> ## 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.

# The rules of a good prompt

> Six rules that apply to every Rewatch field, and the grid the app uses to score a script.

These rules come from what the app really expects from your text and from the grid it uses to score the virality of a script. They apply to an idea, a script, a series or an episode.

## 1. The stakes in the first sentence

A vertical video is decided in its first three seconds. Your first sentence must contain **stakes**, not an introduction.

> [tab] Weak
>
> ```text theme={null}
> Hi, today I'm going to tell you the story of a fisherman in Maine.
> ```

> [tab] Strong
>
> ```text theme={null}
> A fisherman pulls up a bottle sealed with wax in his net. Inside, a letter with his own name on it, dated 1952.
> ```

The strong version creates tension right away: we want to know who wrote that letter.

## 2. One subject

One idea, one promise, one payoff. If your text tells three things, the AI will make three ten second summaries. Keep the best one and turn the other two into other videos (or [episodes of a series](https://docs.rewatch.studio/series/episodes.md)).

## 3. Concrete things you can see

The hook must work **without sound**: many people watch in silence. Prefer an object, a gesture, a precise number to an abstract idea.

| Abstract | Concrete |
| - | - |
| He is very poor | He counts his coins on the table: \$3.40 left to last the month |
| A huge disaster | A 300 foot wave rolling toward Manhattan |
| She is scared | She backs away without taking her eyes off the door |

## 4. Say who, where, and in what tone

The screenwriter invents whatever you leave out. If you have an idea of the character, the place or the tone, write it down, even in a few words: “a teenage girl who films everything”, “an empty gas station at night”, “deadpan tone”.

## 5. An ending that pulls people back

Every video ends with a reason to comment or rewatch: a question for the viewer, a choice to make, a twist that makes people want to see the beginning again. Write it into your idea if you already have it.

```text theme={null}
Ending: he opens the door, and we never see what he finds. Question on screen: do you go in or run?
```

## 6. Each piece of information in its own field

The app has a field for each thing. Put in the wrong place, a piece of information is misread.

| You want | Write it in | Not in |
| - | - | - |
| Text shown on screen | An [overlay](https://docs.rewatch.studio/video/overlays.md) marker such as `[CARD]` | The style (it would be drawn, badly, in every image) |
| The look of the images | “Refine the style”: colors, light, materials | The idea |
| A character's appearance | “Characters” in the [references](https://docs.rewatch.studio/video/references.md) | A line of dialogue |
| Exact lines | The “Paste your script” mode | A description in prose |

> [!WARNING]
>
> Never write subtitles or text to display in the style field. That field is added to every image prompt: the model would try to draw the text on every image.

## How the app scores a script

During the story review, the “Virality” panel gives a score out of 100 before you pay for a single image. The analysis costs credits and is limited to a few analyses per day. Here are the criteria and their weight:

| Criterion | Weight | What earns a 10 |
| - | - | - |
| Hook, first 3 seconds | 25 | An immediate promise and tension |
| Retention and pacing | 15 | A new hook every 3 to 5 seconds |
| Subject clarity | 12 | The stakes understood in 5 seconds |
| Value or emotion | 12 | Useful, funny or surprising |
| Format and readability | 10 | Vertical, subtitles, sharp |
| Title and caption | 10 | A precise curiosity, without giving anything away |
| Niche and timing | 8 | In the niche, posted at an active hour |
| Ending that pulls back | 8 | A built in question or follow up |

Reading the score: 80 and above, strong potential; 70 to 79, fix the weak point and post; 55 to 69, postable but you are leaving views on the table; below that, rework it before posting. The analysis suggests its three most profitable fixes, which you can apply in one click (the rewrite costs credits).

> [!TIP]
>
> Rules 1, 2 and 5 alone weigh nearly half of the score. If you only review one thing, review your first sentence.

## Hooks that work

| Type | Example |
| - | - |
| Precise number | “3 mistakes that cost you 10,000 views.” |
| Targeted question | “Why does your phone guess the word you're about to type?” |
| Myth reversed | “You were told sharks never sleep. That's false.” |
| Confession | “I lied to my mother for six years.” |
| Cost of doing nothing | “Every night without knowing it, you lose an hour of sleep.” |
| Visual curiosity | An object out of context on screen, explained afterward |
| Contrast | Two states side by side, before and after |

Change the type from one episode to the next in a series: the same hook twice in a row gets tiring.


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