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YouTube planning

Plan a high-retention YouTube video and a thumbnail people can't not click

7 min readIntermediate/youtube-creator
Film Movie StudioRender
3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
60%
prompt
frame_01.png
Remix
frame_02.png
Remix
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Generating… 55%
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output

55% of viewers leave within the first 60 seconds, so every second of video has to earn the next. The /youtube-creator skill in FilmMovie Studio is a YouTube strategist: it takes you from a topic to a title the algorithm rewards, a tagged script built on retention psychology, and a thumbnail that's legible even at 168×94 px. It's a planning skill — the outputs are documents and images on the canvas, not a finished video. In this guide we'll run the whole loop from topic to an approved thumbnail.

What you'll need

  • FilmMovie Studio installed, with a copy and an image provider configured in Settings.
  • A video topic and a few notes about your channel and viewers — niche, typical viewer, what's worked.
  • A sense of length and format: landscape 16:9 (standard YouTube) or portrait 9:16 (Shorts).

Step by step

  1. 1

    Launch /youtube-creator in chat

    In a project, type /youtube-creator in the chat and add your topic, e.g. "/youtube-creator how to start baking sourdough". If you leave the topic out, the skill first asks via a "What's the video about?" prompt — describe the topic plus your channel and viewers.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    Skills
    /youtube-creator
    /short-drama
    /image-creator
    /audio-studio
    /app-builder

    /youtube-creator Pixar-style 3D animation, golden-hour tennis court, warm sunlight and soft haze. Hold the exact characters and styling from the source image. The orange cat gently…

    SkillsModels

    Type / to switch skills anytime

    Tip: If you write in another language, the skill asks once whether the video should be in that language or English. The chosen language then drives the titles, script and tags.
  2. 2

    Fill in the brief form

    A form appears with three tabs: "Video type" (Educational, Tutorial, Listicle, Story), "Target length" (1–3 min, 5–8 min, 10–15 min) and "Format" (landscape 16:9 or portrait 9:16 for Shorts). Pick the values and confirm.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    60%
    prompt
    frame_01.png
    Generating… 42%
    Remix
    frame_02.png
    Generating… 68%
    Remix
    frame_03.png
    Generating… 55%
    Remix
    frame_04.png
    Generating… 80%
    Remix
    output
  3. 3

    Review the "Topic Plan" card on the canvas

    A plan-type card titled "Topic Plan" drops onto the canvas — it sums up the theme and angle, target audience, type/duration/format, language and a content outline. This is the root card; every later card parents to it.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project

    Drag an image here, or click to upload

    reference.png
  4. 4

    Pick a title at the creative gate

    The skill generates 4 title candidates, each on a different psychological lever: Search-optimized, Curiosity gap, Negativity/mistake, and Number + promise. A choice prompt (ask_user_choice) opens — "Pick the title/angle to script" — click the one you want. This is a required approval step.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    Skills
    /youtube-creator
    /short-drama
    /image-creator
    /audio-studio
    /app-builder

    /youtube-creator Pixar-style 3D animation, golden-hour tennis court, warm sunlight and soft haze. Hold the exact characters and styling from the source image. The orange cat gently…

    SkillsModels

    Type / to switch skills anytime

    Tip: Choose a title the Hook can actually cash. An over-promising title tanks average view duration and gets demoted by the algorithm.
  5. 5

    Read the tagged script

    A document-type card "Script — <title>" appears. The script is segmented, and each segment carries Narration, Visual, Retention Tag (HOOK / PATTERN_INTERRUPT / SOFT_CTA / SECOND_HOOK / HARD_CTA / NORMAL) and Est. Duration. Segment 1 is the three-part Hook (Grab → Promise → Stakes) and must pay off the title's promise.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    Skills
    /youtube-creator
    /short-drama
    /image-creator
    /audio-studio
    /app-builder

    /youtube-creator Pixar-style 3D animation, golden-hour tennis court, warm sunlight and soft haze. Hold the exact characters and styling from the source image. The orange cat gently…

    SkillsModels

    Type / to switch skills anytime

    Tip: A PATTERN_INTERRUPT should land every 60–90s, the SOFT_CTA at ~25%, the SECOND_HOOK at ~60% and the HARD_CTA at the end. To revise, type the change in chat and the card rewrites.
  6. 6

    Generate high-CTR thumbnails

    The skill picks 2–3 different conversion patterns (e.g. Big Face + Reaction, Curiosity Gap, Number + Promise) and calls image generation in 16:9 for each. "Thumbnail — <pattern>" cards drop onto the canvas, each with a dominant subject and ≤4 words of text.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    60%
    prompt
    frame_01.png
    Remix
    frame_02.png
    Remix
    frame_03.png
    Remix
    frame_04.png
    Generating… 80%
    Remix
    output
    Tip: Each result is squint-tested at 168×94 px: legible subject, text ≤4 words, color punch. If one fails, the skill re-runs it once with the weak aspect strengthened.
  7. 7

    Pick the winning thumbnail and stop

    A choice prompt "Which thumbnail ships?" opens — click the thumbnail you'll use. The skill posts a closing summary (Topic Plan → title → script → thumbnail) and stops. The pipeline deliberately ends here — no voiceover, no clips, no render.

    Film Movie StudioRender
    3D Tennis Buddy ComedyNew project
    Skills
    /youtube-creator
    /short-drama
    /image-creator
    /audio-studio
    /app-builder

    /youtube-creator Pixar-style 3D animation, golden-hour tennis court, warm sunlight and soft haze. Hold the exact characters and styling from the source image. The orange cat gently…

    SkillsModels

    Type / to switch skills anytime

    Tip: To turn the plan into an actual video, hand it to the /promo-video skill or another video skill — /youtube-creator never generates video.

What you get

You have a planning kit for one YouTube video: a Topic Plan card, an approved title, a retention-tagged script (Hook → Pattern Interrupt → CTA) and a chosen high-CTR thumbnail — all connected on the canvas and saved locally. It's a complete brief you can shoot yourself or hand to a video skill like /promo-video.

Pro tips

  • The title is a retention decision, not a label — it sets the promise the Hook must pay off. Pick the one the first 30 seconds can actually deliver.
  • For thumbnails, keep text ≤4 words, one dominant subject filling 40–60% of the frame and high saturation. Pastel thumbnails vanish in the feed.
  • Image prompts are always English and avoid "AI-tell" words like 8K, 4K, hyper-realistic or masterpiece, even when the video is in another language.

Try it yourself

FilmMovie Studio is a desktop app that walks you from idea to finished export. Download it and start creating.

Get FilmMovie Studio

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