1.3 | Two-Column Script
Key Terms
- Shot List
- A detailed, ordered list of every shot needed to complete a video, noting subject, framing, and location. A production roadmap so nothing gets missed on shoot day.
- Scriptwriting
- The process of writing what will be said and shown in a video, often organized in a two-column format that separates visuals from audio/narration.
- Storyboarding
- Sketching a video’s key shots in sequence, panel by panel, to visually plan composition, camera movement, and story flow before filming begins.
- Edit List
- A written plan noting which clips go where, and in what order, in the finished edit. A bridge between raw footage and the finished sequence in the editing software.
- Transcript
- A written, word-for-word record of everything spoken in a video’s audio. Used for captioning, translation, and reviewing dialogue before editing.
For this lesson, you’ll draft a two-column script to plan your explainer video shoot. One column for what’s on screen, one column for what’s heard.
Part 1 | Guided Notes: Preproduction Paperwork (~12 min)
Complete the handout, three hole punch it, and keep it in your class binder.
⬇ Download Worksheet (PDF)Reference your Design Brief from 1.2. Which of its criteria and constraints does your script need to satisfy?
Part 2 | Two-Column Script Draft (~48 min)
Make a copy of the Two-Column Script Template (Google Docs) and draft your script directly in it.
- Draft (~40 min): row by row, write what’s happening on screen (Video) and what’s being said or heard (Audio) at the same time. Your first row should be your intro, and your last row should be your outro: both are required by your Design Brief’s criteria.
- Partner read-through (~8 min): trade scripts with a neighbor (share the doc, or swap screens). They read your Audio column aloud while you follow along on the Video column. Does everything you planned to show still make sense with what’s being said?
Wrap-Up (~8 min)
What almost got missed in your script until your partner’s read-through caught it?
🗂 Organize: Put your guided notes and your two-column script draft in your binder.
📤 Exit Ticket: Emoji Meter. On a scrap of paper, draw ONE face that matches how confident you feel about today’s skill: 🙁 (not yet), 😐 (getting there), or 🙂 (got it). Then explain why in at least 3 sentences (aim for 5), connecting your answer to something specific from today, not just a general feeling.
Stuck on how to start? Try: “I drew ___ because ___. Specifically, when I tried to ___, I ___. Next time I want to ___.”