Most YouTube planning advice stops at the script. That is the easy half. The half that actually decides whether the video works is the bit nobody writes about: knowing what you need to film before you start filming it.
- 01
Write the promise first
One sentence: what does the viewer get by the end? Everything in the video either serves that or gets cut. If you cannot write the sentence, the video is not ready to film.
- 02
Structure it in beats, not a script
Hook, context, the main content in three or four sections, payoff, call to action. Beats survive contact with a camera; word-for-word scripts make you sound like you are reading, because you are.
- 03
Turn each beat into shots
For each beat, ask what the viewer needs to see. That is your shot list. A ten-minute video usually comes out at 30–50 shots once you include B-roll.
- 04
Plan the B-roll explicitly
Go through the list and mark every point where you will cut. Each one needs something to cut to. This is the single step that separates videos that edit smoothly from videos that fight you.
- 05
Reorder for filming
Group everything by location, setup and light. You will film the outro before the intro and the B-roll in a block. That is correct — it saves hours.
- 06
Film the hook last
You will know what the video actually became. The hook you write beforehand is almost always worse than the one you write after.
- 07
Check the list before you break down
Two minutes. Every time. It is the whole reason you made a list.
How long planning should take
| Video type | Planning time | Shots to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Talking head, one location | 15–20 min | 10–20 |
| Tutorial or how-to | 30–40 min | 30–50 |
| Vlog or day-in-the-life | 20 min | 40–60 |
| Multi-location or documentary style | 1–2 hours | 50–100 |