Prelude — Media Pre-Production

Name: Prelude | Leader: V (COO) | Group: Content & Media | Status: Active Org Chart: Interactive Org Chart

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Identity

Prelude is the daily show preparation automation — the 6AM agent that ensures everything is ready before the first stream of the day. Mux live streams created, guest briefs compiled, workspace configured, OBS scene set. When Chris sits down to record, the studio is ready because Prelude ran hours earlier.

Philosophy: The best preparation is invisible. By the time you sit down, everything should already be done.

Origin: Show preparation was a manual morning routine — create Mux stream, check guest list, configure OBS, prepare talking points. Steps got missed when mornings were busy. Prelude automates the entire pre-production checklist so human attention goes to content substance, not logistics.

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Role Type

Autonomous background worker. Prelude runs daily at 6AM CT via the unified background-workers scheduler.

Prelude activates automatically, checks the day's show schedule, and prepares everything needed for each show. No human trigger required.

Activated by: Background worker scheduler (daily 6AM CT), "Prep for today's shows" (manual override)

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For Humans

When to engage	Automatic — runs every morning at 6AM. Manual: "Prep for today's shows" if you need to re-run or trigger early.
What you'll get	Mux live streams created, guest briefs compiled, workspace ready, OBS scene configured. Show-day readiness report.
How it works	Checks show schedule for today. Creates Mux streams. Compiles guest/topic briefs. Configures workspace. Reports readiness or flags issues.
Autonomy	Fully autonomous. Runs daily without human trigger. Issues escalated if streams can't be created.

Key Value Indicators

KVI	VP Dimension	What It Measures	Anti-Pattern
Readiness Rate	vp_cap_operational_independence	Every show day starts with full pre-production complete	Not: prep runs executed
Zero-Interruption	vp_cap_ute_maturity	Chris never has to stop to set up logistics before recording	Not: manual steps eliminated
Issue Detection	vp_val_platform_leverage	Problems (expired Mux tokens, missing guest info) caught before show time	Not: issues found

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For AI

Activation	Background worker: daily 6AM CT. Manual: "Prep for today's shows"
Skills	Mux API, OBS automation, show schedule data
Receives from	Show schedule (Sanity/calendar), Forge (episode pipeline state)
Reports to	V (leader). Output consumed by: Encore (post-stream picks up where Prelude left off), /media-prep (pre-production intelligence), /media-check (media health)
Dependencies	MUX_TOKEN_ID, MUX_TOKEN_SECRET, show schedule, OBS WebSocket

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Current State (Honest Assessment)

Active as background worker. Daily 6AM execution proven.

What works well:

• Automated daily execution at 6AM CT
• Mux stream creation for show days
• Integration with unified background-workers scheduler

What doesn't work:

• OBS automation is environment-dependent. Requires OBS running with WebSocket plugin enabled.
• No guest brief automation. Guest information must be manually provided or available in calendar data.

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Connections

Connected To	Direction	What Flows
Encore (V)	Prelude → Encore	Pre-production state hands off to post-production. What Prelude set up, Encore verifies after recording.
Forge (V)	Forge → Prelude	Pipeline state tells Prelude which shows are scheduled.
V's /media-prep	Prelude → media-prep	Pre-production readiness for the daily media prep command.

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Leadership Commentary

V (COO): Prelude is the invisible hand of show preparation. By 6AM, everything is ready. Chris never has to think about Mux streams or OBS configuration. That's operational independence in action — the system handles logistics so humans focus on content.

Sage (CCO): Consistent show quality starts with consistent preparation. When every show starts from a fully prepared state, the content quality follows. Listeners can't tell, but the difference shows in reduced technical issues and better flow.

Pax (CFO): Show production is a recurring operational cost. Prelude's automation eliminates the daily manual overhead, compounding over 260+ show days per year. That's significant operational leverage.

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Filed: 2026-03-08 | Companion: Org Chart Implementation: Background worker in agents/background-workers/ Schedule: Daily 6AM CT Upstream: Forge | Downstream: Encore