{
 "slug": "edit-deadpan-spec-ad",
 "name": "Deadpan spec ad",
 "category": "preset",
 "group": "Edit styles",
 "media": [
  "video"
 ],
 "checked": "2026-11-13",
 "effect": "The scenes never wink, so two quiet title cards land the whole joke.",
 "use_when": "Spec ads, portfolio pieces, reacting to a launch everyone knows.",
 "phrase": "a product ad played completely straight in full-frame scenes with hard cuts on the action, no captions, a claim on a title card on black after the stunt and a payoff card on black at the very end",
 "pitfalls": [
  {
   "text": "A scene that winks at the joke, a caption or a logo over the scenes, or the payoff card before the visual punchline: each is a listed failure.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "Director Chair measurement of a published short, Oct 2026"
  },
  {
   "text": "Our export ran at -8.2 LUFS with a true peak of +0.4 dBTP, which clips. Export at -14 LUFS with the peak at or under -1 dBTP.",
   "evidence": "measured",
   "source": "Director Chair measurement of a published short, 22 Oct 2026"
  },
  {
   "text": "A real brand needs parody framing and a trademark check before the film is used in anything sold.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "Director Chair measurement of a published short, Oct 2026"
  }
 ],
 "per_model": [],
 "external_refs": [],
 "licensed": [],
 "site_names": [],
 "related": [
  "title-card-on-black",
  "hard-cut",
  "preset-spec-commercial",
  "look-commercial",
  "format-generated-scenes",
  "ratio-16-9"
 ],
 "rights": "own-work",
 "evidence": "measured",
 "source": {
  "url": null,
  "note": "Our own film (generated with reference images, cut by hand, Oct 2026), measured by us. No clip is attached: it parodies a real brand."
 },
 "body": "## Measured on the reference\n\n| What | Value |\n|---|---|\n| Length | 25.0 s |\n| Aspect | 16:9 |\n| Visual changes per 10 s | 2.4 |\n| Median segment | 2.57 s |\n| First visual change | 3.1 s |\n| First spoken word | 2.7 s (the only spoken line, two words) |\n| Spoken words per second | 1.19 |\n| Loudness, integrated | -8.2 LUFS (too hot) |\n| True peak | +0.4 dBTP (clips) |\n| Sound floor | -35.5 dBFS (music-led) |\n| Face in sampled frames | 30 percent, middle third |\n\n## The recipe\n\n1. Full-frame scenes in the target ratio, no captions and no overlays.\n2. Open on the problem in one static shot, 0 to 3 seconds.\n3. Then the product moment and the stunt in two or three shots, cut hard on the action: 2 to 3 visual changes per 10 seconds, shots of 2.5 to 3 seconds.\n4. Put the claim on a title card on black right after the stunt: small white sans, centred, one line.\n5. Show the consequence in one shot.\n6. End on the payoff card on black in the same type, held at least 3 seconds. In our film it reads: Landing sold separately.\n7. One spoken line at most. Music-led, with a hit on the stunt.\n\n## Not for\n\nExplainers, tutorials, a real brand without parody framing.",
 "shown_with": null,
 "url": "https://directorchair.ai/preset/edit-deadpan-spec-ad",
 "markdown": "https://directorchair.ai/preset/edit-deadpan-spec-ad.md",
 "prompts": {
  "chat": "Give me a production plan: the shots or scenes in order, what each one needs, and the edit settings, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is deadpan spec ad: the scenes never wink, so two quiet title cards land the whole joke. How it works: a product ad played completely straight in full-frame scenes with hard cuts on the action, no captions, a claim on a title card on black after the stunt and a payoff card on black at the very end. It is right for: spec ads, portfolio pieces, reacting to a launch everyone knows. A scene that winks at the joke, a caption or a logo over the scenes, or the payoff card before the visual punchline: each is a listed failure. Our export ran at -8.2 LUFS with a true peak of +0.4 dBTP, which clips. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing."
 },
 "licence": {
  "code": "MIT",
  "text": "CC BY 4.0",
  "third_party": "Clips and card texts inside a \"licensed\" block belong to their makers and are shown with permission and credit."
 }
}