Who is your audience?
Spending time to plan your video is crucial to keeping your viewers engaged especially if your video is targeted to a general audience. With a general audience, the majority may not have a strong interest in the topic of your video. If you have a targeted audience where the majority is interested in the topic, then there’s a greater likelihood that they will remain engaged for a longer period of time. Understanding your audience is important so you can create an engaging video that holds their interest to the very end.
What is your message?
It’s important to define the purpose of your video and who you want to reach with your message. Start with a few goals and some creative ideas of how to convey your message that will engage your viewers. It’s okay to keep it simple and straight forward. Too many creative ideas can cloud your message. Put those ideas on paper and start thinking about how they will enhance the story you want to tell.
Write your script!
Creating a video script is an easy way to organize the message and identify the supporting elements needed for the video. The script layout effectively communicates what we hear and see in the video and It helps to eliminate unwanted surprises during the production and post production process.
Create a 2-column script with the spoken dialogue in the right column. In the left column, make note of all the visuals and technical elements needed. The left column should list scenes, on-camera talent, text graphics, music, and sound effects as they appear in time with the audio dialogue. Keep the visuals aligned horizontally with the spoken dialogue so that the timing of the visuals is clear in the script.
Adding music, sound effects and the natural sound that accompanies the video can add significant engagement to your video because it gives the viewer the sense they are really there. When adding graphics to your video, consider using sound effects to draw attention to the graphic and further reinforce your message. Listing the sound design elements and graphics in the left column helps to communicate the overall vibe you’re trying to present in your video.
Defining your audience, your message, and your script are the three best ways to stay organized during production while maintaining good communication with everyone involved in the production process. Your production will go smoothly and your message will be on target if you spend the necessary time in the preproduction process.
Here is an example of the two column script layout.
To see the finished product click here!
