> ## 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.

# How it works

> Write the prompt for an explainer: an object or a technology, and the question that intrigues.

In “Create a video”, the “How it works” tab takes apart the secret of an everyday object in one minute: 3D renders on a black background, diagrams, numbers and a mascot that reacts.

## What the app does with it

* **One object, one mechanism per video.** The first words set up a paradox everybody has lived (“Every key is smaller than your thumb. And you still type accurately.”), then the question “So how is that possible?”.
* **A fixed writing plan**: the sentence that flips the obvious, the mechanism in simple steps, a lived example, the proof (a number, a date, a patent), a bonus about two thirds in, a payoff that talks about the viewer, then a call to share and subscribe.
* **No characters**: objects, devices and anonymous hands in close up, in a schematic world that comes back from one shot to the next. No cast to set up.
* **A voice over alone**, speaking to “you”, with sentences of 10 words at most and a new hook every 2 to 3 seconds. Each video stands on its own: never a vote or a sequel.
* **Default length: 70 s, one part.** About one shot in three is animated, the others are images the camera moves across.
* **Overlays are automatic**: progress bar, title, black number cards, labels, banners, keywords boxed in the voice.
* **Subtitles at the top of the frame**, discreet music under the voice.

## The form that works

```text theme={null}
[Object or technology] + [the question that intrigues]
```

Name ONE object, then the question the viewer asks themselves without having thought about it. The facts are written to be true and verifiable: choose a subject you can source.

```text theme={null}
How does your phone keyboard guess the word you're about to type?
How does an espresso machine build 9 bars of pressure in ten seconds?
How does Shazam find a song from three seconds of background noise?
How does your contactless badge open a door without a battery?
```

## Before / after

> [tab] Weak
>
> ```text theme={null}
> Explain how modern technology works.
> ```
>
> No object, no question: no paradox to set up, no mechanism to show.

> [tab] Improved
>
> ```text theme={null}
> How does Face ID recognize your face in the dark, even with glasses? The mechanism of the infrared dots, the limit when you change your look.
> ```
>
> A precise object, a question, two content leads (the mechanism, the limit): the AI structures the rest.

## Writing your own script

If you paste a script, it is followed as is, markers included. The markers specific to this format:

```text theme={null}
[PROGRESS] *LAMP* | DOTS | CAMERA | MAP
[MASCOT] thinking
```

* `[PROGRESS]`: the progress bar at the top. Steps in one or two words, the current step between asterisks.
* `[MASCOT]`: the mascot's pose, when it changes. The mascot only exists in a series that generated it: see [voice, mascot and jingle](https://docs.rewatch.studio/series/voice-mascot-jingle.md).
* A word between asterisks in the voice is a keyword: it is not said any differently, it is boxed on screen.

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

## Common mistakes

* **Two objects**: one video, one mechanism. For two subjects, make two videos.
* **No question**: “the keyboard” is not enough. Say what intrigues.
* **Asking for characters**: the format has none. If you want a hero, use [Explained story](https://docs.rewatch.studio/formats/explainer.md).
* **A subject nobody experiences**: pick an object the viewer touches every day.
* **Imposed numbers without a source**: the writing only keeps what is verifiable. A doubtful number is said without a number.

## Settings that go with it

* **Length**: 70 s by default, enough to unfold paradox, mechanism, proof and payoff.
* **Style**: isometric diagram by default. Change it only if you want a different look.
* **Voice**: a lively, friendly voice over. Pick it in “Voice”.
* **Music**: discreet. Turn it off if it covers the voice.
* **Series**: reserve a series for this format to keep the mascot and the style from one episode to the next. See [creating a series](https://docs.rewatch.studio/series/create.md).

## Before launching

> [!TIP]
>
> Test short: a reduced length and a single part tell you whether the subject fits in one question. A good subject sums up in one sentence that starts with “How”. See [the rules of a good prompt](https://docs.rewatch.studio/rules.md).

To tell a situation lived by a hero rather than a mechanism, see [Explained story](https://docs.rewatch.studio/formats/explainer.md).


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