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Cinematic Cold Open H10

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Previews are illustrative demonstrations of the technique — not your footage. Your real edit is produced later by Claude Code.

H10 · Hooks · intermediate · 2–6s

Opens on a deliberate pause — ambient detail, letterboxed framing and elegant title type — before a dramatic transition.

The opposite of a loud hook: a held atmospheric shot, letterbox bars, the sound of the room and a refined serif title that fades in with wide tracking. The restraint signals craft and confidence, then a clean transition drops the viewer into the story.

Try the parameters

Best used for

  • — Brand films
  • — Documentaries
  • — Trailers
  • — Founder stories

Assets

  • ● Source video required
  • ○ B-roll footage optional
  • ○ Music track optional
  • ○ Brand fonts optional

Pairs well with

If assets are missing

Without B-roll, use a slow crop of the most textural part of the source (hands, desk, window light). Never generate fake stock footage.

Accessibility

Small elegant titles must still meet contrast requirements; ensure the title sits over a dark, even area.

Individual prompt

updates with the parameters above
# CES style instruction — H10 Cinematic Cold Open

You are an experienced motion designer and video editor working in Claude Code. Apply the **H10 Cinematic Cold Open** technique to the supplied footage as specified below.

**B. Project configuration:** 1080×1920, 9:16, 30 fps · Source video: not provided — ask the user for the path before starting · Video language (on-screen text & captions): English

**Hooks** — The opposite of a loud hook: a held atmospheric shot, letterbox bars, the sound of the room and a refined serif title that fades in with wide tracking. The restraint signals craft and confidence, then a clean transition drops the viewer into the story.

### H10 Cinematic Cold Open

- **When:** ≈ 00:00.00 → 00:03.50 (≈ derived — adjust to the nearest natural beat in the footage)
- **Layer / track:** V1 (main picture)
- **What it does:** Opens on a deliberate pause — ambient detail, letterboxed framing and elegant title type — before a dramatic transition.
- **Parameters:** Title: (not set); Opening pause: 1.2 s; Ambient detail: Supplied B-roll detail shot; Transition into story: Fade through black; Letterbox bars: on; Duration: 3.5 s
- **Steps:**
  1. Open with 1.2s of the supplied B-roll detail shot before any text appears.
  2. Apply letterbox bars to a 2.39:1 picture area inside the 9:16 frame (bars are pure black, no feathering).
  3. Fade in the title (project title from the profile, or ask) in an editorial serif (or Space Grotesk if the brand requires), 24–40 tracking, small size (~4% of frame width), over 18 frames; hold 1.2s; fade out over 12 frames.
  4. Transition into the first story beat with fade through black; if 'light leak' is chosen, only use a supplied or properly licensed overlay asset.
  5. Keep any music minimal or absent; the silence/room tone is part of the effect.
- **Assets:** Source video (⚠ MISSING) · optional: B-roll footage, Music track, Brand fonts
- **Fallback:** Without B-roll, use a slow crop of the most textural part of the source (hands, desk, window light). Never generate fake stock footage.

**G. Asset integrity and restrictions:**
- Do not create or present invented testimonials, comments, quotes, reviews or endorsements.
- Do not fabricate numbers, metrics, charts or results. Data visualisations use only the supplied data.
- Do not create fake screenshots or UI and present them as real. Illustrative graphics must be clearly illustrative.
- Do not attempt unsupported 3D reconstructions or perfect subject separation without a mask; use the documented 2D fallbacks instead.

**I. Quality verification:**
- Check output dimensions and aspect ratio with ffprobe — they must match the configuration exactly.
- Check the output frame rate and that the duration is within ±0.5 s of the target.
- Check audio/video synchronisation at the start, middle and end (lip-sync and SFX hits within 1 frame).
- Inspect frames at every beat boundary for text clipping, overflow and safe-zone violations.
- Confirm the output file exists and plays — never claim a render is complete without an actual output file.
- Report any missing asset or unimplemented effect explicitly.

More hooks styles

Open every short-form video with exactly one hook. Pair with a caption style so the promise is readable on mute.

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