4 Ways Marketing Video Scripts Save You Time and Money

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Does My Marketing Video Need a Script?

1. Scripts Help Plan Shots
2. Marketing Video Scripts Consider the Best Possible Wording
3. Scripted Dialogue is Quicker to Shoot
4. Scripted Dialogue is Easier for Editors

• Conclusion

Introduction

Say you are looking to create a new video for your company. Whether it is a brand video, a digital ad, or something in between, videos are an excellent investment to get your company the exposure it needs.

But how can you make sure that the content of your video is accurately and convincingly advertising your products or services?

My name is Hannah Robertson: Force Media’s copywriter with years of writing experience. Marketing specialists and myself agree that there is one simple answer to this question: write a script. For that reason, I will cover exactly how they are an excellent investment for your next video by covering the 4 main ways marketing video scripts can save you time and money.

Before we dive into how scripts can save you money, however, it is important to first determine…

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Does My Marketing Video Need a Script?

Scripts are an excellent way to keep your production process and finished product organized, cohesive, and within your budget, but not every marketing video needs one. Sometimes it’s better to have an unscripted marketing video if you want to have an authentic interview or testimonial, especially if those you are interviewing cannot convincingly perform off of a script.

An example of a purposefully-unscripted marketing video can be found in the artist bio video we made for Golden Anchor Tattoos, which was meant to be a casual interview to authentically capture the personalities of the artists.

But to determine whether a script is right for your video or not, you will need to first ask yourself what you want to accomplish with this video. If you are looking for a very specific tone and feel, a script may be a smart move to ensure that this goal is met. A script may also help you maintain a sense of organization in your video, especially if it is meant to fit within a limited time frame.

Overall, if you are on the fence at all, a script is a smart investment that will save you time and money on and off set. 

• Disclaimer: Scripts are not optional for films like they are for marketing videos, so, for the purposes of this blog post, we will focus on writing scripts for marketing videos like brand videos and digital ads.

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Now, let’s dive into the four ways that scripts can save you money:

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1. Scripts Help Plan Shots

Even when using a strictly-dialogue-based script, which is common for marketing videos, knowing what you are going to say before filming can help the crew members plan where and what they should film.

This was especially helpful when we went to shoot this commercial for Woolfson Eye Institute:

As you can see, the script allowed us to know that we were going to film a customer walking into the office, checking in, and beginning an appointment with the highlighted doctor. Though we still had the freedom to improvise shots when appropriate, we were able to walk onto set that day knowing exactly what we needed, therefore cutting the time that would have been spent figuring it out with all of the crew and equipment on hold.

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2. Scripts Consider the Best Possible Wording

Unlike unscripted talking, scripts are the byproducts of a lot of time spent considering the best way to word a video. This careful consideration can be essential when portraying your brand image, as a single misused word may attract the wrong target audience and cost you leads. 

Take, for example, the words “cute” and “elegant.” Both are positive adjectives, so either should work fine to describe your products, right? Not necessarily. If your product is an animal plush, “cute” works wonderfully. However, if your product is a porcelain doll, “elegant” is a better descriptor. Describing it as “cute” may attract a younger audience that will likely be disappointed to see that this is not a doll for playing. 

“Cute” and “elegant” may be an obvious distinction, but stage fright can complicate your performance and mislead your viewers’ perception of your company brand. Investing in a script is the easiest way to ensure proper wording without reshooting or mislabeling your brand. 

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3. Scripted Dialogue is Quicker to Shoot

Especially if the main actor of the video does not have excellent verbal communication skills, unscripted dialogue often means more takes to get the right message across. However, even the best communicators can benefit from a script’s reference.

Take, for example, this interview with an Australian politician who completely forgot his own plan of action when asked.

As you can see, unscripted dialogue may result in aimless rambling that exceeds the length that you are looking for for your video, which is easily avoidable by having a pre-written script as a guide. Of course, the beauty of filmmaking is that you are granted multiple takes to collect your thoughts and regain composure, but that requires more time spent on set to get the perfect take.

While scripts do not guarantee a perfect shoot, especially if the actor did not spend enough time reviewing it, it does reduce the risk of rambling and gives crew the chance to cue the actor when necessary.

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4. Scripted Dialogue is Easier for Editors

Let’s say that you finally got everything out within a few takes. Even though that may not have taken long to accomplish on set, an unscripted video with as few as two takes can complicate the editing process.

Say one take had a great opening line but the next take had a better ending line. It can be very difficult to cut and stitch takes together like this in a natural way, which can even cancel out the intention to create a more authentic-feeling video. This also requires that the editors thoroughly dig through several shots to find what works best, which adds to cost as well.

Of course, this is also the case for scripted dialogue, as actors may perform better at certain parts of certain takes. However, this effect is often minimized because, while on set, the director could advise the actor to say a line a certain way on the next take, which could result in one exceptional take that requires no stitching at all. Unscripted dialogue does not have this freedom since there is very little chance that they can replicate lines exactly as they were worded before, so any guidance from the director can result in a completely different video, even when that amount of change isn’t necessary.

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Conclusion

Key takeaways:

• Not everyone marketing video needs one, but scripts are an excellent way to keep your production process and finished product organized, cohesive, and within your budget
• Scripts can help the crew members plan where and what they should film.
• Stage fright for the camera can affect even the best communicators, so scripts keep on-screen talent from rambling.
• It is easier to get the perfect take with scripted dialogue, and, therefore, scripts tend to assist with the editing process.

Talking unscripted can be difficult for a number of reasons, from not knowing what to say to not knowing the best way to say it. Scripts allow cast and crew members to accurately plan shots, portray the client’s brand image, get to the point, and edit the finished product. While they are not always necessary, marketing video scripts create a sense of organization on and off set that will save time and, therefore, money on and off set. 

Want to see what a script for your next marketing video could look like? Force Media is happy to help! Please fill out this discovery form, and our team will review your application and get in touch with you within 24 hours.

Thank you for reading, and we look forward to starting your next project on the right track!

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