Why someone's Reel went viral and how to make your own from it
Craft breaks down someone else's Reel, TikTok or YouTube Short second by second — hook, first 3 seconds, structure and retention — and writes you a ready-to-shoot script with the same mechanics, in your niche and your words.
Found a video that got ten times more views than usual? Craft shows you why it went viral: what makes the first line grab attention, what happens in the first 3 seconds, how the video keeps people watching to the end and where it leads the viewer. Then, with one button, you get your own script built on the same mechanics — your topic and your words, not a retelling of someone else's. All your scripts, hooks and content plans are collected in the Scripts tab of the Competitors section.
How it works#
- Craft downloads the video, transcribes the speech with timestamps and looks at the frames — three of them within the first 3 seconds, when the viewer decides whether to keep watching or scroll on.
- From that it builds the breakdown: what's done and why, second by second.
- Breakdowns are shared across the whole service: if someone in Craft has already broken a video down, it opens instantly and for free.
- Under a finished breakdown there's a “Make my Reel from this” button: the video's mechanics (hook, structure, retention) are carried over into your niche.
Break down someone else's video — “Why it went viral”#
- Open Competitors → the Inspiration tab.
- Click any video post — a Reel, TikTok or YouTube Short.
- In the post window, find the “Why it went viral” block and click “Break down the video”.
A breakdown takes up to a minute. You can close the window — the breakdown won't be lost; just open the post again a bit later.
The same breakdown is available on the post analysis page (when you analyze a post by link) and in the Craft chat: send a link to a video in the chat.
What you get:
- a score out of 10 — how well the video is made for recommendations;
- why it worked — the main factors;
- the hook in three forms: the first line, the on-screen text and the visual;
- the first 3 seconds — what happens and why viewers don't scroll away;
- the second-by-second structure;
- retention tricks, emotion, format and who the video is for;
- what's in the frame and the call to action;
- what could be stronger;
- how to repeat it in your niche — a formula and steps.
“Show transcript” opens the video's text, and “Translate” translates it into your interface language. Translation is free.
⚠️ The breakdown works for videos only. Carousels and photos aren't supported, and neither are videos longer than 15 minutes.
Make your own Reel from someone else's video#
Under a finished breakdown, click “Make my Reel from this”. Craft writes a script you can shoot right away: the same mechanics — hook, structure, retention tricks — but your topic, your examples and your words. Craft takes them from your Craft profile, not from the original's text.
The script is saved to the Scripts tab.
💡 The more fully your profile and product are filled in on Craft, the better the script fits your niche. With an empty profile, the script comes out generic.
The Scripts tab#
A new tab in the Competitors section. At the top is the “What to make” block with five options:
- “Reels script” — enter a topic and get three hooks to choose from, scenes by the second (what to say word for word, what's in the frame, the on-screen text), a caption, a call to action, shooting tips and an honest chance score — with how to raise it.
- “Review my Reel” — paste a link to your own video. Craft breaks down why it got the views it got and what to change first, in order of priority.
- “30 hooks” — a bank of 30 opening lines for your niche, with different hook types.
- “Monthly content plan” — 30 days: topic, format, hook and goal for each video — reach, trust or sales.
- “Profile makeover” — 5 bio options up to 150 characters, a name field with a keyword for search, highlights sections, what to put in your link and 3 posts worth pinning.
Below is the list of everything you've made: on the site, in the Craft chat and in Claude or ChatGPT. Each script has a status — To shoot → Shot → Posted — and you can filter the list by status. Copy buttons give you the whole script, the caption or all hooks at once. Anything you don't need can be deleted.
In the Craft chat#
Ask the chat for a Reels script on a topic — for example, “write a Reels script about why clients say ‘I'll think about it’”. The answer comes as a card: three hooks, scenes, a caption and the chances. The script is saved to Scripts automatically — the card has an “Open in Scripts” link.
Through Claude or ChatGPT#
If your Claude or ChatGPT is connected to Craft (MCP connector), you can do all of this in plain words:
- “Why did this Reel go viral?” plus a link — the AI gets the video breakdown;
- break down your own video;
- write a script itself and save it to Scripts — for free;
- ask Craft AI to write a script, 30 hooks, a content plan or a profile makeover — paid, the AI tells you the price first;
- list your scripts.
Pricing#
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| New “Why it went viral” breakdown | 4 credits |
| A video someone in Craft has already broken down | free, opens instantly |
| “Review my Reel” | 4 credits |
| “Make my Reel from this”, script, 30 hooks, content plan, profile makeover | the same as one message in the Craft chat |
| Transcript and its translation | free |
If the video couldn't be downloaded or the breakdown failed, your credits are refunded automatically.
Pitfalls#
⚠️ Private accounts and Stories can't be opened. The platform doesn't hand these videos over — you'll see that the video couldn't be downloaded, and your credits will be refunded.
⚠️ Very new videos sometimes can't be downloaded yet. If Craft says it couldn't get the video, but the video is public and hasn't been deleted, try again a little later.
💡 The score isn't a promise of views. It shows how well the video is made for recommendations: hook, retention, structure. How many views your own video gets also depends on the account, the topic and the timing.
⚠️ Videos only. If you try a breakdown on a carousel or photo, Craft will tell you the breakdown works for videos only for now.
FAQ#
Can I break down any Reel by link?#
Any public Instagram Reel, TikTok or YouTube Short up to 15 minutes long. Private accounts, Stories, carousels and photos won't work.
Why was the breakdown free?#
Someone in Craft had already broken this video down. Breakdowns are shared across the whole service, so nobody pays twice for the same video.
Will I be charged if the breakdown fails?#
No. If the video was deleted, the account is private, the platform didn't return the video or the breakdown failed, your credits are refunded automatically.
Won't the script just copy someone else's video?#
No. What carries over from the original is the mechanics — how the hook is built, the order of the scenes, what keeps the viewer watching. The topic, examples and words come from your niche and your Craft profile.
Where do I find a script I made in the chat or in Claude?#
In the Scripts tab of the Competitors section. Everything is collected there: what you made on the site, in the Craft chat and through Claude or ChatGPT.
The video is in another language — what about the transcript?#
Open “Show transcript” and click “Translate”: the video's text is translated into your interface language. It's free.
Does a high score mean my video will go viral?#
Not necessarily. The score tells you how well a video is made for recommendations, but it doesn't guarantee views. To see what to fix in your own video, use “Review my Reel” — it shows what to change first.