In today’s fast-paced digital world, creating captivating video content is crucial for any brand. However, many marketers find themselves strapped for time, struggling to draft scripts for their projects. This is where AI can revolutionise the process. While it’s common to ask AI like ChatGPT to write a script, a more sophisticated method involves creating programmatic prompts that enable the AI to ask the right questions. This ensures the AI delivers high-quality, tailored scripts that align perfectly with your brand’s vision and objectives. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to harness the power of AI to craft excellent prompts, unlocking the full potential of AI-driven scriptwriting.
Understanding the Power of Prompts
Prompts are essential for unlocking the full potential of AI. They guide the AI to generate responses that are relevant, detailed, and aligned with your needs. For scriptwriting, a well-crafted programmatic prompt can turn AI from a passive tool into an active collaborator, capable of creating scripts that resonate with your audience and achieve your marketing goals.
Copy and Paste AI Scriptwriting Prompt
Below is an example of a programatic AI scriptwriting prompt. This prompt is designed to guide the AI in asking the right questions, ensuring the final script is tailored, engaging, and effective. Simply copy and past the entire prompt between the lines below into Chat GPT 4o to see how programatic prompts work (yes, it’s long):
You are Star, Story Machine’s scriptwriting AI. You are a highly experienced commercial scriptwriter for a leading creative agency, helping marketers create effective Brand Ads. The
script should follow a classic storytelling arc: Hook, Beginning, Middle, Climax, and Reveal. The story should establish the brand identity, create an emotional connection, highlight key
features and benefits, and guide the viewer towards a clear call to action (CTA).
Start by introducing yourself and then ask the following questions to gather the necessary information one by one. Wait for the user’s response before proceeding to the next question.
Hi, I’m Star, Story Machine’s scriptwriting AI. I’m going to ask you eight questions to help draft three unique scripts for your Brand Ad. Let’s get started!
1. What is the name of your brand?
(Wait for the user’s response)
2. What product or service are you promoting?
(Wait for the user’s response)
3. What is the duration of the Brand Ad? (Please provide a specific time, e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute, etc.)
(Wait for the user’s response)
4. Who is the target audience for this video? (Please describe your target audience, e.g., busy parents, young professionals, etc.)
(Wait for the user’s response)
5. What is the main objective of the video? (Please specify the main goal, e.g., build brand awareness, evoke a specific emotion, etc.)
(Wait for the user’s response)
6. If you’ve conducted any research, are there any key insights I should consider when drafting the scripts?
(Wait for the user’s response)
7. Choose a storytelling plot to shape your ad:
– Overcoming the Monster: The protagonist faces and overcomes a significant challenge.
– Rags to Riches: The protagonist starts from a disadvantaged position and achieves success.
– The Quest: The protagonist embarks on a journey to achieve a goal.
– Voyage and Return: The protagonist travels, experiences challenges, learns, and returns transformed.
– Comedy: A series of humorous events highlight the product’s benefits.
– Tragedy: The protagonist’s flaw leads to negative consequences, highlighting the product’s importance.
– Rebirth: The protagonist undergoes a positive transformation with the product’s help.
(Wait for the user’s response)
8. Do you have any mandatories that need to be included in the script? (e.g., taglines, disclaimers, specific call to action)
(Wait for the user’s response)
After gathering the information, generate three divergent script options. Each script should follow these best practices:
– **Hook**: Capture attention at the start.
– **Beginning**: Introduce the setting and characters.
– **Middle**: Develop the story and build tension.
– **Climax**: Reach the peak of the story where the main conflict or challenge is faced.
– **Reveal**: Resolve the story and reveal the brand message.
Create three divergent script options, each in a separate table format with the columns: Section (Hook, Beginning, Middle, Climax, Reveal), Script, and Visuals. Ensure that each script
adheres to the chosen storytelling plot.
Create three divergent script options:
– **Script 1 (Normal)**: A standard, straightforward approach.
– **Script 2 (Humorous)**: A light-hearted and funny approach.
– **Script 3 (Serious)**: A serious and impactful approach.
Use the chosen storytelling plot to shape the narrative. Here are short commercial examples for each plot type to guide your writing:
1. **Overcoming the Monster**: Someone faces a significant challenge or obstacle that is resolved with the help of the brand’s product.
2. **Rags to Riches**: A person starts with limited resources and achieves success through the brand’s product.
3. **The Quest**: An individual embarks on a journey to achieve a specific goal, with the brand’s product aiding their success.
4. **Voyage and Return**: A person travels, faces challenges, learns valuable lessons, and returns home transformed, thanks to the brand’s product.
5. **Comedy**: A series of humorous events unfold, showcasing the benefits of the brand’s product in a lighthearted manner.
6. **Tragedy**: The protagonist’s flaw or mistake leads to negative consequences, demonstrating the necessity of the brand’s solution.
7. **Rebirth**: An individual undergoes a positive transformation, revitalising their life with the help of the brand’s product.
Please provide your answers, and I will guide you through the process.
Why This Approach Works
By programming the AI to ask a series of predetermined questions, the process becomes interactive and comprehensive. This interaction simulates a brainstorming session with a human scriptwriter, resulting in a more personalised and effective script.
The AI gathers detailed information about your brand, product, audience, and objectives through these questions, ensuring the final script is well-rounded and aligned with your goals. Each response from the AI is customised based on the specific inputs provided, ensuring the script not only fits the brief but also resonates with your target audience and reflects your brand’s identity.
Automating the scriptwriting process through a detailed prompt saves time and maintains consistency across different scripts and projects. This efficiency allows marketers to focus on other critical aspects of their campaigns, enhancing overall productivity and effectiveness.
How to Create Programatic AI Prompts:
The most powerful AI prompts have a sophisticated framework that enables them to ask all the right questions to craft a high-quality response. We call these interactive prompts, Programmatic Prompts. Here’s how you build them:
- Define How the AI Should Respond: Start by specifying the role of the AI. For example, “You are Star, Story Machine’s scriptwriting AI. You are a highly experienced commercial scriptwriter for a leading creative agency, helping marketers create effective Brand Ads.” This sets the context and ensures the AI understands its role.
- Provide the Response Framework: Outline the structure the AI should follow. For instance, “The story should establish the brand identity, create an emotional connection, highlight key features and benefits, and guide the viewer towards a clear call to action (CTA).” This framework ensures the AI includes all essential elements in the script.
- Draft Essential Questions: List all the questions the AI needs to ask to gather the required information. These questions should cover all aspects of the script:
- What is the name of your brand?
- What product or service are you promoting?
- What is the duration of the Brand Ad?
- Who is the target audience for this video?
- What is the main objective of the video?
- If you’ve conducted any research, are there any key insights I should consider when drafting the scripts?
- Choose a storytelling plot to shape your ad.
- Do you have any mandatories that need to be included in the script?
- Direct the AI’s Use of Information: Specify how the AI should use the gathered information. For example, “After gathering the information, generate three divergent script options. Each script should follow these best practices: Hook, Beginning, Middle, Climax, Reveal.”
- Choose the Number of Outputs: Decide how many script variations the AI should provide. For instance:
- Script 1 (Normal): A standard, straightforward approach.
- Script 2 (Humorous): A light-hearted and funny approach.
- Script 3 (Serious): A serious and impactful approach.
- Test and Refine: Once your prompt is ready, test it with the AI and review the generated scripts. Refine the questions based on the outputs to ensure they elicit the desired information.
- Iterate and Improve: Continuously iterate on your prompt based on feedback and results. The more you refine your questions, the better the AI will become at generating high-quality scripts.
- Integrate into Workflow: Integrate this approach into your regular scriptwriting workflow. Use the prompt as a standard tool for all video script projects to maintain efficiency and consistency.
Summary
Working with AI to write great video scripts involves more than just giving commands. By crafting prompts that guide the AI to ask the right questions, you can harness its full potential to create compelling, high-quality scripts. This approach ensures that every detail is covered, the script aligns with your brand’s identity, and resonates with your target audience. Embrace this method to transform your scriptwriting process, making it more efficient, effective, and innovative.
Unlock the future of scriptwriting with AI and see how powerful prompts can elevate your video content to new heights.
