Founders freeze at the script because the word implies screenwriting: scenes, dialogue, a story arc. At fifteen seconds you have room for about thirty words. That is not screenwriting, it is headline writing with a running clock — and you have almost certainly written most of it already.
A 15-second product video script is five lines and roughly thirty words: a hook that names the tension, a problem line the viewer recognises, a plain statement of what the product does, one piece of proof, and a call to action. Almost all of those lines already exist on your landing page — in the H1, the subhead, the proof block and the button text — which is why ShipTeaser writes the script straight from a product URL rather than from a blank page. The order carries more weight than the wording: lead with the tension and the product arrives as relief.
Five lines, in this order
A short product video has five beats. Not four, not eight. Each one is a single line of text on screen, and each has a specific job.
| Beat | Its job | Rough length |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | Stop the scroll and name the tension | 3-6 words |
| Problem | Make the viewer recognise themselves | One short sentence |
| Solution | Say what the product does, plainly | One short sentence |
| Proof | Give one concrete reason to believe it | A number, a screen, or a name |
| CTA | Say the next action and where | 3-5 words |
The order matters more than the wording. Lead with the product and the hook has nothing to hold onto; lead with the tension and the product arrives as relief. That is the whole mechanism.
Your landing page is the first draft
Here is the shortcut nobody uses. You already agonised over your H1, your subhead, your three feature blurbs and your button text. That is the same message, written for the same audience, and it has already survived more editing than a fresh script will get.
- Hook — usually your H1, cut in half. Landing page headlines are almost always two words too long for a first frame.
- Problem — often hiding in your subhead, or in the "before" side of your comparison section.
- Solution — the sentence you use when someone asks what you do at a meetup. If it is not on the page, that is a page problem, not a script problem.
- Proof — a real number, a logo, a review line. Whatever is already above the fold because it convinces people.
- CTA — the text on your primary button, verbatim. Do not invent a new one for the video.
If you cannot pull five lines out of your own landing page, the video is not your problem.
That test is more useful than it sounds. A page that cannot yield a fifteen-second script is a page that has not decided what it says, and no video will paper over it. Fix the page, then the script writes itself — which is also why generating a teaser from the live URL works at all, as website to video explains.
Writing rules for a running clock
- Write for the eye, not the ear. These lines get read, not heard. Silent-first means the text carries the whole message, so no line should need a voice to make sense.
- One idea per line. Two ideas on one frame means the viewer finishes neither.
- Cut every qualifier. "Helps teams to more easily manage" is four words of throat-clearing. "Manages it for you" is the line.
- Use their words. The phrasing customers use in support tickets outperforms the phrasing you use in investor updates.
- Numbers beat adjectives. "Two minutes" is proof. "Fast" is a claim.
- Kill the feature list. A launch video that lists six features is a launch video that communicates none.
The hook is 80% of the outcome
Every line matters, but they do not matter equally. If the first frame does not land, the other four lines are never seen — so if you have twenty minutes to spend on the script, spend fifteen of them on the hook.
The reliable hook shapes are boring and they work: the sharp problem statement, the surprising number, the flat contradiction of what everyone believes, and the direct address to a named person ("Shipping this week?"). What does not work is your company name, a greeting, or a slow build — a feed gives you no runway. There is a full treatment of this in the three-second hook.
Then stop editing it
Short scripts attract endless revision because they look easy to improve — there are so few words that every one feels load-bearing. Past a point you are not making it better, you are making it yours, and those are different things.
A practical stopping rule: read the five lines aloud to someone who does not know the product. If they can tell you what it does and who it is for, the script is finished. Ship it and put the remaining energy into distribution, which is where launch assets actually succeed or fail — see how to make a product launch video.
FAQ
How long should a 15-second product video script be?
A 15-second product video script runs to about thirty words, spread over five lines of on-screen text. That is roughly two words per second of screen time — enough for a hook, a problem, a solution, one proof point and a call to action, and nothing else. Any line that needs a second clause is too long for the format.
What are the five beats of a product video script?
The five beats are hook, problem, solution, proof and CTA, in that order. The hook stops the scroll and names the tension in three to six words, the problem line makes the viewer recognise themselves, the solution says plainly what the product does, the proof gives one concrete reason to believe it — a number, a screen or a customer name — and the CTA states the next action in three to five words.
Where do you find the lines for a product video script?
Take them from your own landing page. The H1, cut in half, is usually the hook; the subhead holds the problem; the sentence you use to explain the product at a meetup is the solution; the proof is whatever number or logo already sits above the fold; and the CTA is your primary button text, verbatim. That copy has survived more editing than a fresh script ever will. If the page cannot yield five lines, the page is the problem, not the script.
Do you need a voiceover script for a product launch video?
No — short launch videos are watched silently in a feed, so the on-screen text has to carry the whole message on its own. Write for the eye rather than the ear and no line should need a voice to make sense. ShipTeaser works this way by default: paste a product URL and it renders a 15-second silent motion-graphics teaser at 1080p in about two minutes, in 16:9, 1:1 or 9:16, with the first video free and no credit card.