How to Write a Standout Video Script in 7 Simple Steps

Your script is the foundation of your video – without it, not only will producing your video be considerably more difficult, but your content may lack the focused messaging to resonate with your audience. 

A solid script guarantees that your content is well-organized, coherent, and compelling, making it a key piece of the puzzle when creating engaging material. 

In this blog, we’ll walk you through a 7-step framework for writing excellent video scripts, as well as introduce you to a few ways you can streamline and simplify your script writing using AI tools. 

Why is it important to have a strong video script writing process? 

There’s no way around it – script writing can be very time consuming. 

This can lead many people to wonder: why is a 7-step script writing process worth my time when I could just skip the brainstorming and jump right into writing? 

Here’s an overview of some of the main advantages of adopting a strong script writing process:

• Greater clarity: Putting thought into your script guarantees that viewers will leave with a clear understanding of your main message.  
• Improved audience engagement: A script with compelling dialogue can do wonders for capturing your audience’s attention and maintaining interest throughout. 
• Efficient production: Creating video can be time consuming, so creating a script that organizes a clear roadmap for your production team is essential in boosting efficiency. 

7 steps for an improved video script writing process 

Now that we’ve established the importance of good script writing, you might be wondering how you can improve your own process. Keep reading for 7 script writing steps to consider. 

1. Define your objective and audience

First things first – you need to define who your video is for and what you hope to accomplish. 

Is your goal to educate your viewers on a specific problem, or sell them on a new product? 

The answer to this question will dictate the appropriate length for your video, how you’ll distribute it, and the visuals you’ll feature within the content itself. 

2. Choose the right video type 

Your approach to writing a video script will depend on the type of video you’re looking to create. 

Some videos are more educational, whereas others are focused on showing viewers how to complete a very specific task. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the most common types of videos:  

Explainer video 

An explainer video is a short video that typically explains how a product, service, or process works. It’s crucial for explainer videos to be visually engaging, so the best explainer videos usually feature a combination of graphics, text, and narration. 

But when scripting an explainer video, one of the most important things is to keep it short and catchy to keep your audience's attention without sounding sales-y.

How-to video

Whereas an explainer video might explain an overview of a concept, a how-to video typically provides step-by-step instructions to accomplish a specific task. 

One of the best examples of how-to videos are knowledge base videos, which are used to replace or add to long knowledge base articles. Some other examples are customer onboarding videos and product training videos, which are perfect for helping users get started with your product.

Training video 

Training videos require a different scripting approach than explainer or how-to videos since their goal is not to sell, but to educate. Training videos are typically centered around an instructor who’s educating the audience on a specific knowledge area. 

Here’s an example training video created in Colossyan: 

YouTube video 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to scripting YouTube videos since YouTube is home to such a diverse range of content. Writing a script for a recipe video is a lot different from scripting a vlog, for instance. 

But regardless of your video topic, it’s important to have a clear structure and message that will engage your viewers, keeping in mind your target audience’s interests and demographics. 

3. Craft a video brief 

The best way to ensure that your video features consistent messaging from start to finish is by narrowing down the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your video into a very short video brief. 

That way, if there’s any debate on the creative direction of your video later on, you can always refer back to your video brief for guidance. 

4. Decide on your visual direction

Before you get into the nitty gritty of actually writing your script, you’ll want to first consider the visuals you plan on including. 

For example, do you plan to only feature one main character, or will your material require conversations between characters? 

If you plan on using AI avatars to speed up production and cut acting costs, what do you want those AI actors to look like? You might want to feature more of their clothing for scenario-based content, or maybe a talking head style is more suitable for your material. 

Putting some thought into these visuals before you get into the writing process can give you a better sense of what’s needed within your script. 

5. Write the script 

Now that we’ve decided on the visual direction, video type, and target audience, it’s time to start writing. 

Some find it easier to start the writing process with an outline, which is especially helpful when creating longer-form content or for material that covers a lot of different topics in depth. 

Even if you forgo the outline process, the most important thing is to make your script as thorough as possible and script every single word. Leaving some parts of your script up to chance will guarantee longer recording timelines when things don’t sound the way you want them to. 

And despite common perception, script writing isn’t just your dialogue or narration. A good script will also include details on the shots or scenes involved too, that way there’s no question how a scene should look or sound when it comes time to shoot it. 

The AAAA framework for script writing 

To make sure that your script includes all of the necessary elements, you may want to consider the AAAA framework: 

1. Attention: Does your script capture audience attention right from the very beginning? 
2. Agitation: Does your script agitate the pain point that your customer is facing to create a sense of urgency in solving it? 
3. Activity: Does your script provide a clear solution or demonstrate how your product or idea can address the problem? 
4. Action: Does your script conclude with a clear call to action that your audience can act on? 

Also read: How to Get the Most Out of an AI Script Generator

6. Develop your dialogue 

Adding dialogue is a great way to make your content visually engaging. However, in order for dialogue to be useful, it needs to move your storyline along. 

Ask yourself, is my dialogue helping readers better understand my message? Or is it adding unnecessary distractions? 

7. Revise as necessary 

Just like with any good piece of writing, editing and revising is critical for success. Your first draft might not sound the way you want right off the bat – and that’s okay. 

Setting your first draft aside and revisiting it later with fresh eyes is a great way to identify weaknesses or gaps in your script. 

Don’t forget the power of peer review either. Going through the script writing process all on your own can give you tunnel vision, preventing you from creating the best possible script. Including others’ perspectives is always helpful. 

8. Produce your video! 

When the writing’s done, all that’s left to do is bring your script to life. 

You may choose to do this in house, or maybe you’ll contract with a production company to take some of the work off your plate. 

Regardless of the route you take, it’s important to consider that when working with traditional video production, your script will be set in stone once your content has been filmed. Changing your script after the fact will require you to reshoot a portion of your content (which is undoubtedly costly). 

That’s why some companies whose content rapidly changes – such as teams creating training and compliance videos – opt for a text-to-video tool to bring their content to life instead. 

With an AI text-to-video platform, you can continuously edit your script as you work, since there’s no need to manually film video content or record voiceovers. 

3 ways to write video scripts faster using AI 

We’ve already touched on the ways that AI text-to-video technology allows you to continuously iterate on your script as you work on your video, but that isn’t all that this technology can do. 

For starters, tools like Colossyan can revolutionize your video production process by transforming your script into a visually engaging video starring AI avatars. This means you can create professional-grade content without ever having to pick up a camera. 

And when it comes to script writing, there are many different features tools like Colossyan offer to help get your projects off the ground in significantly less time than traditional video. Here’s an overview of those features: 

AI script assistant 

Script writing can eat up a lot of time. Fortunately, AI can help. 

But instead of turning to external tools like ChatGPT, it’s more convenient to get AI assistance within your video editing platform. That’s why Colossyan offers a GPT-3-powered AI script assistant that can help brainstorm ideas, edit your tone of voice, or even correct your grammar. 

So if you’re looking to put together a video draft as fast as possible, select a video template and let Colossyan take care of your script editing – and you’ll have a draft ready in minutes. 

Turn a document into a video

Let’s face it, there are times when deadlines are so tight that you don’t have time to write a script at all. However, you might have a document of information ready to go.

This is where Colossyan’s document-to-video workflow can help. Simply upload your document as a PDF, PPT, DOC and TXT file, specify a few details – such as your intended audience, tone, and what the video’s about – and select a template to serve as your video’s visual foundation. 

In less than 60 seconds, Colossyan will transform your document into a video draft, complete with scripts and scenes created from your document’s contents. 

This way, all you’ll need to do is make a few edits to your script and update a few images before your video is good to go. Just imagine all of the ways you can scale your production processes and save time on script writing using this feature. 

Start with a prompt

All script writing starts with an idea. But what if we told you that you could skip the writing and instead jump from idea to end result? 

That’s the idea behind Colossyan’s prompt-to-video feature. Instead of requiring a document upload, all prompt-to-video requires is a simple prompt input. 

Once you’ve added your prompt, you’ll add a few additional details, select a template, and seconds later you’ll have a fully developed video draft complete with AI avatars, scripts, and multiple scenes. 

Takeaway

There you have it – we hope this guide on how to write a video script is useful for you and your team. 

And don’t forget to explore ways that AI can make your script writing process easier. Not only do AI video generation platforms allow you to iterate on your script throughout the entire video editing process, but they’re often a more cost effective solution to traditional production. 

After all, there’s a reason why big-name companies like Paramount and Novartis use Colossyan to create their video content. 

Still unsure? Come see for yourself and try Colossyan for free today.