Your Scriptwriting Partner

I just spent two weeks in France filming a new video about how to write scripts FASTER.

It was pretty fun, I guess 👀

But the biggest revelation I had while filming led to me tweaking my scriptwriting format in a small but powerful way.

Here’s a quick extract from the final script:

Today, I want to explain what’s going on with this format, and why I think you’ll find it incredibly useful when filming your next video.

The best way of explaining why this is so powerful is to break down the purpose of each column:

Column #1: Phase

• Easily label the “setup” phase, the “tension” phase, and the “payoff” phase.
• Setup and payoff phases should usually be 2-3 sentences max. See this article for some examples of setups and payoffs in action.
• Tension phases will usually be much longer… this is where you’re building to the payoff, so you want to keep viewers in suspense
• A brief glance at this column will indicate whether your phases are an appropriate length - e.g. Are my setups and payoffs taking too much time? Are my tension segments actually long enough… to create tension?!

Column #2: Script

• I’ve always been a fan of the “Spreadsheet” format. But while filming this video, I reformatted the script so every sentence had its own row.
• This meant I could be incredibly precise with editing direction and B-Roll notes specific to each moment:

• But do this after the script is written. As you can see below, I wrote multiple sentences per row in V1 to avoid breaking my writing flow:

Additionally, before shooting anything, I colour-coded the script.

• Voiceover = highlighted green
• A-Roll = highlighted yellow, then re-highlighted pink as I checked off filming each line.

Column #3: Notes

• For editing direction, B-Roll suggestions, and text.
• I used the same colour coding system as before, too. Once I filmed a piece of B-Roll, I'd highlight it pink.
• This made preparing to film way easier and kept me on top of which additional shots I still needed to film.
• You'll notice that, by the end, every single row included pink-highlighted text... which indicates I'd filmed either a piece of A-Roll or B-Roll for every single line.

Formatting your scripts like this is easy in either Notion or Google Sheets 💻

That's all for this week.

Speak soon,
George 👋

"What does a YouTube script actually cost?"

It's something I'm asked constantly - by writers trying to price themselves, and by YouTubers trying to hire.

I wrote this article showing the spread of what I've charged over the years...

...but today, I want to talk about some of the nuances.

A subscriber recently emailed me asking how pricing changes if:

1. The writer comes up with the idea, does all the research and writes the script.
2. The client (YouTuber) already has the idea and the research, so the writer only writes the script.

Check out this 9 min video where I answered these questions (and more) - all related to pricing and client-writer relationships 👇

Click To Watch

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Or, if you want the answers QUICKLY...

...here are all 5 questions from the video, and my answers summed up in a sentence:

Should the CLIENT provide the video's framing?

Ideally, yes - but even if they do, the best scriptwriters will assess the framing in relation to the channel's target audience, and challenge the client's choice of framing if necessary.

Do I (George), prefer it when the CLIENT provides the framing? And how does this affect the price?

It makes no difference because I'll think about the framing either way and incorporate this into my pricing.

How is pricing affected if the CLIENT provides the research vs the WRITER doing the research?

If trawling through a massive research pack (or doing a tonne of research) adds a non-trivial amount of extra time and effort to the writer's job (i.e. 4-8 hours), they should add ~50% to their pricing (in either case!)

What does it cost to pay a WRITER to ideate, research, and write a script?

Depends on experience (and the client's price sensitivity), but a fair range (from a Eurocentric economic perspective) is ~$200-$800... although on some bigger scripts, I've been paid as much as $1500, and friends of mine have charged $2000+ in some cases.

What does it cost to pay a WRITER to write a script (no research or ideation)?

Again, somewhere around the $200-$800 mark for a 10-15 minute video is usually reasonable for a writer with 0-2 years' experience.

Pleeeeeease note - take everything with a pinch of salt. Money is a funny topic, and the list of caveats to these opinions is as long as my arm! The more experience you get paying/charging, the easier it gets to figure out your "hell yeah" numbers.

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

To make scriptwriting faster…

1. Write hooks, setups and payoffs word-for-word (nothing else).
2. Increase or decrease the amount you script to make filming easier.
3. Use a simple hook formula (target, transformation, stakes // character, concept, stakes).
4. Write “Blob Scripts” to maintain momentum.
5. Templatize and reuse script segment structures.
6. Know your audience to prevent overthinking.
7. Set a timer so you have no excuses.

If you’re a busy bee, that’s all you need to know this week.

Or, read on for more detail…

Full Video Explainer (12 min)

I talk in detail about these strategies in a video I recently posted in my scriptwriting community:

Click To Watch

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If you prefer to read the info, here’s an expanded summary of all 7 points:

1/ Write hooks, setups and payoffs word-for-word (but nothing else).

• Don’t feel obligated to script every word. Do always write hooks, setups, and payoffs in full (and use bullet points for the rest).
• The hook is important for obvious reasons (more on writing these below).
• Plot your payoffs first… then it’s easy to write your setups.
• See 4 examples of setups and payoffs in action here.

2/ Increase or decrease the amount you script to make filming easier.

• “Fully scripted” or “totally unscripted” are not your only two options.
• Treat your script like a dial - if 90% riffing felt too hard, dial the scripting up.
• If it felt stilted or “not how you’d really say it”, dial the scripting down.
• More time scripting will save you time when filming and editing... but it's a balance. If spending 10 hours scripting saves you 1 hour when filming... is it worth it?

3/ Use a simple hook formula.

• Write the components of your hook first... and only then try to combine them into a hook.

4/ Write “Blob Scripts” to maintain momentum.

• Don’t get stuck searching for the perfect word.
• Write a "blob script" instead (and fix it later):

5/ Templatize and reuse script segment structures.

• Once you've structured your script's first segment, re-use that structure across the entire video.
• Simple example of how easy + effective this is here.

6/ Know your audience.

• The #1 source of analysis paralysis is not knowing who you're talking to in your script.
• So get to know your audience... what they like, what they want to achieve, and why they watch you.
• Now, you’re no longer second-guessing every sentence.

• You already signed up to my YouTube Scriptwriter's Compass email course, so you're ahead of the game here 👊

7/ Set a timer.

• Ideally, do this with a buddy.
• Look each other dead in the eye and promise... "I WILL have written a YouTube script when this timer runs out."
• I do 2-hour sessions (with a 5 min break in the middle), but do whatever suits you.

That's all for this week.

Next week, I'm opening up about pricing, and the nuances of how much to charge/pay in different scenarios.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋