Brevity: the North Star of scriptwriting
How to say what you need to say— briefly and efficiently
When you’re writing a script for a video, generally speaking, shorter is better. We’ve found that a runtime of less than three minutes works best for keeping a viewer’s attention, with 90 seconds or fewer being even better. Here are some questions and answers to help you meet that goal.
How do I know if my script is the right length?
Runtime is everything!
One of the easiest ways to test runtime is to read the script aloud and time yourself using a stopwatch app. (Reading it aloud also has other benefits– see this post for details.) You can also use online tools that allow you to paste in your text and get a runtime estimate. Just keep in mind that the results are very rough and are really best used to compare one draft to another. The final video will have several seconds where there is no voiceover (transitions, animation, intro and outro slides, etc) so you may have to pad the estimate from the tool or your timed read by as much as 20% in order to get a better sense of the true runtime.
What should I cut?
Removing the right things allows your audience to focus on what’s important.
Nonessential information:
This includes anything that your intended audience isn’t going to be interested in and/or doesn’t need to be told. For example, if you are introducing a new flow cell for your existing sequencer, you likely don’t need to explain the basic principles behind next-generation sequencing.
Repetition:
This can mean multiple mentions or explanations of the same concept, but also, watch for strings of adjectives that express the same thing (like “complete and total” or “user-friendly, easy to use”). The language in a video format isn’t quite the same as you’d use in a casual conversation (“very, very, very small”) or structured the same way as in a full length presentation (that has an intro and conclusion that both reiterate the main points).
Overly descriptive or flowing prose, and most transitional sentences:
Think “minimalist elegance” rather than “ornate” for your language. As for transitional sentences, they are often unnecessary in a video format since a change in topic can be indicated visually by establishing a new scene (ie a short pause and fade to black between them). If the two topics blend into each other, by all means link them in the script, but there’s no need to force a segue into the voiceover where it doesn't easily fit.
Additional proof points for the same feature or benefit:
One is generally enough to get the message across.
Repetition:
See what we did there? 😜
This is just a reminder to look for repetitions of the same thought that are spread out into different sections of your video, not just within the same section. Some of them might be important to keep, but chances are, a lot of them can be cut.
Excess words:
This concept is also known as “word economy”. Check the number of words (or even syllables) in your sentences and try to find alternative words/phrases that have fewer of them. Examples would include “septation” instead of “septum formation”, “medially positioned” instead of “positioned in the center of the cell”, “actinomyosin ring” rather than “ring containing both actin and myosin”, etc. Those changes may not seem like much on a screen, but make a significant difference to the time it takes to read a sentence aloud.
Would you show me an example?
Our writing team has years of experience.
Of course!
Here’s a paragraph from an online encyclopedia page about antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is a major subset of AMR that applies specifically to bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics. Resistance in bacteria can arise naturally by genetic mutation, or by one species acquiring resistance from another. Resistance can appear spontaneously because of random mutations, but also arises through spreading of resistant genes through horizontal gene transfer. However, extended use of antibiotics appears to encourage selection for mutations which can render antibiotics ineffective.
This reads pretty well on screen, but can be tightened up for a video voiceover:
Antibiotic resistance is the subset of AMR that occurs when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria can acquire this resistance by mutation of their own genes, or by receiving resistance-conferring genes through horizontal gene transfer. The extended use of antibiotics appears to select for alterations that confer resistance.
With our rewrite, we have gone from 71 words and about 30 seconds of runtime to 48 words and about 18-20 seconds of runtime. That may not seem like many seconds, but it’s about a third of the runtime– imagine the effect that would have on a longer script!
We did remove the point that horizontal gene transfer can occur between species, but this could be communicated visually– for example, using an animation of one rod-shaped and one spherical bacterial cell moving genetic material between them.
What if I’m having trouble?
DCA offers script editing as well as scriptwriting services!
Our team would be delighted to assist you. Just contact us to learn more at dca@dcasf.com!