# Start on the strongest line

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/start-on-the-strongest-line
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Type "Start on the strongest line" and Vidiyo reads your transcript, picks the most concrete sentence near the start, and cuts the warm-up and false starts before it. It checks the first frame and first caption, and asks you before moving a better line from later in the video to the front.

## What to say

> Start on the strongest line

Category: Cuts

## What Vidiyo does

1. Reads the transcript as sentences to find the most concrete line near the start: a result, a number, a question or a bold claim.
2. Deletes the warm-up before it, such as greetings and false starts, keeping a natural breath.
3. Makes sure captions show from the first spoken word.
4. Checks the opening frame for a clear face or product, never a blink, black or a half transition.
5. Asks you first if the strongest hook sits later in the video and would need to move.

The first seconds decide whether someone keeps watching. This prompt makes Vidiyo open your video on the line most likely to hold a viewer, and trims anything that delays it.

## What does Vidiyo do when you say this?

Vidiyo reads your transcript as sentences, picks the most concrete line near the start, and deletes the warm-up before it. A concrete line is a result, a number, a question or a bold claim, the kind of sentence that works without context. The cut keeps a breath so it doesn't feel abrupt.

Then it checks the opening itself. Captions start on the first spoken word, and the first frame shows a clear face or the product rather than black, a blink or a half-finished transition. If a better hook exists later in the video, the assistant doesn't move it on its own. It tells you where it is and asks.

## How do you phrase it?

Say what you want the viewer to hear first, as loosely or as exactly as you like:

- "Start on the strongest line"
- "Cut the intro and open on the number"
- "Start at 'We lost 160 GB of footage'"
- "Skip everything before the first real sentence"
- "Give me three options for the opening line"

Quoting a line is the fastest way to be specific. Asking for options gets you a short list with timestamps to pick from.

## How would you do this by hand?

By hand, you watch the opening several times, decide where the real start is, blade the clip there and delete the rest. If the best line is buried later, you'd copy it to the front, then fix captions and audio around both edits. It's quick for one video and tedious when you do it daily, mostly because of the rewatching.

## What should you check afterwards?

Watch the first three seconds with the sound off and then with it on. The first frame should make sense as a cover on platforms that use it, and the first caption should read on its own. If the cut now starts mid-thought, ask Vidiyo to keep one more sentence. If you want the opening as a separate title over the speaking shot rather than a card that delays speech, say so.

## Honest limits

- The assistant chooses from what you said. It won't write a new hook line for you to say on camera unless you ask for a script.

## Frequently asked questions

### Will Vidiyo rearrange my video to put a later line first?

Not on its own. Moving a line from later changes meaning, so the assistant suggests it with its timestamp and waits for you to pick.

### How does it decide which line is strongest?

It looks for the most concrete complete sentence near the start: a result, a number, a question or a bold claim. For long recordings it can ask a story-analyst helper to rank hook candidates.

### What counts as warm-up?

Greetings like "hey guys" or "so today", false starts, and throat-clearing before the first real sentence. The quality check also flags a video whose first word starts late.

## Related

- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Video hook](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/video-hook)
- [Cold open](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/cold-open)
- [How to edit a talking-head video fast](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/edit-talking-head-video-fast)
- [Cut the ums and long pauses](https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/remove-ums-and-pauses)

Download Vidiyo for Mac (free during the beta): https://getvidiyo.app/download