Your Brain Predicts the Present
A brisk vector-animated science explainer turns a hidden processing delay into an everyday action experiment and a branching prediction diagram.
Field notes / why it works
A personal question and a growing character establish the premise before the first cut at 2.83 s. The 5.5–13.7 s action setup makes the timing problem tangible, while the 31.6–40.9 s prediction diagram evolves through four internal changes before the 46 s payoff. Its 17 shots and 13 in-shot graphic changes keep a 202-word explanation visually legible.
Plate 01 / The format in one breath
A fast narrator opens with a surprising claim about the viewer's everyday experience. One ordinary action becomes a bright animated experiment; the edit slows the action, reveals a hidden process, then returns to its larger implication.
Why it works
- The opening question is visible from frame 0 while a giant, characterful brain rises beneath it through 1.25 s. The claim is understood before the first cut at 2.83 s.
- The ping-pong setup at 5.5–13.7 s gives the abstract point a concrete test. A ball-to-eye close-up and delayed processing at 13.7–22 s make the explanation visual.
- The 30–46 s section moves from a wrong prediction to several possible trajectories, then one chosen future and the return hit. Four graphic changes inside the 9.32 s prediction shot keep a long explanation moving.
Plate 02 / Format card
| Platform · aspect · length | TikTok · 720 × 1280, 9:16 · 57.1 s · 30 fps |
| Pace | 17 shots, 16 cuts, 16.8–17.9 cuts/min allowing one uncertain change; 30.5 picture changes/min; mean shot 3.36 s, median 2.4 s |
| Script | 202 spoken words, 214 wpm overall and 249 wpm during speech; 12 sentences averaging 16.8 words; two questions; direct address about 8.4 you per 100 words |
| Voice | Animated low-register adult narrator, brisk and clear; 99% speech coverage |
| On screen | Entirely designed 2D vector-style animation: character scenes, sports demonstration, diagrams and object close-ups; no live presenter |
| Captions | Small white sentence fragments near lower centre, thin dark outline/shadow, sentence case, updated with speech |
| Sound | Continuous tonal/music-like bed about 10.8 dB beneath voice; no reliable cut-by-cut effect pattern detected; −11.9 LUFS integrated, measured +0.5 dBFS true peak |
| Structure | Claim → ordinary stakes → demonstration → hidden delay → failed outcome → predictive workaround → general implication → full-video invitation |
Tools you'll need: After Effects for motion graphics · ElevenLabs or a recorded voice · Claude alone: partly
Frame by frame / measured
Stills taken at measured moments, each labelled with its time. Agents get the same sheets over MCP.
Pro / 13 plates + recipe
The first plates are open. The full dissection is Pro.
Get the timed shots, type and sound specs, and the runnable recipe.
Open the full blueprint- Plate 03 / The hook, frame by frame (first 3 seconds)Pro
- Plate 04 / Structure (beat sheet)Pro
- Plate 05 / Shot grammarPro
- Plate 06 / Visual style guidePro
- Plate 07 / Voice and deliveryPro
- Plate 08 / Sound designPro
- Plate 09 / PackagingPro
- Plate 10 / Script templatePro
- Plate 11 / Production planPro
- Plate 12 / PromptsPro
- Plate 13 / Edit recipePro
- Plate 14 / QA checklistPro
- Plate 15 / Make it yoursPro
- Recipe / runnable promptPro