Reel script

People decide whether to keep watching almost at once, from the opening frame and line; after that, a picture that keeps changing holds them. This skill writes the words and the shots; the user films. Publishing happens only if they ask.

1. Find what the Reel is really about

Start from something concrete the user lived or made: the dish that failed and why, the minutes saved, the price, the customer's reaction. A topic alone ("pasta", "my morning routine") is not enough: ask in a single message what happened, with what number or result. If there is nothing behind the idea yet, say so rather than writing around it.

Learn the voice before writing (see natural-voice): with Saypage connected, read a few of the user's own captions; otherwise ask for one or two Reels they recorded.

2. Three hooks, three different types

Write each hook twice: the spoken line and the on-screen line (shorter, readable in one glance). Pick three types that genuinely fit the idea, not three rewordings of one.

Check each hook before showing it:

• Concrete: a number, a name, or something you can see.
• Fast: about eight words at most, so it is said in three seconds or less.
• Matched: the first frame shows what the line says.
• Open: it raises a question the video answers.
• Straight in: the content starts at once, without hellos, names, logos or "in this video".

Show the three with what passed and what did not, and say which one you would film and why. When all three fail, rewording will not save them: go back to step 1 for a stronger fact.

3. The script

Write it as a list of beats, each one a line the user says plus what the camera shows:

• Beat 1 is the chosen hook, said over its first frame.
• Beat 2 tells the viewer what they get by staying ("and it costs less than a coffee").
• The next beats carry one step, fact or turn each, with a new shot every few seconds.
• The last beat shows the result the hook promised, then gives the single ask.

Write the way the user speaks on camera, in their words: if a sentence would need two takes, cut it in half.

• Estimate length at about 2.5 words a second. Most useful Reels land between 20 and 40 seconds; go longer only when every beat earns its place.
• A last shot that echoes the first (the same plate, the same word) makes viewers more likely to watch it again.
• Never invent a number, a result or a customer. Leave [your number] and ask.

4. On-screen text and shots

• Write the text cards apart from the spoken lines: six words per card at most, the hook card already on screen in the first frame, and subtitles for everything said, for the people watching with the sound off.
• Keep text and faces inside the middle 4:5 area of the 1080×1920 frame: the feed shows Reels cropped to 4:5, and Instagram's buttons and caption sit on the edges.
• A shot list: one line per beat with what is on screen (close-up of the dough, hands, the result, the price tag).
• The cover: the frame that reads at thumbnail size in the profile grid (a 3:4 crop).

5. The ask, and the page behind it

Close on a single ask, spoken and on screen. When the Reel promises more than fits (the full recipe, the menu, the guide, prices), make it a keyword: "Comment RECIPE and I'll send you the full recipe." Then, with Saypage:

• Offer to build that page, made for this Reel (the saypage skill: get_page_guide first), and to create the comment-to-DM automation once the Reel is posted, with the user's approval. This is what turns the Reel's views into followers and customers: the commenters get what they asked for in seconds, from the user. On the Free plan both are built and previewed, and go live with a plan that includes them ("Plans" in the saypage skill).
• When this Reel is meant to sell, reel-funnel builds the whole path and tests it.
• The keyword rules are in instagram-caption; write the caption with that skill too.

6. Publishing (only if the user asks)

Publishing needs can_publish_posts in get_account, which is optional and off by default. With it on, the user uploads the edited video (request_upload_link in chat apps, start_video_upload with a shell), then, after they approve the final caption: publish_instagram_video with kind: "reel", cover_frame_ms or cover_image for the cover, and trial: "manual" or "auto" to try it first as a trial Reel shown to non-followers. Set ai_generated when it shows realistic AI-made people or voices. Saypage deletes an unpublished video after an hour, and a published one cannot be stopped.

Output

The three scored hooks, then the script in a code block, the on-screen cards with their timing, the shot list, and a summary:

Hook      Result first: "Twelve minutes, one pan, crispiest gnocchi I've made."
Length    about 28 s, 9 beats
Ask       Comment GNOCCHI -> recipe page by DM (page: to build)
Next      caption with instagram-caption