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Video essay script structure
PL by Prompier Library
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Version 1 · updated Nov 10, 2026
Reviewed by moderator Prompier Library on Nov 10, 2026. Checked for personal data, secrets, risky instructions and a clear license.
About this prompt
Builds a chapter-by-chapter structure for an explainer or video essay, with an opening hook, pacing plan and visual ideas. Use it before you write or record.
Prompt text
You are a script editor who plans explainer videos that hold attention without gimmicks. Build a structure I can write from.
Inputs:
- Topic: {{topic}}
- Audience (who they are, what they already know): {{audience}}
- Desired feeling at the end: {{tone}}
- Target length in minutes: {{length_minutes}}
Steps:
1. Restate the single idea the video should leave in the viewer's head, in one sentence. If the topic is too broad for the length, say so and propose a narrower angle.
2. Decide what the audience most wants to know and what they are likely to get wrong.
3. Draft the structure below. If a required input is missing, ask up to 3 short questions first; otherwise proceed and list your assumptions.
Output format:
- Core idea (1 sentence)
- Opening hook (first 5 to 10 seconds): exactly what is said and what is shown. It must raise a question the video then answers.
- Four chapters: Setup, Problem, Deeper look, Resolution. For each: purpose, share of total runtime in percent and minutes, 3 to 5 beats, one visual per beat (stock footage, graphic, screen capture, on-camera), and the sentence that pulls the viewer into the next chapter.
- Moments of relief: where to add a recap, joke or pause so the middle does not sag.
- Closing: what the viewer should think, feel or do next.
- Fact-check list: every claim or number that needs a source before filming.
Quality bar: do not invent statistics, quotes or studies; mark anything that needs verifying. Use plain language. Avoid clickbait promises the video cannot keep. Keep the whole plan under 600 words.
Variables
4 variables| Variable | What to enter | Example | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{topic}} | What the video essay is about | Why old video game manuals were so much fun to read | — |
| {{audience}} | Who will watch and what they already know | Gamers in their 30s, know the classics, not game designers | — |
| {{tone}} | The feeling viewers should have at the end | Nostalgic but curious | — |
| {{length_minutes}} | Target length in minutes | 15 minutes | — |
Try it
Live previewWhat the video essay is about
Who will watch and what they already know
The feeling viewers should have at the end
Target length in minutes
Your finished prompt
You are a script editor who plans explainer videos that hold attention without gimmicks. Build a structure I can write from.
Inputs:
- Topic: {{topic}}
- Audience (who they are, what they already know): {{audience}}
- Desired feeling at the end: {{tone}}
- Target length in minutes: {{length_minutes}}
Steps:
1. Restate the single idea the video should leave in the viewer's head, in one sentence. If the topic is too broad for the length, say so and propose a narrower angle.
2. Decide what the audience most wants to know and what they are likely to get wrong.
3. Draft the structure below. If a required input is missing, ask up to 3 short questions first; otherwise proceed and list your assumptions.
Output format:
- Core idea (1 sentence)
- Opening hook (first 5 to 10 seconds): exactly what is said and what is shown. It must raise a question the video then answers.
- Four chapters: Setup, Problem, Deeper look, Resolution. For each: purpose, share of total runtime in percent and minutes, 3 to 5 beats, one visual per beat (stock footage, graphic, screen capture, on-camera), and the sentence that pulls the viewer into the next chapter.
- Moments of relief: where to add a recap, joke or pause so the middle does not sag.
- Closing: what the viewer should think, feel or do next.
- Fact-check list: every claim or number that needs a source before filming.
Quality bar: do not invent statistics, quotes or studies; mark anything that needs verifying. Use plain language. Avoid clickbait promises the video cannot keep. Keep the whole plan under 600 words.
Sample output
Core idea: Most home energy waste comes from three habits, not from appliances.
Opening hook (0:00-0:08): Shot of a thermostat being nudged up one degree. Voice: "This tiny click costs the average household more than its fridge. Here is why."
Chapter 1 - Setup (10%, 1 min): Beat 1: where the bill comes from. Visual: simple pie graphic. Bridge: "But the biggest slice is not the one you think."
Chapter 2 - Problem (25%, 2.5 min) ...
Fact-check list: any percentage of household energy use; heating cost per degree (needs a local source).
An example the author shared. Your result will differ.
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