Intro ideas for YouTube: 28 ways to open the first 15 seconds, with edit prompts

A YouTube intro is the first 15 seconds, the stretch between the first line and the moment the real video starts. It has three jobs. Confirm the video is what the title promised, tell new viewers who you are, and get out of the way. Here are 28 intro ideas in six types, covering cold opens, title cards, channel branding, and the cut into the main video. Each comes with a prompt that builds it in Vyra.

If you need the opening line itself, start with the hook ideas. This page covers everything around that line, from the structure and the title card to the logo and the handoff into the body of the video.

How to use this list

1. Write the title and thumbnail first. The intro has to match them in the first five seconds.
2. Pick one cold open, one title moment, and one way into the body. Three pieces is enough.
3. Time it. If the main content hasn't started by 0:15, cut something.
4. Paste the prompt into Vyra with your footage and watch the first 15 seconds as a new viewer would.

1. Start in the middle

Open on a moment from the middle of the video, already in progress. Then cut to the title. The viewer joins a story instead of waiting for one.

Fits vlog and storytelling video.

Take the 6 seconds around the moment I drop the box from the middle of the video and use it as the cold open. Then cut to black for 6 frames and show the title card. Then start the video from the beginning.

2. The flash-forward

Show three quick shots from the end of the video, then a card that says "earlier". The viewer knows where it's going and stays to see how.

"Six hours earlier."

Fits day in the life and all-nighter painting vlog.

Pull three 1 second shots from the last two minutes of the video and play them first, cut on the beat. Then a black card with "six hours earlier" in white serif text for 1.5 seconds, then the start of the day.

3. The best line first

Find the strongest sentence anyone says in the video and open on it, before any context. Works for interviews, talks, and long talking-head videos.

Fits podcast clip and talking head.

Search the transcript for the line where my guest says "I almost quit" and open the video on that sentence, about 5 seconds. Add captions for it only. Then show the title card and start the conversation from the top.

4. The problem on screen

Open on the broken thing, the empty room, or the failed first attempt. The rest of the video is the fix.

Fits tutorial and before and after.

Open on the clip of the cracked canvas for 3 seconds with no music, only room sound. Add "day 1" as small text in the corner. Then cut to the title card on the first beat of the track.

5. Sound before picture

Start on black with the audio of the first scene. Rain, a crowd, a door. Bring the picture in after two seconds.

Fits storytelling video and travel recap.

Start with 2 seconds of black and the street audio from the first clip. Fade the picture in over 12 frames once the sound is established, then bring the music in at 0:05.

6. Big title over b-roll

Lay the video title in large text over a moving b-roll shot around 0:05. It confirms the click and gives the eye something to watch.

Fits vlog and cinematic b-roll. Make one with the title card maker.

At 0:05, put the video title in large bold white text, centered, over the walking shot. Fade it in over 6 frames, hold for 2.5 seconds, and fade it out on the next cut. Use 16:9.

7. Title written by hand

Film yourself writing, painting, or typing the title. The title card becomes part of the video.

"How I paint skin."

Fits tutorial and process video.

Use the overhead clip of me writing the title on paper as the title card. Speed the writing up to 3x so it finishes in 2 seconds, then hold on the finished words for 1 second before cutting to the main video.

8. Title behind you

Put the title in huge letters behind your head with a person mask, so you stand in front of it. A strong look for face-to-camera channels.

Fits talking head and green screen commentary.

After my first sentence, add the title in very large text behind me using a person mask. Animate it rising from the bottom over 10 frames. Hold it for 3 seconds while I keep talking, then remove it.

9. Place and date, typed out

Type the location and date on screen letter by letter over the first establishing shot. It does the job of a narrator.

Fits travel recap and vlog.

Over the first wide shot, type "providence, rhode island" and the date below it, one letter at a time, in a monospace font in the lower left. Add a soft key click for each letter. Hold for 2 seconds after it finishes.

10. The episode card

For a series, show a card with the episode number and the episode name. Regular viewers learn to expect it.

Fits founder build in public and vlog.

After the cold open, show a card with "EP. 07" in small text above "the week everything broke" in large text, left aligned on a dark background. 2 seconds, with a single low hit sound on the cut in.

11. The lower-third title

Skip the full-screen card. Put the title in a small bar in the lower third while the video keeps playing.

Fits explainer and talking head.

Instead of a title card, add a lower-third bar with the video title at 0:04 while I talk. Slide it in from the left over 8 frames, hold for 4 seconds, and slide it out. Keep captions above it while it's on screen.

12. The two-second logo sting

Right after the cold open, play a short logo animation with a sound. Keep it under two seconds so it reads as a beat in the video.

Fits explainer and tutorial.

Insert my logo image right after the cold open as a 1.5 second sting. Scale it from 80 to 100 percent with a slight overshoot, add a short whoosh, and cut straight into the first scene after it.

13. The same first line every time

Say the same short greeting in every video. It becomes a signal that the real video has started.

"Okay, studio's open."

Fits vlog and talking head.

Find where I say "okay, studio's open" and put it right after the title card. Cut any pause before or after it. Add a 10 percent punch-in on the word "open".

14. The recurring shot

Open every video with the same shot. The front door, the desk from above, the lights coming on. Subscribers recognize it in one frame.

Fits vlog and studio tour.

Use the clip of the studio lights switching on as the first shot after the cold open, 2 seconds. Match its color grade to the rest of the video and put my channel name in small text in the top left.

15. The theme cue

Pick one short piece of music and start it at the same point in every video, right as the title hits.

Fits vlog and silent vlog.

Bring in my theme music exactly on the title card, at full volume for 4 seconds, then duck it to 20 percent when I start talking. Fade it out completely by 0:20.

16. Name and face for new viewers

Add a small name card the first time you appear on camera. Most people who click don't know you yet. My intro reel, "hi, i'm sulan", got 15.3K views.

Fits talking head. Make the card with the lower third generator.

The first time I'm on camera, add a lower third with my name in bold and "painter, founder" underneath in lighter text. Slide it up from the bottom, hold 3 seconds, and slide it down.

17. The promise and a preview

Say what the viewer will get, then show one clip from each part of the video while you say it.

"Three paintings, three budgets, one winner."

Fits listicle talking head and art supplies review.

While I say the promise line, cut to one 1 second clip from each of the three sections in order. Put "1", "2", "3" as large numbers in the top left of each clip. Then cut back to me.

18. The on-screen agenda

Show the chapters as a short list on screen for three seconds. Viewers who want part three know to wait.

Fits tutorial and explainer.

At 0:08, show a list of the four chapter names on the right side of the frame while I talk on the left. Reveal one line at a time as I say each one, then clear the list after the last line.

19. Last time on

For a series, recap the last episode in ten seconds before anything new. Returning viewers get context, new ones get caught up.

Fits founder build in public and storytelling video.

Open with "last time" as small text in the top left. Play four 2 second clips from the previous episode's footage in order, with my voiceover summary and captions. Then cut to the title card for this episode.

20. Proof in one shot

Show the result that earns you the right to teach this, then move on. A finished piece, a full shelf, a number on a screen.

Fits tutorial and process video.

After my first line, cut to the shot of the finished painting on the wall for 2 seconds with a slow push-in. Add the size as small text below it, then cut back to me starting the lesson.

21. The question on screen

Write the exact question the video answers in large text. Hold it while you start talking.

Fits explainer and green screen commentary.

Put the question "how do you price your first painting?" in large text across the top half at 0:03. Hold it for 4 seconds while I start answering, then shrink it to a small label in the top corner for the rest of the intro.

22. Tutorial: the result, then the tools

Show the finished thing for two seconds, then every tool you'll use laid out on a table. The viewer knows what they need before you start.

Fits tutorial.

Open on the finished piece for 2 seconds. Then cut to the overhead shot of the tools on the table and add a small label next to each tool as I name it. Start the first step at 0:12.

23. Vlog: the day in eight beats

Play eight one-second clips from across the day, cut to music, before the day starts. It sets the mood and the pace.

Fits vlog and day in the life. My first day at Y Combinator, cut in Vyra with captions, got 73.2K views.

Pick 8 clips from across the day, one from each hour, and play them in order for 1 beat each at the start. Then a 1 second title card with the date, then the first clip of the morning with my voice.

24. Review: the verdict teaser

Show the product on the table and say you'll give the verdict at the end. Hint at it without giving it away.

"One of these is going back."

Fits art supplies review and unboxing.

Open on the wide shot of all three products on the table for 2 seconds. Add my line as captions in yellow, then cut to the unboxing. Put a small "verdict at the end" tag in the top right for 3 seconds.

25. Interview: the guest's best line, then their name

Open on the guest saying their strongest line, then a name card over a fresh shot of them.

Fits podcast clip and testimonial.

Open on the guest's strongest 5 second line from the transcript, captioned. Then cut to a wide shot of them and add a lower third with their name and role. Start the full conversation at 0:12.

26. Story: the old photos

For a personal story, open on old photos or old footage with the year stamped on each. It sets the timeline in seconds. My video about leaving Brown to build Vyra, "a new chapter", got 24.5K views.

Fits storytelling video and story time.

Open with five old photos, 1.5 seconds each, with a slow push-in on every one. Stamp the year in the lower right of each in a typewriter font. Then cut to me on camera in the present.

27. Hard cut on the drop

Build the intro to the moment the music drops, then cut straight into the main video on that beat. The energy change tells the viewer it's started.

Fits beat-synced edit and vlog.

Time the intro so the title card ends on the beat drop of the track at about 0:14. Hard cut into the first main scene on that exact beat and drop the music to 25 percent under my voice.

28. Change the angle when the real part starts

Shoot the intro from one angle and the main video from another. The switch is a quiet signal that the setup is over.

Fits talking head and tutorial.

Keep the intro on the close front angle. When I say "let's start", cut to the wide side angle and keep it as the main angle for the next section. Turn on captions in the bottom third from that cut onward.

FAQ

How long should a YouTube intro be? Aim for 10 to 15 seconds from the first frame to the start of the main content. Longer intros lose people who already know what they clicked for.

Do I need a channel intro or logo animation? Only a short one. A sting under two seconds works. Anything longer delays the video people came for.

Where does the hook go in a YouTube intro? In the first five seconds, before any title card or logo. The intro structures around it.

Should every video use the same intro? Keep one or two parts the same, like the greeting or the theme cue, and change the cold open every time.

Related

• /ideas/hook-ideas
• /tools/title-card-maker
• /how-to/edit-for-retention
• /ideas/youtube-video-ideas