Plan · Phase 1 of 5
Planning, Scripting & Ideas
Everything that happens before the camera turns on. Finding the idea, checking anyone wants it, and getting it onto paper in a shape you can actually film.
Category 1 of 16 in the creator glossary · 70 terms
A
AIDA formulaaka AIDA, attention interest desire actionA copywriting sequence, attention then interest then desire then action, borrowed for hooks and sponsor reads.Angleaka content angle, editorial angle, fresh angleThe specific way you approach a familiar subject so it feels new. One topic can carry dozens of different angles.Animaticaka animated storyboardA storyboard cut to time against scratch audio, so pacing can be judged before anything gets animated or shot.Audience researchaka viewer research, audience insightFinding out what your existing viewers want next, from their comments, their questions and the Audience tab, before committing to an idea.
B
Beat sheetaka beat outline, save the cat beat sheetAn ordered list of the beats a piece has to hit, written before the script so the structure gets solved first.Before-After-Bridgeaka BAB, before after bridgeA copy structure that names the situation now, paints the situation after, then presents the thing that gets you across.But-therefore ruleaka but therefore, and then vs but therefore, South Park ruleA story test: join every beat to the next with but or therefore. Beats that join with and then are only a list.
C
Call sheetaka callsheetA one-page brief telling everyone on a shoot where to be, when to be there and what to bring.Call to actionaka CTAAn explicit ask to the viewer to do one thing: subscribe, comment, click a link, join a list, buy something.Callbackaka call-back, running gagReturning to an earlier line, image or moment later in a video so that it pays off a second time.Challenge videoaka challengeA format built on attempting something under a stated constraint, with the constraint and the stake announced up front.Content curationaka curation, curated contentBuilding something from other people's material by choosing, ordering and framing it, where the value you add is the selection and the judgement.Content mixaka format mix, publishing mixThe planned balance of formats and topics across a run of videos, so a channel serves its regulars and reaches new viewers too.Content pipelineaka production pipeline, content flowThe fixed run of stages an idea passes through, from a captured note through to a published video, each stage a place work can sit.Creative briefaka content brief, video brief, research briefA short document that fixes the goal, audience, angle and must-hit points of a video before anyone starts making it.
F
Fact-checkingaka fact check, verification passVerifying every claim in a script before it is recorded, while changing a line still costs you nothing.Foreshadowingaka planting, seedingPlanting a detail early so a later moment pays off, and so viewers stay watching for something they know is coming.Framing deviceaka wrapper, frame narrativeA structure that wraps a whole video and gives loose material a shape the viewer can follow and anticipate.
G
Ghostwritingaka ghostwriter, hired scriptwriterPaying a writer to script videos that publish under the creator's name. Ordinary practice on scripted channels, rarely advertised.Greenlightaka green-light, greenlit, approve an ideaThe moment an idea is formally approved to leave the backlog and go into production.
H
I
Idea bankaka idea backlog, idea list, idea vault, idea dump listThe running store of captured video ideas a creator picks from, so choosing what to make next stops being a blank-page problem.Idea ceilingaka ceiling, topic ceiling, low ceiling ideaThe largest audience a video idea can realistically reach however well it is made, set by the topic rather than the execution.Idea validationaka validating a video idea, concept testing, testing an ideaChecking that an idea has an audience waiting for it before you spend a week of production time finding out.Ideationaka idea generation, content ideationThe deliberate stage of generating video ideas in quantity, held apart from the stage where you decide which one to make.Inciting incidentaka the triggerThe event that breaks the ordinary state of things and starts the story. Everything after it is consequence.Inspiration tabaka Inspiration, ideas for youA surface in YouTube Studio that suggests video ideas, along with hooks, outlines and titles, based on your own channel and audience.
L
Listicleaka list video, numbered list formatA format built as a numbered list of items, where the count itself is part of the promise made in the title.Location scoutingaka location scout, recce, scouting a locationVisiting a filming location in advance to check light, sound, access and permission before you commit a shoot day to it.Loglineaka log line, one-line pitchThe whole idea compressed into one sentence, used to test whether it holds up before you spend a week making it.
M
Mind mapaka mind mapping, idea mapA branching diagram used to open an idea out into its sub-topics before you commit to an outline or a script.Moodboardaka mood board, inspiration board, look bookA collage of reference images, frames and colours that fixes the intended look of a video before anyone picks up a camera.
N
O
P
Pilot episodeaka pilot, pilot video, test episodeA first instalment made deliberately as a test, to find out whether a format is worth committing a run of videos to.Pre-interviewaka pre-int, guest prep call, interview guideA short conversation with a guest before recording, run to find the story worth telling and the subjects to leave alone.Pre-productionaka prep, pre-pro, planning stageEverything done before the camera rolls: the idea, the research, the script, the shot list and the logistics.Problem-Agitate-Solveaka PAS, problem agitate solutionA three-beat copy structure: name the problem, make it hurt, then present the fix. Common in problem-led hooks and scripts.Production scheduleaka shooting schedule, shoot schedule, filming scheduleThe dated plan of what gets filmed when, in what order and with whom, for any shoot bigger than one person and a camera.Punch-upaka punching up, joke passA final pass over a locked script that only sharpens the jokes and the wording, with structure and running order left untouched.
R
Reverse engineeringaka reverse engineer a video, deconstructing a videoTaking a video that worked and walking backwards through its packaging, structure and choices to find what actually did the work.Rule of threeaka threes, tripleGrouping things in threes, a rhythm borrowed from writing and comedy where the third item lands the punch.
S
Scriptaka video script, the scriptThe written text a video gets built from, at any level of detail from a bullet outline to every spoken word.Script breakdownaka breakdown, breaking down the scriptGoing through a finished script and pulling out every shot, prop, location and graphic it will need before you film.Script lockaka locked script, locking the scriptThe point where a script stops changing so filming, graphics and edit prep can all proceed against one fixed target.Seasonal contentaka seasonality, holiday content, calendar contentIdeas timed to demand that arrives on the calendar every year, from gift guides and tax deadlines to exam revision.Semi-scriptedaka loosely scripted, part scriptedWriting the lines that have to land and improvising the rest around an outline. The middle ground between fully scripted and winging it.Series bibleaka show bible, format bible, channel bibleThe reference document that fixes a format's rules, tone and recurring elements so anyone can make an episode that fits.Shoot dayaka film day, filming dayA day set aside only for filming, usually covering several videos at once so the setup cost is paid once instead of five times.Shooting scriptaka production scriptThe script marked up for production, with shot descriptions, camera moves, locations, props and staging notes sat alongside the words.Shot listaka shotlist, b-roll listThe itemised list of every shot a video needs, written before the shoot so the edit never asks for footage nobody filmed.Signpostingaka signpost, telling them what's comingScript lines that tell the viewer where they are and what is coming next, so a long video stays easy to follow.Stakesaka raising the stakes, what's at stakeWhat stands to be won or lost in a video, put there so the viewer has a reason to care how it turns out.Story arcaka narrative arcThe shape of change across a video or a series: where things start, what shifts in the middle, and where they end up.Story beataka beat, script beatOne unit of movement in a script, the point at which something changes for the person watching.Story circleaka Dan Harmon story circle, eight-step story circleDan Harmon's eight-step narrative loop, a stripped-down hero's journey borrowed heavily by video essayists and vloggers.Storyboardaka storyboarding, boardsA sequence of rough sketches showing the planned shots in order, so the visuals get decided before you film.
T
Table readaka read-through, reading it aloudReading your script out loud before you film, so the lines that only work on paper get caught while they are still cheap to change.Talking pointsaka bullet script, bullets, beat notesA short list of prompts a presenter speaks from, holding the running order in place without fixing the actual words.Three-act structureaka 3-act structure, setup confrontation resolutionSetup, confrontation, resolution. The oldest story shape there is, and a workable spine for a long-form video.Treatmentaka video treatmentA prose description of how a video will actually play out, written before anyone starts scripting.Trendjackingaka trend jacking, trend hijacking, riding a trendBuilding a video around a live trend, format or news moment while attention is still on it, to borrow the demand it created.Two-column scriptaka AV script, A/V script, split-page scriptA script laid out with visuals down one column and audio down the other, so you read what is seen and heard together.
U
V
Video conceptaka concept, the conceptThe core proposition of a video, the thing that makes someone want to watch it, held separate from how you go on to make it.Video lengthaka video duration, runtime, how long should a video beThe runtime of a video, and the number creators most often work backwards from by picking a target before they have the idea.Voiceover scriptaka VO script, narration scriptA script written to be read over footage rather than performed to camera, so the words work with what the viewer is already seeing.
W
Word-for-word scriptaka full script, fully scripted, tight scriptA script written out sentence by sentence and delivered as written, so nothing on camera is improvised.Words per minuteaka WPM, speaking rate, script read timeSpeaking pace, used to turn a script's word count into an estimated runtime before you record a single line of it.Writers' roomaka writer's room, writing teamA team session where ideas and scripts get developed together, borrowed from television and now standard on larger channels.