RIFTA short video has one job: get watched to the end. Length isn’t the problem; empty seconds are. Here’s how to plan a clip that holds.
1. The first second is the hook
People decide in a second. Open on the odd thing: the cat in the suit, the car mid-air, the face in the painting turning. No intros.
2. One moment
A short video is not a story with chapters. It’s one turn: a reveal, a move, a reaction. If you can’t say it in one sentence, it’s two videos.
3. Movement from the start
Something should already be moving at frame one. A still first frame reads as a photo, and people scroll past photos.
4. Leave on a loop
End where the start could begin again. A loop gets watched twice, and a video watched twice gets shown to more people.
5. Cut the tail
If the last three seconds are waiting, cut them. Shorter and finished beats longer and fading.
Putting it into Rift
Every video in Rift is one shot of up to 15 seconds, which suits all of the above.
- Say the moment: “My dog opens the fridge, finds a cake, looks at the camera.”
- Say where to start: “Start mid-jump.”
- Ask for a loop: “End where it began.”
- Trim a trend: “Just the part where she spins.”
A quick checklist before you Make
- Is something moving in the first frame?
- Is there one clear moment?
- Does the end make you want to see it again?