Like the recipe to a great dinner party, a tight, well-written script for your animated video is the starting point for success. It creates the base to build something amazing and will save you heaps of time and headaches later in the production process. But how exactly do you write a good script?
Content & Form
There are two parts of an explainer video script – content and form. The content is the message you want to deliver, i.e. the information you wish to convey about your product or service. The form is the way in which you’re going to say it, and covers things like camera angles, graphics, music and sound, special effects, tone, and character development. The secret to a good video lies in the balance – strong content with poor form is pretty boring. Conversely, no amount of fancy effects can make up for a lack of substance.
To be able to make informed decisions about both content and form, you need to ask yourself two questions:
Who is the audience?
What are you trying to tell them?
Have you ever heard the expression, “know your audience”? This is a guiding principle for explainers. Knowing who you’re speaking with will influence the way you speak and what you say. Define your target audience as clearly as possible (what do they look like? how old are they? where do they live? where do they work? what do they value? what problem are they trying to solve?) then draft a script that’s tailor made for their specific needs, in a language and style they’ll understand.
The next step is to clearly outline what it is you want to tell them in your video. Don’t try and cram every detail of your product or service into the script – if you try and put in everything, people will remember nothing. Instead, identify one key message and draft a script that delivers that message clearly and concisely.
Writing the Draft
Once you know who you’re talking to and what you want to say, writing the actual script should be relatively easy. Lead your viewers through a story, answering the WHAT, HOW, and WHY of your product/service. Outline the problem, introduce your solution and how it works, and tell them why you’re the best choice to solve it. Then don’t forget to wrap up with a call to action. Do you want them to purchase? Subscribe? Share? Tell your audience exactly what it is that you want them to do next.
Helpful Tips
Here are a few final tips to help you nail your script.
- Get feedback from fresh eyes. Make sure the message is clear to someone who’s not already familiar with your product.
- Keep word count in mind. You can get approximately 160 words into one minute of video (at a comfortable pace). If you’re aiming for a 90-second video, that’s 240 words.
- Be consistent with your brand. Make sure your script supports the established style and tone of your brand personality.
You’re well on your way to a making a great piece. Need more help? Raw Shorts offers quick and easy software to create your own explainer videos. Get started today at rawshorts.com.