ShowCreator
03

Cold open generator

The cold open is the first beat of every Show Creator episode: one take, no title yet, dropped into the middle of something already happening. Draft it, render it, and let it set the tone for the four acts that follow.

Draft a cold openSee pricing

Every episode, same five acts

Cold openAct oneAct twoAct threeTag

Twelve beats, one take each, four to fifteen seconds a take.

01

Why the cold open gets its own act

In vertical video the first three seconds decide whether anyone stays. Television solved the same problem decades ago with the cold open: a short scene before the opening titles that starts with the story already moving. Show Creator keeps that slot as its own act with a budget of exactly one take, because a cold open that tries to be two scenes stops being cold.

The act brief the drafting model follows is short: open on motion, no setup, and end on an image or a line that turns the premise into a question. The take is eight to ten seconds by default. That is long enough for one action and one line, and short enough that there is no room for throat-clearing.

02

Drafting only the cold open

You do not have to draft the whole episode to get a cold open. Each beat on the act sheet has its own redraft button, which costs one credit and reads the pitch, the cast sheet and the other beats before rewriting that single slot. Give it a writer’s note (“start on the padlock”, “no dialogue, just the look”) and it folds the note in.

The generated beat is a heading and a two-sentence shot description: who is in it, where, what happens, and the line if there is one. Edit it as much as you like; the text field is yours. When it reads right, open the take desk and render.

  • Start in motion: a hand already on the door, a boat already too close.
  • One location, at most three people, one spoken line at most.
  • End on a question the audience cannot answer yet.
  • Eight to ten seconds; the tag at the end of the episode is the only shorter beat.
03

Rendering the take

The take desk fills the prompt with your cold open text. Choose the cast from the sheet, a set from the library and the quality tier. Standard 720p at ten seconds is sixty credits; a four-second stinger at 480p is twelve. The price is shown before you click, and the render runs in the background while you draft act one.

A cold open often benefits from the High tier: it is the beat people see first and the one most likely to be shared on its own. Every finished take has its own public page, so a cold open can go out as a teaser before the pilot is cut.

04

Building outward from the opener

Once the cold open is rendered, the rest of the act sheet is waiting: three beats for act one, four for act two, three for act three and the tag. Draft them all at once for two credits or fill them by hand. When the takes are finished, cut the episode and the cold open is the first thing in the file, exactly where it belongs.

Sample takes

Rendered from beats like yours

Dawn on the iron gallery deck of a lighthouse. Dagny, a weathered woman in her 60s in a navy duffel coat, lowers a pair of binoculars and says quietly, "That boat was not there last night." Gulls wheel; the sea is grey.
A 24-hour pharmacy at night, rain on the front glass. Abram, mid 20s in dark paramedic blues, slides a long curling receipt across the counter and asks, "Who signed for this?" The pharmacist does not look up.
A seaside boardwalk at night, arcade stalls shuttered, one carousel still lit. Teague, late 20s in a faded satin bomber, counts cash from a paper bag and freezes when a second set of footsteps stops behind him.
A small-town courthouse hallway with terrazzo floors. Callista, mid 40s in a dove-grey skirt suit, drops a stamped docket sheet into a bin, pauses, and fishes it back out with a small smile.

Questions

How long should a cold open take be?
The act sheet targets ten seconds. Takes can be anywhere from four to fifteen seconds; shorter is usually better for an opener.
Can I render a cold open without a full pitch?
A pitch needs at least a title. The logline, tone, mood words and cast sheet are optional, but the drafting model writes a much better opener when it knows what the show is.
Does the cold open have to have dialogue?
No. Many of the best openers are a single action and a look. Say so in the writer’s note and the draft will respect it.
What does redrafting one beat cost?
One credit. Drafting the entire act sheet in one go costs two.
Who owns the cold opens I make here?
You do. Everything the service produces at your direction belongs to you under our terms of service, and you can publish it, sell it or keep it private. Because copyright is handled differently by each country, check with a lawyer in yours before signing anything that depends on ownership. Read the terms of service.

Ready when the logline is.

Two free credits on sign-up. The price of every step is shown before you click.

Draft a cold open