Every single movie - be it a full-scale feature film or a 5-minute explainer video - starts with a basic script. It can be a single idea, a line of thought, or a 350 page manuscript. What matters is that you begin with a script. While most people can put together a basic storyline, getting an actual working script requires skill, training and experience.
You may have the best in terms of equipments and technicians, performers and directors, but a bad script will pull them all down. Here are a few reasons why it makes sense to hire a professional scriptwriter to pen your videos.
You are unlikely to have the experience
Unless you are a writer yourself, or have had some sort of formal training in the art, it is unlikely that you have the required skill. Script writing is a lot more than just coming up with a story and putting scenes together. It is a specific way of doing it. You may be a good story teller, but a good story teller or writer does not a scriptwriter make. Your script is going to carry the entire video, it is literally as important as the other technical aspects of shooting, so you definitely need a professional. The entire team working on the project come together at the script. Think of it like this- the camera operator, the lighting crew, the actors, the extras, and the director all come together to refer the script for everything. It is the point of reference for everything related to the project. A well written script will flow easily between these various teams and bring them together, making them work fluidly.
The point of view is different
The major difference between a story writer and a script writer is that the story writer writes in a way that makes it easy for the reader to understand and create a mental picture of what's happening. It is written from a purely mental perspective. When you read a story, you picture it in your head, that's the way it is meant to be. The scriptwriter, on the other hand, writes for performance and direction. The performers and directors read the script ad understand how they can bring the written page to life through them. The script gives the actors a direction to take, it is highly specific. At the same time, the script also points the director toward the goal of every scene. If you have ever seen an actor practice or rehearse, they are reading the lines out loud, that's what a script does, makes it easy to perform.
The gist of it all
A scriptwriter's job is to take a story and make it filmable. So if you have a concept in mind for a campaign video or a sizzle, it may be a long winding story of how the product came to the minds of your team and how you finally brought it to the market. The story you have in mind may be a filled with information and when on paper, makes for quite an interesting read, but for the most part, a story like that is hard to put to film and make it work smoothly. You need a scriptwriter to make it crisp and pointed. The scriptwriter is to the story what an editor is to footage. They write for direction, as mentioned, so they can go about removing redundancies. A picture is worth a thousand words, and they create pictures with words.
They write stories
If you don't have a story, just a concept related to the product or service, you can make a power point. For a video presentation, you need a story and scriptwriters have the ability to see a story in pretty much anything. Their minds are wired to tell stories in every situation, so if you want to bring more than just information and data out on the screen, you need a scriptwriter.
The rules of grammar and communication do not have to be the same
Most communication done between people is non verbal, but in a story, it has to be put down with detailed accuracy. A script needs to convey communication, so it may not be perfectly grammatical. In fact, most scripts are informal and filled with instances of colloquial speech than perfect and concise language. While it is good to have a perfect, grammatically accurate piece of writing, it can also be quite dull. So there is a need for balance and a scriptwriter can do just that. Make no mistake, not anyone can pick up a pen and write flawless dialogue that is both interesting and makes sense in a way that moves the story forward.
They look at things from the outside
There are a number of things that you will want to capture in your video. You may even have a written list of things that need to be mentioned. A scriptwriter will take all those industry specific specs, technical aspects, complex jargon, and make it English. If you want to reach a wide audience, you need to have an outsider's eyes on your story. Who better to do it than a scriptwriter?
By now you might have realized that the job of a scriptwriter is a lot more specialized than imagined or even projected. So along with your professional videographer and editor, also get a real scriptwriter to helm your project.
