With the advancement of technology, different mediums have become strong platforms for effective communication. One such medium is the audio-visual one, which has gripped the entire globe . Advertising agencies have tapped and explored this medium effectively. Ads which appear on TV, web pages, several videos etc have now started using the magic of sounds and pictures.
There those who seek to build a career in this line, dream of writing and packaging their own full fledged television commercials.
The challenge for budding copywriters is to know how to ‘visually write for an audio’. The message that needs to be delivered can range from simple to complicated or from boring to the most happening. What the copywriter, here ,needs to understand is that irrespective of the mood, the type and the content of their commercial; their copy needs to be original and should capture the imagination of several others.
Though writing such audio-visual scripts is a challenging job, a lot of excitement too tags along with this. One catchy tagline may make all the difference to the image of the brand and its portfolio.
As far as television commercials go, a copywriter needs to work mostly with video lengths of ten, thirty and sixty seconds. For other forms of audio-visual media, the writer needs to be substantially equipped to write varying lengths.
Irrespective of the nature of the project, a script is written in two column format — one for video and one for the audio cues. For every scene, a corresponding video and audio cue is written in detail.
Since this medium gives a copywriter enough room to explore his/her creativity, there are no restrictions on what is written over different images and scenes. What matters is that the script is effective enough to sell something.
A copywriter needs to score over the visuals to ensure that the message is sent across without using tough words. He/she needs to keep in mind that pictures and images which showcase expressions will work better with the audience than describing the emotion through words.
The message communicated must captivate the viewer in a matter of seconds because of the low retaining capacity the average human brain has. If your television commercial depends on a lot of the visual impact, then the words need to be kept at its minimum. Similarly, if your advertisement wants to convey a strong wordy message, then the images used should be simple and clean.
The interest level that you can generate through your copy is the key to the success of the commercial. Only if your audio and video compliment each other perfectly, will the customer recall all or at least bits of the advertisement.
An effective copy for the audio-visual medium would highlight the best features and benefits of the product. Though the audio -visual medium has an upper hand over print advertising, a copywriter can at times have his work cutout. But that is where the talent comes into play! Isn’t it?
