a script template for short video.

the difference between a reel that holds and one that loses people in three seconds is almost never the camera. it is structure. here is the four-part skeleton our editors script against before anyone hits record.

— 01hook (0–2 seconds)

state the promise or the tension immediately. "here's why your reels get no views" or "i tested this for 30 days." no intros, no logos, no warm-up. the hook earns the next five seconds.

the claim, the problem or the surprising thing — no greeting, no logo, no explanation of what is about to be explained.

make it legible without audio. most viewers decide before any sound registers, so the on-screen text is doing the work.

and make the promise deliverable. an overpromising hook performs worse than a modest one because the drop-off happens two seconds later.

— 02context (2–8 seconds)

one quick line of why this matters or who it is for. just enough to make the payoff land — not a backstory. if context runs long, you lose them before the value arrives.

this is the section most scripts overrun. anything that could be cut without losing the payoff should be cut here first.

and name the audience explicitly if the topic is narrow. "if you run a café" loses the wrong viewers on purpose, which raises hold rate.

— 03payoff (the body)

deliver what the hook promised — the steps, the result, the reveal. keep it tight; cut every word that does not move it forward. this is the part people came for, so do not bury it.

so the edit matters more than the writing in this section. a well-written body cut loosely still loses people.

pace is what holds attention in this format, and hold rate is what drives distribution.

and end on the payoff rather than trailing off. a clip that finishes cleanly gets rewatched, and rewatches count twice.

— 04cta (last 2 seconds)

one clear next step: follow for more, save this, comment a word, check the link. one ask only — two asks is the same as none.

a second ask splits the decision, and a split decision resolves as nothing. the viewer who was going to save now hesitates between saving and clicking.

match the ask to the content. a piece that taught something should ask for a save; a piece that provoked should ask for a comment.

and put it after the value rather than instead of it. a cta on a clip that delivered nothing is the fastest way to lose a viewer permanently.

— 05how to test a script before shooting

read it aloud and time it. anything that takes longer to say than to read is too dense for the format.

and check the first sentence alone. if it does not make someone want the second one, nothing further in the script matters.

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