Everything you see on screen, from marketing promotions to YouTube videos, starts with a page. Here’s what it takes to craft an effective video script.
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What is a video script?
Table of Contents
Good videos start with a plan, an idea, or a framework. In other words, they start with a script. Whether the video script is for a Hollywood film or a short promotional video, it serves as a guide for everything that will go into the final product. “A script is a written shot,” says screenwriter Meg Swertlow. While dialogue often takes up the majority of the script, it also serves as a guide to the locations, timing, and action that will unfold throughout the video.
A script is a guide for virtually everyone involved in the project, from initial work to post-production, and any self-respecting screenwriter will consider every stage of production throughout the process, from the first draft to the shooting script.
Basic questions for the script of any video
Before writing a script, you must identify the type of project you’ll be working on. For example, the considerations for writing a script for a short film , a commercial video, or a feature film are different.
When you sit down to write a script, think about your goals. Identify your target audience and think about what you want them to do or feel when they watch your work. Video projects should inform and entertain the audience in some way.
If you’re writing a vlog , you want your audience to connect with you as a person. If it’s a film, you want to evoke emotions and make your audience feel something. All types of videos have a goal, and as a writer, you need to know what that goal is.
If you’re creating online video content, such as a YouTube video , you’ll also want to consider search engine optimization (SEO). Identify relevant keywords you want to focus on and try to incorporate them into your dialogue, voiceovers, titles, and hashtags as naturally as possible. However, your script should maintain authenticity in informing and entertaining your audience. If you overdo it with keywords, it will seem like the script was created by a marketing professional. Even if you’re a marketer with a knack for SEO, you should use real language. Strive to write a good script that appeals to both humans and search engines. Audiences can tell the difference when creators are being authentic and when they’re not.
Images by Kyle Loftus
The structure of the script
Video scripts are often structured in a very specific format. Everyone involved (e.g., a producer, director, crew, or actor) should be able to scan a script at a glance and find what they need. “Format is incredibly important,” Swatow asserts. “The biggest difference between a novice and a pro is format.”
Scene headings.
Scene headings are brief descriptions of the time and place where a scene takes place. They are placed at the beginning of the scene and tell the reader whether the action takes place indoors or outdoors, the specific location of the scene (e.g., on a street, in a restaurant, in a studio, etc.), and whether it is day or night. A scene heading in a studio-shot marketing video might be something as simple as the following:
INT. STUDY DAY
Similarly, the title of a scene in a video segment with a person in front of the camera collecting testimonies from people passing by on the street could be the following:
EXT. DAY STREET
And so on.
Descriptions.
Descriptions show what’s happening in the scene, what the characters are doing at the beginning of the scene, and give the director and others an idea of what the opening shot should look like. For example, in a marketing video that begins with a presenter in a studio, the description might read:
We start in the studio with the presenter already seated at his table. Materials for the product demonstration can be seen to the side of the screen, on a separate table.
Dialogue.
Dialogue often makes up the bulk of a script. It includes not only the words spoken by someone on camera, but also voiceovers and on-screen text, such as panels or captions (the labels that appear at the bottom of the screen). Character names are often centrally positioned in scripts so that production managers and other stakeholders can immediately identify who is speaking.
When writing a script, you need to know what to include and what not to. “It’s very easy to over-script,” says Swatow. “A producer once told me I over-worked the descriptions and that was directing.” Try to write down only the descriptions and directions you need. You don’t need to write down every single gesture, movement, or pause a character makes.
A script is a framework for creative workers, and each and every member of a production team has a lot to contribute to a video. Actors can bring their charisma. A set designer brings feel and atmosphere. A video editor provides rhythm and timing. It leaves room for the rest of the creative staff involved in video production to deliver quality work.
Refine your idea through the scriptwriting process
Screenwriting is often a collaborative process. “It’s vital that you get feedback from other people,” says Swatow. “I don’t work alone. Ask other people to review the script.” Assume you’ll review multiple drafts of the script. No director will ever start shooting with the first draft. As you develop it, refine your message and refine what you have to say.
You don’t need any software to write screenplays, but there are specialized programs, such as Final Draft, that can help you with formatting and organization. While you can write a great script in Google Docs, the process won’t be nearly as easy as if you use the right tools for the job.
Ultimately, the script will become the final draft, but the work doesn’t end there. After writing a script, the project is handed over to a team of creative professionals, who will all study your plans to build something amazing. By creating the most robust script possible, you’ll lay a solid foundation for the project as a whole.
