Videos · Glossary
What is a cold open?
A cold open is an opening segment that starts a programme or video straight in the middle of the action, before the title sequence, logo or any introduction. The viewer gets a scene, a question or a striking moment first and the context afterwards, which is meant to hold attention through the point where people decide to leave.
Television uses cold opens to stop viewers changing channel before the opening credits. Online video borrows the idea for a simpler reason: the first seconds decide whether anyone watches the rest, and a logo sting is the weakest possible use of them.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Cold open | Hook | Conventional intro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What comes first | A scene in progress | A claim, question or promise | Logo, title or presenter greeting |
| Context | Given after the opening | Given in the same line | Given up front |
| Typical length in TV | A full scene before the credits | Not a TV term | Title sequence |
| Typical use online | The first one to three scenes of a promo or story | The first sentence of any video | Corporate and course videos |
| Main risk | Confusing if the scene needs context to make sense | Overpromising | Viewers leave before the content starts |
Where the term comes from
Cold open is broadcasting language for a teaser that runs before the opening titles, with no credits or explanation, so the audience is pulled into a story before it has a chance to switch away. Sitcoms use a short self contained gag, dramas use a scene that sets up the mystery of the episode, and news magazines use their strongest clip. The opening is cold because the viewer arrives with no warm up: no theme music, no host, no title card telling them what they are about to see.
Why it suits short online video
Platforms report how many viewers are still watching after the opening. YouTube's key moments report, for example, measures the percentage of the audience still watching after the first 30 seconds and suggests changing those seconds if the number is low. A promo that spends its first three seconds on an animated logo uses the most valuable part of the video on the thing viewers care least about. Opening on the product in use, the result, or the moment of tension, and placing the brand after it, keeps the same content but changes what people see while deciding to stay.
Cold open, hook and teaser
A hook is a line or claim that gives the viewer a reason to keep watching, and it can sit inside a cold open or a normal intro. A teaser is a separate short video that promotes a longer one. A cold open is structural: it reorders the video so a scene comes before the framing. The three often work together, a cold open scene with a hook line on screen, but they answer different questions, so it helps to plan them separately when scripting.
Common mistakes
Choosing a cold open scene that makes no sense without context, so viewers leave confused rather than curious. Making the opening so different in tone from the rest that the video feels like a bait and switch. Repeating the same footage straight after the opening. Letting the logo arrive late but then hold for five seconds. And forgetting that many people watch muted, so a cold open that depends on dialogue needs captions to work.
How a promo opens in the video builder
Every generated video is built from scene roles, and four of the 52 roles are openers: intro, agenda, hook question and logo bumper. A promo scene runs 2.5 to 4 seconds with narration of 5 to 8 words, so a cold open here is the choice of what the first scene shows and says. Describe the opening moment in the brief, for example open on the product in use and put the logo after it, and the director plans the scene order from the brief. The scene order, copy and narration can then be edited in the builder, and captions are on by default so the opening reads with the sound off.
Questions people ask
How long should a cold open be?
In television a cold open often runs one to a few minutes, the length of a complete scene. In a social promo of 15 to 30 seconds it is usually the first one to three seconds or the first scene. The test is the same at any length: does it make the viewer want to see what comes next.
Is a cold open the same as a teaser?
The terms overlap in television, where the pre credits sequence is sometimes called the teaser. Online, a teaser more often means a separate short video that promotes a launch or a longer piece. A cold open is part of the video itself, the scene that comes before its title or brand.
Should a brand video start with the logo?
Usually not in feed placements, where people scroll past within seconds. Showing the product, the problem or the result first and the logo shortly after tends to suit social video better. On a company website, where visitors have already chosen to watch, a brief logo at the start costs less.
Does a cold open work for tutorial videos?
A short version does. Showing the finished result in the first seconds, such as the completed report or the working setting, tells the viewer what they will be able to do before the steps begin. Keep it brief, because people watching a tutorial want to reach the first step quickly.
What is the difference between a cold open and in medias res?
In medias res is a storytelling term for starting a narrative in the middle of events and filling in the past later. A cold open is a production term for placing a scene before the titles. A cold open often uses in medias res, but a story can start in the middle and still have its titles first.
Make one with videos
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a video with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is a sizzle reel?A sizzle reel is a short, fast promo video that sells a project, person or product with its best moments. Sizzle against demo reel and trailer, and length.
- What is a montage?A montage is a sequence of short shots edited to compress time or build an idea. Training montages, Soviet montage, and montages in promo videos.
- What is hook rate?Hook rate, also called thumb-stop ratio, is 3-second video plays divided by impressions. The formula, each platform's inputs, and the aliases teams use.
- What is a title card?What is a title card? The full frame of text that opens, divides or closes a video, how long to hold one, and how intro and end cards differ.
Step by step in the builder: Make a promo video with AI voiceover.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .