How to write a short video script

Start with one idea and one audience

Write down what the viewer should understand or feel by the end. “Explain how a lighthouse keeper spots a missing boat” gives you a concrete story. “Make an interesting video about the ocean” leaves too many decisions unresolved. A focused brief makes it easier to cut lines that do not serve the video.

Decide whether this is an explanation, a fictional story, a list or a conversation. Each format has a different job: an explanation resolves a question, a story resolves a situation, and a list delivers a series of useful examples. Pick the format before you choose background footage or a visual style.

Set a word budget before you draft

Duration depends on speaking pace and pauses. For a planning example, 150 words per minute gives you 75 words in 30 seconds or 150 words in 60 seconds, before pauses. This is an assumption for drafting, not a promise about the final voiceover. Names, numbers, dramatic delivery and pronunciation can change the runtime.

Reserve time for the ending and any moment that needs silence. A 60-second draft with six seconds of pauses has room for about 135 words at that same assumed pace. Use the script duration calculator to try different rates, then replace the estimate with the length of the actual recording.

Build an opening, a development and a payoff

The opening should give the viewer enough context to follow the next sentence. Introduce a specific problem, question or surprising detail. Avoid promising an answer that the video never delivers. You can create curiosity without hiding the entire subject.

Develop the idea with actions or evidence instead of repeating the premise. Finish by answering the question or resolving the situation. If you include a call to action, connect it to what the viewer just learned rather than adding several unrelated requests.

Edit for the ear, then plan the pictures

Read the entire script aloud without stopping. Mark phrases that are difficult to say, sentences that need a second breath, and transitions that only make sense on the page. Replace abstract language with details a viewer can picture. Spell out how abbreviations and unusual names should be spoken in your recording notes.

Make a simple two-column plan: narration on one side, visual idea on the other. A new scene should help explain an action or change in the story. You do not need a new visual for every word. Keep the first production pass small enough that you can revise it after hearing the narration.

• The opening matches the actual subject.
• Every sentence adds information or moves the story forward.
• The final line delivers the promised payoff.
• The spoken recording fits the intended duration.
• Visuals and captions remain understandable on a phone.