The photo from tomorrow: cliffhanger chat template
A ready Instagram DM-look chat for the cliffhanger openers gallery, seven messages and about 27 seconds as a video. Open it, change the words and export it as a labelled, fictional mock-up.
Preview in the Instagram DM look
My camera roll has a photo I did not take.
Of what?
Us. At a table. With a cake.
Whose birthday?
The date stamp is next Friday.
That is fine. A cake is fine.
Look at the candles. There are only two. And one of us is missing.
The full script (7 messages)
The first four messages open on the Free plan; the rest need a paid plan.
The template: The photo from tomorrow
A 27-second cliffhanger template: Lou and Fay, seven messages, opening on "My camera roll has a photo I did not take." and closing on "Look at the candles. There are only two. And one of us is missing.".
Pacing numbers: the longest bubble is message 7 at 14 words, the shortest is message 2. Two questions give the chat its back-and-forth. You can change any line or name once the sample is open in the editor.
Using it in the Instagram DM look
End on an unfinished sentence, an unanswered question or a message that has just arrived. All three make people look for Part 2. Free accounts can use Instagram DM without paying. Switch on typing dots, read marks, reactions and an online status when you build the scene. Caption the video as a fictional chat and ask viewers to guess what happens next. The header shows the account name and an activity line such as "Active now", which sets the mood before any message is read.
What the Free plan shows
Four messages is the Free limit, so Fay's "Whose birthday?" is where the preview stops. Paid plans carry the remaining three messages, up to "Look at the candles. There are only two. And one of us is missing.", and allow more people in the scene.
Tips
- Give "Whose birthday?" (message 4) an extra half second on screen.
- Leave Lou's "My camera roll has a photo I did not take." alone on screen for a full second at the start.
- Open on a claim, not a greeting. The first message should already hold the thing the viewer wants to learn more about.
- Rewrite the last line, "Look at the candles. There are only two. And one of us...", in your own voice and mark the post as fiction.
- Swap Lou and Fay for two invented names of your own; shorter names make tighter bubbles on a phone.
Questions
Can I use The photo from tomorrow on the Free plan?
Yes for the look, with limits. The Instagram DM look is on the Free plan, and the editor loads the first four of the seven messages and two people. The rest needs a paid plan. Exports on Free carry a visible ChatsRat watermark.
How long is The photo from tomorrow as a video?
About 27 seconds at a comfortable reading pace, counting seven messages with a short beat between them. Add a second or two for the ending card.
Is this cliffhanger chat a real conversation?
No. It is an invented chat between Lou and Fay, made as a mock-up. ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app, and look names describe a style only. Label what you publish as fiction.
Can I change the names and lines?
Yes. Open the template in the editor, replace any line or name and export your own version. Keep the characters invented, and keep the content free of real people and anything sexual.
This is fiction. The people in this template are invented. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.