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FilmScribe
Vertical video and clips

What is a hook in video?

A hook is the line, question or scene in the first seconds of a video that makes someone stop scrolling and want to see the rest. It can be a question that demands an answer, a confession, a line that goes against common sense or the start of a story. It is almost never the first line recorded.

Also called: video hook, opening hook

See the hooks example Try it with my video
Example

Hooks pulled from a recording

The best hooks are usually in the middle of the talk, not at the start. Each one with its own strength.

94 · Opening I almost quit 0:24
88 · Narrative It rained at the altar 0:41
81 · Educational Every beginner's mistake 0:33
Why it matters

Why the hook decides the clip

On social media, the decision to stay or swipe happens in the first seconds. Great content with a weak start never gets watched.

In long footage, hooks are scattered: in the middle of the sermon, halfway through the episode, in the father of the bride's toast. Finding them without listening to everything is the work.

In FilmScribe

Hooks in FilmScribe

On Studio and Agency, we read the whole recording and surface the hooks with a title, type, impact score from 0 to 100, reason to use, emotions and timestamps. The score is an editorial read, not a view prediction. It works with video and audio, and each hook becomes a clip, an MP3 snippet, a script or a timeline for your editor.

Video hooks example The hook list from a fictional recording, with score, type, reason and timestamps, ready to download. See the hooks example →
In practice

Writing and testing a hook

  1. 01

    Open on the line, not the setup

    Cut the “hey guys,” the “so” and the context before the strong sentence. Start on the words that create the question, and let the setup come after, if at all.

  2. 02

    Put the hook on screen

    Show the hook as text too, in a few words. People scrolling with the sound off read it before they decide, and the text can sharpen a line that runs long.

  3. 03

    Pay off the promise

    A hook the clip never answers teaches people to skip you. Make sure the payoff arrives before the end, and drop any hook the clip cannot deliver on.

  4. 04

    Read the retention graph

    Where your platform shows a retention graph, check it for each clip. A big drop in the first seconds points to the hook; a drop later points to the body of the clip.

Related terms

See all terms →
Vertical clip A short moment cut from a long video, in 9:16, that makes sense on its own and goes to Reels, Shorts and TikTok. Paper edit The edit planned on paper from transcripts and timecodes, picking and ordering lines before opening the timeline. Transcription The speech in audio or video written down as text, either verbatim, with every hesitation, or clean and easy to read. Jump cut A cut that skips forward within the same shot, removing part of the speech without changing camera.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a hook be?

Long enough to plant a question in the viewer's mind: from one sentence to about five seconds. The rest of the clip delivers the answer.

Does the hook have to be the first line of the video?

It has to be the first thing in the clip, but it is rarely the first line recorded. Often it pays to open with a moment from the middle and then go back.

What types of hooks are there?

In FilmScribe, we group them as opening, narrative, ceremonial, educational and structural. Questions, confessions, contradictions and story openers are the most common forms.

Captions, clips and paper edits. All in one place.

Upload a video or paste a YouTube link. We transcribe every word with its timing, and you take the result to social media or to your editor.

Try it with my video
See the result on your own recording before adding a card.