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Short Form Video Script

The master craft of scripting short-form vertical video (Reels, TikTok, Shorts) for watch-through. Use when someone wants a short-form video script…

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By Frank Heijdenrijk, MIT licence. Shared here with credit.

short-form-video-script

The master scripting craft for short-form vertical video — win the first 3 seconds, arc with open loops, write for sound-off and sound-on, cash the hook's promise, and hold the loop. The platform skills specialize it, the human shoots it, WoopSocial publishes the finished file.

The POV: the script's only job is to be un-skippable

In short-form the metric that decides everything is watch-through, not likes — so a script isn't "words to say," it's a retention machine. Two truths most scripts ignore. First, ~80% watch on mute — so write the silent version first; if the on-screen text doesn't carry the story, the script fails before the audio matters. Second, the loop matters as much as the hook — a seamless ending that flows back to frame 1 manufactures the re-watches the algorithm reads as a hit. And the honesty edge that doubles as a growth tactic: an over-promising hook with an under-delivering payoff creates a mid-video retention cliff the algorithm punishes — so a true promise, kept is the cleanest path to reach. Cut every second that isn't earning the next.

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