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What do Hollywood blockbusters and marketing videos have in common? A good script. It doesn’t matter if the final cut is two hours or two minutes long, all good projects start with this essential planning document.
Not sure where to start? We’re here to help with a blog post that covers the need to know information. Join us as we define what a video script is, show you how to write it and share a template you can use to get your own script started.
What is a video script?
A video script is a document that outlines how your marketing video is going to run. Essentially, it conveys the narrative and message of your video and includes the following elements:
Scene descriptions. Descriptions that provide context for filming scenes.
Dialogue. What your talent is going to say in your video.
Directions. What actions your talent is going to perform in the video.
Camera cues. Instructions for how the video should be filmed.
Post-production notes. Descriptions of how the video will be edited in post-production.
How to write a script for video
Identify your audience
Understanding your audience is the best way to start your script writing.
Firstly, you should understand the demographic you’re trying to appeal to and what makes them tick. Are you targeting tech savvy teens or retirees? The scripts for these two groups will look entirely different because knowing your audience influences your choice of language, tone and even humour.
It’s also essential to identify what platform your marketing video is destined for. A script for an Instagram ad will be concise and mobile friendly while a video on your website might be longer and include more dialogue. Identifying a platform or selection of platforms early on also gives you the opportunity to optimise your video using best practices.
Choose one message
It’s time to put some thought into why you’re making this video in the first place. For it to be successful, you’ll need to decide on one clear message that you want your video to communicate and base your script around it. Think one message isn’t enough? Then think about this: the average adult attention span is eight seconds long, one message is all you really have time for.
Write an outline
Video creation is an exciting departure from day-to-day marketing tasks, so it’s easy to get over excited. Inspired creators tend to have a lot of ideas, so to avoid an overstuffed marketing video, partake in a bit of prewriting. Put simply, prewriting is the act of getting all of your ideas out and on paper (or screen). From this, you can start to put your outline together – a rough plan for what will eventually become your script. You can use Scrivener alternatives to write the perfect video scripts using the templates.
Script in sections
Even the most succinct of scripts can be helped by strategic sectioning. Here’s a list of things you should include in the main sections of your video – the beginning, middle and end.
Beginning
A hook. Start your marketing video script off on the right note with a hook. A hook is an enticing and unique preview of a video’s content that captures audience attention. Check out the excellent example of “Will it blend?” from Blendtec in the video below.
Your brand. According to Facebook viewers are 23% more likely to remember a brand if it is featured in the first three seconds of a video. So, try to mention your brand and include your logo (an easy addition with our online video editor) at the very beginning of your marketing video script.
Middle
The message. Right after you get the hook and the brand out of the way, it’s time to script your message. If you want viewers to think “our food is the best in town”, say it now.
Your evidence. The middle is also a great section to back up your claims and give viewers important information. Evidence can be easily woven into your video script by including something like a positive customer testimonial.
End
A CTA. Aka a call to action. This is the part of the script where you call upon your viewers to do something like “shop now” or “make a booking”. A CTA is usually the simplest way to wrap up your script, however you can include additional CTAs before the end as well. CTAs scripted in the middle of a video are also shown to have a high conversion rate.
Use a video script template
Like training wheels on a bike, templates can lend a helping hand when you first start out with video script writing. Continue reading to explore the video script template we’ve created using all of the tips in this blog!
Video script template
Access our video script template and get started with your own!
