Video Script Writer

When to use

Triggers:

• "Write a script for [video]"
• "Short-form video / reel / TikTok script"
• "YouTube video on [topic]"
• "LinkedIn video script"
• "Sales video / explainer video / webinar opening"
• "Help me turn this idea into a video"

Don't fire for:

• Podcasts (similar but different pacing — different skill)
• Written content (blog / article / LinkedIn post — use other skills)
• Full production briefs including storyboarding / shot list (add-on skill, not this one)

The 5 script formats

1. Short-form social reel (15–60 sec)

Platforms: Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn Video.

Structure:

• Hook (0–3 sec) — the single most important beat. No introduction. No "hey guys, welcome back." Start with the thing.
• Context (3–10 sec) — why this matters. One sentence.
• Payoff (10–50 sec) — the insight, tip, or story.
• CTA (last 3–5 sec) — follow / save / try / ask a question.

Word count: 90–180 words for a 60-sec video at normal speech pace.

Voice: conversational, specific, no jargon.

2. YouTube long-form (5–15 min)

Structure:

• Cold open / hook (0–10 sec) — the compelling moment from later in the video, or a specific question/promise
• Title card / channel brand (10–20 sec) — keep short
• Context (20–60 sec) — why this matters, what they'll learn, why they should trust you
• Main content — 3–5 chapters (1–3 min each) — each chapter has its own mini-hook + payoff
• Conclusion + CTA (last 30–60 sec) — summary + what to do next + subscribe ask

Word count: roughly 150 words per minute of final video.

Retention mechanics: viewers drop off. YouTube rewards watch-time retention. Design each chapter with its own mini-cliffhanger ("I'll explain why in a minute") to pull them through.

3. Sales / landing-page video (60–180 sec)

Structure:

• Hook — speak directly to the viewer's specific problem
• Relate — "you're not alone / we see this all the time / here's why it happens"
• Promise — what you help them do
• Proof — 1 specific number or customer example
• Process — 3 steps of how your service works
• CTA — book a call / start trial / download

Word count: 150–450 words.

Voice: warm-direct, not hypey. AU SME sales videos that sound like US B2B cold-email VSLs feel fake to local audiences.

4. Explainer animation (60–120 sec)

Structure:

• Problem setup (0–15 sec) — character or situation experiencing the pain
• Introduce solution (15–30 sec) — your product/service entering the picture
• How it works (30–75 sec) — 3 core beats of mechanism or benefit
• Outcome (75–105 sec) — life after solution
• CTA (last 15 sec) — website, download, next step

Word count: 150–300 words.

Key: animations need shot descriptions, not just dialogue. Script includes [VISUAL:] notes.

5. Webinar / workshop opening (3–7 min)

Structure:

• Welcome + housekeeping (30 sec) — brief
• Who's in the room (1 min) — interactive, asks audience
• Why you're qualified / why this matters (1–2 min) — credibility without grandstanding
• What you'll cover + what they'll leave with (1 min) — agenda preview
• Quick win now (1–2 min) — one immediate takeaway before deep content
• Into the main content — transition

Word count: ~500–800 words of script; substantial portion is ad-lib interaction so notes + bullets work better than verbatim.

Hook-writing mechanics

Hooks are where 80% of videos fail. Common working hook patterns for AU SME content:

Contrarian

"Everyone says X. That's wrong — here's why."

Specific number

"We charged $47,000 for a wedding last month. Here's what went into it."

Confession / story

"Three months ago I fired my biggest client. Here's what happened."

Direct question

"Have you noticed [specific pattern]? Here's what it means."

"Do this / don't do this"

"If you're an accountant in Australia, stop doing this one thing on your website."

Before-and-after tease

"This is the 30-sec trick that cut our quote time from 2 hours to 20 minutes."

Counter-to-convention

"Nobody's going to tell you this about [thing], so I will."

Avoid:

• "Hey guys, welcome back to the channel!"
• "Have you ever wondered..."
• "In today's video, we're going to talk about..."
• Generic AI-sounding openers

First 3 seconds are everything — nothing else matters if they scroll past.

Voice + pacing for on-camera

Written copy doesn't read like spoken copy. Adjust:

• Short sentences. "The economy's tough. Sales are down. Here's what to do." NOT "In the current challenging economic climate, many businesses are experiencing declining sales and wondering what measures to take."
• Contractions. "I'm", "we've", "it's", "won't".
• One-idea-per-beat. Don't stack clauses.
• Say it out loud before scripting. If a sentence is hard to say, rewrite.
• Active voice. "I did X" beats "X was done by me."

Read the script aloud. Time it. Adjust. If you can't say it naturally, viewers can't hear it naturally.

Talking-head vs voiceover

Talking-head (you on camera)

• More personal
• Requires on-camera delivery skill
• Brief notes / bullet points usually beat verbatim scripts
• Natural umms, pauses, reactions — keep them (authenticity > polish for short-form)
• Setup: decent camera, decent light, usable audio; location matters

Voiceover (your voice, visuals separate)

• Less personal but more polished
• Verbatim script works
• Tighter pacing
• Setup: decent microphone, quiet room, minimal reverb

Most AU SME short-form is talking-head. Most explainer / animation / sales videos are voiceover.

The "hook-test" before committing to film

Before you film:

1. Send the hook (first 5 seconds) to 2–3 people in your target audience
2. Ask: "Would you keep scrolling or watch?"
3. If most say "watch", film. If "scroll", rewrite.

Sounds simple; most people skip this and produce videos nobody watches.

Production-adjacent notes

The script is the input. Production is separate. But script includes:

• [SHOT] direction for each major visual change
• [B-ROLL] suggestion for cutaway footage
• [ON-SCREEN TEXT] to reinforce verbal content (short-form especially)
• [CAPTIONS] needed by default — 80%+ of mobile video is watched muted
• [MUSIC] mood / tempo notes
• [PAUSE] — strategic silences matter; script them

Caption-first video

With 80%+ mobile video watched muted (especially LinkedIn + Instagram), the video often needs to read at the caption layer. Script with:

• Punchy first-3-words on-screen text to hook
• Key phrases emphasised visually
• All dialogue captioned word-for-word

This isn't captioning-as-afterthought; it's a first-class design constraint.

Output format

Per request:

1. Full script — formatted for delivery (verbatim for voiceover; bullets/notes for talking-head)
2. Hook variants — 2–3 alternative first-5-seconds for A/B testing
3. Visual notes — [SHOT] / [B-ROLL] / [ON-SCREEN TEXT] inline
4. Title options — for YouTube / LinkedIn, 2–3 variants
5. Description + CTA — the post-body accompanying the video
6. Caption file notes — if short-form, explicit captioning needs

What this skill does NOT do

• Film or edit. Production is a separate workflow.
• Do voiceover. If you want synthetic voiceover, use a tool like ElevenLabs; the skill writes the script.
• Distribute / post. Your publishing workflow handles that.
• Replace on-camera practice. Great scripts still need delivery. Rehearse.

Tier access

Base. Content creation is a growing channel for AU SMEs. Pro-tier adds a voice-matching pass once you have 3–5 past successful videos.

Related skills

• linkedin-content-creator — different channel; same specific-over-generic principle
• social-media-calendar — videos slot into the 5-category content mix
• customer-persona-builder — know who you're talking to
• presentation-designer — adjacent discipline, narrative principles overlap

References

• Casey Neistat — YouTube fundamentals
• Wistia — Video marketing benchmarks
• LinkedIn — Video best practices