> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rewatch.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Explained story

> Write the starting situation of an explained story: a voice that speaks to the hero as “you”, numbers on cards, a single thread.

In “Create a video”, the “Explained story” tab makes a video where a voice tells you what is happening to you, step by step. A single drawn hero, the numbers on animated cards.

## What the app does with it

* **A voice over alone**, from the first shot to the last, that speaks to the viewer as “you”. They are the hero: the first words throw them into the situation (“You just…”), with no preamble.
* **One step, one problem**: the story moves forward day by day and every step runs into a concrete problem, explained with real numbers (prices, thresholds, laws and deadlines of the country of the video's language). An uncertain number is said without a number rather than invented.
* **A single drawn hero**: their face stays the same from one shot to the next. The other people remain silhouettes.
* **Still images** that the camera moves across: no animated clips. A wide shot is followed by a tight shot on the same image, for a cut every 2 to 3 seconds.
* **Overlays are automatic**: counter, step, title, number cards, recap, and the two word choice before the end. Cards take up about two shots out of five.
* **Default length: 90 s, one part.** Default style: comic. Default tone: educational. “Classic” subtitles and light music are on.

## The form that works

```text theme={null}
You [strong starting situation, with a number]. How to [goal] without [danger]?
```

Address the hero as “you”, from the very first sentence. Give the stakes, the obstacle, and if possible a number that hurts.

```text theme={null}
You just stole 10 million dollars in cash. How do you clean it without getting caught?
You inherit an apartment in Chicago with $200,000 in debt. You have 6 months to decide.
You win $1 million in the lottery and haven't told anyone yet. What do you do this week?
```

## Before / after

> [tab] Weak
>
> ```text theme={null}
> A video about money laundering, explained simply.
> ```
>
> No hero, no situation, no steps: the AI will make a lecture, not a story.

> [tab] Improved
>
> ```text theme={null}
> You just stole 10 million dollars in cash. It fits in three suitcases and weighs 100 kg. You have to clean it before the serial numbers get flagged.
> ```
>
> “You”, a number, a weight, a precise danger: every sentence becomes a step that explains.

## Adding your own cards

You can write the script yourself with overlay markers: the app follows it as is, without adding, removing or moving anything.

```text theme={null}
[CARD] PROBLEM 1 · THE WEIGHT | $10M = *100,000* bills | 1 bill ≈ 1 g
```

The full marker syntax is in [on-screen overlays](https://docs.rewatch.studio/video/overlays.md).

## Common mistakes

* **Writing in the third person** (“a man stole…”): the format speaks to the hero as “you”. Write “you”.
* **A subject that is too broad**: one thread, one hero, one problem at a time. Otherwise, split into episodes.
* **Inventing numbers**: only give real ones. Without certainty, let the AI say “months” or “a fortune”.
* **Several heroes**: only one hero is drawn. The others would be silhouettes.
* **Asking for animated shots**: the format is made of still images, which keeps it affordable.
* **Text in the image**: every word or number on screen goes through the overlays, never through the drawing.

## Settings that go with it

* **Length**: 90 s by default. The text holds about 2.4 words per second; lengthen it for more steps.
* **Voice**: a single voice over. Pick it in “Voice”, or leave “Automatic”.
* **Voice-over tone**: “Documentary” or “Suspense” work well.
* **Series**: episodes reuse the series hero, without redrawing them. See [creating a series](https://docs.rewatch.studio/series/create.md).
* **Music**: light, under the voice. Turn it off if it bothers you.

## Before launching

> [!TIP]
>
> Test short: a short length and a single part cost little and show you whether the voice, the hero and the cards suit you. Then lengthen. For the virality grid and the first seconds, see [the rules of a good prompt](https://docs.rewatch.studio/rules.md).

To compare, also look at [How it works](https://docs.rewatch.studio/formats/how-it-works.md): the same faceless voice over, but on an object, with no hero.


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