# Before and after in one frame

Story / Hook / Visual hooks and animations. Checked 2026-11-13.

The difference is the message, and it is seen in one look.

- Use when: Transformations, price comparisons, old way against new way.
- Phrase: split screen: the cluttered desk on the left, the same desk cleared on the right, the same framing and the same light
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/hook/high-contrast-hook
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/hook/high-contrast-hook.json

## Watch out

- Position against the old way or the whole category, not a named competitor. (practitioner; Director Chair field notes on hooks and ideas (Motion's hook guide and 2026 creative benchmark, vendor data))
- Hooks are judged by the first two seconds of retention on the platform. Test two openings of the same video instead of trusting a formula. (practitioner; The Director Chair hook framework (our 2026 synthesis of @marco.thecreative's TikTok series, OpusClip's hook formulas, a Brandefy article, Meta retention research and a Gemini research report))

## Prompts

### Seedance 2.5

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Split screen: the cluttered desk on the left, the same desk cleared on the right, the same framing and the same light.
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Split screen: the cluttered desk on the left, the same desk cleared on the right, the same framing and the same light.
Shot 1: one continuous shot
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. Split screen: the cluttered desk on the left, the same desk cleared on the right, the same framing and the same light. The scene is [your setting].
```

### Veo 3.1

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Split screen: the cluttered desk on the left, the same desk cleared on the right, the same framing and the same light. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
```

## Goes well with

- Match cut: https://directorchair.ai/transition/match-cut
- Old way, new way: https://directorchair.ai/hook/contrast-hook
- Grade wipe (before and after): https://directorchair.ai/effect/grade-wipe

## Source

Own words from the Director Chair hook framework (our 2026 synthesis of @marco.thecreative's TikTok series, OpusClip's hook formulas, a Brandefy article, Meta retention research and a Gemini research report)

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