Episode intro maker

Card first, then the cold open

The packaged episode begins with a two-second title card: series name, episode title, episode number, in the series theme. The first take follows immediately. Because the card is its own clip rather than text laid over the take, the take can start mid-action, which is what makes a cold open feel like one.

When the draft tool writes an outline, the first take it proposes is usually the hook: the line of dialogue or the image that justifies the episode. You can keep it, rewrite it or replace it with your own description. Whatever you render into that first slot becomes the cold open.

There is no separate intro renderer. The reason is simple: an intro that lives in a different file from the episode goes stale the moment you retitle the episode or swap the first take. Keeping the card and the take inside the package means the intro is always correct for the cut you just made.

Choosing the right first take

A cold open works best when it is short and specific. Between four and eight seconds is enough for one gesture and one line. Describe what the camera sees first, then what is said, then how the shot moves. Name your characters exactly as they are named in your library so their reference images are attached.

If the series has a recurring set, use it for the cold open so the audience is placed before the plot starts. The set reference is one of the up to nine images a take can carry, alongside three characters with their outfits and props.

Render at the tier you plan to use for the whole episode. Mixing tiers is allowed, but a Sketch-tier cold open ahead of High-tier takes draws attention to itself in the wrong way.

The intro in both aspects

In a widescreen series the title card lays the episode title across the frame and the cold open can use the full width for a two-shot. In a vertical series the card stacks the title over three lines and the take is framed for a phone held upright. The theme, the type and the timing are identical; only the composition changes.

Previewing the card on the Cards page before you render helps you decide how long a title you want. Long titles wrap; very long ones are trimmed with an ellipsis rather than shrunk until unreadable.

What the intro costs

The title card is free inside the two-credit packaging job. The cold-open take is priced like any take: per second, by tier and resolution, from 1 credit a second for a Sketch 720p take to 30 credits a second for High 1080p. The studio shows the exact figure before you render and the backend holds you to it.

If you re-cut the episode with a different first take, the new package replaces the old one. The original take stays in your library in case you want it back.