Crash Course Writing Workshop

Key Concepts

Crash Course Script Development: The comprehensive process of researching, writing, and editing educational video scripts.
Accuracy and Transparency: Emphasis on using primary sources, peer-reviewed research, and providing source citations.
Crash Course Tone: Characterized by clarity, engagement, inclusivity, conversational language, and a focus on the "so what" factor.
Narrative and Storytelling: Utilizing personal discovery journeys and common plot structures to make information memorable and contextual.
Originality and Integrity: Commitment to entirely human-created, non-plagiarized content.
Collaborative Process: Involving a large team of individuals at various stages of script creation.
Humor in Education: Employing specific techniques and principles to make educational content engaging and funny.
Editing for Impact: Focusing on intros, clarity, emotional connection, and narrative flow.
Visual Asset Integration: Strategic use of animation and illustration for complex or abstract concepts.

Crash Course Script Creation: Research, Writing, and Editing

This workshop details the meticulous process behind creating Crash Course scripts, emphasizing accuracy, engagement, and narrative. The core philosophy revolves around making complex information accessible and memorable through storytelling, a conversational tone, and a deep understanding of the audience.

The "Special Sauce" of a Crash Course Script

Crash Course scripts are defined by several key qualities:

Accuracy: This is paramount. Scripts are rigorously fact-checked, utilizing primary sources and peer-reviewed research. Transparency is maintained by listing all sources in video descriptions.
Crash Coursey Tone: This involves being clear, engaging, and inclusive. The language is kept simple, jargon is defined, and terms are explained in a conversational manner, as if talking to a friend. The aim is to learn alongside the viewer, not just teach them.
The "So What?" Factor: A crucial element is explaining why the information matters to the viewer, guiding the direction of both the series and individual scripts.
Narrative Structure: Storytelling is fundamental to aiding memory and contextualizing information within daily life.
Originality: All scripts are entirely original, created by humans without the use of AI, and rigorously checked for plagiarism.
Honesty, Nuance, and Care: Scripts are designed to treat the audience as complex individuals, showcasing diverse stories and hypothetical scenarios.

The Script Development Pipeline

The creation of a Crash Course script is a multi-stage, highly collaborative process:

Series Conception and Brainstorming: Once a series is approved, the initial step involves brainstorming an episode list. Subject matter experts are often enlisted to guide content, potential hooks, and storytelling approaches. This phase involves iteration to determine the optimal number of episodes and their specific topics.
Syllabus Creation: A detailed syllabus acts as an internal guide for writers. It includes a course description, learning objectives, and a breakdown of each script's topic into subtopics. This document contains concrete information to be conveyed, including key terms, special segments, and potential misconceptions to address.
First Draft and Research: Writers use the syllabus as a framework, conducting extensive research using the provided sources to build a narrative around the information.
Iterative Editing and Review: Scripts undergo numerous rounds of editing:
- Subject Matter Expert Review: Experts review every draft to ensure high-level accuracy.
- Developmental Edit: Focuses on story structure, pacing, and the allocation of time to different topics.
- Lead Editor Edit: A second comprehensive review by the lead editor.
- Stakeholder Review: Scripts are passed to various stakeholders:
  - Producers: Provide a visual perspective, ensuring content is translatable to screen and engaging for viewers. For example, a producer might question the visual appeal of a scene focused solely on a wall.
  - Host Review: Hosts offer input, adjusting jokes and references to align with their personal style and delivery.
- Fact-Checking: A dedicated fact-checker verifies all claims.
- Copy Editing: Polishing the script for redundancy, clarity, and sensitivity.
- Table Read: A rehearsal with the host to identify awkward phrasing or jokes that don't land in spoken form.

Key Figure Count: An average Crash Course script goes through approximately 8 to 10+ people before production, not including video elements and animation.

Narrative as a Driving Force

The process of transforming research into a compelling story is guided by three core questions:

What am I learning that I didn't know before?
What's making me feel something?
What's my genuine journey of discovery?

Writers are encouraged to embrace their own learning process, including frustrations and moments of confusion, as the foundation for the narrative. This journey of discovery, with its highs and lows, twists and turns, and misconceptions, forms the plot of the script.

Example: Defining "Species"

The concept of defining a "species" is used to illustrate how a Crash Course script can be structured like a TV pilot:

Fun Opening: Starts with relatable examples like dogs and zorses, introducing the biological definition: organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring.
Frustration/Conflict: Introduces exceptions like the plumcot and hybrid lizards that can reproduce, breaking the initial definition.
New Plan/False Victory: Proposes defining species by genealogy, but this becomes complicated due to billions of extinct species.
Escalation/Chaos: Considers environmental conditions (polar bears vs. grizzly bears), which also proves imperfect as species can inhabit multiple environments.
Resolution: Acknowledges the difficulty in definitively defining species, highlighting that human knowledge systems are imperfect but useful. The script concludes by emphasizing the value of these working definitions for comparison and the insights gained when these definitions are challenged.

Editing for Impact: Intros and Humor

Editing plays a crucial role in refining scripts, particularly in crafting engaging intros and incorporating humor.

Common Intro Pitfalls and Solutions

Meandering Intros: Intros that are too long and contain too much information, rather than grabbing immediate attention.
- Solution: Focus on an intriguing concept or question. For the "Sex Ed" series, the intro shifted from general information to the host's personal first crush, making it relatable and engaging.
Burying the Lead: The most interesting or impactful information is not presented upfront.
- Solution: Reorder sentences to place the most compelling element at the beginning, creating suspense and intrigue. For "Native American History," the reason for a tribe becoming a target was moved to the start.
Lack of Feeling: Intros that are too generic and fail to connect with the audience emotionally.
- Solution: Place the viewer in a scenario, create a sense of safety, and then disrupt it with a counterintuitive question. For "Religions" (cults), the intro draws the viewer in with a welcoming scenario before posing the question of whether it could be a cult.

Principles of Humor Writing

Quantity is Key to Quality: The best comedy writers produce many jokes, with only the best making it to the final product.
Clown Mode vs. Edit Mode: Creating distinct phases for uninhibited idea generation ("clown mode") and critical selection ("edit mode") is essential.
Humor Toolbox: Utilizing various techniques, such as:
- Physical Action: Placing the host in unexpected situations (e.g., smashing myths with a bat in "Native American History").
- Character Voices: Using characters like the "devil's advocate" to discuss sensitive topics playfully.
- Specificity and Immediacy: Bringing abstract concepts or past events into the present and making them specific (e.g., focusing on a specific crush named Devon).
- Visuals and Sound Effects: Incorporating memorable visual gags (e.g., Christopher Columbus with a tear) or pop culture references (#TeamJacob).
- Camera Angles and Editing: Using close-ups or specific angles to emphasize a joke or a host's cheeky delivery.

Joke Improvement Techniques

Rule of Three: Creating a pattern of two similar items followed by a surprising or contrasting third item.
- Example Prompt: Birthday parties.
- Example Joke: "Birthday parties are great. Cake, friends, and watching people sing to you while you sit silently." (Jen Marker)
- Example Joke: "Candles, cake, and a candy-coated realization that you're hurdling toward death." (Anonymous participant)
Contrast: The greater the difference between elements, the funnier the joke.
Specificity: Specific details are funnier than broad descriptions.
Social Humor: Humor is best developed collaboratively with others.

Addressing Complex Figures and Plagiarism

Problematic Figures: When discussing influential but problematic figures (e.g., Salvador Dalí), Crash Course aims to present information factually without valorizing them. This is a case-by-case decision, sometimes involving footnotes in descriptions or highlighting underrepresented individuals.
Plagiarism: Scripts are run through Grammarly's plagiarism checker towards the end of the editing process. Due to the extensive editing and multiple contributors, significant plagiarism is rare. If minor overlaps occur, sentences are rephrased.

Host Input and Script Changes

Hosts have significant input throughout the process:

Pre-Scripting Interviews: Gathering personal anecdotes and personality traits to inform writing.
Script Review: Hosts fill in placeholders and suggest changes to intros, anecdotes, and other sections.
Table Read: A virtual rehearsal where hosts' stumbles over lines or jokes that don't land are identified and revised.
On-Set Changes: While a "word perfect" recording is captured for accuracy, hosts are encouraged to improvise, allowing for spontaneity and playfulness.

Working with Experts and Fact-Checkers

Facilitating Fact-Checking: Writers include source citations directly within the script's comments, linking claims to specific text from the source. This allows fact-checkers to verify information and identify outdated or debunked claims.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): The number of SMEs consulted varies by topic. While a primary SME guides the series, additional experts may be brought in for specialized areas, especially for topics like religions or Native American history.

Visual Asset Integration

The decision to use animation or illustration is driven by:

Budgetary Constraints: Animation and illustration are resource-intensive.
Comprehension Needs: Visuals are used for highly technical concepts (e.g., parts of a cell) or abstract ideas (e.g., philosophical concepts, origin stories) that are difficult to grasp without visual aids.
Availability of B-roll: Licensing existing photographic or video footage is preferred over creating new animation when possible.

Visual descriptions are typically added in a later pass after the initial script is written, as the focus in the first draft is on content and narrative.

Conclusion

The Crash Course script creation process is a testament to meticulous planning, collaborative effort, and a deep commitment to educational integrity and engaging storytelling. From initial research and narrative structuring to detailed editing and the strategic use of humor and visuals, every step is designed to make learning accessible, memorable, and enjoyable for a global audience. The emphasis on transparency, originality, and audience care underpins their success in producing high-quality educational content.