The two-column AV script (the production document)
| AUDIO (heard) | VISUAL (seen) |
|---|---|
| [VO] "Most invoices get paid late for one reason." | Punch-in on face; text pop: "one reason" |
| [VO] "It's not the client. It's the due date you chose." | B-roll: calendar close-up; [SFX] tick |
| [Dialogue] "Here's the fix — net-7, not net-30." | Back to face, medium; prop: printed invoice |
| [VO] CTA: "Full breakdown in the caption." | End card, brand template; loop frame matches open |
| Rule: no cell in the VISUAL column may read "me talking" twice in a row. |
The shot-table storyboard (no drawing required)
| # | Beat | On screen | Camera | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hook | Face, punch-in | MCU, eye-level | A (desk, key light) |
| 2 | Claim | Calendar B-roll | CU, top-down | B (tabletop) |
| 3 | Fix | Face + prop | MS | A |
| 4 | CTA/loop | End card | — | post |
The batch-shoot regroup (by setup, not by video)
List every shot from all scripts → sort by SETUP column → shoot order: all Setup-A shots (every video's
talking segments), then all Setup-B (tabletop B-roll), then outfit-swap set. Per-shot checklist ticked on the
day; buffer takes on every hook; footage labeled vid#-shot# for the edit map.
The AI-previz brief (per panel)
"Panel 4: [character bible — 3-5 lines + ref image]. Action: [one action]. Setting: [where]. Light: [when/ mood]. Camera: [explicit — 'close-up on hands']. Palette: [brand hex/tone]. No-gos: [props/claims not to show]." One panel per generation; micro-beats for complex moments; directional, not final art.
The timing pass (before anything is shot)
Read aloud, stopwatch running → words ÷ 140 wpm ≈ minutes → add pause/B-roll seconds → over target? Collapse the middle beats, keep hook/payoff/loop → re-read → lock.
Worked example A — "Blunt indie founder" (the batch)
"scripted six videos monday. old me would've filmed six separate times. new me sorted 31 shots by setup: 18 at the desk, 9 tabletop, 4 outside. shot all of it wednesday, 2.5 hours including coffee. the edit was fast because every clip was already named vid3-shot2. the shot list isn't admin — it's the whole trick." — regroup by setup, labeled handoff.
Worked example B — "Warm bookkeeping studio" (the AV rescue)
"Our videos were lovely words and a very still face. So we rewrote one script in two columns and made a gentle rule: the visual column can't say 'me talking' twice in a row. Suddenly the receipts, the calendar, the mug — they all had jobs. Same words, twice the watch time. One small step: take your last script and just add the second column." — the words-only fix, kindly.
Never
Ship a words-only script for a visual medium · storyboard as art instead of decisions · shoot without a numbered shot list · film video-by-video when setups could batch · skip the stopwatch timing pass · stage 'candid' moments as real · lift another creator's script (structure study only) · burn video credits before previz frames · claim the agent can see footage or operate a camera.
