N1BW Players Handbook

Version 0.2 - September 2026

N1BW is built on two beliefs. First, short vertical video has become one of the world's major forms of entertainment, but its potential for scripted, serialized storytelling has barely been explored. Vertical series can encompass far more genres, creative voices, and audiences than they do today. Second, the best way to realize that potential is through a creator-driven platform. Creators should be able to originate and own projects, find people who are excited by the same ideas, and share in the value they create.

You do not need a studio or a finished season to begin. Together, independent creators can assemble the talents of a studio around a project. You can start with a story, screenplay, poster, trailer, short, or finished episode. N1BW helps you move from that initial work toward a producible, published series, either on your own or together with fellow enthusiasts. This handbook explains what to do next, how projects and roles work, and how collaborators participate.

Practical guidance only. The N1BW Participation Agreement and other applicable platform terms control if they conflict with this handbook.

1 What N1BW Is

N1BW is a platform for developing, producing, publishing, and discovering original serialized entertainment. It combines a public audience experience with Backstage tools for creators.

On the public site, people can watch series, trailers, shorts, and episodes; view posters; and read fiction and screenplays. In Backstage, creators can organize projects, add work, invite collaborators, review contributions, and publish episodes.

Some creators will do nearly everything themselves. Others may find that a project becomes easier, faster, and better when they attract fellow enthusiasts to work with them. N1BW calls these invitations open roles. Opening a role means describing a particular part of the work where you would welcome help, such as shaping the series bible, writing an episode, directing, designing characters, editing, performing, or supervising music.

Opening a role does not mean handing over your project. At no point do you lose creative control. The Creator continues to guide the series, decide what is canon, choose collaborators, give direction, and approve the work. No contribution is accepted into your project or published as part of it without your explicit approval, subject also to N1BW's platform standards. Roles simply make it easier for people who are excited by the same idea to find one another, divide the work clearly, and build the project together.

We have entered what might be called the GitHub era of entertainment: creative work can be built collaboratively, contribution by contribution, by people who find one another around a project - while the Creator remains in control.

2 Start With What You Have

You do not need a completed season to begin. Start with the strongest material you already have and create a project around it.

A story or screenplay can be the foundation of a strong series, but it will not usually be enough by itself to attract collaborators or an audience. There are many projects on N1BW and in the world competing for people's time. Potential partners are more likely to become enthusiastic when they can sample the project visually and see evidence that other people are interested too.

A strong poster can make the project easier to understand. A trailer or anchor episode can communicate the characters, tone, world, and promise of the series much more directly. Visible audience response - such as views, likes, and follows where those signals are available - can further demonstrate audience potential. None of these signals guarantees success, but together they make it easier for potential collaborators to understand why a project may be worth joining.

3 The Path From Material to Series

1. Create a project and add the material you already have.

2. Develop a series bible and season outline.

3. Turn episode beats into scripts suitable for the intended running time and format.

4. Create the recurring character, location, voice, wardrobe, prop, and style references needed for consistent production.

5. Open roles or assign collaborators for the work you need.

6. Produce, review, and publish episodes.

7. Mark the season Ongoing while more episodes are coming and Complete when the season is finished.

8. Share the series and use audience response to decide what to make next.

Not every project will follow every step in this order. A trailer may come before a complete bible. A creator may produce an anchor episode before recruiting a larger team. The purpose of the process is to reduce wasted work while preserving creative flexibility.

4 Projects and Backstage

A project is the working home for a series. It should contain or point to the materials collaborators need to understand what is being made and what work remains.

• The project premise, genre, tone, and intended audience

• The current bible, outline, scripts, trailer, poster, and published episodes

• The season's Ongoing or Complete status

• Open roles and their expected deliverables

• Assignments, submitted contributions, requested revisions, and accepted work

• Credits and participation information

Keep important decisions and current materials in the project rather than relying on scattered messages. Collaborators should be able to determine which version is current and what they are responsible for producing.

5 Open Roles and Assignments

Open a role when another person could materially move the project forward. Describe the project, the deliverable, the expected schedule, the available materials, the approval process, and whether the role uses revenue participation, a funded fixed fee, or another structure supported by N1BW.

A role is an invitation to work with you, not an invitation to take control from you. You decide whom to select, what direction to give, whether revisions are needed, and whether the finished contribution is accepted into the project. Contributor work does not become part of the published project without your explicit approval, and N1BW may also review it for platform standards, compliance, and quality.

Do not ask someone to begin substantial work until the role and assignment are clear. A normal collaboration moves through a defined sequence:

1. The creator opens a role or identifies a contributor.

2. A contributor applies or is selected.

3. The creator makes an assignment with a specific deliverable.

4. The contributor submits the work through the project workflow.

5. The creator accepts it, requests revisions, or rejects it under the applicable project rules.

Only accepted contributions included in the final work qualify for participation under the Participation Agreement. The project and role terms should be understood before work begins.

6 Series Bibles and Story Breaking

A series bible turns an idea, story, screenplay, poster, or trailer into a plan that episode writers and producers can use. It does not need to be long. It needs to be clear, internally consistent, and useful.

• Series premise and format

• Principal characters and their relationships

• World rules, lore, and recurring locations when relevant

• Season arc and ending

• Episode-by-episode beats

• Tone, audience, and visual references

• Known production constraints

For an existing feature screenplay or prose story, the Bible Writer should identify the central dramatic engine, decide what belongs in the season, and break the material into episode beats. The result becomes the basis for short episode scripts; it is not automatically the final scripts.

N1BW's default participation structure includes Bible Writers. A creator can open a Bible Writer role when the project would benefit from collaborative story breaking. The project's actual allocations and the current Participation Agreement control.

7 Episode Scripts

N1BW is designed for serialized viewing, and many projects will use short episodes. Two to three minutes is often a useful creative target, but it is a recommendation rather than a universal platform rule. Use the length, aspect ratio, and format that serve the project and comply with the current upload requirements shown on the site.

Each episode should contain a meaningful story event and a reason to continue. Depending on the show, that reason might be a revelation, decision, reversal, discovery, threat, joke, emotional turn, new question, or cliffhanger.

When adapting longer material, avoid merely cutting the source into equal page counts. Each episode needs its own dramatic shape while advancing the season.

8 Trailers

A trailer is often the easiest project asset for viewers and potential collaborators to sample. A screenplay or story may require a significant time commitment; a trailer can communicate the premise, tone, characters, and promise of the series quickly. For that reason, creating a trailer can be worthwhile even before every episode is scripted.

A trailer is also a way to generate signal. Share it where the likely audience can find it. Meaningful viewing, likes, follows, and other genuine response can help validate audience potential and make prospective collaborators more confident that the project is worth their time. Do not manufacture or misrepresent engagement.

The current default participation allocations do not contain a separate Trailer Maker share. A creator who wants a trailer must make it, commission it through a funded fixed-fee or buyout arrangement supported by the platform, or establish another permitted project arrangement. Do not promise participation that the project has not actually allocated.

9 Production Materials

Once scripts are ready, assemble the materials needed to keep episodes consistent. The right level of detail depends on the project, but recurring elements should be easy to find and reuse.

• Character descriptions, approved images, wardrobe, and voice references

• Recurring locations, sets, vehicles, and spatial relationships

• Props, weapons, logos, costumes, artifacts, and other important objects

• Visual style, framing, aspect ratio, captions, and delivery specifications

• Dialogue, sound effects, ambient audio, and music responsibilities

• Episode-specific continuity and production notes

Whenever practical, contributors should provide editable source files or shared project links as well as final exports. This makes corrections and continuity work easier. Final review copies should also be supplied in a stable format such as PDF for documents or a standard video export for episodes.

10 Produce Review and Publish

Before production begins, make sure each contributor understands the approved script, assets, deliverables, schedule, and revision process. During review, evaluate story, tone, continuity, visual consistency, audio clarity, captions, technical delivery, and overall quality.

Creators may accept a contribution, return it with notes, or reject it under the applicable project and platform rules. Publication should occur only after the required review and technical processing have succeeded.

If a contributor proposes a substantial change to canon, recurring characters, mythology, relationships, locations, props, costumes, voices, or the season plan, raise the issue before expensive work is completed. The point is not bureaucracy. It is to prevent wasted work and continuity problems.

11 Ongoing and Complete Seasons

Season status tells viewers, collaborators, and N1BW what to expect.

Ongoing. Use Ongoing when additional episodes in the current season are expected. The practical next step is normally to add the next episode or open the roles needed to finish it.

Complete. Use Complete when the intended season has been fully published. Review episode order, credits, participation, descriptions, and artwork before treating the season as finished. Then share the season and use audience response to inform the next decision.

If the status changes, update it promptly. Do not mark a season Complete merely because production has paused, and do not leave it Ongoing when no more episodes are planned.

12 Credits Ownership and Participation

N1BW projects are governed by the current Participation Agreement and any other applicable project terms. In general:

• The project Creator retains ownership of the underlying project intellectual property, including the motion picture and television rights, subject to the platform rights granted in the applicable agreement.

• Opening roles does not transfer control of the project. Contributor work is not accepted into or published as part of the project without the Creator's explicit approval, subject also to N1BW's platform review.

• Contributions to an existing project are handled under the Participation Agreement and the project's accepted role structure.

• Only accepted contributions included in the final work qualify for participation.

• A creator may use funded fixed-fee or buyout roles where supported and properly funded.

• N1BW's distribution license is non-exclusive under the current agreement.

The current default allocation for transactional platform revenue is 20 percent to the Creator, 30 percent to Directors, 5 percent to Bible Writers, 10 percent to Writers, and 5 percent to the Music Supervisor, with at least 70 percent allocated to participants in total. Project structures may vary as permitted by the agreement. The current agreement, the accepted project allocation, and the platform record control over this summary.

Participation does not automatically govern revenue earned outside N1BW. Any off-platform arrangement must be addressed separately as required by the current agreement and the participants' own contracts.

13 Tokens and Free Viewing

N1BW sells tokens that viewers can use to unlock token-gated episodes. As the Creator, you decide whether each episode is available free or requires tokens to watch.

You may make the entire season free, make every episode token-gated, or use a combination - for example, a free trailer and opening episodes followed by token-gated episodes. Free viewing makes a project easier to sample and share. Token-gating lets the project earn direct transactional revenue when viewers unlock episodes.

Revenue from token-gated viewing is distributed according to the accepted project allocations and the current Participation Agreement. Consider the project's stage when choosing. Early in development, free access may be more valuable for building audience interest and attracting collaborators; a project with demonstrated demand may be better positioned to ask viewers to spend tokens.

14 After Publication

Publication is the beginning of the audience phase. Make it easy for people to understand what the series is, begin watching, and continue through the season.

• Use the strongest accurate title, description, poster, and trailer available.

• Share the public series or episode link with the audience most likely to care.

• Watch for meaningful behavior such as starts, completion, continuation to later episodes, and return viewing.

• Use audience response as information, not as a reason to manipulate engagement or misrepresent the work.

N1BW may provide creator updates or performance reporting as those features are available. The current product interface and communications determine what reporting is active; this handbook does not promise a particular report, audience size, revenue level, or promotional placement.

15 Practical Principles

• Start with what you have.

• Choose the next step that most directly moves the project toward a producible series.

• Make assignments and deliverables clear before work begins.

• Keep current materials and decisions accessible to the team.

• Resolve story and continuity questions before expensive production work.

• Use only as much process as the project needs.

• The goal is not to create paperwork. The goal is to create good episodes and help them find an audience.

16 Current Terms and Help

Review the current Participation Agreement, Terms and Conditions, Upload Rules, Community Guidelines, and other policies on N1BW before contributing or publishing.

Visit N1BW Participation Agreement Community Guidelines