Video script: [Working title]

Plays on

Length

Viewer

Takeaway

Action

Sound on or off

Presenter

Draft

Script

  • One breath per line. If you can't say it without a gulp, cut it in two.

  • Change the picture every few seconds: a new angle, a cutaway, text on screen.

  • Most feeds start muted, so the facts that matter go on screen as well as into the words.

  • Read it aloud at camera pace. About two words a second is a comfortable 140 a minute.

1 · Hook · 0:00

The problem or the finished result, in the first second. No logo yet.

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

2 · Promise · 0:05

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

ON SCREEN:

3 · Point 1 · 0:15

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

4 · Point 2 · 0:35

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

ON SCREEN:

5 · Point 3 · 0:55

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

ON SCREEN:

6 · Payoff · 1:10

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

7 · Call to action · 1:20

One action, said and shown in the same words.

PICTURE:

PRESENTER:

ON SCREEN:

Read aloud:

See an example

Hollow Oak Coffee, “Dialing in the grinder” · a 90-second training video for new baristas

1 · Hook
PICTURE: CU: an espresso shot gushing out in four seconds, pale and thin.
PRESENTER (V.O.): That's a sour shot. And it's the grinder's fault, not yours.

2 · Promise
PICTURE: MS: Sam behind the bar, the grinder beside her.
PRESENTER: In ninety seconds, you'll know how to fix it before the morning rush.
ON SCREEN: Dialing in the grinder

3 · Point 1
PICTURE: CU: the dial turned one notch finer, then a slow, dark shot.
PRESENTER (V.O.): Too fast means too coarse. Turn the dial one notch finer, and pull another shot.
ON SCREEN: Too fast? One notch finer.

Why it works: the hook shows the problem in the first second, every line fits in one breath, and the fix is on screen for staff watching with the sound off.

Shot list

#

Shot

Where

Scenes

1

2

3

4

Also capture

  • Thirty seconds of room tone at each location

  • A second take of the hook, from a different angle

  • Cutaways of hands, screens and details, for covering cuts

On-screen text

Type

Text exactly as it appears

Scene

Title

Name

Fact

Action

Music and files

  • Music, licensed:

  • Footage and photos, cleared:

  • Logo, fonts and end card from:

  • Captions made from the final script

Before shoot day

  • Read aloud with a timer, within five seconds of the target length

  • Every scene's pictures are in the shot list, with a place to shoot them

  • No line describes what the picture already shows

  • The facts that matter are on screen, for viewers with the sound off

  • One call to action, asked once

  • The script is approved by whoever signs it off