How to write a tight script for an animated educational video
Interested in producing an animated educational video? One that perfectly captures your message, educates your audience, and inspires them to take action?
That’s easier said than done.
One of the most powerful tools you need to produce that video: a written script.
A tight script captures your vision for the final product and communicates the core details to the people who actually make the video.
Would you build a house without a blueprint?
A script lets you design the overall structure and the details of the video before expending the time and expense of actually building out the video. It’s an essential tool for a smooth production process.
Here’s what goes into the writing of a good script for an animated educational video.
Who’s this piece for? Someone who wants to produce an animated video, and wants to learn more about the process and best practices that go into doing so.
1)Setting up the script
I usually write two columns. One column (left side) is dedicated to audio, the other (right side) is dedicated to visuals.
Each of these boxes is essentially a scene — what happens in one frame of the video.
2) Writing the audio content
There are two ways you can develop the spoken content for the video: either write a script for someone to read when you film or interview an expert and create a script based on a transcript of the interview after filming.
There are pros and cons of either of these approaches.
Often, it’s desirable to write the script in its entirety before doing any recording. That way, the content is defined clearly. You can use a teleprompter if an expert is being featured, or simply hand off the written script for recording by voiceover artist. The writer has more absolute control over the content, and you also have clarity about what’s being filmed.
Alternatively, you could conduct a Q&A with an expert on camera, then later develop the interview content’s transcript into the script. I use this process when the scriptwriter doesn’t have expertise in the subject area of the explainer video, and the subject-area expert doesn’t have expertise in writing scripts!
Essentially, the Q&A is a rough draft, and all you need is a strong writer to organize the content into a short essay, which ends up being the spoken content in the video.
Here, I make sure there are time stamps clearly associated with any footage from the speaker, so the specific clips referenced can easily be found by the editor.
Whatever approach you use, it’s important to keep the target audience in mind. What is their knowledge level? What pain point/question are you helping them with? What are you trying to explain? Keeping a sharp focus on your audience and message to them is what makes your content crisp and relevant.
A note on the length. An explainer video is short, and word counts are important. The standard estimate is 125 and 150 words per minute. So do the math, working backward from your desired run time to the total number of words you need to get it to that run time.
3) Developing the visual content
Now, it’s time to start developing how the message will be communicated visually.
It goes without saying: video is a visual medium, and imagery is a powerful communication tool in the service of your message.
Here, the core ‘muscle’ to use is a bit of imagination, thinking about different ways a concept can be transferred to the target audience. This is particularly challenging when the subject matter is abstract, theoretical, or otherwise not inherently visual, but critical — the visual communication is a key reason to produce a video on the topic in the first place.
I try to develop detailed scenes, that take place in a specific time and place, with characters.
Back to the example scripts:
4) Personification
Usually, the people in the animation aren’t necessarily historical figures or real people at all. So I create fictional people who can personify a concept, or who can “star” in the video to tell a visual story that communicates the points being made.
I name my characters, giving them an identity so that illustrators and animators can more easily picture the details of the scene.
The writing here is painting with a broad brush, leaving many of the details to execution. Important details, anything you want to be sure to have in the final video (specific gender/age/race/hair color), or anything critical to communicating the message, should be included in the description of the characters and scenes.
Providing a clear written story makes the whole thing much easier to bring to life.
5) Refining details
A bit of time now on the details pays dividends later.
These details are in the audio, the visuals, and in transitions. You want to write out every detail you want in the final video. Period. Having these details spelled out means fewer rounds of notes and changes needed later, helping you stay on schedule and on budget.
6) Final proofing
Have a few people read your script, to make sure that the visuals are clear and intuitive, and to double-check for errors.
With this all developed, you have what you need to start creating assets/illustration and to adding movement for the final animated piece.
Best of luck with your project!
Is anything confusing? Anything I should expand on? Do you have different ‘best practices’ for scriptwriting? Further questions? Drop me a line in the comments, or at tyler.lowe@phaedocreative.com.
NOTE: the examples scripts in here are quasi-fictional — included solely for the purpose of showing the writing method used.
