HOW TO WRITE A VIDEO SCRIPT
Film makers and internet marketers have the same interest when it comes to the art of video content creation. It is important to have knowledge on how to write a script.
The filmmakers and marketers are both interested in telling captivating great stories to win the minds of their audience. Their stories can be about products, services or people.
Inbound marketers aim at influencing their audience to take a particular type of action while movie directors are after influencing viewers to think differently about a given topic in the movie.
We have to agree that creating videos can be intimidating for people who are doing it for the first time. This does not need to be the case. Always remember that the planning stage is very important in cinematography. This is the part where you build the foundation of a good movie or film.
At the planning stage, you get a chance to set the goals and write the movie script. There is a specific way of writing a script so that you produce a great video.
In this blog article, we are going to explore ways of writing great scripts. We are talking about a script which leads to award winning videos.
Commence with a Brief
This is the first step to begin with. This looks so simple but do not skip it. Make sure everyone in the team is reading from the same script. This helps so that when later your boss wants to redo everything, you can refer back to the brief goals as well as project plan as mapped out by the entire team. At least you will be able to say that “that is not what we agreed to.”
Move Forward
Focus on your goals, topic and takeaways when drafting your brief. Determine the goals of your video, determine who your audience is and what is your video topic?
What are the key takeaways of the film? What should those who watch the video learn? What is our call to action? This is what the viewers do after watching the video.
Start writing the script
Now that you have the topic, start writing the script. The video script should be simple and straight forward. This script is not an exam. It is a guide. A good script should help the actors or people on camera to pass the message to the audience which sounding as natural as humanly possible.
Conversational Style
When writing a script, remember you are not writing a college academic paper or a project report. Write the script in the same way that the actor will speak. Be as brief as you can. Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS).
Make it detailed
Put all the details into the script. A script is not just a dialogue. Include characters, scenes, number of shots, stage actions and wardrobe changes.
Make it detailed to an extent that if it is handed to a different video producer, he or she will produce the exact movie that you intended.
Write for a platform and audience
Know your audience well, are they young teens, older persons or middle-aged professionals? Which platform are you shooting the video for, is it Instagram, YouTube or a blog. Above all make the script conversational. Include humor and the tone to be applied in the movie. If you are shooting a video for social media you may use sentence fragments. But if it is a long movie, be as thorough as possible.
Differentiate the voice-overs, main narrative and B-Roll using different formatting and call-outs.
If your video will transition from the subject narrative the primary narrative to close-up shot of your product, then say so in the script.
Use big and bold text to call out Text Overlay. For audio use all caps (REWIND SOUND) and for B-roll use italics to call them out.
Writing every single word that will be spoken in a movie. You may be tempted to write just the main bullet point and add the flesh later on. This is the case especially when you are a subject matter expert. This practice will make it tough for you to communicate smoothly. Try to practice this in each and every video that you produce.
SCRIPT EVERY WORD. This will enable you to be very organized during film shooting.
Brevity
In marketing, shorter videos have more impact than long ones. Therefore, create short videos. This calls for a shorter script. Do not write a script longer than 2 pages at most. Actually, keep it to one page.
Editing
Edit your script for two or three rounds. For each time, focus on cutting any unnecessary words. Read the script aloud as you look for areas where you can make it more conversational or just shorten the sentences.
If you do that, the result will be engaging, succinct video which further simplifies the editing process.
Use a script template
Writing a script from scratch is very difficult. Therefore, use a sample to simply your work.
Run through the script
Practice the script on camera. Is it necessary to practice? Yes, a script may look great on paper but once they are read aloud, they do not sound as perfect.
Use a laptop and a chair as a teleprompter. This will be helpful in jogging your memory. Always keep your lines handy as you shoot the video. If you do not have a video camera, think of using your smartphone.
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