ArchiveCut / Documentary script template, format and example
Documentary script template
A documentary script lines up narration with what is on screen. Start with the one question the film answers, plan about 130 words for each minute, and record the source of every fact as you write. Copy the template below, or download it as a text file.
The template
TITLE: [The film's name] QUESTION THE FILM ANSWERS: [One sentence. If you can't write it, the subject is still too wide.] LENGTH: [Minutes] minutes, about [minutes x 130] words of narration ## Opening [One concrete moment: a person, a place, a date. No summary of the whole film yet.] [Why this moment matters, and the question the film will answer.] ## How it began [What was happening before. Who wanted what.] [Source for each date, name and figure: write it beside the line until the facts are checked.] ## What happened [The events in order. One idea to a sentence. Short sentences read better aloud.] ## What it changed [The result, with a fact you can point to.] ## Closing [Return to the opening moment, or answer the question directly.] PICTURES AND CLIPS [Scene] | [What it shows] | [Creator] | [Licence] | [Source page]
Two-column format, with an example
Here is the same idea in the common two-column layout, using the first powered flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
| Picture | Narration |
|---|---|
| Photograph: the Wright Flyer lifting off, December 17, 1903 | A little after ten in the morning, a machine left the sand under its own power. It stayed in the air for twelve seconds. |
| Map: the Outer Banks of North Carolina | Orville and Wilbur Wright had come here for the wind. They made four flights that day. |
| Text card: 852 feet in 59 seconds | The last and longest, with Wilbur at the controls, covered 852 feet in 59 seconds. |
| Photograph: the brothers | Soon after, a gust of wind rolled the machine over and wrecked it. It never flew again. |
What format does a documentary script use?
Most use two columns: picture on the left and narration on the right, so you can see what is on screen during each line. Page layout matters far less than keeping those two lined up.
Do documentaries have scripts?
Narrated, archive-led films usually do, because the narration carries the story. Observational films often have an outline first and a script written from the footage during editing.
How long should my script be?
About 130 words makes a minute of narration, so a 10-minute film needs about 1,300 words. Try the script length calculator.
Can I write it in Google Docs or Word?
Yes. A two-column table works in either. The template here is plain text, so it pastes into both.
Using it with ArchiveCut
Paste a plain script and those exact words become the narration. A line starting with ## becomes a chapter title on screen and isn’t read aloud, as in the template. See script to documentary.