One Arrow on the Board

Use at most one arrow on the board. Hearth Bakery's reel about where the tins sit can point once, at the paper tin. A second arrow, a circle of arrows, or a pointer on every beat turns one idea into a diagram with no hero. The pieces are a cartoon or a paper-cutout on one wooden board, with no blank grey strip. They are drawings, not real people. The first three seconds carry one big hook title in the spoken language, unless on-screen text is off. Approve the stills before motion. Zero arrows is allowed. Two is not. Count arrows before you fall in love with the diagram. The idea is that the tins are on the counter. Add zero arrows or one arrow at the paper tin, count again on every later beat, and approve before motion. The first three seconds show the English hook while the narrator says the tins are on the counter. A second arrow, a circle of arrows, or a pointer on every beat is rejected before posting. The pieces are drawings on one board, the cut is fifteen to forty-five seconds, and a realistic voice is labeled as AI.

Count before you approve

Look at each still and count arrows. The number is zero or one for the whole reel, not one per beat that adds up. Hearth Bakery's single arrow can point at the paper tin and then stay or leave. If a later beat adds another pointer, reject that still. The hook title is not an arrow. It is the one big line in the spoken language, unless text is off. Count across the whole reel, and keep the total at zero or one. The single arrow, if you use it, points at the paper tin. The first three seconds show the hook, and the arrow may arrive with the tin, while the narrator says the tins are on the counter. A later beat that adds another pointer is the still you reject. The hook is the line, in the spoken language unless text is off.

The arrow serves one idea

The idea might be that the tins are on the counter. The arrow points there and does not also point at the door, the hours, and a queue. Those are other reels. One wooden board holds the tin and the arrow. No grey strip. No second background. A paper figure beside the tin is a drawing, not a photograph of staff. Point at the counter, then stop. The door, the hours, and a queue are other reels. The opening three seconds show the paper tin and the one arrow while the narrator says the tins are on the counter. A second background, a grey strip, or a photograph of staff is refused.

Motion keeps the count

A worked example

Hearth Bakery's paper reel points one arrow at a blank paper tin on a wooden board. The English hook says the tins are on the counter. No second arrow appears in later beats. There is no grey strip. The shapes are drawings, not people. The stills are approved before motion. A version with three pointers was rejected. One idea, one arrow at the blank paper tin, a count on later beats, then approval. The first three seconds show the English hook while the narrator says the tins are on the counter. The version with three pointers is rejected before posting.

Before you post

• The reel has one arrow or none.
• The arrow serves one idea.
• The board has no grey strip.

Where Scro fits

Scro draws this as a cartoon or a paper-cutout on one wooden board and keeps one idea. The first 3 seconds show one big hook title in the spoken language, unless on-screen text is off. Use at most one arrow, leave no blank grey strip, and approve the stills before motion. Approve a reel with one arrow or none, keep one idea, and move the paper after the count is stable. The first three seconds show the hook in the spoken language while the narrator says the tins are on the counter. A second arrow or a grey strip is rejected before posting. If the voice sounds real, the caption says it is AI.

Use one arrow. Finished samples are on the examples page.

Related: Voiceover on a Cartoon Christmas.