Shorts hook lines

A ViewMade keyword measurement on 23 August 2026 scored the "aviation disasters" niche at a demand of 94 and a saturation of 85, which means openings decide who gets watched in crowded feeds. This template gives you opening lines by shape, with what each shape promises, so you can pick a first sentence that matches your topic instead of guessing. It is built for vertical documentary Shorts about real events.

The template

Copy this block. Each line is one hook shape. Replace the bracketed parts with your own material.

HOOK SHAPES FOR VERTICAL DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

1. THE MEASURED FACT
   "[Number] [unit] happened in [time/place], and here is why."
   Promises: precision. Works when you have a hard figure from a source.
   Example slot: "10,982,012 people watched one crash documentary.
   Here is what the footage actually shows."

2. THE NAMED DECISION
   "On [date], [person or body] decided to [action]."
   Promises: causality. Works when one decision changed the outcome.
   Example slot: "On the day of the crash, the tower cleared the
   aircraft to a runway with debris on it."

3. THE CONTRADICTION
   "Everyone believed [X]. The record says [Y]."
   Promises: correction. Works when popular memory is wrong.
   Example slot: "Everyone believed the aircraft was untouchable.
   One flight ended the whole fleet."

4. THE UNANSWERED QUESTION
   "[Event] happened. Nobody has explained [specific gap]."
   Promises: mystery with a defined edge. Works for cold cases and
   unsolved events where the gap is narrow enough to state.
   Example slot: "The cockpit recorder kept running. One question
   was never answered."

5. THE COUNTDOWN
   "[N] things had to go wrong. All of them did."
   Promises: structure. Works for engineering failures and disasters
   with a chain of causes.
   Example slot: "Several things had to fail at once. All of them
   failed before the aircraft left the ground."

6. THE DIRECT ADDRESS
   "You have seen the footage. You have not seen what came before it."
   Promises: new angle on familiar material. Works when archive clips
   are widely known but context is not.

7. THE STAKES STATEMENT
   "This is what happens when [system] fails at [scale]."
   Promises: relevance beyond the event. Works as an opener when the
   topic has a modern parallel.

RULES THAT APPLY TO EVERY SHAPE
- Put the number at the start of the sentence if there is one.
- State a fact in the first sentence. Do not open with a greeting,
  a channel intro, or a definition.
- Name the source of any figure inside the first three sentences.
- Keep the promise made by the hook. If the hook promises a decision,
  the Short must show the decision.

How to use it

1. Pick your topic and write down every hard figure you can source. If a figure has no source, it cannot appear in a hook.
2. Choose the shape that matches your strongest material. A sourced number points to shape 1. A single pivotal decision points to shape 2. A chain of failures points to shape 5.
3. Fill the bracketed slots with specifics. Dates, names, counts, places. No placeholders survive into the final script.
4. Read the filled line aloud. If it takes more than one breath, cut words until it fits one breath.
5. Check that the rest of the script pays off the promise. Delete any hook whose payoff you cannot deliver.
6. Record the voiceover with the hook as the literal first sentence. Captions render word by word, so the hook lands twice: once heard, once read.

A worked example

Topic: aviation disasters, measured on 23 August 2026 at demand 94, saturation 85, opportunity 62. The top-performing video in the sample, from Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation, holds 10,982,012 views against 663,000 subscribers, titled "How the Crash of Flight 4590 Destroyed Concorde's Mystique."

Filled template:

1. Measured fact: "10,982,012 people watched one Concorde documentary. The opening line did part of that work."
2. Named decision: "On the day of the crash, the tower cleared the aircraft for takeoff with debris still on the runway."
3. Contradiction: "Everyone believed Concorde was the safest airliner flying. Its only crash ended the fleet."
4. Countdown: "Several things had to align: debris on the runway, a burst tyre, a punctured tank, and an ignition source. All of them aligned on one takeoff roll."
5. Stakes statement: "This is what happens when certification assumptions meet debris on a runway."

Shape 1 leads because the view count is concrete and checkable against the measurement date. Shape 3 works as the second beat, correcting the safety reputation. Shapes 2, 5, and 7 serve alternate cuts of the same story.

What this template will not fix

It will not make a weak story strong. If your topic has no sourced figures, no pivotal decision, and no contradiction, no hook shape will carry it, and inventing numbers breaks the rule that every figure carries its measurement date. It will not replace research: the hook is only as good as the evidence behind it. It will not compensate for slow pacing after the first sentence, since viewers who stay past the hook leave during filler. And it will not produce footage. The visuals must come from real archive sources, named per clip, or the credibility the hook promises collapses.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should a hook line be?

One breath. In practice that means roughly 8 to 15 spoken words. The first sentence states a fact; the second can add the source.

Can I combine shapes?

Yes, sequentially. Lead with one shape, then move to a second as the next beat. Do not stack two hooks into a single sentence; it dilutes both.

Which shape performs best?

No universal answer exists in the evidence base. Shape 1 suits topics with hard numbers, such as casualty counts or dates. Shape 4 suits unexplained gaps. Test within your own niche rather than assuming.

Does the hook need to appear in the caption text?

The captions render word by word over the footage, so the spoken hook appears as on-screen text automatically. Write the video title so it echoes the hook's promise without repeating it verbatim.