Professional Documents
Culture Documents
9 5 C A N
THERES NO SPEED
LIMIT IN THE FUTURE.
Bucher and Casper have cracked the code for the main
forms of short videos in common usage today. Your storytelling
will be greatly improved if you follow their lead.
Charles B. Slocum, Assistant Executive Director, Writers Guild of America, West
CINEMATIC UNIVERSE
OF THE
MASTER
BUCHER | CASPER
MASTER
CINEMATIC
UNIVERSE
OF
THE
Contents
Acknowledgmentsviii
Forewordx
by Jim Krueger
CHAPTER 1 1
Introduction
The Great Media Mystery
CHAPTER 2 7
How to Use This Book:
The Secret Codes Behind Short Visual Stories
CHAPTER 318
Narrative Short Films:
Starting at the Beginning
CHAPTER 4 26
Short Documentary Films:
Pulling from Real Life
CHAPTER 5 32
Webisodes:
Scaling Down Your Epic Stories
CHAPTER 6 37
Fundraising/Crowdfunding Videos:
Using Story to Open Your Audiences Wallet
CHAPTER 7 42
Video Rsums:
Marketing Yourself Through the Power of Story
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CHAPTER 8 47
Promo/Sizzle Reels:
Creating Desire in the Mind of the Viewer
CHAPTER 951
Commercials
Product Selling Through Storytelling
CHAPTER 10 56
Movie Trailers:
Using Story to Sell Your Story
CHAPTER 11 60
Vlogs:
Providing a Window into Your Ongoing Story
CHAPTER 12 64
Vines:
Compressing Your Story into Six Seconds
CHAPTER 13 68
YouTube Videos:
Standing Out in a Sea of Content
CHAPTER 14 73
Vimeo Videos:
Using Channels to Build Ethos
CHAPTER 15 77
Music Videos:
Experimenting with Story
CHAPTER 16 82
Sketches/Cartoons:
Laughing at Conflict
C o ntents
CHAPTER 17 87
Journalism/Newsreels:
Evolving Content from Informational to Compelling
CHAPTER 18 91
Motion Comic Videos:
Transcending a Traditional Medium
CHAPTER 19 95
Instructional Short Films:
Teaching by Telling Good Tales
CHAPTER 20100
Public Service Announcements:
Waking Your Audience to Action
CHAPTER 21 105
Kinetic Text Videos:
Painting Pictures with Letters, Numbers, and Symbols
CHAPTER 22109
Interactive Videos:
Using Story to Move an Audience Through an Experience
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M A S T E R O F T H E C I N E M AT I C U N I V E R S E
Communication Codebooks
Basic communication consists of 1) a sender who encodes a
message, 2) the message itself, and 3) a receiver who then
decodes the message. For thousands of years human beings
have been perfecting the art of encoding and decoding
messages. While the messages themselves have become
more complex, their basic functions have not changed greatly.
Storytelling is, of course, one of the oldest forms of
communication. It too involves a sender (or a storyteller)
who encodes a message (or a story), and sends it to a
receiver who decodes the message. But what elements
can be encoded into a story? How do people decode these
elements? Are there elements that achieve certain purposes
that other elements dont? Can these elements be used to
evoke certain responses in an audience?
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L = Logos (Logic)
Logos refers to the use of logical reasoning. Even the most
entertaining stories need to make logical sense. Certain types
of films rely more heavily on logos than other types of films.
Is = Inside (Internal Story)
The inside story refers to the internal journey of a storys
protagonistwhat the protagonist needs. The inside story
requires that your main character have an internal weakness
or flaw that needs to be fixed. While on an internal journey,
the protagonist must discover and confront this weakness. In
the end, the inside story reveals whether or not the protagonists internal problem was resolved.
Os = Outside (External Story)
The outside story refers to the external journey of a storys
protagonistwhat the protagonist wants. This is the A story
in a film. A good outside story should have a clear external
goalsomething that, when achieved, we can photograph.
En = Entertain
The role of entertainment in our modern culture cannot
be overestimated. Many of the largest providers of visual
content (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) exist largely for the purpose of
simple entertainment. However, creating a piece that is actually entertaining in the sea of competing content has become
more and more elusive. What methods are most commonly
used to entertain an audience in a short amount of time?
Must content be either funny or sad to entertain? Can a
content creator establish a committed audience through the
use of certain methods of entertainment?
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Pr = Persuade
In the massive galaxy of content available to viewers at
any given time, our tendency to be persuaded by what we
see has become more refined and nuanced. Short form
media may very well still be the quickest path to a persons
decision maker. But when does content begin to feel like
propaganda? When do audiences begin to feel manipulated?
What causes content to feel sincere and yet persuasive?
In = Inform
Businesses, students, and concerned individuals have discovered the power short form media holds when used to inform
an audience. Short films have the power to convey simple
information through pictures (both moving and static) that
stay trapped in the human memory. Its the rare person who
can truly say that hes never learned something or become
better informed about an issue after watching an informative
short film.
Rt = Run Time
The run time refers to the length of a story when executed.
In short films, this refers to how many minutes and seconds
the story is on screen from the first opening credit (if there
is one) to the final closing credit. In the codes we use in this
book, the run time (shown in hours, minutes and seconds,
e.g., 1:06:30) refers to the length that is either ideal or typical
for a given piece.
C = Character
A character is generally a person, animal, or inanimate object.
If the characters are inanimate, like in the movie Cars (2006),
they usually take on human characteristics. In this book,
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the protagonist does not get what he wants in the story but
instead gets what he needs. (See Irony.)
A = Antagonist
The antagonist is the opponent to the protagonist. Wellconstructed antagonists want the exact same thing as the
protagonist (to win the game, to get the job, to rule the
universe, etc.), but their reasons for wanting the same goal
are vastly different. Antagonists should have compelling but
flawed reasons for doing what they do.
Cn = Conflict
Conflict is the engine of story. Its what makes things move.
Protagonists have little reason to go on any journey until
conflict comes into their lives. Conflict may come in the form
of another character (such as an antagonist), a ticking time
bomb, a natural disaster, an inner demon, or any other force
that presents a problem for the protagonist or the achieving
of his goal.
Cn+ = Increase Conflict
The need to increase conflict is one of the most common
problems a story can run into. While there are many ways
to raise the stakes in a story, three of the most useful are
1) compressing the geographic space between the antagonist and protagonist, 2) condensing the amount of time the
protagonist has to achieve her goal, and 3) adding an additional character who opposes the protagonist as she pursues
her goal.
Su = Setup
In many ways, stories are greatly about setups and payoffs.
A setup is narrative information that the audience will need
H o w t o U se T his B o o k
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The Chapters
Although much can be gleaned from reading this book from
cover to cover, thats not exactly how it was designed. Each
chapter focuses on a different type of short film; from documentaries to YouTube videos, there is something here for
nearly all creators of short form content.
After reading these first two chapters, peruse the table of
contents and pick the chapters most relevant to you. We
would, however, strongly encourage you to read Chapter 3 on
narrative short films. The narrative short film chapter covers
nearly every story element and serves as a strong foundation
for all the other chapters.
Beginning with Chapter 3 will also be helpful if you are using
this book to create ancillary media around a core product,
such as a film. Developing media to promote the film on
YouTube and Vimeo, creating sizzle pieces or commercials to gain interest at festivals, and cutting a trailer or an
H o w t o U se T his B o o k
interactive interview with the director are just a few ways this
book can be used to promote a single piece of media youve
already created.
Nearly every piece of media has a specific and unique
purpose. You should determine two things for any segment
you create. First, who is your audience? Second, what do you
want them to walk away with, or how do you want them to
respond? You will know youve created a successful piece of
media when the audience you intended it for has seen it and
responded appropriately. Determining the size and demographic of that audience can greatly help you in planning
where to showcase and distribute the piece.
But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Before any of this comes
into play, everything must begin with a strong story.
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PtExCnRt 2:00+
CODE BREAKER:
E + P + L + Is + En + Pr + A + Rv + Ir + If
CODE BREAKER:
Since narrative short films span such a wide range of characters, situations, genres, themes, and topics, it would be
misguided to suggest a one size fits all formula, but even
this complex medium of storytelling relies upon a few basic,
fundamental elements.
The most basic story one can tell is a character trying to
N arrative S h o rt F ilms
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N arrative S h o rt F ilms
(Ir) Irony
A narrative is actually two stories being told simultaneously
an outside story and an inside story, or in other words, a
character trying to achieve an external goal while overcoming
an internal flaw. Since either of these sub-stories can end
positively or negatively, there are multiple ways that the
overarching story can conclude. When you mix a positive
ending with a negative ending you create irony (Ir). Some of
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N arrative S h o rt F ilms
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Short Documentary
Films:
Pulling from Real Life
A short film that documents real life and presents its
content in an entertaining fashion
InEnRt 2:00+
CODE BREAKER:
E + P + L + Is + Ig + A
CODE BREAKER:
S h o rt D o cumentary F ilms
In + E + L + En + Rt 10:00CODE BREAKER:
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S h o rt D o cumentary F ilms
E+ P + In + En + Rt 10:00CODE BREAKER:
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S h o rt D o cumentary F ilms
thousands of dollars on ineffective persuasive documentaries when they should have disseminated the information via
a website or a live presentation instead. Always consider your
audience and how theyll receive your doc. Communication
theorist Marshall McLuhan made famous the saying, The
medium is the message. Your choice of medium dramatically affects the way your audience receives the information.
Make sure youre using the right medium for your message.
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