# Narration & Script

How to write narration scripts for video compositions. Read when the composition includes voiceover or TTS.

## Pacing

- **2.5 words per second** is natural speaking pace
- 15s = ~37 words. 30s = ~75 words. 60s = ~150 words
- Leave room for pauses. Silence between sentences is a feature, not dead air
- The script should feel SHORTER than the video — visual breathing room matters

## Tone

Write like a person, not a brochure:

- Use contractions: "it's", "you'll", "that's", "we've"
- Vary sentence length — short punchy phrases mixed with longer flowing ones
- Read it out loud. If it sounds robotic, rewrite it
- Avoid jargon unless the audience expects it

## Number Pronunciation

Write what you want the voice to say. TTS reads literally.

| In the product | Write in script as                |
| -------------- | --------------------------------- |
| 135+           | more than one hundred thirty five |
| $1.9T          | nearly two trillion dollars       |
| 99.999%        | ninety nine point nine percent    |
| 200M+          | over two hundred million          |
| 10x            | ten times                         |
| API            | A P I                             |
| stripe.com     | stripe dot com                    |

The visual can show the exact figure while the voice rounds it.

## Structure

For product videos:

1. **Hook** — what's surprising or impressive about this product? A bold claim, a provocative question, a contrast, or a striking number. This is the opening line. **Vary the hook type** — don't default to a stat every time.
2. **Story** — what does the product do? Who uses it? Keep it concrete.
3. **Proof** — stats, customer names, social proof. Real numbers from the product.
4. **CTA** — what should the viewer do? "Start building at stripe dot com."

Not every video needs all four. A 15-second social ad might be Hook + Proof + CTA. A 60-second product tour uses all four with more Story.

## The Opening Line

The most important sentence in the video. It must create tension, curiosity, or surprise in the first 3 seconds.

Patterns that work:

- **A bold claim**: "The financial infrastructure that powers the internet economy."
- **A question that provokes**: "What if your database could think?"
- **A contrast**: "Your AI agent already knows how to make videos. It just needs the right format."
- **A number that shocks**: "Nearly two trillion dollars." (Use sparingly — not every video should open with a stat.)

If the opening is generic ("Welcome to Stripe" / "Introducing our product"), start over.

## Example

From a 62-second product launch video (team reference):

```
Your AI agent already knows how to make videos.
It just needs the right format.

This is Hyperframes. An open source framework. HTML in, video out.

A div is a keyframe. Data attributes are your timeline.
CSS is your look. G-Sap is your animation engine.

Anything a browser can render can be a frame in your video.

CSS animations. G-Sap. Lottie. Shaders. Three.js.

Drop in music, sound effects, footage — it all composes together.

No new framework for the agent to learn.
Just HTML.

The agent writes it. The renderer captures every frame as MP4.
It's deterministic. Identical outputs, every time.

Give your agent the CLI. Tell it what to make.
Watch it build.

Hyperframes. Go make something.
```

Note: ~140 words for 62 seconds — that's 2.3 words/sec, leaving room for pauses and visual breathing.
