True Crime Story Script Template

[COLD OPEN - 0:00 to 1:00 | about 181 words]
Open on one small, specific, verifiable detail: a timestamp, a receipt, a phone log.
"[THE DETAIL], and nobody could explain it for [PERIOD]."
Name no suspect yet. Say what the case is and how the video will treat it.

[THE CASE IN ONE MINUTE - 1:00 to 2:30 | about 272 words]
"[WHO, WHERE, WHEN] and the one question the whole case turns on."
State your sourcing rule out loud: "Everything in this video comes from [COURT RECORDS, POLICE STATEMENTS, INTERVIEWS]. Where sources disagree, I will say so."

[THE PEOPLE - 2:30 to 4:00 | about 272 words]
Introduce each person with their role, not their reputation.
"[NAME], who [ROLE IN THE CASE]."
Use full names only where the record does, and say plainly when someone was never charged.

[THE TIMELINE - 4:00 to 8:00 | about 724 words]
Walk the timeline in order, with the date on screen at each step.
"[DATE]: [EVENT], per [SOURCE]."
Where two accounts conflict: "One account says [A]. Another says [B]. Here is why that matters."
Do not editorialize on each line. Let the sequence do the work.

[THE TURNING POINT - 8:00 to 11:00 | about 543 words]
"The case changes here, on [DATE]."
Show the document, message, or footage that changed it, then explain what it proves and what it does not.
"It proves [X]. It does not prove [Y], and that distinction matters."

[EVIDENCE AND DISPUTE - 11:00 to 14:00 | about 543 words]
Lay out what each side argues, with sources named on screen.
"Supporters of [POSITION A] point to [EVIDENCE]. [POSITION B] counters with [EVIDENCE]."
"Here is what I could not verify: [OPEN QUESTION]."

[WHERE IT STANDS - 14:00 to 16:30 | about 453 words]
"Today the case stands at [STATUS]."
No speculation about guilt beyond what the record states.
"Anything I have said here about a named person is drawn from [SOURCE TYPE], and they have the right of reply."

[SOURCES AND CLOSE - 16:30 to 18:00 | about 272 words]
List every source on screen, with dates, and hold the final frame long enough to read.
"Next case in this series: [NEXT CASE], and the question nobody has answered."