Animated Explainer Script

What This Skill Does

Writes a narration script for a documentary's animated explainer sequence — visual direction cues on each beat, ready to hand to the narrator and animation team.

When To Use This Skill

• Your documentary needs to explain a complex process, system, or dataset that cannot be shown with live-action footage
• You have identified a section of your film where animation or motion graphics will carry the storytelling (e.g., how a supply chain works, how a disease spreads, how money flows through a system)
• You need to brief both a narrator and an animation studio from a single document
• You are working with a graphics artist and need to provide them with a shot-by-shot visual brief that matches the voiceover timing

What You Need To Provide

Required:

• The concept to explain — what the viewer should understand by the end of this sequence
• Target duration (e.g., "90 seconds," "2–3 minutes")
• Audience knowledge level: assume no prior knowledge, assume basic familiarity, or assume specialist audience
• Documentary tone: serious/investigative, accessible/educational, or editorial/opinion

Optional:

• Specific data points, statistics, or facts that must be included
• Visual style preference: infographic/data-driven, illustrated/hand-drawn, 3D/photorealistic, abstract/conceptual
• Narrator voice: existing narrator in the documentary, or standalone (affects how the script connects to surrounding material)
• What comes before and after this sequence in the edit (helps with transitions)
• Any visual metaphors or analogies you want to use or avoid
• Brand or production style guidelines for graphics

How the Assistant Approaches This

1. Identifies the explanation structure. Every explainer needs a logic: chronological (first this, then this), causal (this causes that), comparative (A versus B), or process-based (step 1, step 2, step 3). The assistant determines which structure best serves the concept and uses it to organise the sequence.

1. Writes the narration script. Drafts voiceover text at approximately 150 words per minute of target duration — the standard pace for documentary narration that allows breathing room for the visuals to land. The language is concrete and specific: no jargon without immediate plain-language follow-through, no passive constructions when active voice is clearer, no more than one new concept per sentence.

1. Adds visual direction cues for every beat. Each section of narration is paired with a [VISUAL] cue that describes what the viewer should see on screen at that moment. These cues are written for an animation team — they describe the visual action, the data being shown, the movement or transition, and any on-screen text. They are not shot-by-shot storyboards, but they are specific enough for a motion graphics artist to begin work without a separate briefing document.

1. Builds in pacing. Inserts deliberate pauses — marked as [PAUSE — 1 sec] or [BEAT] — at moments where the visual needs to land before the narration continues. Complex graphics need time to resolve on screen before the narrator moves on. The script respects this by leaving space.

1. Opens and closes the sequence cleanly. The first line connects to the documentary's narrative (a question, a statement of stakes, or a transition from a previous scene). The last line delivers the takeaway — the single thing the viewer should retain — and provides a bridge back to the live-action film.

Output Format

Two-column script format. Left column: narration text (what the narrator says). Right column: visual direction (what appears on screen). Each row represents one beat — typically 10–20 seconds of screen time. Total length matches the target duration at ~150 words per minute narration pace. Includes timing estimates per beat. Ends with a "Production Notes" section (2–3 bullets) covering any considerations for the animation team or narrator.

ANIMATED EXPLAINER — [Sequence Title]
Target duration: [X:XX] | Narration word count: [XXX]

| NARRATION | VISUAL DIRECTION |
|-----------|-----------------|
| [Text — Beat 1] | [Visual cue — Beat 1] |
| [Text — Beat 2] | [Visual cue — Beat 2] |
| ... | ... |

PRODUCTION NOTES
- [Note 1]
- [Note 2]

Quality Criteria

• [ ] Narration word count matches target duration at approximately 150 words per minute
• [ ] Every narration beat has a corresponding visual direction cue — no orphaned text without a visual
• [ ] Visual cues are specific enough for an animation team to begin work (describe what is seen, not just "graphic appears")
• [ ] Language is concrete and jargon-free — a viewer with no specialist knowledge can follow the explanation
• [ ] No more than one new concept is introduced per beat
• [ ] Deliberate pauses are built in where complex visuals need time to resolve
• [ ] The sequence opens with a connection to the documentary's narrative and closes with a clear takeaway
• [ ] On-screen text (labels, numbers, captions) is specified in the visual direction where needed

Example

Input

Concept: How microplastics enter the human food chain — from ocean pollution to dinner plates. The viewer should understand the three main pathways: direct ingestion by marine life, bioaccumulation up the food chain, and contamination of drinking water supplies. Duration: 2 minutes (approximately 120 seconds) Audience: General public, no prior knowledge assumed Tone: Accessible/educational — serious subject, but not alarmist Visual style: Clean infographic with a muted colour palette Context: This sequence follows an interview with a marine biologist who has just said, "People think this is an ocean problem. It's a kitchen problem." The sequence should pick up from that line.

Output

ANIMATED EXPLAINER — Microplastics: Ocean to Plate Target duration: 2:00 | Narration word count: ~290

PRODUCTION NOTES

• The "five grams per week" figure is widely cited but comes from a 2019 WWF-commissioned study and has been debated in subsequent literature. The narration hedges with "estimates" and "may ingest" — confirm with the production's scientific advisor whether to retain, update, or add a qualifier.
• The credit card comparison is effective on screen but works only if the graphic holds for at least 2 seconds — do not rush past it. The pause is built into the script timing.
• The final frame is intentionally static. After two minutes of animated movement, a still image with no narration creates a stronger transition back to the live-action interview that follows.

Known Limitations

• Narration word count targets assume a standard documentary narration pace (~150 words per minute). If your narrator speaks significantly faster or slower, or if the programme uses a more conversational delivery, adjust the word count accordingly. The visual cues remain valid; only the narration density changes.
• Visual direction cues describe what should appear on screen but do not constitute a storyboard. An animation team will still need a design brief covering colour palette, typography, icon style, and animation techniques (2D, 3D, motion graphics). Use the mood-board-brief or visual-identity-prompt skills to generate that brief.
• Statistics and facts included in the narration are drawn from the user's input or from widely reported figures. The assistant cannot verify their accuracy or currency — all data points must be fact-checked by the production team before recording.

Related Skills

• commentary-writer — write narration for live-action sequences that bookend the animation
• scene-breakdown-writer — plan the broader scene structure that this explainer sits within
• narrator-voice-adapter — adapt the narration style to match a specific narrator's voice