The master prompt for a documentary script (copy, paste, then rewrite)

A single reusable prompt that makes any LLM produce a voice-led documentary script with a cold open, chapters, a turn and a landing, plus the follow-up prompts for verification and tightening.

Every "make a documentary with AI" guide ends with "write a script with ChatGPT". Left to itself, a model writes an essay. This prompt makes it write a film. Use it with Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini; then do the two follow-ups.

The master prompt

You are writing the narration for a [LENGTH]-minute documentary about [TOPIC] for a YouTube documentary channel. Write for a spoken narrator, not a reader. Rules: sentences of 8–15 words; one idea per sentence; no adjectives that don't add information; no "in this video", no "throughout history", no rhetorical questions except the one that structures the film. Put every date and number in its own short sentence. Never describe what is on screen. Mark a blank line wherever the narrator should pause; use a one-word sentence for a full stop. Structure, with word counts for [LENGTH] minutes at 130 words per minute: 1. Cold open (60–80 words): begin with the single most surprising fact or image, with no introduction or context. 2. The question (one sentence): what this film will answer. 3. [N] chapters (equal share of the remaining words): each answers part of the question, has its own small build and payoff, and ends on a line that raises the next chapter. Vary chapter length by up to 30%. 4. The turn (about 7% of words): a reversal of what the audience assumed, written in the shortest sentences in the script, after a pause. 5. The landing (about 4% of words): what it meant, in two or three lines. Do not summarise the chapters. End on an image. Output only the narration, with chapter headings as a single line each.

Fill in LENGTH (10, 15, 30), TOPIC, and N (3 for 10 minutes, 4 for 15, 6 for 30).

Follow-up 1: the verification list

List every factual claim in the script you just wrote as a numbered checklist: dates, numbers, names, quotes, causes. For each, say what kind of source would confirm it.

Verify each item yourself. Delete what you can't confirm.

Follow-up 2: the tightening pass

Chapter [X] is too long and explains too much. Cut it to the three facts that matter most, keep the last line, and make every sentence shorter.

Repeat per chapter. Then read the whole thing aloud and cut whatever you stumble on. See how to write documentary narration.

Why the format matters downstream

Dates in their own sentences become cut points. Blank lines become card moments and music drops. One-word sentences become stops. In Glisse, the narration is performed and word-timed and the edit is anchored to it, so the structure you force with this prompt becomes the structure of the film.

FAQ

What is the best prompt for a documentary script?

One that forces a spoken register and a film shape: cold open, question, chapters, turn, landing, with word counts and pause marks. The prompt above does that.

How many words per minute for documentary narration?

About 130 at a measured documentary pace.

Can I use this prompt with ChatGPT?

Yes; it works with Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini. Verify facts afterwards with any of them.