Turning one good clip into a format
Presets get you started. They do not stay interesting.
At some point you want the shape of a clip that worked for you.
Start from one that worked
Not a clip you liked. One that people watched.
Guessing at a shape gives you a shape nobody has tested.
Write down its shape, not its words
Three seconds of the result. Then the problem. Then how.
That is a shape. The exact sentences are not.
TipIf your description mentions the subject, you have written down the clip, not the format.
Name the parts
Give each beat a name you would say out loud.
Hook. Turn. Proof. Ask.
Named parts are what let somebody else make one without you.
Leave exactly one slot to change
One thing varies per clip. Usually the hook.
Two slots and you cannot tell which one moved the numbers.
Build it once, then run it
Set the shape up as an automation and leave it alone.
The point of a format is that the second one takes no thinking.
Retire it before it dies
A shape wears out. You will feel it before the numbers show it.
Keep the parts that still work and rebuild around them.
TipRetire a format while it is still working and you will have the next one ready.
A format is not a template. It is a decision you only make once.
That is why it is worth writing down.