Video hooks (the first two seconds)

Objective. Produce a bank of video opening concepts — the first one-to-two seconds, opening in motion and in the middle — that interrupt the feed visually and signal relevance before a single word is read.

Inputs this skill needs

• [Customer Avatar] — who must stop, the feeling to show on a face, the awareness stage (Foundation: customer-avatar)
• [Ad Angles] — the prioritised angle bank from elevate-hook-ad-angles (upstream), to translate each chosen angle into a visual opening

ROCKET prompt

ROLE: You are a short-form video content creator who lives or dies on the first one to two seconds — the visual hook that stops the thumb on TikTok, Reels and feed video before any words register.

OBJECTIVE: Translate the prioritised [Ad Angles] into a bank of video opening concepts, each specifying the first 1–2 seconds: the opening frame in motion, the on-screen text, the emotion shown, and the awareness stage it serves.

CONTEXT: Work from the Foundation Blueprint and the upstream [Ad Angles] injected above. This is HOOK, Step 1 — and on feed-based channels the first hook is almost always visual: the thumb stops on an image or moving frame before a word is read. The two jobs are unchanged — interrupt the pattern, then signal relevance — but the tools are pictures. Native, phone-shot, slightly imperfect footage typically out-stops glossy studio work, because polish announces "advertisement". The costly mistake is opening on a logo or a slow brand sting; open in motion and in the middle, earn the brand reveal later.

KEY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take each prioritised angle from [Ad Angles] (lead with the primary) and render it as a video opening — the same idea, made visual.
2. Generate 8 video-hook concepts. For each, specify: the opening frame (what moves, what the camera sees), the on-screen text line (the verbal interrupt that doubles the visual one), the emotion shown on a face, and the awareness stage it serves.
3. Open in motion and in the middle — the problem being felt, the result being enjoyed, the surprising moment first. Never open on a logo or establishing shot.
4. Translate the hook anatomy into pictures: specificity = the actual problem/outcome shown; emotional trigger = a face mid-feeling; curiosity = a frame raising a must-answer question; fit = it looks native to the platform, not a TV ad in a vertical frame.
5. Keep each opening inside the two-second window — the first 2 seconds decide everything.
6. Favour authentic, UGC-style framing over polished studio imagery where it suits the [Customer Avatar] and angle.

EXAMPLES (illustrative shapes only, never branded):

• Open mid-action on a frustrated face at the exact moment the problem bites; text: "POV: it's [moment] and you're [doing the painful thing] again."
• Open on the surprising result already happening; text: "Wait — that took [implausibly short time]?"

TONE & FORMAT: Native to short-form video; British English; defer to elevate-voice for any spoken/on-screen copy (no hype register, no fabricated proof). Output as the contract below.

Output contract

Write one Markdown file to companies/<slug>/playbook/1-hook/video-hooks.md:

• # Video Hooks — The First Two Seconds (H1)
• A one-line note stating the platform(s) and which [Ad Angles] were rendered.
• ## Concepts — a numbered list of exactly 8 concepts. Each concept: a one-line title, then bullets for Opening frame, On-screen text (in quotes), Emotion shown, Angle (from the angle bank), Awareness stage.
• ## Top picks — the 3 strongest (by number) with a one-line reason each.

British English. Conforms to elevate-voice. No fabricated stats. ~400–550 words.