Ten rules for a strong script
01 · One sentence first
Put the core message into one sentence. If it doesn't fit into one sentence, the concept isn't finished yet.
02 · Who is it for?
Write for one specific person in your audience, not for everyone. If you try to reach everyone, you move no one.
03 · Show, don't tell
What the picture tells, the narrator doesn't need to repeat. Voice-over adds to the image; it doesn't describe it.
04 · Enter late, leave early
Every scene starts as late and ends as early as possible. Hardly any film needs greetings, walks and doors.
05 · Every scene has a job
If a scene carries neither information nor emotion, it goes, no matter how beautiful it would be.
06 · The first three seconds
Online, viewers decide in three seconds whether to keep watching. The opening needs an image or a line that sparks curiosity.
07 · Plan the length realistically
English voice-over runs at about 2.5 words per second. So 60 seconds of film hold roughly 150 words, better fewer to leave room.
08 · Write to be producible
Five locations in one shoot day are expensive. Group scenes by location and check what night, rain or crowds will cost.
09 · Read it aloud
Read dialogue and voice-over aloud, ideally with people reading the parts. What stumbles when spoken stumbles on screen.
10 · Check the facts
Double-check figures, names and technical terms before the shoot. After the shoot, every correction costs many times more.
Formats and tools
For dramatic scenes, the industry format has proven itself: scene heading (INT./EXT., location, time of day), action, character, dialogue. For brand films with narration, a two-column script with picture on the left and sound on the right works well.
- Fountain: plain-text format, can be written in any editor and opened in Final Draft
- Final Draft: the industry standard for features and series
- Two-column script (Word/Docs): ideal for brand and explainer films with voice-over