Pattern interrupt
A pattern interrupt is an unexpected visual or audio moment that breaks the scroll and resets attention — a jump cut, a bold on-screen claim, a surprising motion. Used in the hook (and to re-hook mid-video), it lifts both 3-second view rate and retention.
Pattern interrupts work because the feed trains viewers to predict and skip. Anything that violates the expected rhythm buys you another second of attention — but it has to lead somewhere relevant, or it just inflates a vanity hook rate.
Sources & further reading
External sources are independent third parties cited for reference; links open in a new tab.
Mara has spent a decade building UGC and paid-social programs for DTC and app brands — shipping thousands of short-form creatives and obsessing over hook rates. She writes about what's actually working in AI-assisted content.