Words before pictures.
WHY A SCRIPT MATTERS
It is far cheaper to fix a sentence than a shot.
WHAT A SCRIPT SHOULD ESTABLISH
What is said What is shown In what order How long each part runs
WHAT FORMAT TO USE
Two columns: visuals on one side, audio on the other.
WHY
It forces you to decide what appears while each line is spoken.
HOW LONG A SCRIPT PRODUCES A GIVEN DURATION
Roughly one hundred and forty words per minute of finished narration.
WHAT THAT MEANS PRACTICALLY
A sixty-second video is about one hundred and forty words, which is very little.
WHAT TO CUT FIRST
Introductions Restatement of the obvious Anything the visuals already show
WHY THAT LAST ONE
Narration describing what is on screen is redundant and irritating.
WHAT NARRATION SHOULD ADD
What the picture cannot convey.
WHAT TO WRITE FOR
The ear, not the eye.
WHAT THAT CHANGES
Shorter sentences Simpler words No subordinate clauses that lose the listener
WHAT TO DO BEFORE RECORDING
Read it aloud, timed.
WHAT THAT REVEALS
Sentences that cannot be spoken, and the true duration.
WHAT TO END WITH
One clear instruction about what to do next.
