Recipe for the perfect script - Video Scribe Creation

Video Scribe Creation Once you've thought about what you want to say, it's time to work out how to say it. 

The first thing you notice about most scribe videos are the images. Of course. But that isn't
where you need to start. The script is the backbone of any great scribe.

Here are our top tips for making yours dazzle: 

• Know your message. This sounds obvious but unless you have a clear idea of what
you are trying to say, your audience won't either. Stick to one message for each scribe e.g. 'This one explains what we do', 'this one tells people about our current offer', 'this one teaches the active voice'.
• Set the tone. Should it be urgent, reassuring, funny? The tone or voice will influence
how the script is written and starts you thinking about the kind of voiceover you'll use.
• Be clear. Your information needs to be clearly organised. Videos can easily be
bogged down by trying to talk about too many things. Make a list of all the things
that you want to say and then cut anything that isn't essential or directly relevant to your viewer.

Learning from the experts 

The dating website Match.com is a great example of a company telling beautiful and clever
stories to build its brand. Let's take a look at a script for one of their advertisements. In it,
we meet a woman called Helen, who says:

It's always nice to be asked out on a date, for it to go from a message from somebody to actually meeting a person. It's really exciting. Within the first few minutes of meeting 

the person, for me, I would know if I had chemistry with 

them. It would be nice if it were something that led to 

another date

 

The voiceover is informal, unpolished and personal. But don't be fooled - it knows its
audience. This is just one person's dating experience but it suggests what others can
expect. It creates an assumed intimacy - a sense of trust that casts the viewer as a character in Helen's story.

Match.com could have led with cold, hard - and impressive - facts. They could have said
that they have 15 million users or that two-thirds of UK singles have tried online dating
or that Christmas is the best time to get a date. But this more aggressive approach could have fallen flat.

Instead, they drew people in with a personal story. With an everyday and understated
heroine.

The advertisement ends with the company's key slogan: It all starts with a date at Match.
com. More relationships and more marriages than any other site. A subtle and positive call to action and a canny reminder of the company's name, website and USP.

But I'm not selling anything! 

As we've seen, every story needs a hero or indeed, an army of heroes. So if you're using scribe videos to communicate any kind of message, these central concepts - simplicity, voice and clarity - still apply.

Using these principles, scribing will allow you to introduce your students to Pythagoras the man, animate his theory, answer questions and set their homework.

Likewise, if you're campaigning against a bad move by the city council, you want to make your points precisely and give a pared-down pitch.

All the way, you want to keep your story crisp, pithy and memorable. And once you've
perfected it, it's time to plan your imagery. Because, as they say, images maketh the scribe.