Templates — choose the whole visual system

A template controls the background, semantic palette, glow character and any page chrome for the entire movie. Choose it once near the top of the file:

canvas("9:16");
template("black");

black is the default. If a DSL file does not call template(...), it renders exactly as if template("black") had been written. Keeping the call explicit is useful in shared examples; omitting it is convenient for ordinary authoring.

Available templates

Useful aliases are monochrome, blackwhite, black-white, and bw for mono; blank and clean for plain; light and print for paper; and blue for blueprint.

black and plain are intentionally different. black is a truly black, chrome-free creator canvas; plain retains Manic’s original indigo-black neon surface.

Mono in practice

// Mono is the default; keep this line explicit when teaching or sharing.
title("Mono template");
canvas("16:9");
template("mono");

rect(card, (640, 360), 930, 430);
color(card, panel);

text(head, (640, 205), "ONE PALETTE · CLEAR HIERARCHY");
size(head, 42);
color(head, fg);
hidden(head);

circle(a, (410, 370), 58); color(a, cyan); hidden(a);
circle(b, (640, 370), 58); color(b, magenta); hidden(b);
circle(c, (870, 370), 58); color(c, lime); hidden(c);

text(al, (410, 470), "PRIMARY"); color(al, fg); hidden(al);
text(bl, (640, 470), "SECONDARY"); color(bl, dim); hidden(bl);
text(cl, (870, 470), "SUCCESS"); color(cl, lime); hidden(cl);

show(head, 0.4);
par {
  show(a, 0.5);
  show(b, 0.5);
  show(c, 0.5);
}
par {
  show(al, 0.35);
  show(bl, 0.35);
  show(cl, 0.35);
}
pulse(c);
wait(1);

Named colours remain meaningful under mono. fg, dim, panel, cyan, magenta, lime, gold, red, orange, blue, teal, violet, coral, indigo, and mint are mapped to deliberately different greys instead of collapsing to identical white. This preserves hierarchy and correct-answer contrast while keeping the export monochrome.

Use named colours for template-aware work:

color(answer, lime);       // success role; becomes a bright mono tone
color(note, dim);          // secondary role; remains visually quiet

hue(...) is intentionally an explicit colour choice and bypasses semantic palette remapping. Avoid it when the output must remain strictly black and white.

DSL selection versus export override

The DSL call travels with the scene. The command-line option is useful for a one-off alternate render:

manic scene.manic --still 4.0
manic scene.manic --record out --template paper

An explicit --template NAME export option overrides the DSL template for that run. This is a quick way to proof the same semantic scene on mono, paper and blueprint without editing the source.

Creator and Reel guidance

Start with black when colour is part of the explanation. It gives Creator stories a clean, cinema-dark canvas while preserving semantic accents:

canvas("9:16");
// template("black") is optional because black is the default.
creator(me, "@anish2good yt=zarigatongy x=@anish2good web=maniclang.com footer=social");
quiz(q, "Which statement is true?");

Choose mono for an intentionally black-and-white identity, shorts for a tinted studio surface, or paper for an exam-sheet or textbook treatment. Template choice does not change Creator layout, safe areas, timing, option labels or social-platform selection—it changes only their visual system.

Practical checks

• Review one reading frame and one reveal frame at phone size.
• On black, inspect dim lines and labels as well as bright accents.
• In mono, check luminance contrast rather than relying on colour names.
• Prefer one semantic accent role; do not make every object equally bright.
• Use plain when you specifically want the original indigo-neon surface.
• Use paper or blueprint to test whether a construction remains legible on a very different surface.

Next: Colour, glow and semantic roles →