How to write hooks for short-form AI video
On short-form platforms, viewers decide quickly whether to keep watching. A common guideline is to make something visually interesting happen in the first two seconds. This is a rule of thumb, not a platform requirement, but it is a useful constraint when you design AI clips.
What a hook is
A hook is the first moment of a video that gives the viewer a reason to stay: curiosity, surprise, a promise or a striking image. In a visual medium, the hook is mostly what the viewer sees, not what they hear.
Five visual hook types that suit AI clips
- Reveal: start on a detail and pull back to show the full subject.
- Contrast in motion: a calm scene with one surprising movement.
- Close-up first: an extreme close-up of texture, steam, water or light.
- Before and after: two states of the same subject, shown in sequence across clips.
- Impossible but beautiful: an unusual scene that is easy to imagine but hard to film.
Prompt templates
Make the opening work without sound
Many people watch with the sound off. Choose a hook that works visually, then add captions and music in your editing app. Avoid relying on generated audio unless you know the model supports it.
Frame it for the screen
- Generate in vertical 9:16 so the subject fills the screen.
- Keep the main subject near the center.
- Leave space at the top or bottom for captions and app interface.
Test hooks, do not guess
Generate several openers for the same idea and post or test them. Keep a log of the prompt, the version and the result, so you can see which type of hook performs best for your audience. Change one variable at a time, otherwise you cannot tell what made the difference.
What to avoid
- A slow fade-in or long establishing shot at the start.
- Burying the main subject in a busy background.
- Hooks that mislead the viewer about what the video is.
- Using real people's likeness, copyrighted characters or music.