(Above Photo by Felipe Bustill. Follow IG @pipe_fx)
Create an Effective Hook
…And Keep Them Watching
Written By Jared Isham
This one technique will change your creative approach forever and launch your career in filmmaking.
I hope I have your attention.
I was recently working as an editor on a documentary project that typically would have been a boring corporate video, but the director had a vision in mind that turned the boring into something that was very enjoyable to work on. Setting client notes aside, the idea that made this project a success was rooted in the concept of good storytelling: open the story with something that grabs your audience’s attention. This is often known as The Hook.
Why is the hook so important in storytelling?
If you are a screenwriter, you should know that you need to nail your story and hook your reader in the first three to five pages; however, if you can do it in less, then, kudos to you. If you can’t do that, then you risk your script getting tossed into the recycle bin or completely passed over. You want the reader to continue turning the page until they have reached the end.
When editing a movie, especially in the streaming world where it is so easy to skip to the next film, you have to grab or hook your audience in the opening scene. If they are not interested in the first scene or the first few minutes of the film, you risk them clicking the back button on their remote and selecting another title from the endless library they have access to.
In the world of social media you need to hook your audience in the first 3-5 seconds or they’ve already swiped to the next video in their feed. If they don’t feel the need to find out what happens next then you are only a thumb gesture away from being forgotten and skipped over.
The hook might be the most important thing in gaining traction for your film or video. How do you create an effective hook? Take a look at the idea behind a lot of movie trailers that have been released over the past few years, especially ones on YouTube. They want to hook their viewer so they tease the teaser with a 3-5 second super cut of all the exciting moments in the trailers and then they start in with all their logos and credits and ego boosters before they go into telling a story that they hope will cause viewers to go see the movie. I personally think this is a bad idea and the result of a total lack of understanding of a platform and storytelling.. If that is not how you do it then how do you create a hook?
Take a look at this trailer: Just looking at the viewer graph on YouTube, there is a massive drop after the first five seconds. What would have happened if they put their efforts into making the first five seconds of the movie leave you wanting to know what happens next? Instead, it looks like viewers got all they needed in that pre-tease and moved on. Granted, this is only one marketing outlet from a big studio movie, but could this one small adjustment help to increase box office revenue? Maybe it would have helped their box-office earnings to have recouped the budget.
Going back to the documentary I worked on, we had the obvious approach of telling the story linearly or to try mixing things up. We decided to take the biggest event, the most catastrophic element of the story we were telling and open with that. Our goal was to have the viewer watch the opening and instantly get the feeling of “what the heck happened there? Is that real?” In screenwriting, start with a moment where the audience thinks to themselves “oh sh–, how are they gonna recover from that” and start there. If you are creating videos for YouTube or any social media platform open with the major conflict then build up context to the reveal or payoff. In essense leave them on the edge of their seat instantly, then give them context as to how you got there. If they aren’t willing to find out what comes next, then you’ve lost them.
The idea is to find the most enticing part of your work and maybe that is where it should begin. Our instinct often times wants us to start the story with a lead in, build context, get to know the characters then present the conflict. The propblem with this approach is that people will very likely lose interest pretty quick, even before you state the characters goals, the conflict or even why we should be watching or reading whatever story it is you are telling.
Good news – this will come easy. Bad news – the previous statement is totally false.
You have to practice this, whether editing, screenwriting or make social media posts. One of the most forgiving platforms for you failing at this is also the free and the most accessible – social media. This means that your failures are often forgotten and people just don’t watch it. You have more at stake if it is your own movie or editing for a client or writing a script for representation.
Take the opportunity to experiment with ideas in the social media realm. Test your engagement and see what works and what doesn’t. You’ll quickly begin to hone your craft and the bonus is you’ll likely build an audience at the same time. Your audience will give you leverage and could become a career changer.
Hook your audience, keep them guessing, keep them engaged.
Jared Isham (Bounty, 2009; Turn Around Jake, 2015) is an independent filmmaker and head of motion pictures at Stage Ham Entertainment (www.stageham.com). He also create videos focused on helping filmmakers to make better films on a micro-budget (www.jaredisham.com)
