Scripting a video [question]

[kharypayt37]

Hi everybody, this is my first time posting in this forum. I don't have an active channel just yet, but I have a few ideas for some quick and dirty diy/lifehack/lifestyle vids and I've ruminated on them long enough I want to make them a reality. I'm thinking video+voiceover format, but I've never written a script for something like that. How do you script a video like that? Do you just write it out like a paragraph and shoot to it? Do you keep a shot list? Before or after writing the script? Basically, how do you organize your plans for a video?

 

[tubefluence]

Most content creators tend to structure their videos- not fully script them. Basically, they create an ordered bullet list of subjects they need to touch on or talk about, but not specifically what they are going to say. However, there is no rule against fully scripting videos- many creators do this.

 

[crazy-logic]

there's no rules one way or the other - just do something and keep doing what works for you and drop what doesn't.

Personally i write a what i want to do, then i do it, then i edit and do a voice over script if i want to do VO's. then back to editing. All depends on your content and how you want things to look/feel.

 

[Nicekid76]

Most content creators do both. For example the vlogbrother hank scripts all of his videos and john just outlines them.
People who make video essay script everything and often use a teleprompter to say exactly what they mean to say, so do a lot of educational youtubers.
When I went to Vidcon the creators track i saw lot of creators who don't script or organize their thoughts before, but of the people in the larger channels say 20k and up, they were all at least outline their video. The bigger and more corporate the channel the more likely they are heavily scripted. That being said, i've only run into a hand full of channels that write the script in script format. (mainly sketch comedy / drama channels, but even then it's pretty rare)

For you're second question, I used to write my script as paragraphs and then I would chop them up into shot list, based on where i needed to stand, or how zoomed into the camera i needed to be or if it was an on location set. It really helped me shoot videos a lot faster, BUT it was mentally hard to keep a flow through the video since i wasn't recording it in chronological order at that point. It's really weird when the first time you hear your script in order is at the end of the edit.

I ran a (short lived) company where we would do the same but it was more info driven so the flow was easier (imo)

For my personal channel i don't script any more just because i like my free flow / I can't follow a script and make it sound good... I really wish i could cause i write a lot... but it all tends to just be a really detailed outline in the end lol.

The formating of the script is sort of dependant on what you need from your script and the style of content you create.

Hope that help. Pardon the rambling.