Many successful videographers carefully plan their projects before filming. Writing a script can help you organize your video prior to filming, avoid time-wasting digressions, and select appropriate language for this medium. In a new video tutorial, I discuss the difference between writing text meant to be read and that meant to be spoken and provide a series of suggestions for preparing a script for a video.
By the way, many of the tips I cover in this tutorial apply to preparation of material for podcasts and oral presentations at conferences.
I recently launched a new YouTube channel focused on scientific writing. Although I’ve written several essays about writing (How I Wrote My Best Scientific Paper, How to Write a Scientific Abstract), I knew that a lot of people dislike reading long articles. More and more people, especially students, like to get their information by watching brief videos. So, I decided to begin sharing what I’ve learned about writing over a forty-year career in a series of videos.
I’ve been making video tutorials about science videography for six years now. So, using video to share insights about writing was a no brainer. The only question was: What video format would work best for this particular topic? I decided to try something simple and that would make it easy to cover a lot of material on camera.
I used my computer camera and an external microphone to record these videos. I had my script or list of main points on my computer screen where I could easily see them. The trick is to deliver the material in a natural speaking voice and avoid the shifty-eye syndrome. That’s easier said than done. But I thought I would try it for a while and then in a future post offer some insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Here are a couple of the writing videos I’ve posted:
