There is a single rule for documentary narration that governs all else: never tell your audience what is on screen. The only purpose of commentary is to negate that which the frame cannot cover, and that is usually the context, a counter, or the passage of time. Everything else belongs with the edit.
So your interviews, your shoot rushes and whatever cleared archive you have is what the writer builds from. Then that writer will write into the gaps rather than over the top. When information is already answered in the footage, it is designed to carry the moment.
Narration occurs only once in the dark, with music playing, for someone who cannot revisit and restate the line. An example of a dependent clause that survives after the writing process, and becomes disintegrated, in that place/time. At delivery speed, every writer reads a line against the pictures, because a sentence the narrator has to fight against is a sentence the audience will lose against.
Narration that is generated does create. It produces a date, a place name, or an attribution in an impressive way- as in it is phrased nicely and correct format, only, it is not, and this is produced quite easily for the minute details that no one has the time to check. In a documentary, this is a legal issue and not a style issue.
While following a flexible contract, the structure is flexible too. The writer reviews the transcripts, and marks the moments which are sufficiently strong enough to constitute a break in the act, and then writes narration to connect them. The pacing has to be worked out against the rough cut, and if there is no rough cut against the running time as formally stated.
Narration is already in booth format. The paragraphs are numbered and time coded, with key names and locations with pronunciation wrapped, and any line which is reliant on a certain edit is flagged to be dropped if the edit changes. The sources are in their own column, and far from the actual narration.
One rate, whatever the format: $10 per 100 words. You are paying for the writer’s time and judgement, so the price scales with the words rather than with a package tier.
| Typical documentary script | Words | Writing | Fee (1%) | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short film (10 min) | 900 | $90 | $0.90 | $90.90 |
| Broadcast segment (25 min) | 2,200 | $220 | $2.20 | $222.20 |
| Feature narration (50 min) | 4,500 | $450 | $4.50 | $454.50 |
The writer receives 100% of the writing price. Our 1% fee is added on top of it, and 0.5% is donated to tree planting. Full pricing breakdown.
Yes. Send the template, a previous example, or the structure you are required to use, and the writer works inside it. If a required section does not fit the material honestly, they will flag it rather than pad it out.
Ask on the contact page and a person will answer, usually the same working day. For a live order, reply to your confirmation email and it reaches whoever is handling it.
Definitely! It saves money too. A writer can usually supervise the construction of a narration during picture editing, utilizing transcripts and paper edits. One round of revisions can be anticipated after picture lock and is thus included in the two rounds.
The writer, together with sources cited line by line, so your compliance or legal reviewer can follow them. Unverified material is highlighted in the margin instead of being editorially smoothed into the text. We will never present an unsourced claim as narration.
Completely. Copyright transfers to you on delivery, with no attribution requirement and no licence back to us. Nothing written for you is resold, repurposed or republished.
Reviews from completed, paid orders in this category.
Our audience left before 40 seconds because it was too slow. The section after the two minute mark is very good. A colder open was requested and we delivered and the drop off on the retention graph finally flattened where it use to be a steady decline.
The sequence of chapters in the book solved a problem I had been stuck on for months, which was that the theory appeared in the beginning. Now, it’s situated at the back. It also has flat chapter titles and I renamed all of them. I believe chapter titles are a personal preference, and I’d much sooner have a solid structure and rename titles.
I had managed to write around 40 thousand words. Unfortunately those words didn’t provide any structure. When I received the feedback on this, it contained a merged chapter, one chapter completely removed (along with an explanation as to why) and the additional feedback stated that the chapter that had been removed was essentially doing the work of three chapters which I had already written. It was a bit painful to read, but correct.
We do not ask you to take the no-AI promise on trust. Each draft is run through these platforms and the reports are attached to your delivery email.
Originality.aiAI detection + plagiarism
GPTZeroAI detection
TurnitinAI detection + similarity
CopyleaksAI detection + plagiarism
Winston AIAI detection
ZeroGPTAI detection
SaplingAI detection
Content at ScaleAI detection
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$10 per 100 words · all of it to the writer · 0.5% to trees