Guides
Pronunciation and style guides for the writer.
A guide is reference material Prism consults while writing a script: a list of entries, not a block of prose. There are two kinds, pronunciation and style.
The two kinds
| Kind | What it holds |
|---|---|
| PRONUNCIATION | Words, names and phrases, with how they should be said |
| STYLE GUIDE | Tone, language and formatting rules for your scripts |
The guides page filters on the same split: ALL GUIDES, PRONUNCIATION and STYLE GUIDE.
Making a guide
- Open the guides page from the left rail
- Choose New Guide and pick Pronunciation or Style Guide
- Give it a name, and a description if you want one
- Add entries one at a time with ADD
- Save the guide
A blank name saves as Untitled Pronunciation Guide or Untitled Style Guide. Entries are not required either: a guide saves empty, and you can fill it in later.
Pronunciation entries
A pronunciation entry replaces a string with something the presenter says correctly. There are two ways to write one.
Alias spells the word out the way it sounds.
Give the entry a name, the alias, and the string it replaces — for example, the alias tie-land replacing Thailand.
Phoneme is exact. Give the entry a name, an alphabet, the phoneme, and the string it replaces.
The alphabet must be IPA or CMU. Anything else is rejected when you save, with a message naming the two valid types.
Use alias for names you say a particular way. Use phoneme when the pronunciation has to be unambiguous.
Style guide entries
A style guide entry is a rule.
Give it a name and the detail — for example, always use first name and last name in voiceover.
Keep each rule to one idea. Short, separate rules are easier for the writer to follow than one long paragraph.
Entry names must be unique
Within a single guide, no two entries can share a name.
Prism rejects a duplicate when you add it, and again if a draft contains two.
Names are compared without regard to case or surrounding spaces.
Attaching a guide
A guide does nothing on its own. It takes effect when it is attached to a script style.
Open a script style, find its GUIDES section, and select the guides to apply.
Pronunciation and style guides are listed separately, and you can select all of one group at once.
Every video briefed with that script style then inherits the guides.
Building a guide with Prism
On Enterprise plans, every guide editor carries a Prism panel beside the entries. Describe the entries you want in your own words, and it proposes them as a plan you review.
Accept them individually or all together, and decline what you do not want. Nothing is written to the guide until you accept it.
FAQ
Can I copy a guide?
There is no duplicate action. A guide's More options menu holds Edit and Delete, and nothing else. To make a variant, create a new guide and add the entries you want.
Who can see my guides?
Guides belong to your account. On Team and Enterprise plans, everyone on the account can see them and attach them to their own script styles.
What if a name is still said wrong?
Try a phoneme entry rather than an alias. If it still reads wrong, contact us.