How to Write a Script for a 30 Second Animation (About 70 Words, Tops)

Thirty seconds sounds like nothing until you try to fill it, and then it sounds like nothing again the moment you try to fit your actual message into it. That is the whole craft of the 30 second script: saying one thing clearly, with room for pictures and music to do their part. The good news is that it follows a shape, and once you know the shape, it is mostly counting.

How many words is a 30 second animation script?

About 60 to 70 spoken words. A common rule of thumb is roughly 2.3 spoken words per second at a relaxed, clear pace, which gives about 69 words in 30 seconds. Aim a little under that, around 60, so there is room for a pause and a final card. If the words only appear on screen, use far fewer.

These are ceilings, not targets. A calm, warm film might use 50 words in 30 seconds and feel luxurious. A fast, funny one can run closer to the top. Read yours aloud to be sure. People read on-screen text slower than they listen, because their eyes are also busy with the pictures.

What is the structure of a 30 second script?

Four parts: hook, middle, payoff, end card. The hook grabs attention in the first three seconds. The middle gives two or three short beats that build. The payoff is the line people remember. The end card holds the name, the date or the one thing to do. Every word must belong to one of the four.

A fill-in-the-blanks template

Copy this, fill the brackets, and you have a first draft. Each line is its own paragraph, which also makes it one scene.

• Hook: "[Something surprising or relatable happens]."
• Beat 1: "[Who or what this is about, in one image]."
• Beat 2: "[The problem, the wish, or the twist]."
• Beat 3: "[What changes]."
• Payoff: "[The line that lands: a smile, a promise, a callback to the hook]."
• End card: "[Name, date, or one thing to do]."

What does a good 30 second script look like?

It says one thing, uses things you can picture, and ends on a line that pays off the opening. Here are two made-up examples, each about 50 spoken words so the pictures get room to breathe, one personal and one for a creative project. Notice that every paragraph is one picture, and neither explains itself.

Example 1: A dog turns ten.

"Ten years ago, a very small dog ate a very large shoe.
Since then: four sofas. Two birthday cakes. One entire garden hose.
He has barked at every mailman, every leaf, and once, a cloud.
And he has met us at the door every single day.
Happy tenth, Biscuit. The shoes forgive you."

Example 2: A band's first gig.

"Three friends. One garage. Eleven complaints from the neighbors.
We learned four chords, then five, then a song you might actually like.
Now we are leaving the garage.
Friday the 14th, at the Corner Room, eight o'clock.
Come for the music. Stay because we only know six songs."

Writing for a business? See 30 second explainer script examples, and for a funny one, how to animate a joke.

Write and tighten your script in five steps

1. Step 1

   Write the payoff first. Know the last line before the first. It tells you what the hook has to set up.

2. Step 2

   Draft freely. Write it long. Get the good lines out. Do not count yet.

3. Step 3

   Count and cut. Get it under 70 spoken words. Remove adjectives first, then "really," "very" and "just," then whole sentences that repeat an idea.

4. Step 4

   Read it aloud, timed. At a normal, relaxed pace. Over 28 seconds? Cut again. The pictures and music need a breath.

5. Step 5

   One line per paragraph. Each paragraph becomes a scene. If a paragraph holds two pictures, split it.

What should you cut from a 30 second script?

Cut anything the pictures can show, anything the viewer already knows, and any second idea. "As you can see" goes. The history of the company goes. The three extra features go. If a line explains the joke, it goes twice. What is left should feel almost too short on paper, because on screen, music and pictures fill the gaps.

If you have two messages, you have two films. Both will be better.

Your 30 second script, made in Nine

Once your lines are ready, choose A script in Nine and paste them, one paragraph per scene. The film follows your words in your order. You watch while the crew draws the scenes and adds a voice, music and sound effects, and the crew checks the film before you see it. Then tweak with plain words: "longer pause before the last line," "calmer music."

Films up to 30 seconds come with Film + Transparent at $169 a month. The Film plan at $29 makes up to 20 seconds, so trim to about 46 spoken words and use the 20-second row of the table. Every film arrives wide, tall and square. See plans, read turning a script into an animated video, or compare costs in what a 30 second animation costs.