Part 2 - Format Focus
In this part I’m going to give you the exact format for your videos to get started.
We’re not going to waste time on multiple formats - I don’t want to give you an excuse not to get started! Instead we’ll stay laser focused, get you started and then you can get all fancy.
Done is better than perfect.
Hopefully from the last Part you are now following quality short form video accounts on various social media platforms.
This should give you ideas about what sort of videos they put out.
Amongst the more professional / business related niches it’ll often be news or industry update related.
"Here’s the new AI model and why you should be interested for your business”.
“Sam Altman ousted from OpenAI - what does this mean for the industry?”
As an expert in your particular niche this is the sort of content I recommend you start with.
Why? Simply because we can use a technique called “news jacking” to rapidly get attention and grow our reach.
If something is already in the news or of interest you simply need to, as an expert, relay the information and give your take.
This works well because it’s already a topic of interest. There are likely lots of news pieces, blog articles, newsletter issues and social media posts about this topic already.
You are just using a powerful tool (short form video) to bring audiences this similar content in a more digestible format.
Think of it this way. People in your niche can keep up to date with what’s going on by reading articles, subscribing to newsletters or listening to podcasts. But this all takes time.
You are jumping in and providing a service by giving them the skinny.
You’re like the friend who has all the gossip and can condense it.
“Did you hear about Sam Altman getting kicked from OpenAI? No!? OK here’s what happened and why it’s important”.
I recommend you start with this news jacking format first. You can expand from here later once you become comfortable and get some traction.
But rather than me give you 10 formats to try out we’re going to keep it simple and start here.
Let’s look at how we produce a script:
Act as a scriptwriter.
Prepare a [15 second] video script that follows this structure.
Compelling hook to capture attention
Outline of the issue
Hot take
The video will consist of a talking head (me) and a background showing an article or similar news source.
No image / overlays are needed. Only the text script.
The source is as follows:
[copy/paste news source]For my example I'll give ChatGPT an article about the recent AI generated phone call replicating Joe Biden telling people not to vote in the upcoming US election.
Here’s the output once I feed in the article:
Seems short right?
This is a script for a 15 second video.
15 seconds is NOT a long time - you’ll see this when you start to record.
You can adjust the script to go longer if you want. For instance here is is at 30 seconds:
Not bad! The exact length will depend on i) your delivery and more importantly ii) what audiences respond to! We’ll get to this.
Test this prompt out on some news articles or updates in your particular niche to see the results.
Get a few ready as we’ll be shooting video soon.
Tone shift
The above prompt gives you some basic scripting but it sounds a little ”robotic”.
It may also not truthfully represent our thoughts and feelings.
We need to make sure that our script matches how we feel about the piece.
Otherwise our delivery is going to sound stilted and weird! We need coherence with how we speak!
Let’s adapt the prompt:
Act as a scriptwriter.
Prepare a [30 second] video script that follows this structure.
Compelling hook to capture attention
Outline of the issue
Hot take
The video will consist of a talking head (me) and a background showing an article or similar news source.
No image / overlays are needed. Only the text script.
My thoughts on this piece: [some thoughts]
The source is as follows:
[copy/paste news source]For example I’m very pro-AI. But with the case of AI Biden I understand that AI, as a tool, can be used for nefarious deeds.
I’d feed this “take” into the prompt like so:
Prepare a [30 second] video script that follows this structure.
Compelling hook to capture attention
Outline of the issue
Hot take
The video will consist of a talking head (me) and a background showing an article or similar news source.
No image / overlays are needed. Only the text script.
My thoughts on this piece: early dangerous use of AI when in the wrong hands, this year 2024 the ethical use of AI is going to be a hot topic especially connected to election, important that we equip the public with the capacity to tell what is AI and what is not, i'm not American myself but see this as a wider global issue
The source is as follows:
[copy/paste news source]This generates a more personalised output:
The more you add about your particular take on the subject the better.
As always ChatGPT does best with lots of context - so make sure to supply it alongside the basic prompt and the news article itself.
Pulling it together
We've now looked at how to generate a basic script for our short videos.
In the next Part I’ll show you how to set up a constant stream of content so that you never run out of things to talk about.
Here’s a reminder of what we’re covering this week:
Part 1:Small but deadly. Why short form content works.
Part 2:Format focus. What will we make videos about?
- Part 3: Content channels. How to get inspired for limitless ideas.
- Part 4: Rapid recording. How to create shorts easily and in volume.
- Part 5: Repurposing for fun and profit. Hitting multiple channels using short form.