pattern-router

name	pattern-router
description	Route short-form video prompt work into the right hook or segment pattern before writing storyboards or provider requests. Use when the user has a brief, a segment type such as hook/benefit/cta/creator, duration constraints, and optional references, and you need to choose the strongest narrative structure instead of freehand prompting.
metadata	{"postplus":{"familyId":"routing-contracts","familyName":"Routing & Contracts"}}

Pattern Router

Follow shared public skill rules in:

• postplus-shared public skill rules

Use this skill at the start of prompt design.

This skill is for:

• choosing the right segment pattern before writing prompts
• mapping a brief into a concrete opening mechanism
• reducing prompt drift when reference quality is uneven or absent
• making later storyboard and video-request work more consistent

This skill is not for writing the final storyboard or provider request.

When the segment is hook, this skill should route the segment and opening job, then hand off mechanism selection to hook-design.

Core Rule

Do not begin from adjective stacks like "premium", "viral", or "cinematic".

Begin from:

1. segment type
2. viewer question
3. opening mechanism
4. product reveal timing

Default Workflow

1. Identify the segment type

Classify the request as one of:

• hook
• benefit
• cta
• creator
• lifestyle
• testimonial

If the user gives a custom segment, map it to the nearest working type and state the mapping.

2. Pick the dominant pattern family

Read references/pattern-families.md.

Select one primary family, then optionally one support family.

Do not mix many families unless the timing clearly supports it.

3. Lock the routing summary before writing prompts

Print a short routing block first:

Segment type:
Primary pattern:
Support pattern:
Viewer question:
Opening mechanism:
Product reveal rule:
Need explicit hook mechanism:
Why this route fits:

This block is the handoff to hook-design, reference-decode, storyboard-grid-writer, or video-request-architect.

4. Choose the next skill

• If the segment is hook and the stop-scroll mechanism still needs to be chosen, hand off to hook-design
• If references exist and need decoding, hand off to reference-decode
• If the target is a storyboard grid or beat sheet, hand off to storyboard-grid-writer
• If the target is a provider-ready request, hand off to video-request-architect

Routing Rules

• hook: optimize for stop-scroll and immediate legibility
• benefit: optimize for one visible proof mechanism
• cta: optimize for payoff plus next action, not a static end card
• creator: optimize for believable human delivery and social-native behavior
• lifestyle: optimize for desirability first, explanation second
• testimonial: optimize for proof plus human specificity

For hook segments:

• this skill decides segment route and opening job
• hook-design decides the dominant hook mechanism and downstream handoff
• do not let multiple downstream skills guess the hook mechanism independently

Failure Mode

Stop and say the routing is under-specified if the brief does not provide enough to answer at least:

• what segment is being made
• what question the viewer should ask
• whether the product can appear in the opening
• whether references exist

Ask this when the missing piece is the segment type:

• "Is this segment a hook, benefit, or CTA?"

Do not let later skills guess the structure from vague taste words alone.