multi-variant-scripting

# Skill: Multi-Variant Scripting **Owner:** Sara **Version:** 1.0 **First used:** 2026-03-24 (Reddi Agent Protocol — 3-variant pipeline) --- ## What This Does Produces 2–4 distinct script variants for the same product from a single brief. Each variant serves a different audience or communication style. Variants must be genuinely distinct — not the same script with synonyms swapped. **When to use this skill:** Any time the demo-video playbook calls for 2+ variants. Read this before writing the first word of any script. --- ## The Variant Differentiation Test Before writing a single scene, define these three things for each variant: 1. **What does this audience already know?** (Don't explain what they know — assume it) 2. **What's the ONE thing this variant needs them to feel or understand?** (Not a list — one thing) 3. **What's the register?** (cinematic / conversational / technical) **If two variants have the same answers to all three → they are not distinct → collapse them into one.** Running this test upfront prevents the most common failure: writing three scripts that tell the same story three different ways, rather than three genuinely different stories about the same product. --- ## Variant Labelling Convention Use these labels consistently across all projects so Finn knows the production approach without reading the script: | Label | Audience | Style | VO Density | |---|---|---|---| | **A** | Technical or sophisticated | Cinematic — minimal VO, UI carries story | Sparse | | **B** | General / accessible | Walkthrough — guided, second person | Medium | | **C** | Developer / architect | Explainer — structured, covers architecture | Dense | --- ## Word Count Targets Check these before calling any script done: | Target Length | Narration Word Count | |---|---| | 60s | 110–130 words | | 90s | 160–195 words | | 2min | 220–260 words | | 3min | 330–390 words | At natural TTS pace: ~130 words/min. Count words in the **clean narration section only** (no stage directions). --- ## Interleaved Writing Technique **The wrong way:** Write A fully → Write B fully → Write C fully By the time you write C, it has unconsciously borrowed A's metaphors and B's sentence structure. C ends up sounding like a compressed remix of the first two. **The right way (interleaved):** Write Scene 1 for A, B, C → Write Scene 2 for A, B, C → continue scene by scene This forces explicit differentiation at each narrative beat. When you write Scene 2 for C, you've just written Scene 2 for A and B — so you're actively thinking "how is C different here?" rather than just continuing a flow. --- ## Common Failure Modes ### Drift **What it is:** Writing C after A and B causes C to unconsciously borrow A's metaphors and B's structural patterns. **Fix:** Use interleaved writing. Never fully complete one variant before starting the others. ### Jargon Bleed **What it is:** Technical terms written for C leak into B because they were written in the same session. **Fix:** Before writing, define a jargon whitelist per variant. Terms on C's whitelist should not appear in B. Terms on B's whitelist should not appear in A unless they're genuinely plain-language. **Example:** - A whitelist: (none — no jargon, let the UI speak) - B whitelist: "agent", "automates", "dashboard" - C whitelist: "MCP protocol", "orchestrator", "tool-call", "mesh routing" ### Length Creep **What it is:** All variants drift toward the same word count because the writer fills to a comfortable length. **Fix:** Count words in the clean narration section after writing each scene. Stop when you hit the ceiling. Tighten, don't pad. --- ## Output Checklist — Before Handoff to Finn Run this check on all variants together, not one at a time: - [ ] Each variant has a **clean narration section** (narration only — no stage directions, no scene headers) - [ ] Word counts checked against length targets (count them, don't estimate by feel) - [ ] **No variant shares an opening line with another** (first sentence must be unique per variant) - [ ] Jargon that appears in C does not appear in B - [ ] Jargon that appears in B does not appear in A - [ ] Screenshot/recording requirements section is complete and specific - [ ] "Notes for Finn" section includes timing gotchas, transition notes, any unusual assembly requirements - [ ] Differentiation test re-run on final drafts — confirm answers to all three questions are still distinct --- ## Handoff Format Each script file must follow the standard format: ```markdown # Video Script [A/B/C] — [Title] **Version:** 1.0 **Target length:** X seconds **Audience:** [who] **Style:** [description] ## Scene-by-scene ### Scene N — [Title] (M:SS–M:SS) **Screen:** [page/state] **Action:** [interaction if any] **Narration:** "[exact spoken words]" **Music/mood:** [description] ## Full narration (clean read) [narration only — this is the direct TTS input] ## Screenshot/recording requirements [specific assets needed, with reuse notes] ## Notes for Finn [timing, transitions, assembly gotchas] ``` All three script files are handed to Finn together. Finn does not start production until Nissan has approved all scripts.