See your scripts first, then write.

^{I don’t write my scripts until I can see them.}

^{What do I mean by that? Quite literally, I ‘see the scripts’ play out in my head. The setups, the shots, the angles, the dialogue, the movements, the timing, everything, and then I write what I see. We literally have brain-cinemas in our heads. So, use it.}

^{Why? Because words on a page are different than words read out loud or words visualised into pictures on a screen or in the human mind. Ever read a corporate e-mail out loud? Yeah. Once the words leave the page, what seemed normal and ‘professional’ all of a sudden sounds like Patrick Bateman.}

^{In the same sense that you should always read your radio scripts/dialogue out loud, you should visualise your scripts.}

^{And I mean, really visualise them. See everything.}

^{Here’s a 15 second Drumstick spot we just made.}

^{And here’s the script.}

^{We open on a Drumstick Vanilla ripping open, revealing the ice cream.}

^{Tight shot of a woman holding the Drumstick Vanilla. She’s looking at it eagerly.}

^{SFX: Off camera, we can hear a persistent noise. Like a continuous scratchy pouring sound. But we’re not sure what it is just yet.}

^{Mum: Drumstick Vanilla. Classic.}

^{Cutting wider, we reveal that she’s on the deck. We now also see Dad. He’s holding one of the kids in the air. They’re wearing a rashie and boardies. And pouring out of their boardies, is a long, continuous, everlasting mountain of sand.}

^{Dad: Bringing home half the beach in your boardies. Classic.}

^{The pouring sand stops.}

^{Dad (relieved) : Finally.}

^{Super overlays over the scene:
DRUMSTICK.
Classic.}

^{The sand starts pouring again.}

^{Dad: Nup.}

^{Here’s another.}

^{And the script.}

^{We open on a Drumstick Saucy ripping open, revealing the ice cream.}

^{Tight shot of a woman holding the Drumstick Saucy. She’s looking at it eagerly. In her other hand, she’s tapping on her phone.}

^{WOMAN: Drumstick Saucy. Classic.}

^{Cutting wider, we reveal she’s in the backyard on a summer’s day. To her right, her Dad is watering the garden. We hear a ‘beep-boop’ noise as Dad pulls his phone out.}

^{DAD: Texting your dad instead of your boyfriend. Classic.}

^{The young woman’s eyes widen and she freezes on the spot.}

^{Super overlays over the scene:
DRUMSTICK.
Classic.}

^{Dad drops the phone on the ground. He turns the hose around and sprays himself straight in the face.}

^{As you can see, not miles off the final product. Short, clean, and with enough room to have a little reprise at the end, even in a 15.}

^{Now what do I mean by really ‘seeing’ the script before writing it? I’ll try to provide an example.}

^{From years of reading scripts, here’s how they might often appear.}

^{We open on a woman sitting on a deck on a hot summer’s day. She’s holding a Drumstick Vanilla. She rips it open, revealing the ice cream.}

^{Mum: Drumstick Vanilla. Classic.}

^{We cut to reveal Dad and a young child. They’ve been to the beach and are wearing board shorts/bathers. Dad is holding the child in the air. Pouring out of the kid’s boardies, is a long, continuous, everlasting mountain of sand.}

^{Dad: Bringing home half the beach in your boardies. Classic.}

^{We cut back to Mum, she can’t believe how much sand is coming out the kid’s boardies.}

^{Cut back to Dad. The sand finally stops.}

^{Dad (relieved) : Finally.}

^{Super overlays over the scene:
DRUMSTICK.
Classic.}

^{Now, I’m being generous here in terms of how economical even this script is, but I wanted to make a few small, simple points that can have huge effects on your scriptwriting. At face value, you might not see much of a difference, but let me demonstrate.}

^{We open on a woman sitting on a deck on a hot summer’s day. She’s holding a Drumstick Vanilla. She rips it open, revealing the ice cream.
(We don’t though. We don’t see all of this. If we’re opening on a shot focusing on the product - then focus on the product. We don’t see the woman, or the deck, or the hot summer’s day in this frame. So keep it out of the script. Don’t write in descriptions of things that aren’t going to actually be on screen in this shot. The detail of the sand pouring off screen is also lost, because the writer hasn’t watched the ad in their mind enough to conjure it.)}

^{Mum: Drumstick Vanilla. Classic.}

^{(If you want to introduce the deck and weather, do it here, where people will actually SEE this information.)}

^{We cut to reveal Dad and a young child. They’ve been to the beach and are wearing board shorts/bathers. Dad is holding the child in the air. Pouring out of the kid’s boardies, is a long, continuous, everlasting mountain of sand.}

^{(This reveal is hugely important. If you’ve really played this shot out in your mind, you should write it as people would see it. Dad is holding a kid in the air. This piece of information should come first. The fact they’ve been to the beach is secondary. If the first thing you want people to clock in the reveal is Dad holding the kid - write it that way. We also verbalise the beach in the dialogue, so you don’t need to mention it elsewhere.)}

^{Dad: Bringing home half the beach in your boardies. Classic.}

^{We cut back to Mum, she can’t believe how much sand is coming out the kid’s boardies.}

^{(Don’t need this shot. Cut, cut, cut, cut. Less is more. In a 15 second ad, you want to contain your scenes as much as possible. If we stay on the wider shot, we can still capture Mum’s reaction, whilst holding on the sand pouring shot - which is not only more economical, but funnier.)}

^{Cut back to Dad. The sand finally stops.}

^{Dad (relieved) : Finally.}

^{Super overlays over the scene:
DRUMSTICK.
Classic.}

^{(Because of the extra cut, you’ve lost the chance for a reprise. The more economical you can be with your framing, dialogue, and product, the more room you have to be dumb and funny - which, let’s be honest, is what we all want.)}

This is what I mean by really ‘seeing’ your scripts before you write them. I’m not sure if this is helpful or not, but it’s just how my brain works and how I write scripts. I see the ad unfold in my brain, shot by shot, piece by piece, and then I write only what needs to be written to craft the scene. If I can’t see something in the frame then I don’t write it down until it’s relevant.

I feel like a lot of writers have an idea of how a script might play out and then they write it down and present it. But they haven’t actually ‘seen’ the script visualised as a piece of film in their minds. So the script is often too long, with too many set ups/shots, and filled with unnecessary or ill-timed details.

Use your brain-cinema aka imagination. Watch the ad in your head, and then write what you see and want others to see.

This is as much a part of the craft as anything else.

^{Writing tip #1} 

^{DON’T CHAIN YOURSELF TO A WHEEL}

^{Writing tip #2} 

^{READ YOUR SHIT OUT LOUD}

^{Writing tip #3} 

^{WRITERS DON’T NEED TO READ} 

^{Writing tip #4} 

^{MANIFESTOS MAKE MILLIONS} 

^{Writing tip #5} 

^{STRAIGHT HEADLINE, TWISTED VISUAL ISN’T JUST FOR PRINT}

^{Writing tip #6}

^{PUT SOME ORDER AROUND YOUR CHAOS}

^{Writing tip #7}

^{BECOME THE BEST PRESENTER IN THE AGENCY}

^{Writing tip #8}

^{CRAFT YOUR SCRIPTS AS YOU WOULD SHARPEN A BLADE}

^{Writing tip #9}

^{CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC?}

^{Writing tip #10}

^{15 SECONDS IS STILL 15 SECONDS}

^{Writing tip #11}

^{NEVER BE CONTENT}

^{Writing tip #12}

^{THINK THE OPPOSITE}