I start with one sentence
Before I sketch anything, I write down how I want people to feel when the video ends. Excited enough to sign up? Curious enough to share it? Relieved that their problem has a fix? That one sentence becomes my filter. If a moment doesn't help that feeling, it doesn't make it into the plan.
I pick the music early
Music sets the pace of a short video more than anything else. I choose the track first and listen for the big moments: where it builds, where it drops, where it goes quiet. Then I plan around them. Usually that means something eye-catching in the first second or two, the problem by around ten seconds, the proof by twenty, and the 'download now' or 'book today' moment on the final beat.
Then I sketch it on my tablet
I draw quick, rough sketches of each moment on my tablet, usually nine to twelve frames, with the timing written under each one. They're simple shapes and stick figures, not finished art. What matters is that each frame has one clear job, and that I can read the whole story from start to finish in a few seconds. Working on a tablet also means I can move frames around, copy them or fix one without starting over.
I test it before I animate it
Next I put the sketches into my editing software and line them up with the music, like a rough slideshow. It takes about an hour, and it shows me straight away if a moment is too long, too rushed or confusing. Fixing that now takes minutes. Fixing it after everything is animated can take days.
The client sees it early
I send this rough version to the client before I build anything properly. It's much easier for them to say 'can we show the price earlier?' when they're looking at simple sketches than when they're looking at a finished, polished video. It also means there are no surprises at the end.
What this gives me
When I finally start animating, I'm not guessing. I know what happens in every second and why. The planning takes about a day, and it saves far more time than that later.