Video script template

The blank template (copy or download)

This is the whole thing. Copy it straight off the page with the button, or take one of the download formats above - Word, PDF, Markdown, or plain text. They all contain exactly what is below.

Fill in each section in order. Do not skip the payoff; it is the section most people drop, and it is the one that decides whether the video feels finished or just stops.

VIDEO SCRIPT TEMPLATE

1. HOOK  (0:00-0:03)
Goal: stop the scroll. Eight words or fewer.
>

2. SETUP  (0:03-0:10)
Goal: give just enough context to care.
Who it is for:
The problem:

3. VALUE  (the bulk of the video)
Goal: deliver what the hook promised.
Point 1:
  Example:
Point 2:
  Example:
Point 3:
  Example:

4. PAYOFF  (final 15-20%)
Goal: close the loop the hook opened.
The result or proof:

5. CALL TO ACTION  (last 3-5 seconds)
Goal: one action, not three.
The one action:

Why five sections and not more

You do not need a new structure for every video. Short-form and long-form content that holds attention almost always moves through the same five beats, and once the shape is muscle memory, writing a script is filling in five blanks rather than facing a blank page.

Hook grabs attention in the first second. Setup gives the viewer the context they need to care. Value delivers the substance you promised. Payoff resolves the tension and rewards the viewer for staying. Call to action names the one next step.

The skeleton scales rather than changing. A 20-second TikTok and a 10-minute YouTube video both use it; the long-form version simply expands the value section into several sub-points. Learn it once and use it everywhere.

Filled in: a 30-second TikTok

Here is the same template with every blank answered, at short-form length. Notice how short the sentences are - that is deliberate, not a stylistic accident.

1. HOOK
> Your first three seconds are costing you 60% of your views.

2. SETUP
Who it is for: creators posting short-form who get views but no watch time.
The problem: the hook names the topic instead of creating a reason to stay.

3. VALUE
Point 1: Do not introduce yourself first.
  Example: "Hey guys, welcome back" is three seconds of nothing.
Point 2: Open on the outcome, not the process.
  Example: "I cut my edit time in half" beats "today I'll show you my workflow."
Point 3: Make the first line a complete thought.
  Example: A half-sentence that needs the next one to make sense loses people.

4. PAYOFF
The result or proof: Same video, new first line - 42% average watch time, up from 19%.

5. CALL TO ACTION
The one action: Follow for the rest of the retention breakdown.

Filled in: a long-form YouTube video

The same five sections, expanded. The only structural difference is that the value section carries more points and each one gets room to breathe.

1. HOOK
> I tested every AI script tool for a month. Most of them are the same tool.

2. SETUP
Who it is for: creators deciding which script tool to actually pay for.
The problem: every review is an affiliate list, so nobody says which ones overlap.

3. VALUE
Point 1: Three of the five run on the same underlying model.
  Example: Identical output for identical prompts, down to the sentence breaks.
Point 2: The differentiator is the brief, not the model.
  Example: Tools that ask for your audience first produced usable first drafts.
Point 3: Every one of them writes a weak hook.
  Example: All five opened with a definition. None opened with a claim.

4. PAYOFF
The result or proof: One tool was worth paying for, for one reason - it kept my
voice across a batch. The rest needed a rewrite pass that cost more time than
writing from scratch.

5. CALL TO ACTION
The one action: The full scoring sheet is linked below.

Which format to download

All four downloads above hold the same template, so pick by where you write rather than by content.

Word (.docx) is the one to take if you fill scripts in on a laptop or hand them to someone else to shoot - it opens in Word, Pages, LibreOffice and Google Docs. PDF is for printing or reading on a phone on set, since it will not reflow. Markdown suits anyone drafting in Notion, Obsidian, or a code editor. Plain text is the one to paste into a teleprompter app, which usually strips formatting anyway.

• Word (.docx) - laptop writing, or handing the script to a shooter
• PDF - printing, or reading on set without reflow
• Markdown (.md) - Notion, Obsidian, or any editor
• Plain text (.txt) - teleprompter apps, which strip formatting

Rules that keep it watchable

The template gives you structure. A few writing rules keep the filled-in version from dragging, and they come from watching where viewers actually drop off.

Keep sentences short - about twelve words is a sensible ceiling, because anything longer is hard to say in one breath and harder to follow. Write plainly on purpose; simple phrasing is not dumbing down, it is what survives being heard once, at speed, on a phone speaker, with no rewind.

Then read the whole thing out loud before you film it. Written-clever reads badly on camera, and this is the step that catches it. Anything you stumble over, rewrite.

• Keep sentences under about twelve words
• Cut every sentence that does not earn its place
• Front-load the payoff of each point, then explain it
• Read it out loud before filming - stumbles mean rewrites
• One call to action, at the end, stated plainly