Open Arsenal

Cinema, defined.

AETHER STAGE is an open source cinematic spatial intelligence system that reimagines film production as a structured, programmable world rather than a sequence of generated frames. Instead of relying on ambiguous text prompts, it defines scenes through modular systems that describe space, motion, physics, lighting, narrative, and camera behavior with precision. Every scene is built as a persistent spatial environment where objects, characters, and cameras exist as interconnected entities that can be edited, reused, and directed without regenerating an entire sequence.

At the core of AETHER STAGE is a modular architecture that separates every aspect of production into independent yet connected systems. The 360° Asset Module creates view-consistent objects that can be observed from any camera angle while maintaining identity and visual continuity. The Mass Module ensures that every asset occupies real volumetric space, allowing cameras, actors, and objects to navigate naturally around one another without intersecting unless explicitly configured to do so. The Scene Graph organizes relationships between assets, while the Camera Physics System provides physically aware camera movement with support for cinematic techniques such as dolly, crane, orbit, handheld, and free-flight operation.

Beyond physical simulation, AETHER STAGE introduces higher-level cinematic intelligence through its Film Grammar Engine, Timeline System, Causality Engine, Intent System, Performance Layer, and World Memory System. These modules work together to produce scenes that maintain narrative continuity, believable character behavior, environmental interaction, and persistent world state across multiple shots and sequences. The platform also supports semantic lighting, environmental physics, attention-based focus control, event scheduling, and temporal manipulation, giving creators fine-grained control over both technical and artistic aspects of production.

One of the defining innovations of AETHER STAGE is the Director Override Layer, a high-authority control system that places creative intent above simulation constraints. When necessary, the Director Override Layer can supersede physics, collision rules, camera limitations, spatial constraints, and even causal relationships to preserve the desired narrative outcome. This enables filmmakers to balance realism with artistic expression while maintaining a structured, deterministic production workflow. Rather than replacing existing filmmaking practices, AETHER STAGE provides a computational foundation that combines cinematic language, spatial simulation, and modular world-building into a unified framework for the next generation of AI-assisted film production.

This specification is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+) and may be used freely with required attribution under Section 7. A Specification Branding License is available for attribution-free deployments, with fees based on usage, scope, and deployment size.