Voiceover script with pacing notes and emotional direction for brand storytelling
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Prompt
You are a voiceover director who has directed VO for Nike, Apple, and Patagonia campaigns. Write a voiceover script for a [video_type] video for [brand_name], a [brand_description].
The video is [video_duration] and the tone should be [emotional_tone].
Include:
1. Complete VO script with line-by-line delivery notes
2. Pacing marks: [PAUSE 1s], [PAUSE 2s], [BREATHE], [SLOW], [QUICKEN]
3. Emphasis marks on KEY words using **bold**
4. Emotional direction per paragraph [EMOTION: warm/intense/reflective/etc.]
5. Music cue suggestions that sync with VO beats
6. Sound design notes (ambient sounds, foley)
7. Suggested VO talent profile (gender, age range, vocal quality)Customise this prompt
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Preview
You are a voiceover director who has directed VO for Nike, Apple, and Patagonia campaigns. Write a voiceover script for a [video_type] video for [brand_name], a [brand_description].
The video is [video_duration] and the tone should be [emotional_tone].
Include:
1. Complete VO script with line-by-line delivery notes
2. Pacing marks: [PAUSE 1s], [PAUSE 2s], [BREATHE], [SLOW], [QUICKEN]
3. Emphasis marks on KEY words using **bold**
4. Emotional direction per paragraph [EMOTION: warm/intense/reflective/etc.]
5. Music cue suggestions that sync with VO beats
6. Sound design notes (ambient sounds, foley)
7. Suggested VO talent profile (gender, age range, vocal quality)
Example output
# Voiceover Script
**Brand:** Meridian — outdoor adventure gear for everyday explorers
**Video type:** Brand anthem / manifesto video
**Duration:** 90 seconds
**Emotional arc:** Quiet reflection → building conviction → warm invitation
---
## VO TALENT PROFILE
**Gender:** Female
**Age range:** 35-45
**Vocal quality:** Warm alto, slightly weathered (like she's told a lot of stories around campfires). Think: the voice of someone who is genuinely wise but would never describe herself that way. Not polished broadcast — real, with slight imperfections. Regional accent acceptable (Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Northern California).
**Reference voices:** Frances McDormand (narration style), Brené Brown (conversational warmth)
**Anti-references:** NOT breathy whisper VO, NOT corporate narrator, NOT "cool girl" advertising voice
---
## SCRIPT WITH DIRECTION
### SECTION 1: THE QUESTION (0:00-0:25)
[EMOTION: Quiet, reflective, almost intimate — like thinking out loud]
[MUSIC CUE: Single acoustic guitar note, sustained. Ambient room tone underneath.]
[SOUND DESIGN: Very distant bird call. Wind through trees, barely audible.]
[SLOW]
"You don't remember the last time you stood somewhere [PAUSE 1s] and just **looked**."
[BREATHE]
"Not at a screen. Not at a notification. Not at the little red number that tells you someone, somewhere, needs something from you."
[PAUSE 2s]
[SOUND DESIGN: Phone notification sound, very faint, then fading to nothing]
"Just [PAUSE 0.5s] **looked**. [PAUSE 1s] At a ridgeline. [PAUSE 0.5s] At the way light moves across water. [PAUSE 0.5s] At something that was there long before you and will be there long after."
[MUSIC CUE: Second guitar note enters, forming a simple interval. A low cello drone begins, barely perceptible.]
---
### SECTION 2: THE RECOGNITION (0:25-0:50)
[EMOTION: Shift from reflective to gently urgent — she's identified something important]
[MUSIC CUE: Gentle finger-picked guitar pattern begins. Cello rises slightly. Add very soft percussion — a single hand drum, heartbeat rhythm.]
[SOUND DESIGN: Footsteps on gravel trail, rhythm matching the percussion]
[QUICKEN slightly — building energy but still controlled]
"There's a version of you that used to do that. That used to walk outside not because a watch told you to, not because you needed to hit a step count, but because [PAUSE 0.5s] your body knew it **needed** to."
[BREATHE]
"That version of you didn't call it 'getting outdoors.' Didn't call it a 'wellness practice' or a 'digital detox.' [PAUSE 1s]"
[SLOW]
"That version of you just [PAUSE 0.5s] **went**."
[PAUSE 2s]
[MUSIC CUE: Brief silence — all instruments drop out for 1.5 seconds. Then return with added warmth: second guitar, cello more prominent, add a subtle synthesizer pad.]
---
### SECTION 3: THE INVITATION (0:50-1:15)
[EMOTION: Warm conviction — she's not selling, she's reminding you of something you already know]
[MUSIC CUE: Full arrangement now — guitars, cello, light percussion, warm pad. Building but never bombastic. Think Bon Iver, not Hans Zimmer.]
[SOUND DESIGN: Running water (stream), wind in pines, footsteps transitioning from gravel to soft earth]
"We make gear for **that** person. [PAUSE 0.5s] The one who's still in there."
[BREATHE]
"Not for summiting Everest. Not for ultramarathons or sponsored expeditions. For the Saturday morning when you wake up and think [PAUSE 0.5s] 'I should go **somewhere**.'"
[QUICKEN slightly]
"For the trail behind your house that you've driven past a hundred times. For the lake you keep meaning to visit. For the overnight trip you've been planning in your head for **three years**."
[PAUSE 1s]
[SLOW — each word deliberate]
"We make the gear that removes every excuse [PAUSE 0.5s] between you [PAUSE 0.5s] and the door."
[MUSIC CUE: Brief swell — the emotional peak of the piece. Then pull back for the close.]
---
### SECTION 4: THE CLOSE (1:15-1:30)
[EMOTION: Simple, warm, no pretense — like a friend gently nudging you]
[MUSIC CUE: Strip back to just guitar and cello. Let it breathe. Music should feel like an exhale.]
[SOUND DESIGN: Wind. Just wind. And maybe one bird. The sound of being outside, already there.]
[SLOW — this is the most important line]
"You don't need to go far. [PAUSE 2s] You just need to **go**."
[PAUSE 2s]
[Nearly a whisper — intimate, conspiratorial, warm]
"Meridian. [PAUSE 1s] Your outside is closer than you think."
[MUSIC CUE: Guitar resolves to a final chord. Hold for 3 seconds. Fade with ambient wind continuing for 2 seconds after music ends.]
---
## PRODUCTION NOTES
### Recording Direction
- Record in a treated room but NOT a dead booth — we want a tiny bit of natural room tone to match the organic feel
- Have talent stand, not sit — standing voices have more diaphragm support and authority
- Encourage the talent to actually close their eyes during the reflective sections
- Record each section as a complete take (not line by line) to maintain emotional continuity
- Plan for 15-20 takes. The right read will come around take 8-12 when the talent stops "performing" and starts "talking"
### Pacing Benchmarks
- Section 1: Approximately 45 words in 25 seconds = very slow, ~108 WPM
- Section 2: Approximately 72 words in 25 seconds = moderate, ~173 WPM
- Section 3: Approximately 95 words in 25 seconds = slightly faster, ~228 WPM
- Section 4: Approximately 28 words in 15 seconds = very slow, ~112 WPM
The arc is slow → medium → slightly faster → very slow. The pacing itself tells the story: reflection → recognition → excitement → resolution.
### Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't let the talent "smile" the last line. It should be warm but matter-of-fact.
- Don't over-emphasize "Meridian." The brand name should be the quietest word in the script, not the loudest.
- Don't rush the pauses. The silences carry as much meaning as the words.
- If the talent starts sounding like a commercial at any point, take a break. Have them tell you about the last time they actually went for a walk outside. Then record immediately after.