Check a Hook in the First 3 Seconds
Check a reel hook by watching the first three seconds as a stranger. If you cannot say the point, the hook is not done.
Check a reel hook in the first three seconds by covering the rest of the timeline and watching only that. Say the point out loud. If you say "it is about my brand," the hook failed. A passing hook can be repeated by someone who has never met you.
Mute and sound, both
Watch once muted and once with sound. The muted pass checks the title. The sound pass checks that the first word is the same point, not a warm-up.
Use a stranger's pause
If you have no stranger, wait an hour and play only the opening. Familiarity cheats. You remember what you meant. The frame has to say it.
Fix the still, not the caption
A caption cannot rescue an opening people have already swiped. Change the title on the frame. Then make the caption match.
A worked example
Opening, muted: a small logo and a smile. Fail. Replacement: "Book the last wash," large, three seconds, then the cape on the chair. A stranger can repeat "last wash."
Before you post
- You can say the point after three seconds.
- You tried it muted.
- The fix is on the frame, not only in the caption.
Where Scro fits
Scro shows you that opening as a still before motion. If the still fails this test, change the title there. Rendering will not make a vague frame specific.
Review the opening still. Finished samples are on the examples page.
Related: Cartoon Clips, One Beat at a Time.