Types of video scripts

What is a video script?

A video script is the blueprint and foundation for your digital video. It’s a chronological run-down of scenes, action and dialogue that you want to appear in your video.

Why write a video script?

• It allows you to plan your messaging.
• It lets you estimate (and manage) video length.
• It saves (sometimes MASSIVE amounts of) time.
• It facilitates collaboration.

Types of a video scripts

1. Word for Word: Writing exactly what you plan to say. This is great for sales videos who need to cover specific pieces of information about a product. This is also necessary for businesses who are in a regulatory industry such as lawyers or financial advisors.
   
2. Interview-Based: This is a great option for people who are not comfortable on camera or struggle to memorize a script. But, this takes quite a bit of planning in the questions and the answers to those questions.

3. Talking Bulleted Points: This is where you know what needs to be covered, but there isn’t a script. This is great for people who are experts in their subject matter and can confidently speak off-the-cuff about the information.
   
4. A/V Script (No Dialogue): A/V is an audio-visual script or a script of just what will show on the screen. Not all videos need narration or someone talking on the video.

Why you should create a video script for YouTube video?

• Saves time and energy (You save so much time and energy.For a script, I would recommend having a template so that you can use it over and over again.)

• Building a brand (When you create a script, you’re actually helping to form your brand. By creating a script, especially if you have a template, you’re creating consistency in your video. Even though the content is different in every video, you’re still keeping elements of your video consistent.)

https://youtu.be/IMJQaCU-hLg

How to write a video script?

• Plan your script
  • What the video is about.
  • Who the audience is.
  • Where the video will be used.
  • What are the key messages to get across?
  • What sort of visual style the video should follow (this will help you visualise the action-on-screen.)
  • What sort of storytelling style the video should use (this will help define the tone and linguistics of your voiceover.)
• Keep it short.
• Make it eye-catching — There are tons of different ways to make a great video. But whether it’s live action or animation, one thing always rings true; it needs to catch the eye.
• Make it fun — Injecting that little bit of fun into your video script can make all the difference.
• Make it flow — You don’t want your video to sound like the voiceover is just reading a list or bullet points. Read your video script aloud a number of times to ensure this doesn’t happen. 
• Call to action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1l1fVAuE3I

Promotional and commercial video scripts

Writing a promotional script on your own is a smart choice if:

1. You are a small business owner, looking to make the most out of your budget
2. You are a creative person with a writing talent and want to write your story on your own

 

For promotional scripts, you need to:

• Know your audience. You’d approach children quite differently than you would a senior audience, so your writing style and tone of voice need to adapt accordingly. While exclamation-fuelled enthusiasm might work for youngsters, you’d have to approach older folk more gently and with due consideration.
  
• Know your purpose and your platform. What are you promoting? A business? A product? A service? An event? A course? The approach to each of these would be different. 
  
• Emphasize entertainment rather than mere facts. We’re in the age of instant gratification. Just like it’s good to know your audience, it’s good to know what your audience does for fun, what makes them laugh, or what matters to them so you can adjust your writing to accommodate these. By tickling their fancy with your script, they’re likely to keep reading, listening, and watching. They’ll also remember what you’re promoting.
  
• Give your omniscient narrator a personality. If you write the script as someone who is just spewing out fact after fact, you’ll drench your script in the most dreadful dreariness. Don’t do it. Rather try imagining yourself as a member of your target audience and you’re listening to someone you really trust. Just ensure you don’t end up coming across as patronizing. If your audience reckons you’re an imposter who’s trying too hard, you’ll be dead in the water faster than you can blink. Keep your tone conversational, relatable, and real. 

Include a call-to-action. Notwithstanding your purpose, you’ll want your audience to perform some kind of action at the end — whether it’s a download, a subscription, a purchase, etc. Offer them something useful or meaningful as a takeaway. And don’t forget to add contact details, etc. An audience will quickly lose interest if they have to search for stuff.