Short-Form Video Visual Effects: The Key to More Views and Sales

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Short-Form Video Visual Effects: The Key to More Views and Sales"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Social Media Marketing Podcast
• Host: Michael Stelzner, Founder of Social Media Examiner
• Episode: "Short-Form Video Visual Effects: The Key to More Views and Sales"
• Release Date: April 10, 2025
• Description: This episode delves into the transformative power of visual effects (VFX) in short-form videos, featuring expert insights from visual effects specialist Tyler Tomatich.

---

1. Introduction to Visual Effects in Short-Form Videos

Michael Stelzner opens the episode by emphasizing the critical role of visual effects in capturing audience attention on social media platforms. He introduces the topic by defining visual effects as the digital enhancements that make videos more engaging and "scroll-stopping."

Key Quote:

“Visual effects, especially on social media, are unique... it’s the ticket to stop the scroll and get people to pay attention.” – Tyler Tomatich [16:28]

---

2. Guest Introduction and Personal Journey

Tyler Tomatich shares his compelling personal story, detailing his early passion for video editing that began in middle school. He recounts a tumultuous period marked by addiction and struggle, highlighting a pivotal moment in 2010 when he faced a severe legal consequence that became a turning point towards recovery and personal transformation.

Key Highlights:

• Early Passion (00:02:05 - 02:26): Introduction to video editing in middle school with his friend Robbie, creating projects using camcorders and VHS tapes.
• Struggles and Recovery (02:26 - 10:12): Describes his descent into addiction, multiple arrests, and the breaking point in October 2010 that led him to commit to a strict rehab program with a 6% success rate.
• Rebuilding Life (10:12 - 10:20): Post-rehab, Tyler found mentorship and rekindled his passion for digital media, leading him back to education and eventually into the visual effects industry.

Notable Quote:

“It’s not about the actions that we take. So I don't let my past define me as a person. It’s more about the moments that I’ve chosen to go all in and make that change.” – Tyler Tomatich [10:12]

---

3. Transition to Visual Effects Expertise

After overcoming his personal challenges, Tyler discusses his educational journey in digital media, his discovery of online creative communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent shift to producing short-form content. He elaborates on the initial struggles with growing his social media presence and the eventual breakthrough through mentorship and strategic adjustments.

Key Highlights:

• Education and Early Career (10:19 - 16:09): Enrollment in a digital media program, internships, freelancing for major studios like Disney and Marvel.
• Social Media Content Creation (16:09 - 30:18): Transition to short-form video content during COVID-19, initial failures with shortcuts like buying followers, and the importance of mentorship in refining his strategy.

Key Quote:

“They helped me grow my following significantly and just get clarity on my strategy.” – Tyler Tomatich [10:20]

---

4. Understanding Visual Effects vs. Special Effects

Tyler clarifies the distinction between visual effects (VFX) and special effects (SFX). While SFX involve practical, on-set enhancements like explosions or smoke, VFX are digitally added in post-production to create or alter elements within the footage.

Key Definitions:

• Special Effects (SFX): Practical effects performed during filming, such as explosions or physical props.
• Visual Effects (VFX): Digital enhancements added after filming, like CGI elements or scene modifications.

Key Quote:

“Special effects are things that happen on set... Visual effects are things that you add on the computer.” – Tyler Tomatich [17:08]

---

5. The Importance of Visual Effects in Capturing Attention

Tyler emphasizes that in the first two seconds of a short-form video, visual effects play a crucial role in stopping the scroll. With an average watch time of just 1.7 seconds, immediate visual engagement is essential for retaining viewers.

Key Strategies:

• Immediate Hook: Using VFX within the first two seconds to grab attention.
• Hook Stacking: Combining visual, verbal, audio, on-screen text, and caption hooks to maximize engagement.

Key Quote:

“The most common mistake... is they create this whole buildup and then they add like a visual effect 10 seconds in or 15 seconds in. It’s almost a waste of time.” – Tyler Tomatich [19:39]

---

6. Creating Effective Hooks with Hook Stacking

Tyler introduces the concept of "hook stacking," where multiple elements work together to create a compelling hook. These elements include:

• Visual Hooks: Objects appearing or transforming quickly.
• Verbal Hooks: Engaging dialogue or questions.
• Audio Hooks: Sound effects or trending music.
• On-Screen Text: Contextual titles or prompts.
• Captions: Engaging descriptions or questions in the video’s caption.

Explanation and Examples:

• Realtor Example: Snapping fingers to make keys appear, then transitioning to a home tour.
• Fitness Coach Example: Cloning the same person to demonstrate multiple workout moves simultaneously.

Key Quote:

“If you can use... visual, verbal, audio, on screen text hooks, and caption hooks. If you can use all of them... it really stacks up.” – Tyler Tomatich [24:47]

---

7. Practical Applications and Industry Examples

Tyler provides diverse examples of how different industries can implement VFX in their short-form videos:

• Restaurants: Transitioning from an empty plate to a beautifully plated meal with a sound effect.
• Course Creators: Using cloning to represent multiple facets of knowledge or productivity.
• Fashion Brands: Changing outfits with a snap or through creative transitions.

Highlighted Projects:

• Carmax Collaboration: Recreating a viral VFX effect where clothes fall to the ground as Tyler transforms, showcasing the professional applications of VFX beyond personal content creation.

Key Quote:

“Carmax saw that video, hired me to recreate it for them, and they actually hired me to come out speak, and they wanted to run it as an ad.” – Tyler Tomatich [32:31]

---

8. Tools and Resources for Implementing VFX

Tyler outlines the essential tools and resources needed to create VFX-enhanced short-form videos:

• Basic Tools: Smartphone, tripod, and user-friendly apps like CapCut.
• Advanced Techniques: Masking and layering using apps with VFX capabilities.
• Stock Footage Resources: Websites like ProductionCrate.com and ActionVFX.com offer a variety of pre-made effects such as storms, superhero elements, and more.
• CapCut Features: Background removal, one-click effects, and AI-powered tools for simplifying the VFX process.

Key Quote:

“The great part too, you can experiment with it... you can just throw it right in there and see what happens.” – Tyler Tomatich [41:23]

---

9. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating VFX Hooks

Tyler provides a practical guide on creating visual effects hooks:

1. Plan the Hook: Identify the message or emotion you want to convey.
2. Select the Right Effect: Choose an effect that aligns with your content (e.g., keys appearing for realtors, outfit changes for fashion brands).
3. Use Hook Stacking: Combine visual, verbal, audio, on-screen text, and captions for maximum impact.
4. Edit with VFX Tools: Utilize apps like CapCut for masking and layering effects seamlessly.
5. Experiment and Iterate: Test different effects and refine based on audience reactions.

Example Process:

• Cloning Effect: Record multiple takes of yourself performing different actions, then use masking to layer them into a single video where clones interact harmoniously.

Key Quote:

“You just have to know what you're doing... it just drops right in.” – Tyler Tomatich [38:43]

---

10. Overcoming Common Challenges

Tyler addresses common challenges faced by marketers when implementing VFX:

• Technical Skills: Emphasizes that basic VFX can be achieved with simple tools and apps, negating the need for advanced software like Adobe After Effects.
• Authenticity: Advises maintaining a natural demeanor despite the effects to keep the content relatable.
• Relevancy: Ensures that the visual effects support the message rather than overshadow it.

Key Quote:

“If you can start with something that is new enough to where it’s not burnt out on people, that can help them be more relaxed and enjoy your content too.” – Tyler Tomatich [26:53]

---

11. Resources and Further Learning

Tyler directs listeners to valuable resources for enhancing their VFX skills:

• ProductionCrate.com: Offers a vast library of stock visual effects suitable for various themes.
• ActionVFX.com: Specialized in high-quality action-centric VFX assets.
• Motion Array: Provides templates and motion graphics for streamlined VFX creation.
• CapCut App: A free, user-friendly app ideal for beginners to experiment with VFX.

Additionally, Tyler promotes his own content and resources:

• Instagram: @TylerTomatich
• Custom GPT Tool: “Ava” – A personalized strategy builder for social media marketing, available through direct messaging on Instagram.

Key Quote:

“If you guys would want access to that, you can just DM me on Instagram the word Ava and I'll know that you came from here.” – Tyler Tomatich [44:37]

---

12. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Michael closes the episode by reiterating the significance of visual effects in enhancing short-form video content. He encourages listeners to leverage the insights shared by Tyler to boost their social media presence and drive more engagement and sales.

Final Quote:

“May your marketing keep evolving.” – Michael Stelzner [End]

---

Summary:

In this insightful episode, Tyler Tomatich underscores the indispensable role of visual effects in crafting compelling short-form videos that captivate audiences within the fleeting first few seconds. Through his personal narrative of overcoming adversity, Tyler illustrates the transformative power of dedication and strategic mentorship. He demystifies the process of integrating VFX into social media content, offering practical tips and resources that cater to both beginners and seasoned marketers. By embracing tools like CapCut and leveraging stock footage from platforms like ProductionCrate, marketers can create visually stunning hooks that not only grab attention but also sustain viewer interest, ultimately driving higher engagement and sales.

Tyler’s emphasis on “hook stacking” serves as a valuable framework for creating multifaceted hooks that combine visual, verbal, and audio elements, ensuring that the message resonates deeply with the audience. The episode empowers listeners to experiment with VFX, debunking the myth that advanced technical skills are a prerequisite. Instead, Tyler advocates for creativity and strategic planning, demonstrating that even simple effects can significantly enhance the effectiveness of short-form video marketing.

For marketers eager to elevate their content, this episode offers a blend of inspiration, practical advice, and actionable strategies, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to leverage visual effects to transform their social media presence.

Transcript

[Michael Stelzner]

The most successful marketers invest in staying ahead. And that's exactly what happened at Social media Marketing World 2025, where industry leaders shared their proven strategies to AI implementation, organic social growth, and a whole lot more. If you couldn't attend in person, I have very good news for you. Every single session, keynote and workshop is available only through Friday, April 18, after which you won't be able to get tickets. Make the investment in your personal growth at social media marketing world.info and watch 2025 be the year your marketing career reaches new heights. Welcome to the Social Media Marketing podcast helping you navigate the social media jungle. And now here is your host, Michael Stelzner. Hello, hello, hello. Thank you so much for joining me for the social Media Marketing podcast brought to you by Social Media Examiner. I'm your host, Michael Stelzner and this is the podcast for marketers and business owners who want more exposure, leads and sales. Today I'm going to be joined by Tyler Tomatich and we're going to explore visual effects in short form videos. When I say visual effects I mean those really cool things that you normally see like in movies or in commercials that are kind, kind of scroll stopping effects that are super valuable in short form content to get people to watch the video all the way through. By the way, if you're new to this show, be sure to follow us so you don't miss any of our future content. Let's transition over to this week's interview with Tyler Tomatich, helping you to simplify your social safari. Here is this week's expert guide. Today, I'm very excited to be joined by Tyler tonight. Tomatic. If you don't know who Tyler is, he is a visual effects expert, creator and coach who specializes in helping businesses get more attention and sales with short form video. His course is called Viral vfx. Tyler, welcome to the show. How you doing today?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Hey, I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for having me. I'm grateful to be here.

[Michael Stelzner]

Super excited you're here, man. And today Tyler and I are going to explore adding visual effects to short form video to make all sorts of great things happen before we get into the visual effects side of things. Tyler, I want to hear your story. Like how in the world did you get into video? Start wherever you want to start.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, sure. It's a big question. My past gets a little complicated so I'll go back to where I introed into video and then kind of how I took a turn and I ended up in a dark place in my life. But Then also was able to find a way out of that and build a lifestyle that I'm proud of. So if we go back 1999, I'm in middle school with my best friend Robbie. And he always had this dream of being a big director. And he talked me into taking this editing course with him. So back then we're using camcorders and we're using Hi8 tapes and VHS to make videos. Found a lot of fun out of it. So we ended up making a bunch of videos at home for school projects and then moving forward in like the beginning of high school, people actually started paying us to help them with their school projects so that they could present to the class. So that was kind of where I got started. We went on for a few years making videos, just having fun. We lived in a small town called Yucaipa in California. As I went through high school, I started parting ways and ended up falling into like a bad crowd, you could say. Ended up partying a lot, barely graduated high school. After high school, my habits had turned into a full blown addiction. And for about 10 or more years I really struggled. I was getting in trouble, I was getting arrested, couldn't hold a job. My parents even tried to send me away to start over. We thought that if we changed the atmosphere, they helped send me to San Diego to go to college. And that also didn't work. I ended up just quitting college because I just wasn't ready to do that. So I ended up coming back to my hometown and kind of just gave up. Throughout those years, I was forced to take treatment programs, try different things to try to straighten up. And I guess I just wasn't ready. So someone else trying to make that decision for me was not the way to go. Which of course I've learned that now that it has to be on the person to do that moving forward. I lost a lot of friends. So my best friends were dying from overdoses, from suicide, drunk driving, getting in accidents. And I was getting to the point where I knew that I was on the same path. So where I was headed was not a good place. I can remember on October 7, 2010. This was a day that I'll never forget. I had a meeting with my probation officer and this was at the San Bernardino courthouse. And I remember driving down the highway in the morning, this is first thing in the morning with my uncle who Troyce, who's not with us anymore. And I can just remember drinking vodka and mixing it with Gatorade as I was driving down to go see My probation officer. And it wasn't because I was partying. It was because that was the point that I was at where I had to do those things just to get through the day. Not to mention the drugs that I was involved in also. So needless to say, I. I was arrested immediately for violating my probation, speeding up 30 days. Because they hold you for 30 days there so you can see a judge. And here I am happy, thinking I'm going to get out of jail, get another slap on the wrist. And that's not at all what happened. I went into the courthouse that day with high expectations, and they came to me with an offer of a prison sentence for two years and eight months. And my heart stopped. Poor me. Sitting there, you know, had always been playing the victim. I could not figure out why this was happening to me. But it finally occurred to me that my past was catching up to me. So off of a little infraction, they were going to make an example of me for all of the infractions and all of the past history that I had been through and gotten lots of chances, but not this time. So I begged for help sitting in that courtroom. I was pleading with my public defender to help me because I knew that I needed help. I needed to get clean, that that was the source of my problems. It wasn't all of the other stuff. I wasn't a criminal. It wasn't all of these bad things. And I can just. I can still hear the words coming out of his mouth. Just sign the deal, because you'll just fail anyways. And little did I know how powerful those words would be for the rest of my life, Someone telling me that I was going to fail. So I pleaded to have them still talk to the district attorney and the judge to consider letting me into that program because I knew that that's what I needed. So I went back to my. The jail where I was being housed at the time. And I just remember sitting there that night. I couldn't sleep. Sitting there, looking around at all the other inmates around me. And I just remember thinking, I'm not supposed to be here. This is not a place for me. Whether I deserved it or not, it just didn't feel right. And I was crying and I was praying to God to please, just give me another chance and please just give me the help that I need so that I could have clarity and move forward with life. I'll tell you, that was the. That was the longest week of my life. I had to wait a whole week to go back to the Courthouse just to know if they were going to consider me for the program or not. I made a promise to myself that. Because they made it pretty clear that they weren't going to accept me in there, but I asked them to push it anyways. And I made a promise to myself, made a promise to God that if I got a chance at this, that I was going to go all in and I was going to make it happen. So I went back a week later and I think that something was different inside of me. They granted me the program and accepted me and it was, it was a very strict program and I agreed to it, but I had made a promise to myself and I was going to keep that. So I tell that story because I feel like that moment right there is what actually defines somebody, is the decisions that we make. It's not about the actions that we take. So I don't let my past define me as a person. And the bad stuff that I've done, it's more about the moments that I've chosen to go all in and make that change. And I feel like that's what defines me. So I got granted access to the program. This is 2010. I went into rehab, into a program, mind you, that has a 6% success rate. And I graduated that 18 month intensive program with no hiccups, no problems, no missed meetings. Perfect program is what they called it. So today I would say that that's what defines me, is that person that made a decision that they were going to do something.

[Michael Stelzner]

So bring us up to today. We keep going. I want to hear that. But now lead us up to what you've been able to achieve since you got out.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Obviously, it wasn't an easy road.

[Michael Stelzner]

Yeah.

[Tyler Tomatich]

And through that, through recovery, I found my first mentor. And that was a huge experience because it's somebody that you can sit next to, ask questions and they can guide you in the right direction. And soon after that, I made the decision to go back to school. So I didn't know what I was doing. Just wanted to get back into school, start making some right decisions. Had no vision for my life at all.

[Michael Stelzner]

And.

[Tyler Tomatich]

And one day there was a college fair and a bunch of colleges came to our community college campus and they set up all their booths and I just remember one of them, like speaking to me and it was these bright colored graphics and it was for fidm, they're a fashion and design institute. But they were promoting their digital media program. And I'm like, digital media? That sounds awesome. Like, I like digital stuff, you know, it was just a dream in my mind. I didn't think I was ever gonna go to this college. But I remember going back home and talking to my mom and telling her, hey, they have this scholarship program where you can make a video. You can get a scholarship. And I said, I'm going to win this program, mom, and I'm going to move to la and I'm going to go to this school. Totally joking. I wasn't even serious. And she said, okay, and rest in peace, mom. She's not with us anymore either. But that is also a moment that stands out to me. She was my biggest fan. She supported me no matter what. After all the crap that I put them through my family and my friends. And so I did, I submitted, and I won. And I moved to LA and graduated my college with honors. So through that, going to a school for digital media, and I'm learning about filmmaking, scripting and editing and photography. All of these things that I love to do. But for some reason, I was being pulled in this other direction. And I found this website called Video Copilot. And this guy Andrew Kramer, like, just creating these really cool visual effects right there and teaching you on his computer. So as I'm doing my studies over here at night, I'm like making these little videos just for fun, and I'm learning how to use after effects. And it was just like this passion that was pulling me. So before I graduated school, I submitted an application for an internship. I decided to take a risk and do a free internship. It was very hard to do that because I needed money. But this was probably, like, one of the biggest decisions I ever made in my life. Because during those three months, I learned more about all of that stuff than I did ever. And just being able to sit next to somebody as a mentor and have them to ask questions. So after that, I was applying for jobs. I got a job at a motion graphics studio. I was jumping around doing freelancing work, working for studios, got to work on some really, really cool projects for Disney, for Marvel. I was working on TV shows, commercials, music videos. And fast forward to 2020, Covid happens, and everything just goes crazy. Interestingly enough, right before COVID happened is when I discovered online on social media, that there's a whole creative network of people making videos, making creative artwork, visual effects, all types of graphics. And I had just discovered this. So I start working from home and I start connecting with these people. And I remember making a goal for myself that I was gonna make one because I wanted. I decided to start Making social media content. And it was a crazy goal for me to set while working full time to make one video per month. And that's where I started. So I continued making these and trying to make it an importance to grow my following online. So I'm working full time. I have a new baby at home and was just struggling to see any traction online. I felt like I was making really good videos but not catching any traction. I was even getting some brand deals. I was working with Adobe and some other stuff, which was really, really inspiring for me and that was feeding my passion to keep going. But at the same time, I'm trying to grow a following because for some reason I felt like that was needed. So I was trying all the shortcuts. I tried buying followers early on, I tried doing the giveaways, I tried promoting, boosting my posts, and none of that stuff worked. Gives you a few followers and just fails fast. After doing that for a couple years, two or three years, in 2023, I decided that I wanted to start taking it more seriously. And I had known from my past that getting a mentor is how you move forward with clarity. And so I decided to get a mentor and invest in myself. And what happened to that is not only did it change my mindset, but it changed my whole approach to social media. So shout out to the guys at SocialBoom, Dan and Travis. They are awesome. They helped me grow my following significantly and just get clarity on my strategy. What it really was was slowing down and not thinking that I have to show all my skills and put them out on the table and really just simplifying my workflow to what resonates more with the audience and with the algorithm.

[Michael Stelzner]

Tyler, thanks for sharing your story. I know that there's people out there that are going to resonate with it for sure. So my first question here is visual effects with short form videos. Why? Just give us like a quick answer as to why. When you're making short form video, it's so important to have visual effects.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. So visual effects, especially on social media, are unique, but I like to think of them as, like me as a visual effects artist, as a magician. So if you've ever seen somebody come up and make something appear or disappear in front of you and you just, it gives you that, wow, how did they do that? That's the approach that I like to take with social media. So really it's the ticket to stop the scroll and get people to pay attention.

[Michael Stelzner]

Got it. Okay. And can you kind of define what the heck a visual Effect is just because obviously you've had training in this and most of my audience hasn't. So maybe give some examples so people can visualize what a visual effect actually looks like in their mind.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Just to not be confused with special effects, Special effects are things that happen on set. So live explosions, you have somebody hanging from a harness, live smoke, water effects, this is all on set stuff. Those are special effects. Visual effects are things that you add on the computer. So it's things that are added in post production. Commonly it's to fix things, but it's also replacing green screens, removing objects, recreating scenes, adding layers and objects and combining things after the fact, so after the footage has already been set. So if you think about in movies, you have like the Doctor Strange portal, that would be something that is added on a computer. It's not on set. Spider Man's webs flying out. These are visual effects. My favorite things are to integrate things into the scene, which I did a lot in my industry of like integrating text and creating assets that way.

[Michael Stelzner]

So when we're thinking about short form video visual effects, we're talking about anything that you layer on top of the actual video after you've edited it. That's really what we're talking about, right? Or is it more than that?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yes and no. So there's different aspects. So visual effects usually refers to footage. So if you take two pieces of footage and you make some magic between them, or obviously the assets that we're talking about, Dr. Strange, stuff like that. But if you create say like graphics and Illustrator and you add those to a scene, that's considered motion graphics. So those are two separate things.

[Michael Stelzner]

Oh, interesting. Okay, so let's get into how and where really in a short form video, where does it make the most amount of sense to add a visual effect? And like maybe you could describe what these visual effects look like and what they are, just so people can understand them. But let's start with the where. Where do we place them? Inside of a short form video.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So in general, when you're thinking of a hook, you should always be focused on the first two seconds. So if anybody doesn't know, the average watch time on social media is 1.7 seconds. So if you can do a magic trick immediately to stop the scroll, then you have people's attention and then you can deliver that message. So if you're a business owner or a brand, then you, you have their them stopped and paying attention. And the mistake that I used to make and what I see a lot of other People make is. Is they create this whole buildup and then they add like a visual effect 10 seconds in or 15 seconds in. And it's almost a waste of time. Cause everybody's scrolled by at that point.

[Michael Stelzner]

So can you give us some examples? Like, everybody has seen either a TikTok or a reel or a short on YouTube. Help us understand when we're looking at something that's a visual effect. Like, what exactly is an example? I know you had an example when we were in prep about a Realtor.

[Tyler Tomatich]

I have some students in my community that are Realtors. And one of the examples is if you want to use an object that's relatable, then you could snap your fingers and a set of keys appears. And you pick up the keys and then you show them a home tour. So it's kind of like a hook. And then you go into an intro of what you would usually create as social media content. Another one would be a fitness coach that is demonstrating multiple types of workouts. So you have clones in the scene. It's the same person, but you can do multiple things that can be super engaging also.

[Michael Stelzner]

Ah, okay. Got it. And the reason why these need to be in the beginning of the video is because there's something about them that is strange or unusual and it stops the scroll. Is that the idea?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Correct. Yeah. So creating a disturbance is one way to think of it. I don't know if everybody relates to this, but I know that I have sometimes where I'm sitting there and I'm just scrolling, just waiting for something to grab my attention. And we go through just tens or hundreds of videos. So you get something that slaps you in the face is one of the terms that I use. And it makes you just go like, whoa, that's the ticket.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay, so let's talk about how in the world we do this a little bit. Because obviously this is the part where a lot of people have no idea how to do any of this. So what kind of tips or advice do you have for people? Like, do we need to be thinking about this before we even film it? Like, talk to me a little bit about this.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So when I'm working with my private clients, I always have to make it very clear because people get excited and they want to jump in and do the visual effects. But the visual effects are just the icing on the cake. The most common mistake I see with the hook is they think that a cool visual is all you need. And then when it doesn't perform well, then they blame the algorithm. For it. Sometimes the visual will work on itself, but if you're a business owner or you're a brand, then your job is to convey a message and make people aware of your services.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay, so let's say we've got what we think is a really good piece of short form content. Let's say it's a 60 second reel and we think it's amazing, but for whatever reason people are not watching it. Is it possible for us to take that piece of content and inject some visual effects into the beginning to kind of make it better? Or do you feel like it's already too late? What are your thoughts on that?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, that just depends. I would say in most cases, yes, yes, you could definitely in most cases repurpose something depending on the industry and the way that it's filmed. But if it's some type of a talking head, you could always just put the same clothes on that you had that day and just create a new intro for it if you wanted to. Or you could even just change the on screen text if maybe it didn't relate with people because you didn't dig into that pain point or desire that they needed.

[Michael Stelzner]

Thousands of marketers just experienced something incredible at Social media Marketing World 2025. Our expert speakers delivered game changing insights on AI marketing, Instagram growth strategies and so much more. Did you miss the event? Good news, you can still access all the recordings with a virtual ticket, but only until Friday, April 18, after which you won't be able to get tickets. Get the knowledge that's transforming marketing careers right now at social media marketing world.info and make 2025 your breakthrough year. Let's dig in, metaphorically on hooks. I know that sounds kind of crazy to say because you know, hooks dig in, but let's go really deep on the hook. Let's kind of have, for lack of better words, a masterclass on how to create an incredible hook. Let's just assume we haven't filmed anything yet. Like where do we even start creating a really amazing hook?

[Tyler Tomatich]

When creating a hook, like I said, always focus on the first two seconds. But you have to make sure that you have a good concept in place first. So finding your messaging is number one. And a lot of times when you lean into like the frustration that people go through, so you'll see a lot of content that starts with are you frustrated with X? So if you start with that and it's really something that people feel, then you have their attention and obviously like you, you match that with a cool visual I call that hook stacking. And you really have their attention. But after the hook, the concept, then you have to make sure that you're providing value and you're cutting out all the fluff. So it's just make your promise in the hook, provide value and enough curiosity to where you're not giving away everything in the beginning and they're kind of forced to watch until the end where you pay off that hook.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay, let's talk about this hook stacking concept you just talked about. What is that exactly?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, so the hook stack, you could stack it as much as you can. We have visual hooks, we have verbal hooks, we have on screen text hooks, we have audio hooks, and then we have caption hooks. So if you can use.

[Michael Stelzner]

Oh, wait, hold on a second.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, wait.

[Michael Stelzner]

I just want to make sure. I got all those. I got visual audio on screen and caption. Is that right?

[Tyler Tomatich]

And verbal. Yeah. So audio could be a sound effect.

[Michael Stelzner]

Oh, okay.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Verbal would be speaking.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay, so let's just dissect each one of those. Okay, let's go through each one of them, like, and explain what the heck it is. Start with a visual and then audio and then on screen and caption. Verbal. Let's just give an example of each one of those just so people can wrap their head around that.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Okay, so the visual could be something appearing. It could be also just me turning in the chair like this. That's a visual hook.

[Michael Stelzner]

I see.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Just something that is a little bit appealing. The on screen text is just a little bit of a. Like, think of it as the title of a book. You just put it right at the top just to give the viewer a little bit of context of what to expect from the video on that.

[Michael Stelzner]

Real quick, is that just like a couple of words that are kind of designed to trigger someone who doesn't have the audio on or something like that?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, it depends on the amount of words, but I would say it's a shorter version of the first sentence that comes out of your mouth.

[Michael Stelzner]

I see. Okay, good. Keep going.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So the audio could be a sound effect. So a lot of times you'll hear like a bass drop or something.

[Michael Stelzner]

What does a bass drop mean?

[Tyler Tomatich]

A bass drop is like a. Oh, okay. Like a build up and then a sound. It depends on the video, but sometimes people do like a clicking noise just to.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Just because it's just another form. Obviously you don't want it to be disruptive to your concept, but you can find ways to utilize that too. And then also audio hooks is also just Music. So I definitely utilize trending audio in some aspects of my content. And the reason why trending audio works is because people already are used to it. It's already been proven across the industry that it's popular. So a lot of times, if you can start with something that is new enough to where it's not burnt out on people, that can help them be more relaxed and enjoy your content too.

[Michael Stelzner]

And then what about the verbal?

[Tyler Tomatich]

The verbal is the speaking. So are you struggling with how to grow online?

[Michael Stelzner]

Whatever words come out of your mouth basically, right?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Whatever words come out of your mouth, yeah. So that was just one example.

[Michael Stelzner]

Do you recommend showing a face or not showing a face in the first couple seconds? Because you could obviously do B roll on your audio. Right. It could just be kind of, for lack of better words, the audio could be laid over the visuals. Right. So they don't actually see your face. Or do you recommend being on screen? The person on screen in the hook?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, I get this question all the time and the answer is always person. So people relate to people. Even if you are a business, people ask me, can I just use my logo? Can I just create a faceless brand? You can, but if you want to grow on social media and really connect and build a community, then you do need a face to the brand. Because humans want to connect with other humans and that's how you build trust and, and connection.

[Michael Stelzner]

But I guess where I'm asking is on the hook. Is it possible, let's say your face shows up after the hook. Is it possible just to show your hands? Or is it possible to show just a part of you and focus on something more visual? Or would you recommend in the hook to always ideally have a face? I'm just curious what your thoughts are.

[Tyler Tomatich]

There's no hard rule there. In general, I try to always include a person, but if it's not a person, an object, that's relatable. So for instance, one of my videos, I snap my fingers and a car appears. I'm smaller in the frame, but I still have me there because then my audience knows, like, oh, this is this person's content and it can help it in that way. But yes, you could definitely just use hands. You could definitely just have things appear. There's all kinds of different ways to create these hooks. So. So, no, you don't need a person, but the brand, I would say, needs a face.

[Michael Stelzner]

So we talked about audio and audio could be music, it could be sound effects. We talked about the verbal side of it, which is the words that you say. We talked about the visual side of it, which could be objects appearing on and off the screen, which those objects could be you as well, I would imagine. Like you could appear and disappear potentially. Right. Is there any other part of this hook stacking that. Oh, we talked about the. The caption. Right. The text that's on the screen. So the idea is to stack all this together. Is it better that. That you have lots of these things going on at once? Will that create a stronger hook? Hook?

[Tyler Tomatich]

So the last one, the caption is actually referring to the description.

[Michael Stelzner]

Okay.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Like the caption that you write underneath. So a lot of times, because 80% of people scroll with no audio, so you can make sure that you have your on screen text. But then in the caption too, if they relate to it, you can ask a question. So you don't want them to match. You kind of want to hit it from different angles and just creating a little like, hey, what was your favorite part? Or some type of a curious question in there? So that's the fifth one there, I would say. It depends. I have some clients that are more mindset and they teach, you know, more like yoga type of stuff. So that content is going to resonate a lot differently with their audience as far as it needs to be a little bit more peaceful and not all this flashy stuff, as opposed to someone more like along the lines of my industry that is showing more visual effects and needs to grab attention fast. Where you might benefit more from using four or five hook stacks. Like a lot of my stuff will have a lot of them, but sometimes I would say two. Two is good. Two or three.

[Michael Stelzner]

Let's dig in a little bit more on the visual effects examples. We were talking about cloning when we were prepping for this. Kind of explain what that is and any other examples just so we can kind of like help people wrap their head around this visual effect concept and. And how to maybe put it to work.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. One quick one is just appear out of nowhere and just start talking to the camera. Because then people are like, whoa, what happened? And if you don't talk about the effect, it's almost just an accessory where they're like, wait, why did that happen? As opposed to the realtor with the keys is a little bit more of a forced thing.

[Michael Stelzner]

Describe how that would look to appear out of nowhere. Like, explain a little bit more about that. Like just help people visually understand what that might look like.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. So right now I'm sitting in my chair in front of a backdrop. So if I was gone. And then all of a sudden there was a sound effect, and I just popped up. And then I just started talking for.

[Michael Stelzner]

Those that couldn't hear. He moved away from the microphone and said, yeah, he was gone. And all of a sudden there was a sound effect like a. Or something. And then all of a sudden he appeared. So that's going to have to happen. If that's in the hook, that's going to have to happen really fast. Right? We're talking about really fast. We're talking, like, microseconds where it's an empty chair, and then all of a. A sudden there's some sort of a lightning strike or some sort of weird thing. And then all of a sudden you're there. But you don't act like there's anything strange about it. You just talk as if it's normal. Is that really what I'm hearing you say?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, yeah. That's one way to do it. Ones that you. That are common is fashion brands. So you'll see a lot of different things where you change outfits. There's a lot of things that can motivate that, but you can also throw clothes up in the air and then have them land on you and you change outfits. So there's a. There's. There's just. The possibilities are endless. I definitely teach the simple ones.

[Michael Stelzner]

First, I'm thinking about Zach King. You know Zach King? I know Zach King. Zach King does this stuff all the time. Like, in the early days, what he would do is he would, like, slam into, like, a closet, and all of a sudden his clothes would be left behind and be on the other side without his clothes. Or he'd come through a car window or something like that. This is obviously, like, visual effects on steroids, obviously. But that really grabs people when all of a sudden I kind of feel like he's a master craftsman at this, where he'll change something in it. But that kind of stuff is really hard for people to do. Right. And.

[Tyler Tomatich]

And funny story, too, that will probably help people understand why this can be valuable. I remade that effect that you're talking about, where I went and I jumped into my truck and my clothes fell to the ground so that it was like I was transforming through the door. And then I roll down the window and I look out at my clothes, and it's kind of like a funny thing. But actually Carmax saw that video, hired me to recreate it for them, and they actually hired me to come out speak, and they wanted to run it as an ad. So it's not all just about fun. Like businesses and people are interested in hiring you to do this stuff for them too.

[Michael Stelzner]

You've coached and advised a lot of people. I'd love you to share some examples of what others are doing that are in your community. We talked about the realtor already grabbing the keys. We talked about the example of the car thing. But let's just ideate on a couple more examples so people can envision how they might put this to work for their business. You can even talk about stuff you've done just to get your mind started. Like if there's some cool stuff you've been doing recently, you can kind of explain what you've done and maybe that'll spur some thoughts that are going to pop into your brain. I'll talk for a little bit while you're thinking. I think the big challenge a lot of people have is they're not necessarily thinking magic tricks, you know what I mean? But when I think of Zach King, I always think like, people call him a digital magician. Right. And so many people that listen to my show are in so many various different industries that I don't really know how they could put the this to work. Like, for example, let's say you own a restaurant or let's say you have a course. Like, how could they do something like that? We could just ideate right now on the fly. Or maybe you found a couple.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, yeah. So I usually like to start like you just mentioned food. So I like to start with an object and then think like, okay, what would the audience like? Or what's something cool that we could do? So appearing is always something. Or changing plates. So if you have an empty plate of food and then you slam a napkin on the table and then the food is there, that's a way of presenting that. Or you can wave your hand in front of the camera and as the wave goes by, it transitions from an empty plate of food into a nice meal to promote your restaurant. There's one where there's an empty countertop and then there's a sound effect that goes boom, boom, boom. And as the booms happen, there's these like drinks from a bar that are being made and they just appear out of nowhere.

[Michael Stelzner]

I like that, by the way. You know what I'm thinking about is I've seen a lot of people. Like I used to have a full time video guy that worked for me and he would do this thing with the camera where all of a sudden he would shift the camera down really fast and Come back and we'd be in a different position. It was some sort of weird motion like that. Is that considered also a visual effect where you're actually moving the camera really fast and then swing it back and you're in a different kind of place? Is that. Is that kind of what we're talking about?

[Tyler Tomatich]

That's more of a transition. So visual effects is usually when you actually take something that's there and you transform it by using a masking technique or key frames.

[Michael Stelzner]

I see.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So it's a little bit more of a compositing factor to it, as opposed to those which are transitions, which are done mostly in camera. And then you just have to worry about cutting the edit at the right place to match the timing.

[Michael Stelzner]

So I guess the challenge to anyone who's listening is how can you make something appear that's a physical thing? Because we're talking about real things, Right. Or could they be on screen things? I mean, it sounds like you mentioned earlier, you could bring visual effects in that are inside of databases. Right. And you could have, like an explosion appear and then. I don't know. I mean, like, actually, let me get back to the course creator. Let's say you're selling information. If I'm selling information, there's no physical object. How in the world could I use visual effects? Because there's so many people in the digital marketing world that are selling knowledge, insights, courses, books, that kind of stuff. Any thoughts on how we could do something visually with that?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Do you have an example just to throw at me?

[Michael Stelzner]

Sure. Let's say that I have a course, which I don't, and it was teaching people how to use AI to be more productive and gain their time back. As I'm talking to you, I'm already kind of coming up with an idea.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So am I. So my first thought when there's no physical idea to think of, is clones. So I filmed something recently which is not a new idea, where there's multiples of me. So it's actually an ad that I created. And I pop in from one side and I start saying my line, and then another version of me pops in from the other side and interrupts me but continues what I'm trying to say. And then a third version of me pops up from the middle, interrupts both of them. And the clones are, like, looking at each other. So that's. That's something that can be used universally because it has, like, a fun factor. It's. It's humorous. But also you're talking, so you've Got their attention. And they're listening to what you're saying.

[Michael Stelzner]

I love that. And in this case, maybe each one of the clones is wearing a slightly different color shirt or a hat or something like that. Is that the idea?

[Tyler Tomatich]

I did it the same. Because it depends. So if you just want to make sure that they're close enough to where you know it's the same person. Because if you're wearing a different hat and a different shirt, then it could be mistaken that it's a different person. And then it takes away the. The whole point of it. But I mentioned that one too, because cloning is one of the easiest things that you can actually do. It's not super complicated.

[Michael Stelzner]

Well, and as I was thinking, I was thinking about productivity, and I was thinking you could have a clock appear or disappear, or you could have it be daytime, and then all of a sudden it's nighttime. Right. Just kind of like metaphorically convey that you've wasted all this time, Right? Or all of a sudden you've got your time back. I don't know. I just started thinking creatively.

[Tyler Tomatich]

So like a picture, a clock right here on the wall, and I raise my finger and I just start spinning my finger. And then you see in the background a time lapse of somebody being productive. As you see, like the clouds changing and the lighting changing. So it's like creating a time lapse. But then the other visual effects part of it is that we're not time lapse. So we're in real time, but we're creating a time lapse like on the other side of the screen.

[Michael Stelzner]

Let's talk about how we actually do something like this. Let's talk about the tools. Like, for example, let's say we want to do the clone thing, which is probably the easiest thing to do, right? Because you just create. You're wearing your same clothes, you're creating three different scripts, you know, and you've got your. Your camera set so that the background is not going to change or whatever. What are the tools we need to use to be able to pull something like that off?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, the minimum requirements is your phone and the tripod. And if you're just getting started, just get the Cap Cut app. But really, it could be any app that has masking tools. Because to create a clone video, for instance, all you have to do is just add a mask. And what that does is basically just creates a window so that you can combine two things. If I took a piece of video of me standing on the left side of the screen, and then I took a piece of video of me standing on the other side of the screen. When you stack those, you can only see one of them, but then if you add a mask, it basically cuts off half of it. So now they're combined to kind of create. Creating a puzzle almost.

[Michael Stelzner]

I kind of think like Photoshop, you can knock out the background and it's transparent. Right. Is that kind of what we're talking about?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah.

[Michael Stelzner]

Or you think about when we say mask. You know, when you mask off a room and you're going to paint. You know what I mean? You know, where you put the tape where you don't want the paint to be. Right. And the idea is you mask out the person. Is that really what you're saying?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, you just think of like Photoshop for video, basically.

[Michael Stelzner]

So what can Cap Cut do? Exactly. You talked about how they've got some cool AI tools that can help out with this a little bit.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, capcut has a lot of tools, especially even just using the free version, there's a lot of stuff. If you want to play with the AI effects, they have background removal where it's like one click effects, which is really powerful, especially if you know anything about visual effects. We used to have to cut that stuff out with masks and spend days doing it. Now you just push a button and it's done in like seconds. So really powerful with that.

[Michael Stelzner]

Real quick, on that front, let's say we're doing the clone thing. Right. So with Cap Cut, what I'm hearing you say is you can have one kind of video, be the master, for lack of better words, where you see the background and then the second video you could crop out the background and layer it on top of it. Is that kind of what I'm hearing you say? Is that what's possible?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. Yeah. That's one way to do cloning. Yeah.

[Michael Stelzner]

What else are you going to say about background removal? Any other interesting things we need to know about that?

[Tyler Tomatich]

The background removal, it can also work for removing the sky. So if you wanted to replace the sky or create a time lapse effect. So those are some of the common things that I would use it for. If you go inside the library of capcut and you just play with the effects, there's some really cool things where if you just have a video of yourself, you can click some of the effects and it will outline you with like fire or a smoke layer and create some really, really cool things that are just one click. Like you don't. You don't even have to work at Them there's things that it'll make objects fly around you and it automatically knows where you're standing.

[Michael Stelzner]

And that's the kind of visual effects that I think my audience could easily do. Right. Because you don't need to be like a video expert and use Adobe Premiere and After Effects and all this kind of stuff. Right. You literally could just go in there and do that.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. The great part too, I'll just mention that you can experiment with it. So you just take a piece of video and you throw it in there. And even if you don't know what you're doing, you can just go in and just start clicking buttons and it's not going to break anything.

[Michael Stelzner]

Let's talk about stock video, explain how that works and stock video effects and where we could find something like that.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Okay, so we were talking about Dr. Strange for instance, or Spider Man. There's a really, really great site called productioncrate.com. they also run footage crate.com but it's all linked, so they have unlimited amounts of these things. Like if you just go look at the thunderstorms though, they have weather effects, they have superheroes you can go on there and find. So if we talk specifically about Doctor Strange, there's the portal with the big flame thing. You can download that and then create a video of you walking through it or transitioning through it. There's also the. I forget what they're called. The. The things on his hands. Anyways, all of that stuff. Anything you could think of. Flash effects, lightning effects, Spider man webs. So there's a video that I created where I sling a web at the camera and the web actually appears to come hit the camera and I pull it in towards me and catch it. So production creates great for that.

[Michael Stelzner]

Is that only movie crazy stuff or is that also everyday kind of stuff that people could put in? Like can you get a storm and just knock the sky out and cap cut and throw this storm into the background or something like that if you wanted to?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, absolutely. They have tornado stuff. There's probably anything you could think of.

[Michael Stelzner]

You were about to say if you want to go a little more advanced. I think you were going to mention something else. Where were you going to go?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, yeah. So it's not just movie stuff. There's practical things that you can add in there. But if you want to go a little bit more advanced into the filmmaking and get some. Some even deeper effects. Action. VFX is another website. They have all kinds of great assets that we use in the industry and they're both great for that. They just have different things. I would say Production Crate has. Is my favorite. And then also Motion Array has a whole bunch of stuff too, and it has a lot of templates that you can use for creating motion graphics and all types of content. So there's some great resources out there. Production Crate by far is my favorite. And also there's a way to create a free account and they have a limited amount of things for free on there too.

[Michael Stelzner]

So just to clarify, Action VFX, is that what you were talking about?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah. ActionVFX.com okay, perfect.

[Michael Stelzner]

Do you know if all these things are going to work in Cap Cut or do you need to use something more sophisticated like Adobe Premiere to work with these kind of things?

[Tyler Tomatich]

They do, actually, for the most part, you just have to know what you're doing. So if you download the right type of file, some of them allow you to just download it with a green screen, if it's a certain type of file, and then you just go in and you just click the green screen removal. So there's. There's that which could be one hiccup, but for the most part, you can just download the movie files of these things. Like, actually, literally yesterday, I downloaded a spiderweb from Production Crate and I incorporated it into one of the videos that I made. And I didn't have to do anything. It just dropped right in. That's in After Effects. But I could have done the same thing in Capcut.

[Michael Stelzner]

Tyler, if people want to see your stuff in work, I mean, like to see the actual great work that you're doing, where do you want to send them? And also if they want to check out your course, where do you want to send them as well?

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, so I make content on most of the platforms, but you can find me on Instagram. Tyler Tomatich is my AT username if you think that it would be beneficial for your audience. I actually have a custom GPT that I built that actually builds out a custom strategy for you. So you just put in your target audience and your goals in there and it pumps out a whole thing. And I called it Ava. So if you guys would want access to that, you can just DM me on Instagram the word Ava and I'll know that you came from here, because I haven't actually released it to the public yet.

[Michael Stelzner]

Spelled Ava.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Ava.

[Michael Stelzner]

Tyler, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your insights with us today.

[Tyler Tomatich]

Yeah, so happy to be here. Thank you.

[Michael Stelzner]

Hey, if you missed anything, we took all the notes for you [e-mail] 661 if you're new to the show, be sure to follow us. If you've been a longtime listener, would you do me a favor and give us a review? And do check out our other shows, the AI Explored Podcast and the Social Media Marketing Talk Show. This brings us to the end of the Social Media Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Stelzner. I'll be back with you next week. I hope you make the best out of your day and may your marketing keep evolving. The Social Media Marketing Podcast is a production of Social Media Examiner. Social media Marketing World 2025 just wrapped and the insights were incredible. Did you miss it? You can still get all the recordings on AI strategies, organic social tactics, and a whole bunch more with your virtual ticket, but only until Friday, April 18th. Visit social mediamarketingworld.info and make 2025 your breakthrough.