| # Ollama prompt experiment |
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| `ollama-try` sends one prompt to a local Ollama model and prints the answer. Use it to see whether a model will return scene files without a plan or a chain of thought. It does not write a film folder, and it does not call ComfyUI. |
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| The program is `quickies/comfyui/ollama-try`. From `~/Projects/short-films`: |
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| ```bash |
| ./quickies/comfyui/ollama-try --help |
| ./quickies/comfyui/ollama-try --self-test |
| ``` |
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| `--self-test` only checks that `<think>` blocks are removed. It does not call Ollama. |
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| ## What you need |
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| 1. Ollama is running at `http://127.0.0.1:11434`. |
| 2. The GPU is free. This machine has one GPU. Do not run this while ComfyUI, MiniMax H3, or IndexTTS is using it. |
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| Check both: |
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| ```bash |
| curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/version |
| curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/ps |
| nvidia-smi --query-gpu=memory.used,utilization.gpu --format=csv |
| curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:9000/queue |
| ``` |
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| `/api/ps` should show no model, or only the model you are about to test. ComfyUI's queue should have nothing running and nothing pending. Video memory should be a few GB, not the 16 GB a loaded MiniMax job holds. |
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| If the queue is empty and ComfyUI is still holding the weights, release that cache, then look at the memory line again: |
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| ```bash |
| curl -sf -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9000/free \ |
| -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ |
| -d '{"unload_models": true, "free_memory": true}' |
| ``` |
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| The next ComfyUI job will load the weights again. |
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| ## Where the files go |
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| Put every run in its own folder under `quickies/comfyui/experiments/`. The answer is written there with `--out`. Thinking, when you ask to see it, is stderr, so redirect stderr into the same folder. Do not send the answer to `/tmp`. That path is outside the project and does not show up in the workspace. |
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| ```text |
| quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/ |
| system.txt instructions: format, locks, no commentary |
| story.txt the high-level story only |
| answer.txt stdout, the model's files |
| stderr.txt empty when no thinking was returned |
| ``` |
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| `1978-lata-vikram/` is the run already on disk. `answer.txt` is the model's text. `system.txt` and `story.txt` are what was sent. |
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| ## The call that matches that run |
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| `qwen-3.8-27B-Q4XL` is the model for a full set of clip files. Its Modelfile template is only `{{ .Prompt }}`, so a system role may never reach it. `--preface-system` copies `system.txt` into the front of the user turn. `--generate` calls `/api/generate`, which matches that template. Thinking stays off unless you pass `--think`. |
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| ```bash |
| cd ~/Projects/short-films |
| |
| ./quickies/comfyui/ollama-try \ |
| --model qwen-3.8-27B-Q4XL \ |
| --temperature 0 \ |
| --num-predict 4096 \ |
| --show-thinking \ |
| --generate \ |
| --preface-system \ |
| --system quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/system.txt \ |
| --prompt-file quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/story.txt \ |
| --out quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/answer.txt \ |
| 2> quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/stderr.txt |
| ``` |
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| `--num-predict 4096` is the token cap for a four-clip answer. A longer film needs a higher cap. `--temperature 0` keeps the run repeatable. `--show-thinking` prints any reasoning on stderr. With thinking off, `stderr.txt` should be empty. |
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| Stdout is also printed in the terminal. `--out` writes the same text again. |
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| When the run finishes, unload the model so the GPU is free for ComfyUI: |
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| ```bash |
| curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/generate \ |
| -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ |
| -d '{"model":"qwen-3.8-27B-Q4XL","keep_alive":0}' |
| ``` |
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| ## A new story |
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| Copy the folder, replace `story.txt`, keep `system.txt` unless you are testing a different instruction, and point `--out` and the stderr redirect at the new folder. |
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| ```bash |
| mkdir -p quickies/comfyui/experiments/my-run |
| cp quickies/comfyui/experiments/1978-lata-vikram/system.txt \ |
| quickies/comfyui/experiments/my-run/system.txt |
| ``` |
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| Write `quickies/comfyui/experiments/my-run/story.txt`, then run the same command with `my-run` in place of `1978-lata-vikram`. |
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| ## What to look at afterward |
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| Open `answer.txt`. For this experiment a usable answer has only the marked sections `### arc.md` and `### clip-01-15s.txt` onward. No plan before them. |
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| Then check the pictures against the headers: |
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| - Each lock in `arc.md` appears again in the clip, character for character. |
| - Shot 1 begins with the style sentence, in brackets: `[Shot 1]`. |
| - `overall_soundscape` and `non_diegetic_music: N/A` are present. |
| - `handoff-from: clip-NN last frame` begins on the picture named in the previous `end-frame`. |
| - A new room, a time jump, or a costume change uses `handoff-from: none`. |
| - Spoken lines are only the ones the story asked for. |
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| The 1978 answer is the sample of a clean channel and a weak film. `stderr.txt` is empty, and `answer.txt` has no commentary. The locks are paraphrased, the handoff pictures do not continue, and the sound lines are missing. Those misses are recorded in `quickies/comfyui/story-pipeline.md`. |
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| ## Other switches |
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| | Switch | Effect | |
| |---|---| |
| | `--think` | Lets the model reason. Leave it off for this experiment. | |
| | `--show-thinking` | Prints a `thinking` field, or a removed `<think>` block, on stderr. | |
| | `--raw` | Leaves `<think>` blocks in the answer. | |
| | `--model mag-mel-R1-12B` | Tries a smaller model. Do not treat it as able to hold a full set of locks. | |
| | *(no `--generate`)* | Calls `/api/chat` instead. Use this when you want to see whether a system role survives. | |
| | `--host` | Another Ollama address. The default is `http://127.0.0.1:11434`. | |
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