast pitch camera, high in the stand behind the bowler's arm on a long lens, so the whole pitch runs up the frame as a vertical strip with the umpire and non-striker at the bottom and the batter at the top. The bowler runs INTO the shot from the bottom edge, up the strip, leaps and releases; the ball reaches the batter. Start frame cricket/stadium_v3_pitch.jpg (also the wall's resting still; v3/idle_pitch.mp4 is a 2.8 s ping-pong of the batter settling). Indian players, right-handed batter. It is the same shot for every ball, so the player learns to read it.
2. The outcome (clip_dot … clip_out, 8 s): a hard cut to the tight pitch-camera framing of the batter at the crease with the ball already in the air (start frame cricket/stadium_v3_crease.jpg). The ball arrives in the first second, the stroke or dismissal happens on screen, then the camera follows the ball (or the batter) to the result and the reaction.

Each clip does one thing. The earlier single-clip versions tried to fit the run-up, the stroke, the ball flight and the reaction into one wide 8-second shot and none of it read from fifteen metres.

Both start frames were built with the walk-in's batter as the character reference (stadium_v3.jpg wide; stadium_v3_crease.jpg tight, same batter, keeper and LED zing bails, blank perimeter boards); every clip is generated with Google Veo 3.1 from one of them so the people stay the same. The earlier cartoon set (v2) is kept only as a fallback. The sponsor's logos are overlaid by the wall, never baked into the footage.

Camera grammar borrowed from real T20 broadcasts (how each moment is covered on air): the delivery is always seen from the pitch camera at height behind the bowler; on a shot the camera tilts or whips to follow the ball; a boundary is tracked low across the outfield to the rope; a six is followed up into the sky and down into the stands, with pyrotechnics on the boundary edge; a wicket shows the LED bails flashing, the bowler's roar, then the batter's walk; runs show the dash, the throw, and the slide or dive into the crease; a dot shows the beaten edge, the keeper's take and the appeal.

The beat structure (every ball)

Between balls, while the player chooses at the kiosk, the scorebar carries a tension tag: balls left and what the next prize band needs.

Storyboards

DOT — "Beaten"

1. Set-up. Pre-ball line (e.g. "Fresh guard. The field is set."). Pack pulses.
2. Delivery. Bowler runs in, sharp swinging ball. The batter pushes forward and is beaten, the ball flies past the edge, the keeper takes it cleanly and holds it up. The batter looks down, taps the pitch, shakes his head. The crowd groans. (clip_dot, 8 s, Veo)
3. Payoff. Small white "DOT" over the stage, pack flips to a gold "0", scorebar unchanged. Post-ball line: "Beaten! Nothing on that." / "Dot ball. The crowd goes quiet."

ONE — "Quick single"

1. Set-up. "Rotate the strike, keep it ticking."
2. Delivery. Nudged softly into the leg-side gap; the batter sets off at once, sprinting down the pitch toward the camera, bat outstretched, slides it over the crease in a cloud of dust as a fielder's throw misses the stumps. He gets up and raises one finger. (clip_single, 8 s)
3. Payoff. "ONE", pack flips to gold "1", runs +1. "Quick single. Safe."

TWO — "Hard-run two"

1. Set-up. "There's a gap at deep cover…"
2. Delivery. Driven firmly along the ground into the deep; the camera follows the ball as a fielder chases; the batters run one and turn; the fielder slides and throws; the batter dives full length into the crease as the keeper breaks the stumps; the umpire's arms stay down. Safe. (clip_double, 8 s)
3. Payoff. "TWO", gold "2", runs +2. "Hard-run two, that's hustle."

FOUR — "To the rope"

1. Set-up. "Short and wide would be a gift here."
2. Delivery. Crisp cover drive, the ball races along the grass, a fielder dives full length and misses, it beats him to the rope and crosses it; the crowd behind the rope jumps up. (clip_four, 6 s)
3. Payoff. Full-wall takeover: electric-blue "FOUR" in chrome type, sponsor stamp "Brite Boundary", blue confetti, pack flips to the blue "4". "Timed to perfection!" / "Nobody's stopping that!"

SIX — "Out of the ground"

1. Set-up. "He's looking for the stands…" (if one hit from a prize band: "A six here and the hamper is his.")
2. Delivery. Steps out and launches it; the camera whips up and follows the ball over the fielders and the crowd; it lands in the upper stand; the crowd leaps with arms raised; the batter raises his bat. (clip_six, 8 s)
3. Payoff. Full-wall takeover: gold "SIX" with fireworks keyed over the stadium, marquee bulbs chase, sponsor stamp "Brite Super Six", gold confetti, pack flips to the gold "6". "OUT OF THE GROUND!" / "That's MASSIVE!"

OUT — "Timber"

1. Set-up. "Careful now. The OUT ball is still in there."
2. Delivery. Fast ball; the batter swings and misses; the ball smashes into the stumps and the bails fly in slow motion; keeper and bowler leap; the batter drops his head, tucks the bat under his arm and walks off to the pavilion while the crowd groans. (clip_out, 8 s)
3. Payoff. Full-wall takeover: red "OUT", white flash on impact, the pack flips to the red "OUT" card and the ball under it dims. "He's GONE!" / "Timber! Walk back." Then the full-wall scorecard.

The innings (already built)

• Walk-in (clip_walkin, 8 s): the hero walks out of the tunnel, confetti, bat raised; the "NOW BATTING" band slides across. Photoreal clip, a deliberate style break for the entrance.
• Scorecard: glass card, trophy for the day's best, ball sequence, rank, QR.

The commentator

A small rule engine in the wall (commentator() in cricket.html) picks a line from pools keyed on the state of the innings. Every line is one short sentence written to be read from fifteen metres.

Pre-ball (set-up) — first match wins:

Post-ball (payoff) — by outcome, plus milestones:

Between balls (tension tag on the scorebar): "{left} balls left · {need} for the {prize}" or "{left} balls left · top of the board is {lead} away".

What is footage and what is engine

A sponsor can upload their own clips for any of these; the wall overlays its logos and tagline, so the footage stays reusable across campaigns.

Sound (next)

Walls usually have audio. The same beat structure takes sound without changes: a crowd-hush bed on set-up, bat crack and crowd swell on delivery, a sting on the payoff, and the commentator lines as recorded voice. Not built yet; it needs licensed SFX and a voice.