X Launch Video Structure
A launch video for X is not a walkthrough. It's a 60-second unit of attention with five hard beats, and if you miss any of them the post dies before it propagates. This skill gives you the beat sheet.
When invoking: Ask for the product name, the one pipeline (not one feature — one pipeline) the video will show, and the ICP. Then produce the beat sheet.
The iron rules
- Under 60 seconds, always. Over 60s and you lose viewers raised on 15-second Reels. No exceptions for "our product is complicated."
- One pipeline, not one feature. Pick one end-to-end user pipeline (e.g. "agent researches a lead, writes an email, posts a Slack recap"). Not "you can upload a PDF." The pipeline is a story; the feature is a spec sheet.
- Show, don't explain. Every second of voiceover competes with a second of product on screen. The product must be visible within the first 5 seconds.
The 5-beat structure
| Beat | Time | What | Failure mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hook | 0:00 - 0:01 | A 3-5 word phrase that captures the product's essence. Visually distinct — a face, a logo, a single on-screen word. See launch-video-hook-generator. | Hook is a logo card with no human / no text / no motion. Dead on arrival. |
| 2. One-liner | 0:01 - 0:05 | One sentence stating what the product is. Framed as a claim, not a description. ("You can now give OpenClaude a brain." "Momo is a CRM for AI agents.") | Sentence is a feature list with commas. |
| 3. Problem / ICP story beat | 0:05 - 0:15 | 10 seconds max. Show (don't tell) the ICP's problem. If you narrate, narrate as the ICP in first person. See icp-roleplay-demo-script. | Explaining the problem in third person. "Many founders struggle to..." — skip. |
| 4. Pipeline demo | 0:15 - 0:50 | 35 seconds of actual product use. Show the pipeline from trigger to outcome. Cut aggressively — every shot should advance the pipeline. No UI tour. | Feature tour, menu clicks, tab switches. |
| 5. Outcome + CTA | 0:50 - 0:60 | Show the result. End card with domain name or @handle so people can find you when they pause. | Fading to black with a "thanks for watching." |
Script compression
Write a full script first. Then cut it in half. Then cut it again.
- Default prose has ~60% filler. Your audience hears all of it.
- Kill every word that isn't load-bearing. "Actually," "basically," "so," "I think," "you know" — all out.
- Rule of thumb: the speakable script for a 60-second video is ~130-150 words max.
- Do not use a general LLM to write the final script. LLMs re-introduce filler ("Let's dive into," "In today's video," "As you can see"). Use one to brainstorm structure, then rewrite the final script by hand.
Production notes
- Voice should be yours, not a studio read. X rewards founder voice.
- First second needs motion. A static frame with a logo will be scrolled past.
- Captions on (default). Most X video plays with sound off.
- Export at 1080×1920 (vertical) for phone-first viewing, or 1080×1080 square. Not 16:9 landscape.
Output format
When asked to structure a launch video, produce:
- Beat sheet — the 5 beats with exact timings and what happens in each.
- Speakable script — final, compressed, ≤150 words.
- On-screen text list — every word the viewer will see overlaid.
- Shot list — each cut in the pipeline demo beat, ~6-10 shots.
- End-card copy — domain, handle, one-line CTA.
- What to cut — 2-3 things the user probably wants to include that are hurting the video.
Related skills
launch-video-hook-generator— produces beat 1icp-roleplay-demo-script— produces beats 3-4 as a storyx-viral-template-miner— find current-month video templates before scriptinghook-and-headline-writing— for non-video hook work