Guide
Behind the scenes video format: one order, start to finish
A behind the scenes video follows one order from the moment it arrives to the moment it leaves, and spends time on the step customers never see. Here is a 42-second structure and an example script.
In short
- A behind the scenes video follows one order or job from start to finish, while you explain each step.
- This format works best at 35 to 45 seconds, with half the time on the hidden step and the quality check.
- Give the numbers: how big a batch is, how long each step takes and how many you throw away.
- All the b-roll is your own footage, filmed while one real order moves through.
- length of the example structure
- 42 s
- order followed from start to finish
- 1
- words in the example script
- 97
What is a behind the scenes video?
A behind the scenes video shows how one product is made, told by the person who makes it.
- It usually runs 35 to 45 seconds, in vertical 9:16.
- It follows one order from arrival to dispatch, including one hidden step and a quality check.
- You talk to the camera, and your own footage of the process plays as b-roll.
- A product photo cannot show the work. This video can, which is how it explains a higher price.
- Showing what you reject tells viewers what they will never receive.
Behind the scenes or day in the life?
| Behind the scenes | Day in the life | |
|---|---|---|
| Follows | One product or one job | The person who runs the business |
| What it explains | Why the product is worth the price | How hard you work |
: Follows
- Behind the scenes
- One product or one job
- Day in the life
- The person who runs the business
: What it explains
- Behind the scenes
- Why the product is worth the price
- Day in the life
- How hard you work
Who should make behind the scenes videos?
It works when your process has a step that would surprise the buyer.
- A baker's second rise, a roaster's sample every minute, a 24-hour rest in the cold store: any of those is the step to film.
- Small-batch food and drink makers, coffee roasters and bakers often have steps like that.
- Workshops for print, jewellery, furniture, ceramics and leather can show their craft.
- Agencies and studios can show how one client project moves through the team.
- Service businesses can show clients what they pay for between the brief and the delivery.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to structure a behind the scenes video in 42 seconds
The hidden step gets 11 seconds and the check gets 10. Together they fill half the video.
- Keep the arrival and the dispatch short. Viewers already know those parts as customers.
- Give the numbers: how big a batch is, how long each step takes and how many you throw away. They show that the same thing happens to every order, not only to the one you filmed.
A behind the scenes video in 42 seconds
Half the video goes to the hidden step and the quality check.
Hook
0-4 s. What happens after you order
Order comes in
4-11 s. Where the job starts
Hidden step
11-22 s. The step nobody sees, with its numbers
Quality check
22-32 s. What gets rejected, and why
Finished
32-38 s. Packed, dated by hand and posted
Call to action
38-42 s. Ask for the order, and name the detail to look for
Example behind the scenes script
Here is an example script for a coffee roaster. It is 97 words, which takes about 42 seconds to say out loud.
Example script: coffee roasted to order
One line for each part of the structure above.
| Part | Time | What you say |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | 0-4 s | This is what happens between your order and your doorstep. |
| Order comes in | 4-11 s | Your order lands at six. We roast to order, so at that point your beans are still green. |
| Hidden step | 11-22 s | Each batch is five kilos and twelve minutes. I pull a sample every minute after the first crack, because thirty seconds separates sweet from burnt. |
| Quality check | 22-32 s | Then it rests overnight. Next morning we brew a cup from every batch before anything is bagged. If it is flat, it does not ship. |
| Finished | 32-38 s | Bagged, dated by hand, and posted by noon. |
| Call to action | 38-42 s | Order by Sunday, and look for the date on the bag. |
Part: Hook
- Time
- 0-4 s
- What you say
- This is what happens between your order and your doorstep.
Part: Order comes in
- Time
- 4-11 s
- What you say
- Your order lands at six. We roast to order, so at that point your beans are still green.
Part: Hidden step
- Time
- 11-22 s
- What you say
- Each batch is five kilos and twelve minutes. I pull a sample every minute after the first crack, because thirty seconds separates sweet from burnt.
Part: Quality check
- Time
- 22-32 s
- What you say
- Then it rests overnight. Next morning we brew a cup from every batch before anything is bagged. If it is flat, it does not ship.
Part: Finished
- Time
- 32-38 s
- What you say
- Bagged, dated by hand, and posted by noon.
Part: Call to action
- Time
- 38-42 s
- What you say
- Order by Sunday, and look for the date on the bag.
Hook lines for a behind the scenes video
The hook is your first sentence. It promises a look at the part of the business customers never see. Here are three the coffee roaster could say, with your own product and step in place of theirs.
- This is what happens between your order and your doorstep.
- You see a bag of coffee. You do not see the cup we brew from every batch before it ships.
- Every bag we sell is roasted, rested overnight and tasted before it leaves.
Where to put your footage and captions
All the b-roll is your own, filmed while one real order moves through.
- Film five clips of 5 to 10 seconds each, showing the order, the raw material, the hidden step, the check and the packing.
- Your face opens and closes the video. The middle belongs to the process.
- Show the hidden step full screen, because that is where the detail matters.
- Burn captions in over the footage, so numbers like five kilos are read as well as heard.
Raw materials as the order comes in
A shot of the starting materials plays over the words about where the job begins.
Common behind the scenes mistakes
The weak version is a workshop montage set to music. It looks nice and explains nothing.
- A montage with no talking explains nothing. Say what each step is and why you do it.
- Without numbers it stays vague. Say how big a batch is, how long each step takes and how many you throw away.
- Hiding the rejects wastes your best proof. Show what fails the check.
- Following the whole company gets messy. Follow one order, from ticket to parcel.
Behind the scenes videos on Reels, TikTok and Shorts
It works as a normal post on all three apps. For premium products, it also works as an ad to people who already know you.
Where a behind the scenes video works
| Platform | How to use it |
|---|---|
| TikTok | Post it. Videos about how things are made are familiar there. |
| Instagram Reels | Post it, and run it as an ad for people who hesitated at the price. |
| YouTube Shorts | Title it the way people search, such as how our coffee is roasted to order. |
Platform: TikTok
- How to use it
- Post it. Videos about how things are made are familiar there.
Platform: Instagram Reels
- How to use it
- Post it, and run it as an ad for people who hesitated at the price.
Platform: YouTube Shorts
- How to use it
- Title it the way people search, such as how our coffee is roasted to order.
Making a behind the scenes video in Cutroom
Cutroom edits the video for you. You record yourself talking once, add your process clips, and get a finished vertical video back.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long, plus your process clips.
- You highlight a sentence, and the clip you picked lands on exactly those words.
- You can show each clip full screen, on a small card, in a bottom band or on a tilted card.
- Captions are timed to your voice and burned in, and your first line goes on screen as a headline.
- You get a 9:16 MP4. Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it.
Questions people ask
- How long should a behind the scenes video be?
- 35 to 45 seconds. The example here runs 42 seconds and 97 words. About half goes to the hidden step and the quality check. A longer process works better as a series.
- What is the difference between behind the scenes and day in the life?
- The subject. Behind the scenes follows one product or job through the process. A day in the life video follows the person. Use behind the scenes to explain quality, and day in the life to explain effort.
- What if my process is not visually interesting?
- Most processes have one step that is. Film the check, the test or the wait. For service businesses, film the marked-up draft, the checklist on the wall or the second review. One real detail is enough.
- Should I show mistakes and rejects?
- Yes. Showing the batch that failed the check tells viewers you have a standard and stick to it. It is the part that most clearly separates a small maker from a mass producer.
- Can Cutroom edit a behind the scenes video?
- Yes. Record yourself talking as one video of up to 3 minutes and upload your process clips. Cutroom places each clip on the sentence you highlight, adds captions, puts your first line on screen as a headline, and exports a 9:16 MP4. Your first video is free.
- When is behind the scenes the wrong format?
- When the process is confidential, or would not reassure a buyer. If what happens backstage is ordinary, show the customer's result instead, with a before and after video or a customer review read out on camera.
Film one order moving through your hands and tell its story once. Your first video is free.