Free guide · 2 min read · from AI Content Pack 001

How to write a 60-second drama

Kill the weak ideas on paper, then build the strong one in five timed beats. With a worked example.

Part 01. Kill it before you generate it

Five questions that decide whether an idea is worth a single credit.

Credits are film stock. Most of them get spent finding out that an idea was never going to work, one generation at a time. Writing it down costs nothing. So before you open a generator, put the idea through five questions. They are written to be able to say no.

One sentence. Can you say the scene with a person, a want and a problem in it? “A woman finds a key under her mat that isn’t hers.” If it takes a paragraph, it isn’t a scene yet.
The first frame. What is on screen in the first two seconds? If you can’t picture it, the scroll wins before your story starts.
The turn. Something has to change between the start and the end: a reveal, a choice, a reversal. If nothing changes, it’s a mood board.
Small enough to hold. Can it be made with one or two characters and one or two locations? Every new face is a consistency problem. Every new location is another look to keep steady.
Twice. Would you watch it twice? The ending should ask a question or pay one off.

Score	Call
Five yes	Make it.
Three or four	Fix the weak answer on paper first, then make it.
Two or fewer	Park it. Keep the note. Spend the credits on the next one.

Part 02. The 60-second drama

A beat sheet with timings, and a worked example you can steal the shape of.

Short drama works when every second has a job. Five beats, timed for 60 seconds. For a 30-second piece, halve each one and cut the second escalation.

Time	Beat	Its job
0–3 s	Hook	Open mid-action, or on an image that asks a question. No logo, no title card, no “so…”.
3–12 s	Who and want	One person, one want. Shown, not said.
12–35 s	The wall	The problem gets worse twice. Escalate, don’t repeat.
35–50 s	The turn	A reveal or a choice that flips what we thought was happening.
50–60 s	The cut	End on a question, a look or a line. Cut a beat earlier than feels comfortable.

Plan eight to fourteen shots for a minute. Most video generators hand back clips of a few seconds, and the usable part of each is shorter than that, so a shot of four to six seconds on screen is a good unit to plan in.

Worked example: “The Spare Key”

Hook: Extreme close-up. A key taped under a doormat. A hand peels the tape back.
Who and want: Nia, late, arms full of groceries, just wants to get inside. She stops. Her own key is already in her hand. This one isn’t hers.
The wall: It opens her door anyway. Inside, a second toothbrush she doesn’t own. Her phone lights up: “Did you find it?” Unknown number.
The turn: Across the hall, her neighbour’s door is open an inch. Someone inside is watching.
The cut: Nia locks her door from the inside. Then she hears the key turn from the outside.

One sentence, one location, two faces, a turn and an ending that asks a question. It passes all five questions in part 01, which is why it is worth generating.

This is parts 01 and 02 of 12

Get the other 10.

The shot prompt library, the edit recipe, 25 hooks and the posting plan are in the free pack.

Next guide: Character lock