Guide
How to plan a
60-minute lecture video.
To plan a 60-minute lecture video, break the hour into chapters of 5 to 10 minutes, each built around one result, script about 130 to 150 spoken words a minute, and add chapters and captions so viewers can find their place. Here's the plan.
First release: Cutroom, Flowmotion
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1. Chapters first
Outline the hour as 6 to 12 chapters. Each chapter answers one question and ends on a result the next one builds on. Long videos keep viewers when every few minutes there's a clear step forward.
- One question per chapter, stated at its start
- A short recap before each new chapter
- Put the hardest idea after a warm-up, not first
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2. Size the script
Narration usually runs at about 130 to 150 words a minute, so an hour is roughly 8,000 to 9,000 words. Write chapter by chapter and read each one aloud with a timer; your own pace is the real number.
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3. Pace the visuals
Change something on screen every few seconds while you explain, and hold still on a result long enough to read it. Reuse a consistent look for definitions, examples and recaps, so viewers learn the pattern.
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4. Chapters and captions on YouTube
YouTube makes chapters from timestamps in the video description: the first must be 00:00, and there must be at least three, each at least 10 seconds long. Upload captions too; they help viewers and make the spoken words searchable.
- 00:00 Introduction, then one line per chapter
- Captions from the script or transcript, checked by eye
- A thumbnail that names the one result
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5. Build and export in parts
Make the lecture chapter by chapter, then assemble the hour. Cutroom, from Black Zero Labs, is being built for exactly this: it plays the whole lecture and exports it with chapter markers in development builds. It isn't released yet.
Apps used
The apps behind it.
The apps are designed to open the same project, so nothing has to be exported between them. You'll install only the ones you use.
Questions
Good to know.
No; long lectures do well when they're well structured. Chapters let viewers jump to the part they need, which is a big part of why long videos stay useful.
Usually 6 to 12, so each runs 5 to 10 minutes. Fewer makes chapters hard to navigate; many more makes the list hard to scan.
Record chapter by chapter. It's easier to redo one part, and your voice stays fresher across the hour.
Early access
An hour that
holds attention.
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