# Face only in the hook

Edit / Edit effect / Layouts. Checked 2026-11-13.

The face earns trust in the first seconds, then gets out of the way of the lesson.

- Use when: Product explainers where the interface can teach.
- Phrase: the speaker fills the top 45 percent for the first six seconds, then the face is gone and the product's interface carries the rest
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/effect/face-only-in-hook
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/effect/face-only-in-hook.json

## Watch out

- Measured: a face in 6 percent of the sampled frames, 2.0 visual changes per 10 seconds, 791,000 plays with 5.0 percent saved. The face returning after the hook is the listed failure. (measured; Director Chair measurement of a published short, 22 Oct 2026)

## Prompts

### Any chat model

```
Give me an edit brief: where it goes on the timeline, the exact settings, and what to check before export, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is face only in the hook: the face earns trust in the first seconds, then gets out of the way of the lesson. How it works: the speaker fills the top 45 percent for the first six seconds, then the face is gone and the product's interface carries the rest. It is right for: product explainers where the interface can teach. Measured: a face in 6 percent of the sampled frames, 2.0 visual changes per 10 seconds, 791,000 plays with 5.0 percent saved. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.
```

## Goes well with

- Interface as teacher: https://directorchair.ai/preset/edit-interface-as-teacher
- The result in the hook: https://directorchair.ai/hook/demonstration-hook

## Source

Own words from Director Chair measurement of a published short, Oct 2026 and Director Chair notes on Product UI as the explainer (Patchd)

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.