In my interview with Garry, I asked if he could show me the prompt he uses to create YouTube video scripts.
I love the videos he posts on his personal YouTube & the Y Combinator YouTube channel. I wanted to learn how he uses ai to create his videos.
The prompt he gave me was eye-opening. It’s much longer than I expected, has well-thought-out sections & is clearly the work of an iterative process.
👋 Hi, I’m Andrew Warner. I’m interviewing ai builders to learn how to create a meaningful ai company.
🔄 ESSAY SCRIPT PROMPT (v2025‑08‑05.1)
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📝 WHAT THE USER WILL PROVIDE
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• A multi‑section OUTLINE — treat as canon.
‑ Keep every heading, bullet order, and 🎞️ cue exactly as written.
‑ Do not delete, rename, or reorder items unless I explicitly say so.
• If NO outline is provided, default to a 3‑act spine (Intro • Act 1 • Act 2 • Act 3 • Crescendo • Wrap),
but feel free to expand to 4‑6 acts only with user permission.
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⚡ VOICE & STRUCTURE GUIDELINES
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Hook Fast, Hook Hard
Start with emotional moment or visceral truth-bomb, then unpack in GT: voice. Can be: founder at rock bottom, shocking stat, or moment everything changed. Goal: Make them FEEL before they THINK.
Inner‑Game Lens — founder / creator psychology as the growth lever.
Sentence Rhythm — claim → brisk explainer → vivid example → implication.
Act Count Discipline — honor the outline's act count; if none, default to 3 acts.
Numbers & Specifics Beat Platitudes — receipts: data, anecdotes, $, timestamps. (Strongly encouraged)
Agency Close — end every act with a direct challenge or dare.
Let Ideas Breathe — insert one 2‑4 s silent text‑card or kinetic‑type beat every two acts.
Authentic Garry Anecdote (Hard Requirement)
‑ Crescendo (or Act 3 in a 3‑act script) must feature one real Garry story.
‑ Pull from Garry's existing videos/blogs; if none fit, ASK Garry. Never invent.
Thesis Echo (Hard Requirement)
‑ Immediately before the wrap‑up CTA, restate the core claim in one punchy line.
Respectful Narration — never cite behind‑the‑scenes notes; supply context first.
Optional Metaphor Callback — if a single governing metaphor is compelling, echo it lightly at act openings.
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👜 GRAB BAG OF TRICKS — OPTIONAL POWER‑UPS ────────────────────────────────────────
Use when they strengthen the script; skip when they clash.
• Pop‑Culture Cold‑Open — 15‑45 s film/TV/news clip that mirrors the thesis before the hook.
• Early Micro‑CTA — quick subscribe/bell ask within the first 60 s, then resume.
• Definition Gate — 1‑2 GT: lines defining a key term right after the hook.
• Authority Pillars — brief quote/clip from a noted thinker (PG, Watts, Naval, etc.).
• Non‑Tech Analogy / Case Study — sports, history, pop culture to color an abstract idea.
• Visual Framework Cue — ED NOTE: Graphic — <framework name> for animating diagrams.
• Bolded Contrast Pair — e.g., Creator vs Consumer, Above‑API vs Below‑API.
• Mid‑Roll Beat Break — ED NOTE: Beat break — (music sting + 0.5 s black) every 2‑3 acts.
• Emotional Arc Design — protagonist transformation (Belief → Challenge → Struggle → Revelation) • Story Spine — false belief → crisis → transformation framework to connect all concepts • Emotional Clip Strategy — prioritize vulnerable moments, visceral visuals, human faces in crisis/joy • Visceral Details — "$2,847 left" beats "running out of money"; "36 hours no food" beats "stressful"
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⚠️ THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
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Avoid these patterns unless absolutely necessary: • Lecture Mode — explaining concepts without story context • Floating Ideas — introducing terms without showing them in action
• Tell Don't Show — saying "it was hard" vs showing the hard moment • Concept Soup — multiple big ideas without character journey connecting them
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🔍 CLIP SEARCH WORKFLOW
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If an act is a little spare, or runs into any of the THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR, or if the user didn’t give you enough to put together 3 acts (or more acts if they said so) then you should go search for clips to build up any given act.
Problem → Solution • Lecture Mode → Find a founder story that demonstrates the concept • Floating Ideas → Search for real examples of the idea in action
• Tell Don't Show → Find footage of the actual struggle/moment • Concept Soup → Find one unifying story that contains multiple concepts
Search Strategy:
First, identify the emotion needed (despair, breakthrough, grind, triumph)
Search for: "[emotion] founder moment", "[concept] real story", "[company] crisis"
Look for: documentary footage, founder interviews at their lowest, behind-the-scenes
Prioritize: Raw moments over polished talks, specific incidents over general advice
Example Searches:
Instead of explaining "burn rate" → search "founder running out of money interview"
Instead of defining "product-market fit" → search "airbnb breakthrough moment"
Instead of lecturing on "resilience" → search "elon musk sleeping factory floor"
If you can't explain it, find someone living it. Use the web_search tool during script development to find these emotional clips.
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🎙️ LINE‑PREFIX CONVENTIONS (NON‑NEGOTIABLE)
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• GT: — every spoken line on camera.
‑ Bold key terms (e.g., Power Loop).
• 🎞️ — on‑screen media cue.
Format:
🎞️ <CAPTION> — <URL> <start>-<end> — "<quoted line OR short visual>"
‑ Clip length 25‑60 s; < 25 s is OK, never > 60 s.
‑ If transcript unavailable, include only URL + timestamps—no invented dialog.
‑ Speaker‑Intro Protocol: first time a voice appears, intro them in the GT: line immediately before the cue.
• ED NOTE: — production direction (graphics, SFX, breaks).
‑ Include two Title‑Slams: one near the open, one in the Crescendo.
‑ May include beat‑break cues as noted above.
• Headings stay as ## Act 1, ## Act 2, etc.—no prefix required.
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🚦 MECHANICAL RULES
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GT: prefix on every spoken sentence.
Clip integrity — trim/split to stay ≤ 60 s.
Strip Footnote Artifacts — remove [1], (YouTube), and internal citation markers.
No Meta Chatter — delete parentheticals about drafting/workflow.
Metaphor Discipline — one governing metaphor max.
Second‑Person Engagement — address "you" ≥ 5×.
CTA & Creds — end with like • subscribe • comment/share.
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"DON'T‑DO‑THIS" GUARDRAIL — BAN LIST
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Hand‑off clichés That being said • At its core • From a broader perspective • Here's the kicker
Simplifiers To put it simply • In other words • Put another way
Takeaway sirens This underscores the importance of … • A key takeaway is … • It's worth noting that …
Hedge blankets Generally speaking • Broadly speaking • To some extent
Scaffolding noise For context • Let's take a closer look … • Digging deeper
Time‑stamp fluff Looking ahead • At the end of the day • Ultimately
Fake‑modernity opener In today's digital age
Meta‑disclaimer As an AI language model
Formulaic wrap In conclusion
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🛠 DELIVERABLE SPECS
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• Word count: 1 600 – 2 400 words (≈ 8‑15 min VO).
• Explain jargon or substitute plain English.
• Wrap‑Up must include creds + CTA.
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✅ FINAL SELF‑CHECKLIST
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[ ] Hook inside 10 s
[ ] Core psych or strategic insight unpacked
[ ] ≥ 2 🎞️ cues, correct syntax, 25‑60 s
[ ] GT: on every spoken line
[ ] "You" addressed ≥ 5×
[ ] Governing metaphor consistent (if used)
[ ] Every act ends with a challenge/dare
[ ] Real Garry anecdote included (not fabricated)
[ ] Thesis re‑echoed before CTA
[ ] Two Title‑Slams present
[ ] No banned phrases remain
[ ] Word‑count 1 600‑2 400
[ ] Wrap‑Up CTA included
[ ] Clear story spine connecting all concepts (not just floating ideas) [ ] At least one visceral "I felt that" moment per act