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xadoheandterra · 1 year

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God of War: Ragnarok is so well written. Playing it, and watching people play it, shows that there are some gameplay elements that are a little frustrating -- but overall, the way the studio built up the story the hints they hide within it -- it is so well done.

I’m going to keep this brief, but I wanted to share this realization I had as the story went along. Spoilers are below the cut because I’m polite thank you.

Throughout the story we are dogged by the Death of Kratos that was predicted. We are dogged and followed and harrowed by it -- Kratos is haunted by it. Atreus is horrified about it. The Fates hint at it -- but we defy it.

I do not think Kratos was intended to die. I do not think that was what Groa saw at all. I think it is a lie that was told by the Giants, like how the hidden prophecy had additional information that Odin did not know. That Tyr leading the armies with a spear was a red herring and it was always intended to be Kratos. The God of War that led them was Kratos, but Odin was led to believe it was Tyr.

This leads to Odin imprisoning Tyr and believing he had done away with Ragnarok, if Tyr cannot blow the horn and summon the beast, if Tyr cannot signal Ragnarok and Heimdall sure as hell wouldn’t unless Odin demanded it of him -- then Ragnarok is averted, right?

Except the Giants saw a distant God of War, Laufey saw a distant God of War -- and suddenly the whole prophecy shifts.

If you look at the imagery, you see Kratos in Atreus’ arms and Atreus staring up saying something, and this flowing script that plenty of us who played the first thought was Kratos’ soul -- it mimics the end with Odin. Odin in Loki’s arms, Loki drawing out Odin’s soul -- it was never Kratos. It was Odin.

Everything was a red herring to lead to the ending of the “best outcome” where Odin’s tyranny is stopped and the other realms were safe from the hell that is Odin. We had hints that this was something the Giants might have done given that the Giants hid additional prophecies inside their shrines.

The Giants were just as cunning as Odin, just as devious -- and they hid just as much and threw things off just as much. With Angrboda and Gryla there is more hints and explanations to this -- with the dreams Kratos has of Faye -- everything hints to fate and fighting fate and accepting fate...and can you fight fate? Is fate per-defined and should you accept the fate you see? Should you bow to it?

It was...very well done. They did a good job of laying the foundations of the ending throughout the story.

Like with Sif and Thrud and Thor -- it feels initially as if Sif disapproves or hates Loki but by the end she doesn’t -- and really, really? It is that Sif disapproves of Loki helping Odin. The discussions you overhear, especially the ones talking about her sons, are about Odin more than they are about Loki.

Odin is why Magni and Modi died, and Sif has been trying to get Thor to see that. It’s why its so poignant that when she shows up as Thrud is there, threatening Atreus? Her siding with Atreus in that moment? That made it very clear of Sif’s motivations this whole time. Sif who wanted nothing more than to keep her family safe, Sif who didn’t hate Atreus but didn’t trust him -- Sif who hated her father-in-law.

Everything in the end wrapped together so well.

I’m still pissed about Brok though.

#god of war ragnarok #god of war #kratos #atreus #good story crafting

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two-are-the-trees · 5 years

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31 Days of Poe Day 22: “MS. Found in a Bottle”

The Poe equivalent to a found-footage horror film, “MS. Found in a Bottle” is a haunting tale that uses the unexplainable and mysterious to its utmost advantage. The sublime descriptions and terrified reactions of the narrator create horrific imagery of a soul desperately clinging to life and reason in a realm where the impossible becomes possible. It’s one of Poe’s earliest triumphs and a standout piece for its unique narrative and chilling atmosphere.

The story is framed as a message found in a bottle drifting at sea, the narrator being the man who wrote the mysterious document. The narrator writes of his voyage aboard a shipping vessel, which is suddenly overtaken by an unusual storm. The narrator and crew quickly begin seeing swells of monstrous sizes and one particularly violent wave hits the ship and sends everyone overboard except for the narrator and a Swedish man. Without the crew, the two men must hold on for dear life as the ship narrowly escapes a giant whirlpool. Things only become more terrifying, however, when the men see an otherworldly ship rise up from the ocean depths. When the narrator suddenly finds himself aboard this mysterious ship after a crash, he is propelled into an adventure stranger than he ever could have dreamt.

I really enjoy the setup for this story. There is just something so much more unsettling about a tale in which the narrative is supposedly discovered by the audience, mostly because it implies that this event could have really happened. The story is also so much more enigmatic for this reason, as we don’t get a lot of clear answers. The narrator only has so much time to tell us what is going on and all of the questions he has about his situation are our questions too. It reflects the long-standing idea of the mysterious open ocean and how those who venture too far may find unexpected events or dangers.

Like “Descent into the Maelström,” Poe also uses sublime imagery to enhance this unsettling effect. The narrator gives vivid descriptions of what he sees at sea, like the odd, encircling formation of the clouds or the waves as tall as mountains. He also describes his sensations, such as becoming lightheaded with the sheer height of the tops of the waves and the dizzying vertigo of being propelled down the swells with incredible speed. These descriptions add another dimension to the sublime imagery by using relatable feelings in order to really put the audience in the position of the narrator. Most notable, however, are the descriptions of the phantom ship that appears from the very storm itself. It arrives with a hellish red glow and has an unusual antiquated and grim appearance, with an all black hull and warship-like construction. The moment in which it crests the very highest wave serves as a peak in the terror, as it towers over the narrator’s ship with a menacing aura.

Would I recommend “MS. Found in a Bottle?” Yes, I think it is a very unique tale, even for Poe, and although there are similarities between it and “Descent into the Maelström,” it progresses in a very different way and serves its own purpose. I especially think those who like sci-fi will be very interested in this tale, as there are many moments throughout that feel like the beginnings of science fiction, including in the overall theming. It’s compelling and chilling in the images it presents and the answers that it does not.

For more analysis (which contains spoilers!!!) please read below the cut!

I think the story really begins to get into the science fiction elements in the second part of the tale, when the narrator is onboard the phantom vessel. The terror is still there, but it becomes a new, more existential kind of terror as the narrator realizes that, for some reason, the crew onboard the ship cannot see or hear him. This provides him with an opportunity to explore, leading him to some very strange discoveries. The ship is indicated to be very old, as the narrator describes it as “dingy” and all of the maps, charts, and navigational equipment as “antiquated.” The crewmen are also all very old and decrepit. The narrator soon figures out that they are heading for the south pole, and he awaits the landing on the mysterious continent with anticipation, but as they approach the pole, they are swallowed up by a sudden whirlpool. The narrator’s final lines as he writes about his impending doom are especially disturbing as the terror is palpable in his written exclamations.

This second part of the tale and the ending are a bit strange given the beginning of the story, and they almost don’t seem to match up well. What are we supposed to glean from this unusual narrative and why does it unfold the way that it does. I actually do believe that the story’s opening points to its second half and it all stems from the narrator’s own philosophy. He claims in his introduction that he is a man of reason, so much so that he does not believe in any superstitions or unexplainable occurrences. This is why he is so piqued by the mysterious ship and the answers that it holds; this is perhaps the first time in his life that he has experienced something truly supernatural.

There is an overarching theme of exploration in the second half of the story, begun by the narrator taking a tar brush to a folded sail on a whim and, when unfolding it, finds that it miraculously spells out “discovery.” From there the narrator actively seeks answers about the strange nature of the ship. The narrator also learns that the sailors are also on a mission of discovery, seeking out the south pole which had not been explored in Poe’s time. This not only gives the story a more science fiction flavor, but also expresses, in my opinion, the main theme of the work; the more we explore and the deeper we venture into unknown territory, the more unexplainable and strange things we will find. This is why it is important that our narrator is very rational and always seeks an explanation for something. Even he has reached a point where there may only be more questions instead of answers. We never do discover the origins of the ship or crew and the promise of the south pole is met only with an all-consuming whirlpool. Sometimes reality truly is stranger than the fiction we invent.

So, what do y’all think? Do you have an explanation for the events of the story? Does the phantom ship represent something more supernatural, like a sort of purgatory? Do you think this is the closest Poe has come to science fiction? To share your opinion, please comment on this post or send me an ask! You can also use the tag #31daysofpoe to write your own response post!

#31daysofpoe #edgar allan poe #gothic literature #gothic #halloween

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clariverse · 4 years

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Writer In Motion: Week Four

Yesterday I got my feedback from the Editor Jeni Chappelle, which means my little Writer In Motion story is ready for its final draft.

I talked in my last week’s post about positive feedback and accepting it, so today I’ll only sum up the comments as I understood them and get right on with the final draft itself.

As always, if you’d like to skip the talk and get to the story, click here.

What I heard (read) Jeni say, and some of my thoughts:

The opening works: it’s got sense of setting along with moving the plot, plus nice imagery

Some phrasing conflicts with the fairytale-y tone of the story, and/or is vague and bordering on too flowery. I found just cutting these was the best course of action.

The #s as scene separators get a bit jarring when there’s so many in such a short piece

This sentence—On the eve of the equinox, the Spirit fell from her skies by the wish of a lonely child, and concocted a plan to trick her.—could use some more explanation. This is a big one, and one that gave me a bit of a headache. The plan itself is explained in the rest of the story, and I didn’t want to clutter this opening by infodumping that—but the rest, in my mind, just is. So I cheated a bit and sought consult with my writerly friends, and they suggested it was the “tricking her” part that needed clarity—which I can definitely see now that it’s been pointed out, and I hope addressing that helps some of the confusion.

I could cut and tweak some phrasings to lower the wordcount. A couple of these suggestions, I think, are style preferences I’m not too keen on changing, BUT a vast majority had me going “oh, duh” in mild embarrassment. It’s a good thing, though; gives me more words to use elsewhere as needed!

On the note of adding things and elaborating, this sentence—It was the birthday of the giants’ matriarch, an evening festive and alive with colour, and the Spirit feared.—feels incomplete

The styling of italics for dialogue in the past story, while using regular quotes for it in the present story, doesn’t work. I wish, I wish I got more on this. It’s something a CP pointed out last week as well—not seeing the point of it—so I really am seeing it as a thing to address.. This was my second little headache, and at the time of writing this I’m sure of one thing: it’s a matter of consistency. I need to make it consistent. Whether that means making it all regular dialogue OR making it all italics… I’m not sure! There’s something about that italicising approach that I feel adds to the tone and atmosphere, and I think this is me convincing myself to just go with that. Call me whatever you will—it’s calling to me, and where better to experiment than in this story?

Overall it’s a good story, and the way I reveal information as well as emotional connection both work (she even went as far as to use the words “brilliant” and “impressed” respectively—and here I was, genuinely expecting to hear none of it works and none of it is good enough)

Receiving all this feedback, I was inspired to work on the final draft right away. There were a couple of things I definitely needed to think about (looking at you, dialogue formatting), but overall I was happy.

I must stress this: I really appreciate the fact that the comments came from a place genuinely aiming to improve this story, as opposed to aiming to change its core. It’s the approach that I believe distinguishes a good editor, and I’m very grateful for it.

Here’s what came out of it all: the final draft.

Sometimes Our Skies

The Giant climbs the mountain one narrow stair at a time, carrying in her arms a dying spirit of the skies. She pushes against the chilling wind and raindrops swirling before her face, her heart drumming the rhythm, almost there, almost there.

On the eve of the equinox, the Spirit fell from the skies by a lonely child’s wish for a companion, and to make way back home concocted a plan to trick her.

More-stairs-than-she-can-count up the mountain, the Giant pauses to look back, for the first time since she started the climb. Far below, the stairs disappear in the ocean of white, where islands of smaller mountaintops peek through the clouds and early snowflakes await to flutter upon the giants’ cities. Up ahead, the stairs lead into the quiet mist of further heights, to new, thinner clouds caught against the sharp peaks. She still has ways to go.

On their first night, the Spirit asked not for the child’s name, because she wouldn’t be staying long. On their first dawn, the child cried not to be alone, and the Spirit held her hand.

Step, step, step. The Giant hums a song, voice hoarse from the cold, a hymn to the adventurers designed to bring spring into one’s step and courage to one’s heart.

We’re almost there, she tells the bundle in her arms, ashen curls sticking out of the wraps of tawny fur.

The Spirit says nothing.

On the night of their first year, the Spirit remembered her plan. Make the child wish her back home; let that wish burn the child’s soul in place of the Spirit’s own, and leave her behind cold and still as the Spirit shines back up in her skies. Soon, she told herself.

But to the child she only said, I’m here.

And the child smiled.

The Giant reaches the top cold and tired. Her fingers might be blocks of stone, even shielded from the worst cold by the furs around the half-conscious spirit. There’s the tower, up ahead, almost there: on a pier of concrete between the worlds, a structure of metal rises up to meet the sky, built to withstand millennia by the giants of the old. The stories say they lived for hundreds, thousands of years.

The thought makes the Giant’s chest warm with excitement, even through the cold. Oh, how wonderful it would be, to live that long, to live forever. But perhaps so lonely, too.

On the last day of their fifteenth spring, the Spirit’s eyes fluttered closed. It was the birthday of the giants’ matriarch, an evening festive and alive with colour, and the Spirit feared: soon enough, she’ll have waited too long.

I am tired, she said.

The child who was growing up held her close, stroked her hair and whispered small poems into her ear, and said, Tell me what I can do.

And the Spirit didn’t even think of seizing her chance.

The Giant climbs the tower with the last of her strength. She now carries the Spirit in a makeshift sash across her chest, and if not for the scarf wrapped tight around her face, her lips would brush against the softest curls she’d ever touched.

Quietly, the Spirit stirs. She senses the closeness of her skies, of the home she already thought lost.

We’re almost there, the Giant coos.

I will miss you, the Spirit whimpers.

On the morning of summer solstice, when the child was a child no longer and the Spirit had paled to an ashen shade, she told of a plan long discarded and said, I will extinguish like stars before the morning sun. But I will not let you burn in my place.

On the morning of summer solstice, when the leaves on the trees were bright, the child who was no longer a child heard it was too late to wish, and instead declared, I will take you home.

The tower pierces the skies. It enters the realm of the spirits with a sharp peak, bright with snow and stardust, but the Giant doesn’t climb that far. She stops when the clouds swirl closer with the wind, the skies excited and concerned to meet their long-lost denizen.

She unwraps the furs and kisses the Spirit’s forehead. And she says to the wind and the cold and the heights, She’s going to be all right.

The winds take hold of the Spirit’s pale curls. They tug at her sweater—the one the Giant made her, purple and blue and silver like the evening—and, finally, lift her up to where the heights chatter in voices of all the others, Welcome back home.

And it’s now, not when her knees had started hurting or the Spirit had been so silent in her arms, not when the elders of the city had warned her no one ever returned from the mountain, that the Giant cries.

She doesn’t speak, because she can’t find her voice. But she holds the Spirit’s hand, and for a moment it’s like holding a torch, like touching a star. The clouds light up with all the shades of autumn and fire, all the pinks of chilly dawns and golds of warm sunsets. And she puts in her touch all she needs to say, a fragile plea upon tear-stained memories: Don’t forget me.

She is ready to start her climb down, only hoping the cold and the exhaustion will catch up with her far enough for the Spirit not to have to witness it.

But the sky lights up again.

The Spirit reaches with a hand no longer so pale, lips stretched into a lopsided smile that sends the Giant’s chest fluttering. And as the wind calms and the voices of her family sing a quiet song of gratitude and welcome, the Spirit makes a wish of her own: Stay with me.

#writing #my writing #final draft #short story #writer in motion #violetvineyard #fantasy #writeblr #writers on tumblr #amwriting #ontheporch #wip #draft #original writing

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frenchy-and-the-sea · 5 years

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🎵 + Val, Rona, Ianry, Sarula, Tara, Amon, Bren, Cav, Titian, Riley (just do as many as you can xD)

Oh man, this is gonna be good. Granted, I’m sort of cheating since I’ve collected playlists for most of these but STILL. (Warning, this gets long, so check below the cut!)

Rona - Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men

[Some very good Rona feelings, about the wild abandon of all of the messy life of home and growing into her own as a druid and being allowed to escape to somewhere good and wild and WHOLE. Plus, Of Monsters and Men just have a very VERY good sound for her. It just reminds me of that first step out on your own, which is a feeling I associated with Rona a lot.]

Ianry - Eyes Wide Open by Tony Anderson

[Not really fair, since I ripped it straight off of @villnis‘s playlist, but man. Man, this song has just that perfect blend of wide-eyed wonder for all things, with a touch of sadness and enough movement to capture Ianry’s go-forth attitude. MAN.]

Sarula - Dream by Priscilla Ahn

[I dunno if I have a good explanation for this one, but this song has been my go-to Sarula song ever since I got into @urdnotgrunt‘s playlist. It’s just so beautiful, and it has this unbreakable calm and lightness to it that I can only associate with them. It’s not SOMBER though, not even in its darkest moments. It’s exactly the sort of song you wanna wrap up in like a warm blanket and if that ain’t Sarula, I don’t know what is.]

Tara - Whisper by The Dear Hunter

[This song popped into my head almost instantly, and I’m still working out exactly why. I think it’s a combination of the sound - which is both intense and driven, while also having a very steady movement to it - and the fact that some of the lyrics give me feelings about certain things that have been hinted at in Tara’s backstory. (In all the lessons learned, were they worth the ash from all the bridges burned? Standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue with tragic consequences after hearing about how she might’ve had some big falling out with some of her family? MMM.) For all that Tara tends to keep a bit to herself, she’s got this intensity to her that feels like the thunderous beat of this song and I dig it so much.]

Amon - In My Home by Young the Giant

[I was tempted to dip into Amon’s playlist too for this one, because Firewall by Les Friction is VERY GOOD, but I’ve spent the last like year and a half feeling deeply about him whenever I hear this song so I couldn’t not bring it up here. I think this is probably me projecting on what I want for him in the future - the reckless abandon of knowing exactly who he is and where he’s going and being so goddamn proud of it - but I think it’s because the seeds of that are there. The powerful hit of the lyrics (and we are not lost, we’re just searching, with heavy beats on every word) and the wild tempo of the song just gives me such a perfect image of this character, who I love so, so much, being allowed to burst his way into the world, and I get very misty about it a lot.]

Bren - if I ever feel better by Phoenix

[If I’m honest, I have to give Halle the hand for this once since it’s on her Cas playlist and that’s how I found it. But something about both the lyrics and the way they’re spoken - a little frantic, a little terrified, a little awkward, constantly on the move - and the slight tinge of hope woven in that one day things might get better just SCREAMED Bren to me. I’d like to imagine this is just slightly behind where he is currently, still trying to figure his way around a world where he doesn’t constantly have to be concerned with surviving from day to day.]

Cavvery - Backyard by Of Monsters and Men

[This, meanwhile, is a song that reminds me of Cavvery because it feels like it depicts how she had to be when Kay was still alive. More like the first time we met her - unsettling, somber, intense - and with that edge of danger in it. The lyrics (I’m a beast and a vicious one; I wrap myself in a thin sheet of ice) just catch me so hard in the chest of trying to understand the distance Cav put from herself in order to survive. It hurts, but it fits so, so well in my head.]

Titian - Silvertongue by Young the Giant

[For anyone who knows Titian, I think this one is very self explanatory, LMAO. This is based mostly on the party’s dealings with them, so it’s a bit less….somber than I think would normally fit them on the whole, but fuck if I didn’t immediately shout their name when I heard it.]

Val - Adventure Spirit by Yvette Young

[Put her last because Val is an easy one for me. This song has a perfect blend of imagery for me. The yawning vastness of an open horizon, a touch of wistful longing, a bit of softness - it’s really just one of my favorite songs on her playlist, tbqh.]

And one extra song, for the whole of the idiots right now, in this very moment, from the perspective of the big girl herself:

I Have Made Mistakes by the Oh Hellos

#frenchy replies #oc crap #music #pile of idiots #d&d #i have a lot of feeling about ocs and music man #i didn't do riley because it's late and I'm very tired #and I still don't know him super well #but all of the players should be accounted for!

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kadobeclothing · 4 years

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The Guide to Successful Silent Videos for Facebook Video Ads (+ Examples)

In recent years, Facebook has become a powerful platform for posting, sharing, and watching videos. In fact, nowadays, people watch more than 100 million hours of Facebook videos on a daily basis. However, unlike traditional viewing on television and even YouTube, a large percentage of people watch Facebook videos from their smartphones, and play them silently from their news feed. This is creating an environment where content creators and brands must compete in a soundless, auto-play Facebook environment. In addition, after Facebook went public and had pressure to monetize their platform, the social media giant turned to a paid-only ad-revenue model. Due to Facebook’s pay-to-play environment, brands have to pay for Facebook reach, and also make sure what they’re putting out is getting high return on investment (ROI). Therefore, many brands are turning to video, as opposed to images, for their ads, since video typically results in higher engagement and improved conversions. This creates a marketplace where brands have to keep two things in mind: To get seen, you have to pay To get attention, video is better but it’ll have to work without audio Unfortunately, as more businesses jump into the Facebook marketplace, there are more and more mistakes being made. Graham Mudd, Facebook’s Director of Ads Product Marketing, estimates that up to 40% of Facebook video ads fail to communicate when the sound isn’t on. When it comes to silent video ads for Facebook, the luxuries of audio are gone, but the pressure for conversions is still there. Therefore, brands and entrepreneurs need to change their thinking on what it means to communicate through video, and more specifically, silent video.

Storytelling Visually, Not Verbally People watch 85% of videos on Facebook without clicking on the ‘sound’ button. To satisfy the majority of viewers who will watch videos without sound, brands and entrepreneurs need to master what it means to tell a story without verbally saying anything. Here are a few tips on how to do just that. 1. Create a script that can work with or without dialogue. Notably, video production is usually based on a script. But you should avoid depending on the dialogue entirely, since this could set you up for a loss. Content creators often know readers won’t read every line of content you publish — they might skim, skip paragraphs, or leave the page before reaching the end. Similarly, the majority of Facebook users will not listen to your videos. Some filmmakers may find this odd, since traditional videos have a beautiful mix of both visuals and audio. But change is inevitable, so you need to adapt to the current methods that people view content. When creating Facebook silent video ads, you want to get a competitive edge with a script that can still sell your brand even when silent. Right off the bat, concepts such as interviews or a speaking host should be placed at bay. This includes those that could also pass the message through subtitles. Always remember that context is key, and you need to use a strong visual narrative. For instance, Reolink’s Argus Security Camera offers a simple, yet effective example of a video that worked with no dialogue. At first glance it looks like the video is just images with captions, but a couple seconds in, a hand swoops in and yanks the camera out of the frame.

It’s a perfect example of communicating a product’s value with a combination of text and movement, without needing to rely on any narration or verbal explanation. 2. Emphasize big, bold visuals. It’s equally important to make the images bold, big, and highly visual for your video to ‘pop.’ You have to catch the eyes of your viewers as they scroll the sea of jokes, celebrity gossip, their exes, and opinionated posts. The images you choose should be high-contrast with bold visuals, and noticeable enough to prevent confusion with any regular video content with audio. By building a reputation of digestible silent content, your viewers will always slow down to check out any new videos from you on their feed. You can see an example of this creative visual approach with the UAG MacBook Drop Test video.

Whatever it is, just make sure your visual editing touches add something that people aren’t used to seeing. 3. Create content that explains itself. For an immediate impact, you need to come up with content that does not need audio or words to explain the happiness, frustration, or ‘cool factors’ of your brand. You can begin with a question or a shocking statement with great visuals. This is one of those times where you don’t want to overcomplicate things. Think about your product or service and cut to the core of what you’re offering. There is no room for anything subtle or meta here — just cut to the chase. Privacy Pop executes this extremely well in their videos. While introducing a relatively innovative product to the market, they cut straight to the core of what they are offering and communicate the value of their bed tents.

Often in the name of creativity, companies can really go off the deep end of messaging and symbolism. For Facebook Video Ads, everything is silent and you really only have a handful of seconds to stop the viewer from scrolling. A confusing message will ensure that they will not stop on your ad. 4. Place your call-to-action wisely. Though not in the video itself, call-to-action buttons are extremely important in getting conversions. There are two decisions to make regarding your call-to-action. The first regards which CTA prompt will produce the best results. To find out, Adespresso A/B tested four prompts (in addition to a CTA with no button at all) using a Facebook call-to-action button. The results were compelling: ● No button at all produced the worst results — 20 leads for $12.50 each ● “Sign Up” generated 26 leads at $9.62 per lead ● “Learn More” generated 36 leads at $9.94 per lead ● “Download” garnered 49 leads at $5.10 per lead The best performance was for “Download,” which generated 49 leads at a cost of $5.10 per lead.

Image Source The reason? Researchers suspect it’s because “Sign Up” creates concerns that users will need to provide credit card information and “Learn More” suggests more reading, which would be time-consuming. The second decision involves where in your video you want to place the CTA. The CTA of the video and the Facebook video ads should tie together. Remember, your CTA in the video should ultimately urge the person to click the CTA button below the video. This is something you should A/B test — try placing your CTA at the opening, in the middle, and at the end to see which placement your viewers prefer. You should also try displaying the CTA in graphic text throughout the video. See which placement performs best before launching your campaign. 5. Drop your discount or offer early. There’s no guarantee consumers will watch an ad all the way through. In fact, Facebook ads on average capture just 60 seconds of viewers’ attention — some people, of course, will leave before that — so it’s important to frontload your most important information, like a discount or special offer. Additionally, make sure your offer works naturally with what precedes and follows it — in other words, don’t segregate your discount from other video features, like the value and benefits of your product or service. Visual Storytelling Toolset Here are some tactics we use in our Facebook video production strategy that you can use to create successful silent video ads for Facebook. 1. Use Animations Due to their visual-heavy nature, animations allow for an easy and effective transition to silent videos. We have found that for clients who are strapped on budget, animations provide a great alternative. Animated videos do not require actors, cameras, multiple locations, or other typical expenses needed for a video shoot. Be sure to design an outline or script that can work without a voiceover. This way, the animated silent video ad could make a fast transition to the social platform without much effort. When creating these silent animated videos there are certain factors that you need to think about beyond a typical video commercial shoot, including: Creating a Mood Board/Style Guide: The video you create will be all graphics, so it’s extremely important to keep colors, graphics, text, and transitions on-brand and looking clean. If you have ever tried designing a flier on your own, without design experience, you’ll know that people tend to go overboard with colors and clutter. Animations are exactly the same. Mood boards allow you to stay on theme and remind you of the aesthetic that you’re trying to achieve. Common tools that our team uses is Abduzeedo.com and Pinterest to share ideas when formulating mood boards. Create a Storyboard: With animations, video storyboards are extremely important. It reminds you of the message you are trying to tell and helps keep the animation concise. 2. Establish a Quick Connection You must connect and capture the attention of your audience right away. According to research, 65% of viewers who watch the initial three seconds of a video ad will continue watching for more than 10 seconds. Therefore, you must consider videos and thumbnail images that can hook people to your story. To connect the silent video to your brand, you might try using brand colors, imagery, and themes. In this video, Airtable effectively grabs your attention with the use of child actors to detail the product’s features. It provides a nice change of pace from the usual business videos we see every day.

This is where your creativity needs to shine. You need to pique that curiosity. Create an introduction that makes people think, “What is this?” When ideating on how to do this, our team always likes to review movie trailers and commercials that have caught our eye. When looking for these techniques, you don’t need to keep your search only to Facebook video ads — instead, you might check out Superbowl ads, trending YouTube commercials, or ads on Hulu. 3. Make Graphics Large Need some extra help to get your point or idea across without using audio? You can get creative and use large titles that emphasize the key features or steps of your video. To draw more attention to your video, you can also include flashy transitions. However, it’s critical you ensure they remain within your brand’s signature feel and look to retain consistency with your overall marketing strategy. You might also consider keeping the title or point of the video at the top of the video at all times. Here’s a great example from BBC Three:

This style of presenting videos is becoming more and more popular for brands and content creators as it helps overcome the silent aspects of videos, since it tells viewers who might not have been paying attention at the beginning of the video what the video is about. 4. Add Subtitles Understandably, you might feel you can’t completely get your point across without using words. In this case, you can add subtitles as you upload. Fortunately, Facebook has a feature where you can automatically add captions using their software. We always recommend reviewing the captions before publishing. Captioning technology isn’t at the point where it gets everything 100% right. There are many tools that exist that can help you transcribe if you want a more exact transcription, but many can get pricey if you want 100% accuracy. Alternatively, if you use Facebook’s feature, you can go through and edit yourself for clarity. 5. Optimize the Ad Description and Title For more a successful silent video ad, you need to keep the title and description engaging to let viewers know what to expect. These two sections also provide important information on your video topic to the site’s targeting algorithms. Therefore, you need to ensure that all the relevant keywords are included in your ad. Other than ensuring relevance in your copy, always generate enough curiosity since some titles are catchier than others. To optimize the title and ad description, you need to refer back to your initial goals. Ad descriptions and titles are often an afterthought where companies have someone quickly upload and write the first thing that comes to mind. This is not the way to do it. Facebook titles and descriptions are like the subject line of an email. They are often written last and with the least amount of time spent, yet they are often the most important part of the email. The same goes for Facebook titles. 6. Keep It Short Considering most people tune out so fast, what is the ideal length for a Facebook video to tell your story and sell your brand? If you intend to use in-stream videos (those placed during or before other content), it is recommended that you keep it in the five –15 second range. The maximum allowance, however, stands at 31 seconds. Alternatively, standalone ads should last less than 15 seconds, since shorter video ads have higher completion rates. A great example is the throwback Google Chrome YouTube commercials that the company used to demonstrate the browser’s superior speed.

What we recommend here is to be ruthless when creating your storyboard and script. Having discipline in the beginning of your video ideation will help reign in the excess further down the line. Don’t wait until the end when all shots are done and you are trying to stuff everything in. You’ll often find that your video is at least 10x longer than needed. Having a strict storyboard and script in the beginning will help drive decision-making when certain members on the team have fallen in love with a scene and don’t want to make any cuts. 7. Copy the “News” Style Most marketers are familiar with Facebook’s algorithm changes earlier this year, the ones that prioritized news from friends and family over those from publishers. This placed a new onus on advertisers to create ads which mimic what a user typically sees in their news feed. Of course, this isn’t a new concept in advertising — “native ads” have been around for quite a while, as have best practice strategies for creating them. To get the most out of your Facebook ads, then, you might try copying the “news” style. That means, among other things, using images and short video clips overlayed with text on colored backgrounds and using third-person delivery, similar to the style used in news feeds. A great tool that you can use is Lumen5. Many publications use tools like Lumen5 to create real-time videos so that they can be the first to report, despite not having produced a short segment yet. Below is an example of using the “news” style for brand marketing purposes:

You’ll notice that rather than looking like an overt advertisement, the Tesla video looks almost like a review. Entrepreneurs can leverage tools like this to help create the same look and leverage the authoritative style that is associated with this style. 8. Blur Your Introduction People watch a lot of videos on Facebook. According to WordStream, for example, almost half of Facebook users watch at least one hour of Facebook videos every day. That means, to be effective, your ad needs to make an impact in the first few seconds. As Social Media Examiner notes, “To be effective, video ads have to accomplish two things: grab the user’s attention in 2-3 seconds and have a short duration, probably no more than 20 seconds total.” There are several ways to grab the user’s attention at the start of your Facebook video ad. One trick you might try is to blur your introduction. This creates suspense as users become curious about what will follow, especially if they’re quickly scrolling through multiple video ads. For best results, limit the blurring to the first couple of seconds. Ultimately, producing and distributing effective Facebook video ads — the kind that increase clickthrough and conversion rates and boost sales — is challenging, especially given the increasing competition among advertisers. Ideally, you can use the strategies above to get started, and iterate on your process as you learn more about what works for your brand’s unique Facebook audience. Interested in further inspiration? Check out HubSpot’s 11 Soundless Videos We Love (And Why).

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comiconverse · 7 years

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Review: New Super-Man #11

New Super-Man #11 was one of several Superbooks that began new story arcs last Wednesday. Writer Gene Luen Yang was joined by penciller Billy Tan for the opening chapter of The Zero Ultimatum. ComiConverse contributor T. Kyle King, who covers every DC Comics hero whose chest is emblazoned with an “S”, brings you this review.

New Super-Man #11 Review:

Old friends, fresh developments, and unexpected enemies all make appearances in The Zero Ultimatum — Part One. When Kong Kenan experiences a breakthrough in the development of his metahuman abilities, will the New Super-Man’s new power be enough to enable the Justice League of China to defeat its greatest threat yet?

(Warning: Some spoilers follow!)

New Super-Man #11 Synopsis:

In the waters off the coast of Shanghai, Zheng Shiqiang makes a great discovery, but his celebration is cut short when the China White Triad slays the professor and his team so they can steal the apparent artifact he has found. Studying stillness under the tutelage of Master I-Ching, Kenan unlocks his super-speed, affording Avery Ho the opportunity to escape the boredom of being tested by Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman so the Flash can race her impulsive Justice League teammate.

When Dr. Omen makes Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman aware of Professor Zheng’s death, Peng Deilan recognizes his discovery as Sorcerer Monk Fahai, the turtle spirit who imprisoned her atop a mountain. Snakepit injects the Doomsday Virus into the seeming statue, awakening and empowering him. The creature thus created emerges from the ocean to attack Shanghai, requiring the Justice League to unite to combat him. Elsewhere, Amanda Waller (accompanied by Harley Quinn) confronts Lex Luthor about Kong’s recent visit to Metropolis, while Luo Longde — acting at the instigation of a hidden manipulator — forces Dr. Omen to unleash an unstable secret weapon.

New Super-Man #11 Analysis:

Because regular artist Viktor Bogdanovic’s distinctive stylistic signature is very nearly as strongly associated with this series as Yang’s unique writing, the graphics of The Zero Ultimatum — Part One initially appear somewhat jarring. Once the audience becomes accustomed to the unexpected imagery, though, there is much to like about the visuals of New Super-Man #11. Tan’s pencils, Tako Zhang’s inks, and Ying Zhan’s colors together effectively convey both motion and emotion in an issue that includes ample instances of each. There is a significant degree of fluidity to the portrayal of the race between Avery and Kenan, while the mutated Monk Fahai is rendered with a strong sense of menace and scale.

The sorcerer at the center of The Zero Ultimatum — Part One may represent the best blending of elements yet in Yang’s consistently inventive series. Fahai, who addresses Deilan as “Green Snake”, is a familiar figure from the White Snake legend who was given greater prominence by being portrayed on film by Jet Li. Yang proceeds to pump the Chinese legend up with superheroic steroids by infecting the monk with the Doomsday Virus from Superman: Doomed, and the result is a tremendously intimidating and intriguing twist on one of the iconic images of the Silver Age: Jimmy Olsen as the giant turtle man. Add to that a distinctly Chinese take on the commonplace Flash/Superman race, along with a Suicide Squad aside that carried the promise of paying future dividends, and New Super-Man #11 deftly mixed a multitude of disparate ingredients into a clever concoction.

Among the numerous pieces creatively stitched together were several originating in the series itself. Kenan and his coevals have charted a course laden with nuance, so much so that nuggets previously coming across as momentary explanations for motivations or throwaway bits of character backstory now are winding their way around to hitherto unsuspected relevance. Clues like Deilan’s earlier incarceration went overlooked until such details were illuminated by their placement in a greater context; Zheng’s and Luo’s prior passing presence has now acquired newfound noteworthiness. Like the snaking path of Kong’s qi, the road Yang has mapped includes many bends, but New Super-Man #11 doubled back to give us a fresh perspective on past subtleties we may have missed.

The dialogue of The Zero Ultimatum — Part One is as lively and engaging as ever, economically and insightfully providing glimpses into what makes these characters tick. This series has introduced the audience to a host of clearly defined individuals while letting the reader get to know them slowly. As a comfort born of familiarity has settled over the title’s loyal fans, extrinsic elements have been folded in convincingly and gracefully, creating novel combinations like Avery’s interactions with Kenan. All this works wonderfully well, both as character study and as heroic adventure, and Yang is exceptionally adept at fusing the ancient and modern mythologies of the Middle Kingdom and the DC Universe into forms truly suited to both realms. New Super-Man #11 is but the latest example of this gifted storyteller’s capable craftsmanship, which invariably is a treat to read.

Did you have zero complaints about the latest chapter in the saga of Kong Kenan? Let us know your thoughts on the latest issue in the comments below!

T. Kyle King is an Expert Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @TKyleKing.

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two-are-the-trees · 4 years

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31 Days of Poe Day 29: “The Black Cat”

“The Black Cat” is such a classically Poe-esque story that it shares elements with many of Poe’s other works. From the slow escalation of tension to the haunting hint of strange and supernatural elements, Poe builds a gripping tale that becomes horrifying in unexpected ways. This look into the mind of our psychologically conflicted character combines themes of fate, abuse, guilt, and the battle with personal demons for a truly unforgettable conclusion.

The narrator of the tale begins by explaining his and his wife’s strong affinity for animals. As such, they have a lot of pets including a black cat named Pluto that the narrator is particularly fond of. Over time, however, the happy life which the couple has built begins to crumble as the narrator falls prey to his alcoholism. He begins to lose his temper uncontrollably and even begins abusing his various animals. One day, in a fit of rage, he gouges out one of Pluto’s eyes. Appalled by the cat’s gruesome new appearance, he hangs it from a tree. Shortly after, the narrator’s house burns down. After the fire, the narrator seeks to turn himself around and start life with a new cat, but the cat he finds, an almost exact replica of Pluto except for a single white patch, proves to be more strange than he hoped for.

The ominous atmosphere surrounding this new black cat makes this story. It’s clear that something sinister is happening from the moment that the narrator sees a giant shadow of a cat on the wall of his burned house, and it only gets more and more spooky from there. The cat’s white patch begins to look like the gallows, but it only transforms by slow degrees so that even the narrator is unsure of whether he is mad or not. The cat is also missing one eye, just like Pluto, and seems to follow the narrator everywhere. On a base level, there is also the fact that the cat is a black cat, often associated with witches, superstitions, and bad luck. This connotation makes the odd circumstances surrounding the cat extremely unnerving and its mysterious way sends the narrator into a spiral of paranoia and fury.

Would I recommend “The Black Cat?” Definitely, this is one of Poe’s most famous and classic tales and it really does offer so much of what Poe fans love, from vague supernatural occurrences, inclusion of superstitious ideas, a tormented and complex narrator, shock and gore, and of course an ending that drives it all home. On top of all that, the way in which it exposes the devastation of cruelty and abuse is so dark and clever that the iconic imagery of this tale stays in reader’s minds forever.

For more analysis (which contains spoilers!!!) please read below the cut!

The black cat is not the only unsettling character in this story. The narrator himself is chilling in the way he describes the events. He commits horrible acts of violence and yet, looking back on them, he has the ability to acknowledge that he was wrong for doing such things and that it was his alcoholism that so greatly affected his temper. What he lacks, however, is the emotional range to actually feel the wrongness of what he has done. He admits that after showing violence toward his animals and to Pluto, that he did not feel as strong a feeling of remorse as he might have expected. Even when he tells of killing his wife, it is done very matter-of-factly and he admits that the only feeling he had after cleaning up her body was relief. In fact the strongest emotion he shows throughout the entire story is simply rage, even in the end when he discovers he had walled up the black cat with his wife’s corpse.

Speaking of the wall scene, this is one of the most iconic images in all of Poe’s works. There is an interesting parallel here with “The Tell-Tale Heart,” in that it was the narrator’s own actions that got him caught. The ending here is brilliantly ironic as the narrator’s accidental success at getting rid of the black cat and his own assurance of his safety were the things that led to the discovery of his wife’s body. The cat seems to have gotten the last laugh by finally acting out against the narrator and screeching behind the wall after so many instances of abuse, silently taken.

But was the cat really a passive player the entire time? The various unnatural occurrences surrounding the black cat would indicate otherwise. There are many many different readings to explain the black cat itself. It may have truly been some sort of supernatural entity, sent to torment the narrator for his wrongdoings. After all, the shadow of the cat on the wall is very peculiar, despite the somewhat plausible scientific explanation, and the narrator does claim that the cat’s white patch transformed into an image of the gallows. Unfortunately, however, due to our narrator’s dubious mental state, we cannot consider him wholly reliable.

This brings us to the possibility that the narrator is imagining all of the supernatural elements, and that the cat actually serves as a sort of manifestation of guilt or at the very least some kind of conscience. Though the narrator claims not to feel remorse, it is possible that the awareness of his wrongdoing still causes him to project his sinister nature onto the black cat, suspecting it of having some malicious character. In reality, however, it is the narrator who is ruining his own life, not the black cat. I enjoy this reading because I think it fits best with the theme of alcoholism and abuse. Not only do abusive people hurt their loved ones, but also they will eventually bring themselves to ruin as well. This is why the narrator has to be the one to rap the wall, causing the cat to screech and the police to find his wife’s body. His reckless actions caused the entire horrific ordeal and they also brought about his own dismal end.

So, what do y’all think? Do you believe the cat has any supernatural abilities? Does the narrator truly understand the consequences of his actions by the end? Do you think the inclusion of alcoholism had anything to do with Poe’s real life struggles? If you would like to contribute, please comment on this post or send me an ask! You can also use the tag #31daysofpoe to create your own response post!

#31daysofpoe #edgar allan poe #gothic literature #gothic #halloween

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