Micro Drama Episode Outline Template

Ten episodes on one page. Each row has a hook for the first three seconds, a turn and a cliffhanger, so the season never sags.

Use this template
  • FitsA season of 8 to 12 episodes
  • IncludesFilled example and blank
  • CostFree to copy

Updated

A woman in a yellow raincoat holds a clear umbrella on a wet, colorful street
A woman in a yellow raincoat walks through a rainy neon street at night

Frames of the example season, The Yellow Coat, made in Ziztu.

The template

The example is a ten episode thriller romance, The Yellow Coat. Every row answers the same three questions, so you can see the pattern and keep it going in your own season.

Season outline

The Yellow Coat, 10 episodesYour title here

Season card

Four lines you can read out loud in ten seconds.

Title
The Yellow Coat
Logline
A night-shift pharmacist is followed home in the rain by the same man, and learns he is the only one keeping her safe.
Season question
Who is Jonah, and what did he promise her sister?
Length
10 episodes, about 75 seconds each

Episodes

The hook is the first three seconds. The turn changes what the viewer thinks. The cliffhanger is the last shot.

EpTitleHookTurnCliffhanger
1The Same ManMira sees the same man behind her for the third night.He picks up the glove she dropped and does not give it back.Her door is unlocked and the glove is on the table.
2Wrong DoorMira takes a new route home in the heavy rain.Jonah steps out of a doorway: he is not following her, he is watching who is.A black car behind them turns its lights off.
3The Pharmacy OrderA stranger orders a medicine in her sister Tess's name.Tess says she has never heard of it.Tess's phone lights up with Jonah's name.
4No RecordMira searches for Jonah and finds nothing at all.She finds a photo of him next to Tess's ex.Jonah is standing in her kitchen.
5The Other SideJonah admits he used to work for Tess's ex.He quit the day he saw what the ex planned.The ex knocks on the front door.
6Back StairsMira and Jonah run down a service stairwell.She learns Tess has been lying to her for a year.Mira stops running and turns around to face Jonah.
7Tess's ReasonMira confronts her sister on the roof of the pharmacy.Tess made a deal to keep Mira out of it.The deal has a deadline, and it is tonight.
8Rain CheckThe three of them plan the night in a closed laundromat.Jonah offers to take the risk alone and Mira refuses.The yellow coat is missing from its hook.
9The Yellow CoatA woman in a yellow coat crosses the street at midnight.It is Tess, wearing it as a decoy.Mira realises Tess walked into the trap on purpose.
10SunriseMorning. The street is dry for the first time.The ex is gone, and the price was Jonah's name.Mira hangs the yellow coat on its hook and does not look back.

Check the season

Four checks. If one fails, change the row, not the checklist.

  1. 1Episode 1 hookThe first shot makes the viewer ask who the man is.
  2. 2Midpoint, episode 5Jonah's confession flips who the viewer fears.
  3. 3Darkest point, episode 9The decoy plan puts Tess in danger.
  4. 4Answer, episode 10Jonah is named, the promise is kept and it costs him.

Paste it into Google Docs, Word, Notion or any text editor. It is free to copy and use.

The fastest way to use it

On your own

  • Copy the template into a document and fill it in.
  • Find an image tool, a video tool and a voice tool, and move your work between them.
  • Keep the same faces, places and style yourself, shot after shot.

In Ziztu

  • The idea box opens with the example already written. Change the names and press go.
  • Studio plans the shot list, makes every shot and adds the music, in one place.
  • Character sheets keep the cast looking the same in every shot.
  • 40 free credits, no card: write the script, cast your characters, draw the storyboard and hear the voices. Video starts at $12.
Use this template

How to fill it in

  1. 01

    Write the season question

    Decide what the whole season answers in episode 10. Every cliffhanger should push that question forward.

  2. 02

    Fill the cliffhangers first

    Write the last shot of each episode before the hooks. A row that cannot end on a new question needs a different turn.

  3. 03

    Then write the hooks and the turns

    Hook each episode from the cliffhanger before it, then add the turn that changes what the viewer believes.

What makes it work

Chain the rows

The cliffhanger of one episode is the hook of the next. Read down the two columns to check the chain.

Move the floor at episode 5

A midpoint reversal gives the second half a new question, so the season does not repeat itself.

Make the end cost something

An answer with no price feels flat. The last row should pay for the first one.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a micro drama episode outline?

It is a list of every episode in a season with the three beats that matter most: a hook in the first three seconds, a turn in the middle and a cliffhanger in the last shot. It sits between the series bible and the script of each episode.

How many episodes should a micro drama have?

Short seasons run 8 to 12 episodes of 60 to 90 seconds. Longer series can run to 60 or more, but a first season of ten is easier to plan, make and test with viewers.

What is the difference between an outline and a script?

An outline says what happens in each episode in a sentence or two. A script writes one episode out as shots and lines. Make the outline first, then script one episode at a time.

Is The Yellow Coat a real series?

It is a concept series made for this page, with frames from Ziztu and invented people. The outline is written the way you would write your own season.

Can I turn an outline into a video?

Yes. Press Use this template to open the idea box with episode 1 written out, then make it. In Ziztu Studio you can keep the cast the same across all ten episodes.

Is the template free?

Yes. Copy it as text, download it as a Markdown file or print it to PDF without an account.

Related tools

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