Video script writing

The internet is shifting towards video for marketing and storytelling and if the growth of TikTok and YouTube are anything to go by, that won’t be changing anytime soon. If you want to get in on the action, you’re going to need to learn how to shoot great videos. A key component of that is the script. Without great dialogue, your video is going to fall flat.

That’s where Coastal Content can help.

As seasoned storytellers, we can get your message across. Whether that’s the written word on a page or within a video, we can help.

The script is the backbone of any production. You could have the best actors in the world but without a good script, they are just there to look at. You could have fantastic products, amazing sets or an award-winning soundtrack but without great dialogue, it’s all wasted.

Video script writing process

Any successful undertaking begins with planning. A video scrip will begin with a brief. An outline of what you want the video to achieve and its target audience. Are you looking to educate the audience? Showcase a product? Convey an important message? Reveal a new product or service?

Then you need to consider intent. What action to you want the viewer to take if any? What value do you offer the audience? What do you want them to have learned from the video?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can begin outlining a script.

Video scripts

Some video scripts can be very dry and quite boring but if you tell a story and engage your audience, they don’t have to be. Telling stories is the ideal way to turn often dry or complicated subjects into something engaging. Even the most mundane subjects can be turned into something more interesting with a little thought.

For example, we were recently tasked with rewriting a corporate video script on the subject of email phishing. The original script was merely an outline of what phishing is, the principles of spam filtering and a list of actions staff were to take if they suspected an email was phishing.

The original video dialogue went something like this:

“Phishing is a type of social engineering attack where scammers or hackers will write seemingly legitimate emails and send them out en masse.”

“These emails look legitimate but they are dangerous. They can include infected links, send you to perfect copies of bank or financial institution websites or trick you into releasing confidential information.”

“It is against company policy to follow email links you don’t know or release company information to third parties without approval.”

We took that script and threw it out. Instead we conveyed the same message in story form. It went a little like this:

“First thing Monday morning, you arrive at work and turn on your computer.”

“You open up your email and see an inbox full of unread mail.”

“You fire up the coffee machine, get your mug ready and prepare yourself to work your way through your inbox. It’s what Monday mornings are for after all.”

“One of those emails looks to be from the company’s bank so you look at that one first.”

“It tells you that the bank suspects there has been suspicious activity on the company account and you need to log in to check using the link.”

“Stop for a second.”

“Ask yourself. Would the bank email you, a customer service representative?”

“Would the bank email the company at all? Would a bank provide a login link within an email?”

“Does this email look like something a bank would send?”

“The answer is very likely no.”

“This could be a phishing email and you have only one thing to do.”

“Report it to IT using the Report Phishing Email link on the intranet and delete the email.”

“Here’s another example of a phishing email you might see…”

You see the difference? They both convey much the same information but one is dry and lifeless while the other is much more engaging. That’s how we write video scripts.

Alongside great visuals and up close examples of the emails we are discussing, this provides everything the goal of the video was aiming for.

If you want to create great videos but don’t know how to dialogue, Coastal Content does. Contact us for a fast, free quotation!