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The length of each script is 1500-2500 words, including live embeds.
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BASIC RULES OF STORYTELLING
CATCHY BEGINNING
Your story should start with action + emotion. Immerse your readers/viewers into a specific situation, e.g. transfer them to the crime scene.
Example of a good catchy beginning:
Mortally frightened, Tracy Edwards was running the night streets of Milwaukee. He’d just escaped the clutches of a murderous weirdo who threatened to eat his heart. His left hand was still handcuffed. He saw a police car and rushed to it.
Officers Robert Rauth and Rolf Mueller listened to Tracy's story and shook their heads. It was so shocking, gruesome, and bizarre it sounded more like a fabrication of a deranged mind. And this is what the man had to go through:
Example of a weak beginning, not very catchy:
Maria del Carmen was tired. So many chores! And no one to help the lonely old lady!.. She shuffled to the door and saw a smiling face in the peephole. A nurse was offering free massage as part of a social program. Well, what do you know! Someone finally came to aid old Maria. She gladly let the nurse in. ‘I’ll make you a cup of tea, my dear! I also got some cookies…’ the granny said and turned away to search her cupboards. Instantly, the nurse’s face changed, and she charged at the hospitable lady.
Soon, Maria del Carmen was found dead – strangled with a stethoscope.
Weak beginning reworked:
Maria del Carmen was found dead – strangled with a stethoscope. Just a few minutes before death, she hosted a guest at her home. She opened the door by herself, she wasn’t trying to escape. It must have been someone she never met before, but that person managed to gain this little old lady’s trust at the first sight.
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Action always come first |
Our videos with best and worst intros:
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A good catchy beginning always leads us to the story's main question: Who is the murderer? What happened there? Will justice prevail? |
BODY OF THE STORY
The story should be told in an investigative manner. Engage the viewers to participate in the parallel investigation. Here are some simple steps on how to do it:
Examine the crime scene, collect the evidence
Tell more about the victim: who was this person? What did they do in everyday life? What do friends and relatives say about their habits (but avoid quotes one after another)? Did they have any enemies? Where could they meet the murderer?
Name the suspect, tell more about this person
Reconstruct the events before the crime
Example of a good story structure - our own story:
Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fyA_yJ4gY6SDwUY4pdUI_oE8_HAkAa3R/edit#heading=h.eo4b10hu1gez
The crime itself: what happened. A man won the lottery and then disappeared. Where has he gone? What happened? Let's figure it out
Prerequisites of disappearance. Who is our protagonist, how did he win this lottery; what did he do with money and how a bunch of people who were greedy for his money appeared in his life
Moment of disappearance: relatives/friends lost contact with him, and he stopped appearing in public.
A significant detail hints at what happened to him: the relatives started getting letters from him. But he is illiterate. So who is writing these letters?
And here we enter the antagonist. We find out that the lottery winner was swindled by a woman. At first, she went to a conference in a wheelchair and pretended to be a writer. But actually, she wanted to get access to his finances.
The antagonist’s background: who is she, and how did she become the criminal?
Her arrest/ interrogation, interesting details
The conclusion with a positive/meaningful aspect of this story: now you can be more careful.
Example of a good story structure - competitors' video:
Competitors' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHqQHPK9GJE
The crime itself: what happened. The girl got killed simply for being goth. Really? Let’s find out more details about the case.
Enter the protagonists/victims.
Details of the crime which are already known to the police: the girl and a guy were beaten and is in the hospital.
The investigation starts, we are collecting the evidence.
The main suspects: who are they, and why do we suspect them?
New angle, the trigger for investigation: girl dies in the hospital.
Arrest/ interrogation, interesting details (why did they do it, what came to light)
Conclusion with
The conclusion with a positive/meaningful aspect of this story: the guy survived.
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To turn the narration into a more “humanine“, bloggers-like manner, use emotional phrases in a non-formal style. Examples:
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CALL TO ACTION:
Every script should end with the CTA.
Examples:
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Thanks for watching this video. Stay safe, and see you!
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Thank you for watching the video; and see you next time on Call It Crime!
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