Why Cocaine Feels Good: An Animated Body Explainer
A 71-second cartoon science explainer turns a provocative question into a body-to-brain mechanism and escalating risk story.
Field notes / why it works
The title question and expressive cartoon face establish the promise at 0:00; the first small visual change arrives at 0:01.6. Fourteen illustrated scenes turn invisible processes into clear images, from bloodstream at 0:04.8 to synapse at 0:17.2, then re-hook at 0:29.9 with adaptation and escalate to personal and wider risks from 0:39.7 onward.
Plate 01 / The format in one breath
A bright, character-led science explainer opens with an uncomfortable “why” question at 0:00. It first shows an immediate bodily effect, then travels inward to a simplified mechanism, and finally escalates from repeated exposure to severe consequences. The cute, saturated illustrations make an abstract process legible while the narration steadily raises the stakes.
Why it works
- The promise is visible and spoken in frame one: a three-line question sits above a wide-eyed character through 0:02.5, with the first picture change at 0:01.6.
- Each explanation gets a new physical metaphor: bloodstream at 0:04.8, body gauges at 0:09.5, synapse at 0:17.2, personified brain at 0:24–0:34.5.
- The second half turns a pleasant-effect question into a risk ladder: dependence at 0:34.5, sudden harm at 0:39.7, long-term harm at 0:44.9, mortality and contamination risk from 0:49.7 onward.
Plate 02 / Format card
| Platform · aspect · length | TikTok · 720×1280, 9:16 · 71.1 s · 30 fps |
| Pace | 14 shots, 13 cuts (11.0–11.8 cuts/min allowing one uncertain change); 13 changes inside shots, 21.9 picture changes/min; mean shot 5.08 s, median 4.8 s |
| Script | 220 spoken words; 186 wpm overall, 224 wpm while speaking; 14 sentences averaging 15.7 words; one opening question; “you” 8.2 times per 100 words |
| Voice | Low-register adult narrator; quick, clear, animated and matter-of-fact; continuous speech |
| On screen | 100% custom-looking flat animation/motion graphics (observed); people, organs and processes become cartoon characters or diagrams; no live-action presenter |
| Captions | Small white, lower-centre subtitles with dark outline, usually one short phrase at a time; opening uses a large three-line display question |
| Sound | Continuous tonal music-like bed (measured); apparent cut accents are inferred from loudness jumps; −13.8 LUFS integrated, −0.4 dBFS true peak |
| Structure | 7 beats: question → immediate body effect → brain mechanism → adaptation → personal risk → population risk → advisory closing; no explicit CTA |
Tools you'll need: After Effects for motion graphics · ElevenLabs or a recorded voice · a licensed or generated music track · Claude alone: yes
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