Every so often, I’ll write a script for a short life insurance video because here in marketing, we’re big on wishing we had more videos. (No, we’re not that big on actually shooting and editing the videos, not yet.)
Alas, every script I have written to date has been put on ice—with one exception. Yes, one script was actually approved, but when it came time to shoot the video, alas, the script was disregarded entirely. That wasn’t such a hard blow because it’s death came in stages, being drastically rewritten after it left my hands.
Anyway, in the spirit of never learning from experience, here’s a script for a short advert, such as might be placed on youtube, hulu, or even network television:
[Camera pans over lovely suburban setting. The environs appear to be a conglomeration of residential and commerical zoning. A nasal-voiced, Englishman narrates, rather after the fashion of a nature documentary.]
NARRATOR
In the great suburban outback of America, survival is a delicate enterprise—
[Cut to traffic flowing in two directions across an intersection.]
NARRATOR
—particularly for the working class males.
[Pan to the driver's door of a beat up minivan. A marketing writer leans out the window, looking back to rear of vehicle. He flashes a thumbs up to an offcamera cohort.]
[Camera pans some distance rear of the minivan, where a marketing intern stands atop a pair of waterskis (whose fins have been removed). He grips a ski rope in one hand and returns the thumbs-up with the other.]
[Cut to traffic light, which turns green. Sound of motor revving.]
[Cut to wide shot of minivan pulling intern down a hill. Minivan rushes past camera. Camera pans to follow. Minivan hits a stationary object. Intern hits the back of the van.]
[Cut to marketing writer, hosing off the back of the van.]
NARRATOR
…And the circle of life is complete.
[A normal, commerical-sounding (American) narrator speaks.]
NARRATOR 2
Think insurance is something that other people need? What’s to stop them driving through your neighbourhood?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ha! Love it and I would love to see it on TV too.
Awesome! Now we need to hire ANOTHER intern to play my part when the whole “hit the back of the van” thing comes around.
hhhmmm….not dumb enough for American viewers….you need to dumb it down 3 notches and THEEEENNNNN….it might be funny enough for America to laugh at.
I recently learned that if you submit a script in Hollywood it must be written in Courier New. If it’s written in any other font, they consider it too unreadable and will toss it in the trash (not the recycling bin). I find that totally bizarre since I find Courier New almost impossible to read.