Content & Social Media
04 / Video & Moving Image
Key question
What happens in the first three seconds?
Short-form videos are the most powerful format for reach, and the most demanding. People decide in seconds whether to stay. A clear structure, a strong hook, and clean subtitles make all the difference, not expensive equipment.
Learning objective: You will be able to structure a short video into a hook, content and call to action, formulate a hook, and produce a video using simple resources.
The first three seconds are decisive.
4.1 / Structure of a short video
Hook, content, call to action.
Almost every successful short video follows a simple arc. It helps with planning, filming, and editing.
01
Hook
The first three seconds. An image or phrase that makes people stay.
02
Content
A thought, shown rather than told. Quick cuts, clear steps.
03
Prompt
What should you do? Save, follow, book a course.
One video, one idea. If you have two messages, make two videos.
One video, one thought.
4.2 / The Hook
The beginning is what matters.
The hook is the promise of the video. It can be a question, a number, a mistake, a surprising image, or a before-and-after. It needs to work without sound, as many watch on mute.
Image and text work together: something happens in the first second, while the key message appears simultaneously as short on-screen text, kept within the safe zone.
Understandable without sound.
4.3 / Low-budget production
Lighting, sound, subtitles.
A mobile phone is all you need to make good short videos. Front lighting, clear sound and a stable picture are more important than the camera. A small clip-on microphone will do more to improve quality than any new camera.
Subtitles are essential: they make videos understandable without sound and accessible to people with hearing impairments. Always check automatically generated subtitles, especially for technical terms and names.
Lighting and sound over technology.
Exercise
A reel in three parts
Task: Plan and produce a reel of no more than 30 seconds for Atelier Lumen.
STEP 1
Draft three hooks using different patterns and choose the strongest one.
STEP 2
Draw a six-panel storyboard: hook, four steps, call to action.
STEP 3
Film on your mobile in daylight and edit down to a maximum of 30 seconds.
STEP 4
Add subtitles and check the safe zone.
Analysis: Do viewers understand the video without sound? Do they stay engaged after three seconds?