video-craft

video-craft

The difference between a video that merely renders and one that's actually good. Apply these standards while scripting, storyboarding, composing, generating, and editing — and run the self-check before publishing. These are general production-craft norms; the exact numbers are starting points, adjust to the brief.

1. The opening (hook)

• The first 1–3 seconds decide whether anyone keeps watching. Frame 1 must already carry motion or a text hook — no blank intro, no logo sting, no slow build.
• Strong hook shapes: a sharp question, a counter-intuitive claim, the promised outcome ("by the end you'll…"), the stakes, or showing the finished result first ("here's what we'll build").
• On muted autoplay the on-screen text is the hook — assume no sound for the first beat.
• Weak → strong: ✗ "In this video we'll look at caching." (slow build, no stakes) → ✓ frame 1, bold on-screen text "Your API is slow. One line fixes it." (stakes + promised outcome, readable muted).

2. Story structure

• Arc: hook → tension/gap → core idea(s) → proof/example → payoff/close (+ optional CTA). Land the first real payoff early; viewers drop off fast before they get value.
• One new idea per ~30–45 s of explainer. A 3-min video carries 4–6 ideas, no more. Cut "interesting but irrelevant" — it actively lowers comprehension.
• Connect beats with "but" / "therefore", not "and then" — force logical (not just sequential) progression.
• For teaching: show the naive idea, let it half-work, then break it and introduce the one key insight — people remember what they feel they discovered. Surfacing a common misconception first, then correcting it, beats stating the right answer cold.
• Narration cadence: explainer ~150–160 wpm, social/short ~180–200 wpm, cinematic ~140–150 wpm. Leave a 1–3 s silence after a big reveal; avoid dead air > ~1.5 s between sentences.

3. Pacing & timing

• Shot/scene holds by format: explainer ~4–8 s, short-form social ~1–3 s, cinematic/contemplative ~10–20 s. Don't hold the same length three times running — vary it.
• Cutting energy: rapid (15–30 cuts/min) = urgency; moderate (8–15) = standard teaching; slow (3–6) = documentary calm.
• A visual or audio pattern interrupt every ~20–30 s (short-form) / ~45–90 s (long-form) to re-grab attention.
• Completion drops with length (15 s clips finish far more often than 60 s) — keep it as short as the message allows; don't pad.
• Build animation timing to the narration words, not arbitrary beats. Hold a fully-built scene/chart ≥ 2–3 s before moving on.