Kallaway Layered Hook

---
name: kallaway-layered-hook
description: "Write, rewrite, or review short-form video openings using Kallaway's visual-first layered hook method; use for scripts and first-frame storyboards that need clear topic, aligned text and speech, credible contrast, and an immediate payoff."
---

# Kallaway Layered Hook

Based on Kallaway's public method. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Kallaway.

Produce a filmable hook storyboard that makes the intended viewer understand the topic and want the next beat. Build the opening around one key visual, then align the overlay, spoken words, and sound around the same idea. Curiosity comes from the gap between the viewer's expected reality and the alternative the video can actually demonstrate. [S1][S3]

## When to use

Use for the opening seconds of a Reel, TikTok, YouTube Short, LinkedIn video, short-form script, or first-frame storyboard. Apply the same loop when diagnosing an existing opening. Keep the user's audience, voice, format, and available footage as constraints. If the request covers only a hook, include enough of the next beat to demonstrate its payoff without expanding into a complete video production.

The default deliverable is a timed storyboard plus its contrast, sound-off interpretation, first payoff, and review status. For a review request, return the diagnosis and a concrete revised opening in that structure. Read the method for decisions, the examples for calibration, and the checklist before delivering. This package adapts public teaching into an agent workflow; source summaries and editorial extensions are identified in the reference files.

## Procedure

1. **Establish the brief.** Identify the intended viewer, their relevant problem or interest, the video's actual takeaway, and available footage. Use the brief fields in [templates/output-template.md](templates/output-template.md). Ask only for information that materially changes the opening; mark reasonable assumptions instead of inventing evidence.

2. **Inspect the existing hook when present.** Locate delay, confusion, irrelevance, and disinterest before polishing individual words. Use the diagnostic in [references/method.md](references/method.md#diagnosis-and-explicit-warnings). Preserve any effective visual or claim rather than replacing everything automatically. [S3]

3. **Inventory opening visuals.** List shots that can carry the first three to five seconds. Choose the most concrete, readable demonstration. If none exists, propose a specific achievable visual or explain the blocker. Follow [references/method.md](references/method.md#visual-first-selection). [S1]

4. **Select a credible contrast.** Write A, the viewer's baseline, and B, the new reality. Compare candidate angles for surprise, relevance, visual fit, and support. Prefer stated contrast when the audience's baseline is uncertain. Use [references/method.md](references/method.md#contrast-and-relevance). [S1][S3][S4]

5. **Choose the hook format.** Select the archetype that best expresses that contrast through the chosen shot. Add a Magician treatment only when it helps direct attention. Consult the format table in [references/method.md](references/method.md#hook-formats); the examples show two different choices. [S1]

6. **Draft the spoken opening.** Write two to four short lines that establish context, redirect expectation, and reveal the alternative. Describe the visible subject plainly. Skip a redundant contrast connector when the visual already supplies the reversal. Follow [references/method.md](references/method.md#spoken-hook-and-word-audit). [S1][S2]

7. **Audit the wording.** Locate subject, action, outcome, and contrast; add proof or time only when useful and supported. Simplify jargon and ambiguity without changing the claim. See [references/method.md](references/method.md#spoken-hook-and-word-audit) for the secondary-source status of this audit. [S3][S5]

8. **Compose the other layers.** Write a short overlay that identifies the topic or promise, choose legible placement, and specify purposeful motion and optional sound. Check that all layers reinforce one proposition. Use [references/method.md](references/method.md#layer-alignment) and the timeline fields in [templates/output-template.md](templates/output-template.md). [S1][S2]

9. **Time the storyboard and payoff.** Read the speech aloud or estimate conservatively. Let topic clarity arrive early; extend the timeline instead of forcing four sentences into three seconds. Specify the first demonstration after the hook. Follow [templates/output-template.md](templates/output-template.md) and [examples/worked-examples.md](examples/worked-examples.md). [S2][S3]

10. **Review and repair.** Run the sound-off and sound-on passes in [checklists/review-checklist.md](checklists/review-checklist.md). If footage is unavailable, label the result a storyboard review. Repair failures at their cause, then repeat the affected checks; do not approve an opening whose promise the body cannot fulfill. [S1][S2]

11. **Return the usable result.** Fill [templates/output-template.md](templates/output-template.md), including rationale, assumptions, and any unresolved production requirement. Keep source attribution consistent with [references/sources.md](references/sources.md). Return the strongest candidate unless the user requests alternatives; never imply guaranteed views or measured retention from a writing review.

## Files in this skill

- [SKILL.md](SKILL.md): Entry point, use cases, and the agent's working loop.
- [references/method.md](references/method.md): Detailed principles, format selection, warnings, and edge cases.
- [references/sources.md](references/sources.md): Fetched public sources, contribution notes, and evidence limitations.
- [examples/worked-examples.md](examples/worked-examples.md): Invented before-and-after storyboards with rule explanations.
- [templates/output-template.md](templates/output-template.md): Fill-in hook storyboard with field guidance.
- [checklists/review-checklist.md](checklists/review-checklist.md): Pass/fail review and common repairs.