CMS 4610: Video Script

Streaming video genres

YouTube houses many, many different types of videos. In this class we focus on a genre favored by capital “C” Creators: short videos made by independent producers who include themselves as a central character.

This is the genre of videos you should study for the “Video Inspiration” discussion, and the video you create for class should include you as a central character (either through voice-over or your on-screen presence).

The video’s topic can be many things. In the past, students have done cooking, gaming, and other how-to videos, fashion and hair-care tutorials, movie reviews, political statements, etc.

Assignment

To complete this assignment, write and submit a copy of the narration for your YouTube episode. The episode should be between three to five minutes long.

The narration is simply the text that you will deliver to the camera, with (optional) notes about any visuals or graphics that will appear while you are speaking particular lines. Note that it usually takes about two minutes to deliver one double-spaced, typed page. Your script for the video, therefore, should be 1.5 to 2.5 pages long.

Note also that you should not read the printed document while you are on camera! Instead, you should memorize the text. Your  on-camera delivery doesn’t have to be word-for-word from the narration, but it should be fluid and coherent.

Example Script

People have asked for an example, so I have posted here the first draft for an episode called Some thoughts on charisma in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

For your assignment this semester, remember three important points about this example:

  1. My choice of topic is not meant to limit yours. Your video can be about anything that interests you and that you think would interest an audience. (Of course, like everything else in our class, your video should not exceed an MPAA “R” rating.)
  2. This is just a first draft, and it doesn’t yet include my notes about what will appear on screen at various points.
  3. My draft includes still images and clips from a video game, but nothing has to appear on screen in your episode, other than you.

Submission Requirements and Grading

I will use the Writing Criteria to evaluate your script. In addition, to earn full points:

  1. Draft your script using Microsoft Word or any other word processor that generates .doc, .docx, or .rtf files.
  2. Name your file “YourLastName Video Script.”
  3. Don’t include your name in the document. Instead, on the first page, include my name, “Social Media” and the date at the top of the page, in keeping with MLA standards.
  4. Upload the file to the “YouTube Video” drop box by 11:59 p.m. on the date listed in our Schedule.