Explainer Video Script Template for Your Next SaaS Launch
This template is built for a SaaS release video rather than a longer brand film: we suggest 20 to 60 seconds, our advice, not a rule, with one feature and one promise. This guide gives you a template you can copy, a filled in example for Rotabase (an invented shift scheduling SaaS for small restaurants), the storyboard step, and the one sentence that turns the script into a launch video.
For the wider plan around the script, see the SaaS launch video guide.
What a launch video script has to do
A good explainer video script is not an essay read aloud. It is a list of scenes, and each scene holds what the viewer sees, what the voice says and a short caption. If a line has nothing to show, cut it.
For a release, the script has one job: make a viewer understand one change and know where to find it.
If you wonder how to write explainer video script lines that work, follow one rule: write the promise first, then build the scenes around it. The promise is a single sentence in the form "You can now ___ without ___." For Rotabase it is: "You can now swap a shift from your phone without a group chat."
The five parts of a 20 to 60 second script
Five parts are enough for a short launch video. You can merge two of them in a shorter cut.
- Hook. The result or the pain, shown first, so the viewer sees at once what the video is about.
- Problem. The old way, on your real product screen. One sentence, no blame.
- The feature moving. The clicks or states that make the feature work. Same screen as the problem, so the change is easy to see.
- Proof. A real output from your product. Use a fact you can verify today, not a claim you hope is true. Never invent a number.
- Call to action. One next step, such as where to find the feature.
Keep each voiceover line short enough to say in one breath. Read it aloud once. If you run out of air, split the line into two scenes. Before you produce, show the finished script to a colleague and ask what the feature does. Their answer is your test.
An explainer video script template you can copy
Copy the block below into a document and replace everything in square brackets.
```text LAUNCH VIDEO SCRIPT TEMPLATE (20 to 60 seconds)
PRODUCT: [product name and a four word description] RELEASE: [feature name, exactly as users see it] VIEWER: [who watches, in one phrase] PROMISE: You can now [action] without [old pain]. TARGET LENGTH: [20, 30, 45 or 60] seconds TONE NOTES (for whoever makes the video): [tone of voice] voice, [mood] music
SCENE 1. HOOK Screen: [the result, or the pain, shown first] Voiceover: [one short sentence] Caption: [3 to 6 words]
SCENE 2. PROBLEM Screen: [the old way, on your real product screen] Voiceover: [what the viewer does today and why it hurts] Caption: [3 to 6 words]
SCENE 3. THE FEATURE MOVING Screen: [the clicks or states that make the feature work] Voiceover: [the promise, in plain words] Caption: [3 to 6 words]
SCENE 4. PROOF Screen: [a real output from your product] Voiceover: [one fact about the result that you can verify] Caption: [3 to 6 words]
SCENE 5. CALL TO ACTION Screen: [the feature name and where to find it] Voiceover: [one next step] Caption: [button name or short URL]
CHECK: Does every voiceover line have something to show? CHECK: Does the promise appear in scene 3? CHECK: Is every fact in scene 4 true today? ```
Fill the header first. If you cannot complete the PROMISE line, the feature is not ready for a video yet.
A worked example for Rotabase
Here is the same template, filled in for Rotabase, a fictional product. The release is swap requests: staff ask for a shift swap in the app, and managers approve it in one tap. The product, the release and every detail of this example are invented for this guide.
```text LAUNCH VIDEO SCRIPT (45 seconds)
PRODUCT: Rotabase, shift scheduling for small restaurants RELEASE: Swap requests VIEWER: Restaurant managers who build the weekly rota PROMISE: You can now swap a shift from your phone without a group chat. TARGET LENGTH: 45 seconds TONE NOTES: calm, friendly voice, light upbeat music
SCENE 1. HOOK Screen: A group chat full of messages asking who can cover Friday. Voiceover: Who can cover Friday? Again? Caption: Who can cover Friday?
SCENE 2. PROBLEM Screen: The weekly rota with one shift circled, then edited by hand. Voiceover: Every swap means a chat thread and a manual edit. Caption: Swaps by chat
SCENE 3. THE FEATURE MOVING Screen: A staff member taps a shift, picks Request swap, and chooses a colleague. Voiceover: Now staff request a swap from their phone, and you approve it with one tap. No group chat. Caption: Request. Approve. Done.
SCENE 4. PROOF Screen: The rota updates by itself, with the swap logged under the shift. Voiceover: The rota updates itself, and every swap is logged. Caption: Rota updated, swap logged
SCENE 5. CALL TO ACTION Screen: The Swap requests tab in the Rotabase app. Voiceover: Swap requests are live. Find them in your schedule tab. Caption: Schedule, then Swap requests ```
Notice what was cut. Rotabase also shipped a rule that blocks swaps close to a shift, and it stays out of the video, because a second feature would blur the promise in scene 3.
Write the captions into the script
The Caption line in every scene is not decoration. Captions are a text version of the speech and the non-speech sounds needed to understand a video, and the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative says they serve people who are Deaf and others who cannot hear the audio (W3C WAI, Captions/Subtitles). The related WCAG success criterion 1.2.2 sits at Level A, and it requires that "Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media", with one exception for media that duplicates text (W3C, Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.2). The same page says captions include meaningful sound effects, so a chime that confirms a swap belongs in the script too. WCAG is a W3C standard for web content, not a law on its own.
Two practical rules follow:
- Do not rely on auto captions alone. YouTube states that automatic captions, when available, are created by speech recognition and are in the video's default language only (YouTube Help, Add subtitles & captions). LinkedIn offers auto captions to all members and Pages and lets you turn on a review step before viewers see them (LinkedIn Help, Auto captions for videos). Use the review step, and compare the result with your script.
- Say what only the picture shows. The W3C page on visual description says pre-recorded videos with important visual information need description, and that a video with only a person talking does not (W3C WAI, Description of Visual Information). In a launch video the picture matters. If scene 4 proves the result with a log entry on the rota and nothing in the voiceover mentions it, add the words "and every swap is logged" so the story survives without the visual.
From script to explainer video storyboard
An explainer video storyboard is the script with a picture per line. You do not need to draw. A table is enough, and it lets you check the pacing before you spend time producing anything.
| Shot | Visual | Overlay text | Transition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Group chat, messages arriving | Who can cover Friday? | Cut |
| 2 | Weekly rota, one shift circled | Swaps by chat | Cut |
| 3 | Phone screen, tap, pick, send | Request. Approve. Done. | Slide up |
| 4 | Rota refreshes, log entry appears | Rota updated, swap logged | Cut |
| 5 | Swap requests tab | Schedule, then Swap requests | Fade out |
Watch the Visual column with the sound off. If the story still works, the script is strong.
Turn the script into a launch video prompt
Once the script holds together, you can shrink it to one sentence. That sentence is your launch video prompt. It uses the form below.
- Product now lets who do what without old pain.
For Rotabase, the invented example:
Rotabase now lets restaurant staff request a shift swap from their phone and managers approve it in one tap, so the group chat is no longer the schedule.
A weak sentence names the feature and stops: "Rotabase has a new feature for swaps." A strong sentence names who acts, what they do and which pain disappears, because those three things become your hook, your feature scene and your promise.
Tunora (tunora.app) turns one sentence, a file or a website link into a short launch video with scenes, on-screen text and music. There is no presenter, no recording, no avatar and no lip sync. Describe the feature. Get the launch video. The scenes come from the tool's own reading of your description, so check each one. Your script is the checklist you use to review what comes back: does the hook show the pain, does scene 3 show the feature moving, is the proof true?
If you want ideas for different hooks, see these SaaS launch video ideas. If you work from your changelog, the next step is covered in how to turn a changelog into a feature announcement video.
Sources
- Captions/Subtitles, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), read 2026-10-22. Definition of captions and who they serve.
- Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded), W3C, read 2026-10-22. The Level A criterion, speakers and meaningful sound effects.
- Description of Visual Information, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), read 2026-10-22. When a video needs description of its visuals.
- Add subtitles & captions, YouTube Help, Google, read 2026-10-22. Automatic captions by speech recognition, default language only.
- Auto captions for videos on LinkedIn, LinkedIn Help, read 2026-10-22. Availability and the review step.
Frequently asked questions
What is an explainer video script template?
An explainer video script template is a fill in the blanks document that lists the scenes of a video. Each scene has a screen description, a voiceover line and a caption. For a SaaS release, five scenes cover a hook, the problem, the feature working, proof and a call to action.
How do I write an explainer video script for a SaaS feature?
Write the promise first, in the form "You can now ___ without ___." Then add a hook, a problem, the feature moving, one verifiable proof and a call to action. Give every voiceover line something to show on screen. Cut anything that does not serve the promise.
How long should a launch video script be?
We suggest 20 to 60 seconds, our advice, not a rule, which means about five scenes with one short voiceover line each. A script that needs more than a page for that length is trying to cover too many features. Keep one feature per video and check your own watch data afterwards.
Do I need an explainer video storyboard?
A simple one helps. Put each shot in a table with the visual, the overlay text and the transition, then watch it with the sound off. If the story still works, the script is strong. You do not need to draw anything.
Can a tool turn my script into a video?
A tool can. Shrink the script to one sentence and give it to a launch video tool. Tunora turns one sentence, a file or a website link into a short launch video with scenes, on-screen text and music, with no presenter, recording, avatar or lip sync. Use your script to review the result.