short-form-video_skill

Overview

This skill guides creation of short-form video (Reels, TikTok, Shorts) using a practitioner methodology focused on rapid prototyping and scalable systems. It teaches the sponge-then-sharpen creative loop: experiment widely, find winners fast, then standardize and scale. The approach covers hooks, producible formats, platform signals, and publish checklists to move from concept to consistent output.

How this skill works

The skill inspects your concept and recommends a production tier (no filming, light production, produced content) and a 15-minute prototyping workflow to validate formats quickly. It provides hook formulas, on-screen text and audio alignment rules (Triple Word Score), and platform-specific packaging guidance for thumbnails, titles, captions, and hashtags. After a winner emerges, it lays out steps to build templates, delegation, and scaling playbooks.

When to use it

• Creating original short-form videos from scratch
• Cutting podcast clips for short-form distribution
• Testing new video formats, hooks, or pillar ideas
• Optimizing thumbnails, titles, captions, and early retention signals
• Deciding whether to prototype fast or build a repeatable process

Best practices

• Follow the 15-minute rule for prototypes: 90% good is good enough
• Use the McDonald’s Test: hooks must be instantly accessible to a broad audience
• Put the payoff early — punchline first and lead in the first 1–3 seconds
• Stack signals: audio transcript, on-screen text, caption, and hashtags (Triple Word Score)
• A/B test title and thumbnail before assuming content failure
• Once a format wins, create templates and delegate production to scale

Example use cases

• Turn a podcast monologue into 30–60s reels with on-screen captions and B-roll
• Test five hook variants on the same clip across weeks to find the top performer
• Create faceless textual B-roll clips for reach without filming
• Build a pillar strategy (green screen, UGC, faceless, podcast) and triple down on the highest-performing pillar
• Optimize YouTube Shorts packaging: #Shorts, concise title, strong thumbnail for CTR