How to record a Loom video with a script (and not sound scripted)
By Zakaria Reziki · · 6 min read
To record a Loom video with a script, write 200–300 words in three parts: a hook that names the viewer's problem, two or three points, and one ask. Put the script directly under your camera, record a single window rather than your whole screen so the script stays out of frame, and use short notes instead of full sentences for the part where you're showing your screen.
A short Loom script structure that works
An async video competes with everything else in the viewer's inbox. The structure below gets to the point in the first sentence and ends with exactly one thing to do.
| Part | What it does | Words | ≈ Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | Names the viewer and their problem | 20–30 | 10 s |
| Point 1 | The main thing they need to know | 60–80 | 25–30 s |
| Point 2 (and 3) | Evidence, a demo, or the next detail | 60–80 each | 25–30 s each |
| Ask | One clear next step | 15–25 | 10 s |
Fill-in template
Worked example: a founder following up after a call
“Hi Priya, on Tuesday you said your team loses an hour a week rebuilding the same client report. I recorded this to show you how that works in our tool, start to finish. First, the report template: you set it up once, and it pulls this week's numbers automatically. Second, sharing: this link always shows the latest version, so nobody emails PDFs around. If this looks right, reply with a time on Thursday and I'll set up a trial workspace with your data before we talk.”
That's about 90 words, around 40 seconds. The screen walkthrough between the two points adds the rest. For writing and formatting in more depth, see how to write a teleprompter script.
How long should a Loom video be?
Our advice: keep async messages to about two minutes or less. That's long enough for a hook, a couple of points and an ask, and short enough that someone will watch it between meetings. If your script runs past 300 words, it's usually two videos, or it belongs in a meeting. Check yours with the speaking time calculator.
Longer is fine when the viewer asked for it, such as an onboarding walkthrough or a detailed bug report. Even then, say up front how long it is and what they'll see.
Pick the right Loom capture mode
Loom's desktop app and Chrome extension offer three capture modes: Screen and Camera, Screen Only, and Camera Only (Loom support). Screen and Camera records your screen or a chosen window along with a camera bubble showing your face.
- Camera Only for personal intros, thank-yous and anything where there's nothing to show.
- Screen and Camera for walkthroughs, proposals and demos. The bubble keeps it personal.
- Screen Only for internal bug reports or step-by-step instructions where your face adds nothing.
You can drag the camera bubble around the screen before or during recording. Put it in a corner where it won't cover the part of the interface you're talking about.
Where to put the script so your eyes stay near the camera
In a camera bubble your face is small, but viewers still notice when your eyes drop to the middle of the screen and stay there. Put your script in a narrow strip directly under the camera, where looking at it reads as looking at the viewer. The research behind this is in where to look on a video call.
Script the intro and outro, use notes for the demo
Most Looms have two kinds of talking in them. The intro and the ask are fixed messages: you know exactly what you want to say, so script them word for word. The screen walkthrough is reactive: you're clicking, pointing and responding to what loads. Reading full sentences there sounds stiff, and you'll lose your place when the screen does something unexpected.
So write the video as a hybrid:
- Hook, written out in full.
- Three to five short bullets for the walkthrough, such as “open report → show auto-refresh → share link”.
- The ask, written out in full.
If you use Cuey as your Mac teleprompter, this maps to two of its prompt modes. Follow mode listens as you speak and advances line by line, and when you stop to click through something, it waits until you come back to the script. Notes mode lets you step forward and back through points manually, which suits a walkthrough made mostly of bullets. Pick Follow when the video is mostly talking, and Notes when it's mostly screen. If you glance at notes during live calls too, see how to read notes during a video call.
Recording: one take, and when to restart
For a two-minute video, restarting is usually faster than editing. Loom's desktop app lets you pause and resume, with a default shortcut of ⌥⇧P (Loom support), and you can restart a recording or trim false starts off the beginning and end afterwards. Pause if you need to find your place in the screen part. Restart if you fumble the hook, because the hook is what decides whether they keep watching.
If you're recording a longer, polished demo rather than a quick message, the process is different. See how to record a product demo video.
Before you hit record
- Script under 300 words, with the hook naming the viewer and their problem
- Exactly one ask at the end
- Script placed directly under the camera
- Capture set to a single window, with the script outside it
- Camera bubble moved away from the part of the screen you'll talk about
- Tabs, notifications and anything private closed
- The screen already on the page you open with