RESEARCH-TO-SCRIPT BRIEF — editable template
Machine House / Rishwajeet Singh
Worked example: https://machinehouse.media/guides/research-to-script

Copy this into your document editor. Fill the question and evidence sections before drafting. Add one claim record for each factual statement the argument depends on; repeat the passage record as the script develops.

THE FILM
Project / version / date:
Writer / factual reviewer:
Audience and what they already know:
Question this video will answer:
Provisional answer, in one sentence:
What evidence would change that answer?
Format / intended length / publication date:

CLAIM RECORD — repeat for each essential claim
Claim ID:
Exact claim the film needs to establish:
Source title / author or organisation / URL:
Publication date / date checked:
Supporting passage, page or timecode:
What the source actually establishes:
Limits: population, period, geography or conditions:
Conflicting evidence or unanswered question:
Type: sourced fact / your interpretation / open question
Evidence status: checked / partial / still to verify
Decision: keep / qualify / remove

ARGUMENT
Opening situation or choice the viewer can recognise:
First thing they need to understand:
Evidence or example that explains it:
Question this leaves for the next section:
Next section and what it adds:
Answer the ending can now give:
Interesting material left out, and why:

DRAFT PASSAGE — repeat in script order
Passage ID:
Job of this passage:
Spoken words:
Supporting claim IDs:
Qualification that must survive a shorter version:
Required visual and what it explains:
Exact number or wording needed on screen:
Asset source / permission or credit needed:

READ-THROUGH
Read the spoken words aloud without the visual notes.
Where does the meaning depend on a graphic the speaker never explains?
Which sentence repeats a point the previous section already made?
Which number, name or phrase is difficult to say?
Which factual sentence has no checked source?
What changed after this read, and who needs to check it?

BEFORE RECORDING
Unresolved claim / owner / decision due:
If it cannot be verified in time: remove / qualify / delay
Missing visual or permission / owner / due:
Script version approved for recording / approver / date:
Editor handoff location:

Permission: adapt this original blank template for your production work.