Ugc-Style Video Script

---
name: ugc-style-video-script
description: Write scripts for UGC-style Meta video ads — talking-head, raw and native — with the hook, beats, overlay text and shot notes a creator or founder can film from. Use when asked to write a UGC script, a video ad script, a talking-head or founder video, a Reels ad script, a creator brief's script, testimonial-style video copy, or someone says 'polished ads feel like TV and nobody watches them'. For the opening line itself, see hook-writer. For judging the finished video, see meta-ads-creative.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# UGC-style video script

Raw and relatable wins in feed — the corpus checklist says it, and the
direct-response data agrees: UGC-style consistently outperforms polished brand
creative. The script is what makes "raw" repeatable: it fixes the argument and the
beats, while the delivery stays human.

Format facts from the corpus: **9:16 vertical, under 15 seconds is ideal for
ThruPlay, hook in the first 3 seconds, works on mute, brand early.**

## Before you start

| Input | Why |
| --- | --- |
| The angle and hook (from the bank) | The script executes one argument |
| Persona Problems, verbatim | The speaker says their words back to them |
| Who is on camera — creator, founder, real customer | Sets the voice and what may be claimed |
| Real proof, if any | A testimonial script may only claim what the speaker truly experienced |
| Target length | 15s spine; 30s only if the extra beats earn it |

## Step 1 — Script the five beats

The 15-second spine, with seconds budgeted:

| Beat | Seconds | Job |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Hook** | 0–3 | The bank hook, spoken mid-sentence — no intro, no logo card |
| **Problem** | 3–6 | The persona's pain in their words — "I applied to 40 jobs. Nothing." |
| **Turn** | 6–9 | Product enters as the thing that changed it — shown, not described |
| **Proof/mechanic** | 9–12 | One concrete: the result, or how it works in one step |
| **CTA** | 12–15 | One action, plainly, with the brand visible |

Cut order if over budget: shorten Problem first, never Hook or CTA.

## Step 2 — Write it speakable

- Sentences a person actually says: fragments, contractions, no marketing nouns.
  Read it aloud once — anything you stumble on, the creator will too.
- **First person, past tense** for the problem ("I'd tried two certificates…") —
  it is a story, not a pitch.
- One idea per beat. A 15-second script holds one argument total.

## Step 3 — Overlay text and mute-proofing

Most viewers watch on mute. For every beat, write the on-screen line:

- Hook overlay = the hook verbatim (≤8 words).
- Each following beat gets a ≤6-word caption carrying its point.
- The CTA beat shows the action and brand as text, not only speech.

The mute test: play the script as captions only — if the argument survives, it
ships.

## Step 4 — Shot notes for a non-professional

Keep it filmable on a phone in one session: face to camera for hook and CTA,
cutaway to the product for the turn, screen-record or hands-on for the mechanic.
Native means native — good light and clean audio, but no studio, no teleprompter
cadence, no colour grade.

## Step 5 — The claims pass

- The speaker may only attest what they truly did or got. A scripted "I got hired
  in 30 days" for someone who didn't is a fabricated testimonial — never.
- Results shown on screen come from the supplied proof register.
- If the speaker is paid/gifted, note that branded-content disclosure applies —
  handle per platform rules before launch.

## Output

```
# Script: <persona_angle_variant> · <15s/30s> · 9:16

| Beat | Sec | Spoken line | Overlay (≤6-8 wds) | Shot |
| Hook | 0-3 | "..." | "..." | face, mid-sentence |
| Problem | 3-6 | "..." | "..." | face |
| Turn | 6-9 | "..." | "..." | product cutaway |
| Proof | 9-12 | "..." | "..." | screen/hands |
| CTA | 12-15 | "..." | "<action + brand>" | face |

Speaker: <creator/founder/customer> — may attest: <what, verified how>
Mute test: pass/fail · Brand first appears: <sec>
Claims register: <each claim → source>
```

## When it breaks

| What you see | What it means | The fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Drop-off cliff at 3 seconds | Intro or logo card before the hook | Open mid-sentence with the bank hook — see hook-writer |
| Watches but no comprehension on mute | Overlay text missing or lagging the speech | Caption every beat; run the mute test |
| Reads as an ad despite the creator | Marketing nouns and pitch cadence in the script | Rewrite speakable; read aloud; first-person past tense |
| 30s version performs worse than 15s | The extra beats didn't earn their seconds | Cut to the spine; under 15s is the ThruPlay ideal |
| Creator improvises off the argument | Script fixed the words, not the beats | Fix beats and overlays; let delivery vary, not the argument |
| Legal flags the testimonial | Speaker attests something they didn't experience | Claims pass — attestation only from lived experience |
| Beautiful footage, native feel gone | Studio polish crept in | Phone, real rooms, real light — polish is for TV, not feed |

Never fix a flat video by adding production value. The corpus is blunt: it feels
like a TV ad *because* of the polish — the fix is rawer, not richer.

## Rules

- **The hook owns seconds 0–3** — no intros, no logo cards — because the window
  closes before a wind-up finishes.
- **Mute-proof every beat**, because most of the audience never hears it.
- **Speakers attest only lived experience**, because a scripted fake testimonial
  is fabricated proof with a face on it.
- **One argument per script**, because 15 seconds holds one idea, and the second
  idea costs the first.
- **Beats are fixed, delivery is free**, because that is how raw stays repeatable
  across creators.

## Related skills

- **hook-writer** — supplies the 0–3 second line and its checks.
- **ten-angles-copy** — the argument the beats execute.
- **meta-ads-creative** — judges the finished video against the checklist and
  benchmarks.
- **copy-compliance-scrub** — scrub the spoken and overlay claims like any copy.