Movie Editor: removing a scene from the plan keeps its generated clip on the timeline

'Remove from plan' (plan card) now: if the gen-unit has a render, mark it excluded
(so generation + prompt skip it everywhere — reuses every existing !excluded filter,
no audit) plus removed_from_plan (hide from the plan strip, override the single export
skip so the clip still renders, and skip the 'excluded' dim styling). Ungenerated
scenes are still a plain delete. Inspector shows a 'Restore to plan' banner on an
off-plan scene; timeline marks it with a subtle dashed outline.

This retires ghosts for the plan-removal path: the removed scene persists as a real
result clip in the cut, not a separate ghost. New Scene.removed_from_plan field
(persisted). Backend tests green (62).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

movie_editor/backend/timeline.py

@@ -537,6 +537,9 @@ class Scene:
     scene_archive: Optional[dict] = None
     # Editorial pause (black/silent) after this clip before the next timeline segment.
     gap_after_sec: float = 0.0
+    # Removed from the PLAN but its generated clip stays on the TIMELINE. Also `excluded`,
+    # so generation/prompt skip it everywhere; export keeps it because it has a render.
+    removed_from_plan: bool = False
 
     @staticmethod
     def from_dict(d: dict) -> "Scene":
@@ -566,6 +569,7 @@ class Scene:
             source_dur=d.get("source_dur"),
             scene_archive=d.get("scene_archive"),
             gap_after_sec=float(d.get("gap_after_sec") or 0),
+            removed_from_plan=bool(d.get("removed_from_plan", False)),
         )
 
     def to_dict(self) -> dict:

movie_editor/frontend/inspector.js

@@ -265,6 +265,15 @@
         : "This scene has editorial cuts — Generate regens the whole uncut scene."));
     }
 
+    if (root.removed_from_plan) {
+      const banner = el("div", "insp-hint");
+      banner.append(el("span", null, "Removed from plan — its generated clip stays on the timeline. "));
+      const restore = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", "Restore to plan");
+      restore.onclick = () => S.restoreToPlan(scene.id);
+      banner.append(restore);
+      body.append(banner);
+    }
+
     const ta = el("textarea"); ta.rows = 4; ta.value = root.text || ""; ta.placeholder = "Describe this scene…"; ta.dataset.k = "sc-text";
     ta.oninput = () => S.patchSceneQuiet(scene.id, { text: ta.value });
     body.append(field("Prompt", ta));

movie_editor/frontend/plan_strip.js

@@ -147,9 +147,9 @@
     const adv = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", "Advanced ↗");
     adv.title = "Open full scene settings (guides, effects, transitions) in the inspector";
     adv.onclick = () => { S.selectScene(sc.id); if (window.DockLayout) window.DockLayout.set({ settings: true }); };
-    const rm = el("button", "btn ghost tiny danger", "Remove");
-    rm.title = "Remove this scene from the plan";
-    rm.onclick = () => { if (confirm("Remove this scene from the plan?")) { expandedId = null; S.removeScene(sc.id); } };
+    const rm = el("button", "btn ghost tiny danger", "Remove from plan");
+    rm.title = "Remove from the plan. A generated clip stays on the timeline; an ungenerated scene is deleted.";
+    rm.onclick = () => { expandedId = null; S.removeFromPlan(sc.id); };
     actions.append(gen, mvL, mvR, adv, rm);
     ed.append(actions);
     return ed;
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@
     if (collapseBtn) collapseBtn.textContent = collapsed ? "Show" : "Hide";
     clear(body);
     if (collapsed || !st.project) return;
-    const scenes = st.project.scenes || [];
+    const scenes = (st.project.scenes || []).filter((s) => !s.removed_from_plan);
     const rowEl = el("div", "plan-row");
     scenes.forEach((sc, i) => rowEl.append(cardEl(st, sc, i)));
     const add = el("button", "plan-add", "+ Add scene");

movie_editor/frontend/store.js

@@ -1329,6 +1329,35 @@
     notify(); scheduleSave();
   }
 
+  // Remove a scene from the PLAN. If its gen-unit has a generated clip, KEEP that clip on the
+  // timeline: mark the unit `excluded` (so generation + prompt skip it everywhere) and
+  // `removed_from_plan` (hide from the plan strip; export keeps it because it has a render).
+  // If nothing was generated, it's a plain delete.
+  function removeFromPlan(id) {
+    if (!state.project) return;
+    const s = scene(id); if (!s) return;
+    const uid = genUnitId(s);
+    const unit = (state.project.scenes || []).filter((x) => genUnitId(x) === uid);
+    const rendered = isVideoClip(s) || unit.some((x) => state.sceneRenders[x.id] && state.sceneRenders[x.id].media);
+    if (!rendered) { removeScene(id); return; }
+    _historyRecord();
+    unit.forEach((x) => { x.excluded = true; x.removed_from_plan = true; });
+    syncGlobalPromptFromTimeline();
+    notify(); scheduleSave();
+  }
+
+  // Bring a removed-from-plan scene back into the plan (re-enable generation).
+  function restoreToPlan(id) {
+    if (!state.project) return;
+    const s = scene(id); if (!s) return;
+    const uid = genUnitId(s);
+    _historyRecord();
+    (state.project.scenes || []).filter((x) => genUnitId(x) === uid)
+      .forEach((x) => { x.excluded = false; x.removed_from_plan = false; });
+    syncGlobalPromptFromTimeline();
+    notify(); scheduleSave();
+  }
+
   function removeSelectedScenes() {
     if (!state.project) return;
     let ids = [...new Set(state.selectedSceneIds || [])].filter((sid) => scene(sid));
@@ -3122,7 +3151,7 @@
     const p = state.project;
     const out = [];
     for (const sc of orderedTimelineScenes()) {
-      if (sc.excluded) continue;
+      if (sc.excluded && !sc.removed_from_plan) continue; // removed-from-plan clips stay in the cut
       const r = state.sceneRenders[sc.id];
       const fps = (sc.fps_mode !== "project" && sc.fps != null ? sc.fps : p.frame_rate) || 25;
       const tFrames = sc.transition_frames || 0;
@@ -3719,7 +3748,7 @@
     get, set, subscribe, notify, init,
     scheduleSaveFromHistory, notifyHistoryState,
     refreshProjectList, loadProject, newProject, deleteProject, downloadProject, importProject,
-    patchProject, patchProjectQuiet, patchScene, patchSceneQuiet, flushSave, selectScene, addScene, removeScene, removeSelectedScenes, dismissGhost, moveScene, moveSceneTo, moveTimelineClip, scene,
+    patchProject, patchProjectQuiet, patchScene, patchSceneQuiet, flushSave, selectScene, addScene, removeScene, removeSelectedScenes, removeFromPlan, restoreToPlan, dismissGhost, moveScene, moveSceneTo, moveTimelineClip, scene,
     addVideoClip, addImageClip, convertToVideo, convertToScene, isVideoClip, isGenerativeScene,
     sceneCharacterIds, toggleSceneCharacter,
     genUnitId, isGenSubclip, genUnitRoot, genUnitSceneIds,

movie_editor/frontend/styles.css

@@ -1452,4 +1452,5 @@ body.tour-mode { overflow: hidden; }
 .plan-edit-prompt { width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; }
 .plan-editor-note { font-size: 11px; color: var(--faint); margin: 8px 0; }
 .plan-editor-actions { display: flex; gap: 6px; flex-wrap: wrap; }
+.clip.off-plan { outline: 1px dashed color-mix(in srgb, var(--teal) 45%, transparent); outline-offset: -2px; }
 

movie_editor/frontend/timeline.js

@@ -537,7 +537,8 @@
     const srcType = src.type || "empty";
     const clip = el("div", "clip" + clipSelClass(st, scene.id)
       + (S.isVideoClip(scene) ? " clip-video" : "")
-      + (scene.excluded ? " excluded" : "")
+      + (scene.excluded && !scene.removed_from_plan ? " excluded" : "")
+      + (scene.removed_from_plan ? " off-plan" : "")
       + (hasRender(st, scene.id) ? " rendered" : (!scene.excluded && S.isGenerativeScene(scene) ? " pending" : ""))
       + (hasRender(st, scene.id) && S.renderIsStale?.(scene.id) ? " stale-render" : "")
       + (unitCuts > 1 ? " gen-cut" : "") + (subclip ? " subclip" : "")