I’m so excited to be able to share more “snippets” with you from my forthcoming book. Here are a few (draft) excerpts from a chapter on Video Scripting, what you need to do if you are just starting, and what to avoid.
In the full chapter, you’ll learn how to use my all-in-one (adapted) TVC scripting process, that’ll keep your film shoot streamlined, plus proper scripting layups, designed to help you easily recall and present your script without the use of credibility killer teleprompters or autocues. And a step-by-step plan for creating the complete viewer experience.
Brenda (not her real name) is sitting in a café sipping a latte. Her laptop rests on her knees, and she is eager to crack into writing her first video script.
In the beginning, like most people, she just wanted to jump in front of the camera, press the record button, and start talking about her passion for what she does, why she does it, and how she helps her target audience.
However, she cringes when she looks back at her early filming attempts at “winging it”. She promised herself that she is never again going to sit through hours of rambling, awkward, disorganized footage – wondering if she or her (paid-by-the-hour video editor) can edit something out of it. Without resorting to those hideous, credibility-reducing jump-cuts to remove all of her mistakes.
This simply won’t do for her home page on her website. She wants a cringe-free finished video that is worthy to share with her target audience.
Brenda wants to “do it right the first time” from now on, and save herself lots of time and frustration. She decides that she needs a sure-fire process to help her script out what she wants to say, and what she want’s her audience to see, experience, and take the desired action. She wants an all-in-one scripting process that she can use for every video, that captivates her target audience in a visually compelling way.
What is a Video Script?
A video script is your step-by-step plan for creating the complete viewer experience.
When people hear the word “script” they typically think of it as being “the words” that get spoken, but a video script goes way beyond that.
Your script is the framework or blueprint for your entire video production process. It guides you through the journey from planning, to filming, to editing, and eventually releasing your video presentation to your audience.
Your Script is the Glue that Keeps YOU and Your Creative Process Together
It’s your creative process lifeline. A carefully, crafted concise script will keep you on track and on budget – whether it’s with your time or your money. It will also create a more structured filming process. You’ll make fewer mistakes, and waste less time. And the editing process will be a breeze.
When you know exactly what to do, what to say, and what to show your audience, you’ll have a more productive streamlined video shoot on the day.
From a video presenter’s perspective, a well-planned video script will help you stay focused and on topic. The benefits are less on-camera nervousness, zero imposter syndrome, and you’ll appear more confident and authoritative on screen.
Video. A Visual Medium
You must remember that video is a visual medium. It’s about showing, not talking your viewer to sleep. If it were just about “the words” you speak, then you’d be better off doing an audio podcast that your audience could listen to on the go.
Why?
Bored, Bombarded, Distracted, and Skeptical
Modern-day viewers tend to not enjoy being talked at, without some form of visual change-up onscreen (a common issue with talking head videos).
Visual change-ups (that aren’t too predictable i.e. with the right pacing or editing cutting rhythm) keep viewers watching, and trigger the brain to stay actively engaged as it processes the pattern-interrupt onscreen. This is a crucial video scripting element that’ll help keep your viewers engaged and watching for longer.
Today’s viewer is bombarded with information overload, and are often easily bored, distracted, and highly skeptical. In our information-overloaded society, viewers will take cognitive shortcuts to make snap decisions and judgments about what they see on screen. Telling your audience is not enough, you must “show” them.
Your script will contain these essential components…(more in the book – jump on the early notify list)
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What’s Your Story?
Before we get into how to create and document your video script, first let’s rewind and learn about the aspects of good storytelling. You might only be filming a 30-second introductory video to your website, but every good script tells a story of some kind. It doesn’t have to be a complicated story, but every good story has a structure.
Your story needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every good story needs a protagonist or “hero” as well. The hero is who or what your video is all about. The hero is the main subject of your video and could be a person, your target customer, product, service, or brand.
Ideally, your viewers will intuitively “get” what your story is about, without you needing to explicitly spell it out for them. Your story should appeal to their emotions in some way. If you are in business, ideally your story should spur your viewers to take the desired action after watching it too.
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Entertainment is All Well and Good…But…
If you are in the business of selling something, entertainment is all well and good, but telling a story just for the sake of it may attract attention and viewers, but not necessarily buyers.
Many advertisers have made this costly mistake. They have created some amazing, funny commercials over the years, but when viewers are interviewed afterward, many of them don’t even recall what brand the commercial was for, let alone what action the advertisers wanted them to take after having viewed the ad.
One memorable example was a TV commercial for a Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda. The ad had a catchy theme tune, with a “Zoom Zoom Zoom” chorus that viewers knew and could sing the words to. However, when asked what type of car was being advertised afterward, most viewers said “Toyota”.
Millions of advertising dollars have been poured down the drain creating TV commercials that win creative awards for the advertising agency, but don’t sell any product for the brand paying for the advertising campaign.
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Know your Outcome
This is another example of the key principle I mentioned at the beginning of the book. We must begin with the end in mind. Once we know the outcome we want to achieve, we can design the story our video is going to tell to fulfill that purpose.
All of this may sound a bit overwhelming, particularly if storytelling feels like a foreign concept to you. Don’t worry, there are plenty of creative solutions and proven “formulas” to help with visual storytelling, that’ll suit any type of video message. And once you know which one to use, your scripting will click into place.
Let’s begin by understanding these key concepts and how they can be applied to various types of video messaging…..(jump on the list).
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Where possible, I’ll share more chapter excerpts with you covering various topics from the book. If you want to be notified of the book release date, plus get access to exclusive “behind the scenes” content then let me know here.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Established in 2006 Bianca Te Rito, founder of STEBIAN.com provides an exclusive, consulting service helping business thought leaders, speakers, award-winning authors & VIPs productize their thought leadership and present themselves, their products, services, or brand message to their target audience in the most effective way possible on video. Get the tailored expertise from a real-world operator with over 20 years of TV/Film industry experience working in front of and behind the camera. Learn more about our custom offers here.
P.s. Have a burning question? Want me to cover a topic? Reach out to me here. If you need little guidance, you can book a time with me to troubleshoot your video creation or a production challenge.