For each line ask whether a picture must show something concrete or explain something abstract; film the concrete, animate the abstract, and pitch at most three new ideas per video.

B-roll pass: show or explain

Every line that needs a picture gets one, and the brand's library grows with each video.

Use when: Any edit of a talking take or a script before a shoot.

Prompt instructions

ProductAudience

Give me a production plan: the shots or scenes in order, what each one needs, and the edit settings, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is b-roll pass: show or explain: every line that needs a picture gets one, and the brand's library grows with each video. How it works: for each line ask whether a picture must show something concrete or explain something abstract; film the concrete, animate the abstract, and pitch at most three new ideas per video. It is right for: any edit of a talking take or a script before a shoot. Ideas only until approved: two or three directions as stills first, and only the chosen one is animated. Search the brand's own footage and existing graphics before pitching anything new. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.

The same prompt works in Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini.

Watch out

Ideas only until approved: two or three directions as stills first, and only the chosen one is animated.practitioner: Director Chair notes on B-roll that pitches itself (Josh Blatchford) and Director Chair field notes on b-roll
Search the brand's own footage and existing graphics before pitching anything new. Generation comes last, with the credits shown first.practitioner: Director Chair notes on B-roll that pitches itself (Josh Blatchford)
Build a graphic as a template with its values as inputs, so the next video reuses it with new data.practitioner: Director Chair field notes on b-roll
A graphic stays on screen long enough to read: at least 1.5 seconds plus about 0.3 seconds per word on it. A house rule of thumb, not a measured norm.practitioner: Director Chair field notes on b-roll

The thing appears when it is named, so the viewer never has to imagine it.

Insert on the wordPrompt

A process can be cut as action, because every size and angle is there.

Five-shot sequencePrompt

The idea arrives without a word, because the subject is made of what it means.

Subject built from a symbolPrompt

The words explain, the images prove.

B-roll with voice-overPrompt