Placing Cue Points for Graphics in Video Scripts

The short answer

A cue point is a marker that tells the graphics team when an element appears, animates, or leaves the screen. Placed well, it removes a round of guesswork between the writer and the artist. The artist gets a clear job instead of an interpretation.

Cue points live in the script next to the line they support. The artist reads the line, sees the cue, and knows how the timing should land. That proximity is what makes the cue useful rather than decorative.

You can add cue points in a draft and refine them once the voiceover is recorded and the real timing is known. Early cues set intent, and later cues fix the exact frames.

What a cue point should say

State the element, the action, and the timing. A title card that fades in at the start of section two covers all three in one short line the artist can read quickly.

Name the element the way your team already names it. If the lower third is called a banner in your project files, use that same word in the script so nobody has to translate.

Keep each cue short enough to scan. The artist should not have to parse a full sentence to find the instruction buried in the middle of it.

Anchor cues to beats

Tie graphics to spoken words rather than to clock time when you can. As the narrator says the phrase, the title slides in is easier to hit than a raw timestamp that nobody can hear.

When the voiceover shifts, word anchors survive while timestamps break. That resilience saves a rebuild of the animation each time the read changes in the booth.

Use timestamps only when there is no spoken line to hold onto, such as a music-only intro or an opening montage with no narration.

A cue point is a promise to the artist that nothing appears without a reason.

Reviewing the cues

Read the script with the cues and imagine each graphic arriving on screen. If two elements land at the same time, decide which one the viewer should notice first so the screen does not fight itself.

Group related cues so the frame does not fill up. Three graphics in one second distract more than they inform, and the viewer usually misses all of them at once.

Send the cue list to the artist before the final voiceover so they can plan the build and flag any element that will not fit the time it has.

Timing against the read

Graphics timing depends on the voiceover more than on the clock. Record the read first, listen back, and place cues where the emphasis actually falls in the take.

A phrase that looked short on the page often stretches in the booth. Give the artist the recorded reference so the animation can breathe with the narration.

If a cue lands in the middle of a word, move it. Graphics that fight the voice feel rushed even when the timing is technically correct.

Keep a short list of the cues you moved after the read so the team can see where the timing changed. A visible trail of small adjustments prevents a long argument during the final review. It also helps the next episode start from a smarter place instead of a fresh guess about what worked. Over a season, those notes build into a reliable feel for pacing that transfers across videos.

Key takeaways

• A cue point names the element, its action, and its timing.
• Anchor cues to spoken words when a line exists.
• Use the same element names your team uses in files.
• Avoid piling several graphics into one moment.
• Share the cue list before final voiceover.