“We'll supply the script” can mean a production-ready document, a draft written by marketing or a collection of paragraphs copied from the company website. Those starting points leave very different amounts of work for a production supplier.
Before removing writing from a proposal or assuming it is included, agree what your team will provide and what the supplier is expected to do with it. The useful question is who can take responsibility for each stage, from reliable source information to words and pictures that can actually be produced.
Define the document you are promising
Adobe describes a video script as a structured document connecting spoken content, visuals and the sequence of a video. That is a useful distinction when assessing what your organisation already has. A technically accurate project summary may supply excellent source material without yet specifying a film.
Tell the supplier whether your document is a factual source pack, a proposed narrative or wording you intend to record. Mark required language and explain why it matters. Avoid describing every sentence as fixed if you also expect the production team to restructure it freely.
This decision applies where scripted material is genuinely part of the proposed approach. An interview-led case study may need a story outline and well-prepared prompts rather than predetermined answers. Do not commission a script merely to put rehearsed praise into a participant's mouth.
Three workable ways to divide the writing
Your team supplies the script. This can fit when an internal writer understands the audience, has access to the factual owners and can develop the intended words-and-pictures structure. Still ask what production review is needed. “Supplied” should not mean nobody checks whether the document can be filmed within the scope.
You commission script development. This can fit when the team knows the project but needs someone to shape the explanation. Confirm whether the engagement includes interviews for research, an outline, a first draft, revisions or only a particular part of that work. A writer still needs access to facts and timely client decisions.
You split the work deliberately. The buyer might supply an approved evidence pack and essential terminology, while a commissioned writer develops the narrative. Production assesses the proposed pictures and delivery. This arrangement works when the handovers are explicit, rather than every party expecting the next person to repair an unfinished draft.
None of these models guarantees a lower total cost. Compare the quoted work with the time and capability your team must provide, including any assessment or rewriting of supplied material.
Test a supplied draft before treating it as finished
Read one representative section with two questions in mind: what would the audience hear, and what would they see? If the spoken line makes a claim about a particular process, identify the evidence or image that would support it. If that material is unavailable, flag the gap for discussion.
Then ask who has approved the facts, not just the tone. A polished draft can still contain an outdated project description, unclear contribution or unsupported result. The writer should know where the approved information came from and whom to ask when a qualification is unclear.
Finally, describe how much change is permitted. Is the supplier checking feasibility, suggesting edits, adapting the draft or starting again? These are different assignments. Send the actual document for assessment rather than requesting a quote on the strength of “the script is basically done”.
Allocate the work with this matrix
Add an owner and an agreed scope reference for each row. One person may own several rows, but every handover needs a clear recipient.
| Stage | Output to agree | Question before appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Source gathering | Relevant facts, evidence and existing material | Who obtains missing information? |
| Story structure | Proposed order and emphasis | Who turns the material into a viewer-focused explanation? |
| Script draft | Agreed words and visual intentions | Who writes, and what form will be supplied? |
| Factual review | Specific corrections or confirmation | Who can authorise claims and terminology? |
| Production assessment | Feasibility questions and proposed adjustments | Who checks the pictures, delivery and agreed scope? |
| Spoken read-through | Wording issues for the writer to resolve | Who tests the draft with the intended delivery in mind? |
| Revision and handover | Identified version ready for the next agreed step | Who consolidates changes and confirms completion? |
Keep this allocation separate from the later recording approval. It establishes who does the work needed to reach that point; it does not declare an unfinished draft ready to record.
An illustrative shared-writing arrangement
A specialist contractor has a detailed project brochure and offers to supply the video script. Its marketing coordinator can check company language, but the brochure moves between three projects and relies on drawings that are not cleared for this film. This example is fictional.
The buyer initially asks the supplier to “tidy the wording”. Reviewing the matrix reveals that the missing work is more substantial: selecting one project narrative, identifying usable evidence and writing transitions for a listener who has not read the brochure.
The buyer instead prepares an approved source pack for the chosen project and asks whether narrative and script development can be separately scoped. Its project lead retains factual approval; production assesses the proposed visual treatment. The revised enquiry describes the actual writing gap without pretending the brochure is a finished script.
Agree changes and permitted use
If an external writer or agency supplies material, confirm that it can be shared and adapted for the proposed production. Refer unresolved rights questions to the appropriate adviser. Receiving a document does not answer every question about its permitted use.
Also agree how feedback is consolidated and what happens when the audience, message or facts change after writing begins. Do not assume a factual correction, a structural rewrite and a new creative direction are identical pieces of work.
Live Images' current case-study scope includes guided preparation and interviews; this does not establish a separately scripted narration or writing service. Enquire with the material you already have and describe the writing decisions still open. Ask what approach is suitable and which responsibilities would be included in the actual proposal.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.