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Story-First Certification

🎬 Crafted with Integrity. Certified for Impact.

🪞 Story-First Certified:

In a world flooded with content, Story-First Certification for Indian Filmmakers is your story’s seal of truth. It’s not about box office buzz or celebrity hype — it’s about storycraft that moves, matters, and lasts.


Whether you're a first-time filmmaker or a studio veteran, this badge validates what the audience senses: your story is worth watching.

🧭 What Is It?

Story-First Certification is a six-pillar storytelling benchmark that evaluates your film’s narrative craft.


It goes beyond marketing and ratings — it tells your audience why your story deserves their attention.

🎬 Turn your story into a credential.


With Story-First Certification™, your trailer, synopsis, or script doesn’t just get feedback — it earns recognition as industry-ready storytelling that resonates, persuades, and endures.

🧩 How It Works:

Your trailer or story is evaluated on six foundational storytelling pillars:

  1. Believability

  2. Emotional Engagement

  3. Intellectual Depth

  4. Cultural Relevance

  5. Social Meaningfulness

  6. Universal Gateway

 

💠 Each certified story receives:

  • A badge (Certified / Promising / Not Certified Yet)

  • A Story-First Score

  • An optional short Craft Commentary

  • Permission to display the badge on posters, trailers, social media, etc.

🥇 The Badges:

(Include the 3 visual badges here, color or B&W)
 

Each badge level reflects the current storytelling strength of your trailer or story.


•    ✅ Certified – Story meets the benchmark across all 6 pillars


•    🔼 Promising – Shows strong potential with some craft gaps


•    ⚠️ Not Yet Certified – Craft needs development to resonate

💼 Who It’s For:

•    🎬 Filmmakers & Producers (Bollywood, Regional, Indie)
•    📺 OTT Creators and YouTubers
•    🎭 Directors, Writers, and Pitch Teams
•    🎟️ Film Festivals wanting credibility filters
•    📰 Media Outlets covering releases

💵 How to Get Certified:

•    Submit your Trailer or Script Summary with your specific request
•    Choose your Badge Plan
•    Get your Badge + Feedback within 7 business days

 

🧠 Coming Soon: AI-powered story scoring tool for first-level badge screening.

🛠 Tooltip / Popup Microcopy Set

1. Basic Trailer Review

  • “Trailer Review” → Quick expert feedback on how your trailer communicates story craft.

  • “Certification” → Official Story-First Certification™ stamp validating your trailer’s story value.

 

2. Trailer + Synopsis Deep Dive ⭐ (Best Value)

  • “Synopsis Review” → Detailed evaluation of your story premise, character arcs, and narrative clarity.

  • “Deep Dive” → In-depth notes on alignment between your trailer and synopsis.

  • “Certification” → Proof your story-first foundation is strong enough for industry attention.

 

3. Script Summary Evaluation

  • “Script Summary” → We review 5–10 pages of your outline or summary to assess structure and story depth.

  • “Evaluation Report” → Concise strengths/weaknesses analysis with recommendations for next steps.

  • “Certification” → A badge that helps you pitch with confidence.

 

4. Certified Feedback + Coaching Session

  • “Certified Feedback” → Written evaluation plus personal feedback tailored to your project.

  • “Coaching Session” → 60-minute 1:1 session with Sajeev Varghese to sharpen your storytelling craft.

  • “Premium Certification” → Elevates your project’s credibility with added mentorship recognition.

🚀 Certify Your Story. Elevate Your Film.

Submit your trailer, synopsis, or script and earn Story-First Certification™, recognized by industry leaders.

📣 Why It Matters:

✅ Build credibility with producers

✅ Strengthen your story-first positioning

✅ Get recognized by the first global Story-First Certification™ initiative

✅ Boost pre-release buzz with story validation
✅ Stand out in festival or OTT submissions
✅ Attract better collaborations
✅ Prove craft > gimmick

 

When your story is Certified, your audience can feel it before they even watch it.

🚀 Ready to Get Certified?


 

 

 

(Or: “Join the waitlist” CTA for early adopters)

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Story-First Certification™

🔍 1. What is “Story-First Certification”?

 

Story-First Certification™ is a storytelling quality benchmark for Indian films, trailers, or screenplays. It evaluates your story across six pillars:


Believability, Emotional Engagement, Intellectual Depth, Cultural Relevance, Social Meaningfulness, and Universal Gateway.

Each submission receives a badge, a score, and optionally, brief commentary. It’s your story’s craft X-ray — not based on star power, but storytelling substance.

🏆 2. What do the badges mean?

 

There are three badge tiers:

  • ✅ Certified: Your story meets the Story-First benchmark across all six pillars.

  • 🔼 Promising: Strong elements exist, but some gaps need refinement.

  • ⚠️ Not Certified Yet: Key storytelling flaws make it fall short — but it can be improved.

 

Each badge comes with permission to display it in your trailer, posters, press kit, or website.

🎬 3. Who is this for?

  • Filmmakers launching a new film or short

  • OTT creators and YouTubers seeking audience trust

  • Writers pitching their screenplay

  • Directors assembling pitch decks

  • Producers looking to build pre-release buzz

  • Festival programmers who want a filter for meaningful stories

 

📹 4. What can I submit?

You can currently submit:

  • 🎞️ A trailer (official or early cut)

  • 📝 A script synopsis + logline (with optional pitch deck)

  • 🎬 A short film, if complete and under 20 minutes

We assess the storytelling DNA, not final production value.

 

⏳ 5. How long does the process take?

 

Turnaround is typically 5–7 business days from submission, unless specified otherwise through a direct email message.
 

If selected for deeper review (or paired with consultation), it may take slightly longer — we’ll notify you.

 

🧮 6. How is it scored?

 

Each story is evaluated across six pillars using the Story-First Scoring Matrix (out of 30 points).
Your score determines your badge tier. You’ll receive:

  • 🧠 Score breakdown

  • 🏷️ Badge

  • ✍️ Optional feedback (brief insights or quote-worthy strengths)

 

💵 7. What does it cost?

 

Pricing tiers will launch shortly based on submission type:

  • Basic Trailer Review

  • Trailer + Synopsis Deep Dive

  • Script Summary Evaluation

  • Certified Feedback + Coaching Session (for producers or directors)

Early-bird discounts will apply to the first 100 certifications.

💡 8. Why does it matter?

In an oversaturated market, credibility is your superpower.


This badge tells buyers, platforms, festivals, and audiences:
✅ “This story has substance. Not gimmicks.”

 

Think of it as your pre-release truth filter — a mark of artistic integrity and narrative impact.

🧾 9. Will this replace reviews or censorship?

 

No. This is not a rating system or censor board.
 

It’s a voluntary craft certification — like a Michelin star for your story.
 

It helps filmmakers differentiate their work before the noise begins.

🚀 10. When can I apply?

 

Certification submissions open in August 2025.


You can join the waitlist now to get early access and exclusive benefits.

📩 Write to us at ijotconsulting@gmail.com with a clear subject line and description of your request.

Story-first Badge Transparant cut-out badge with a glow and stroke for directe trailer ove
Story-first Badge Transparant cut-out badge with a Promising but not cetified arrow.png
Story-first Badge Transparant cut-out badge with a CAUTION for direct trailer overlays.png
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Let’s Work Together

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