NARRATIVE MOTION (The Story Engine) : simplebooklet.com

NARRATIVE MOTIONMAY/JUNE 2025CONTENTSPUBLISHER’S NOTE 5"FROM PLOT TO PROFIT: WHY EVERY BRAND NEEDS A STORY ENGINE" 6 "PLOT TWISTS THAT BUILD TRUST: USING SURPRISE IN STORYTELLING” 11 "HOW TO BUILD A NARRATIVE ARC ACROSS MULTIPLE VIDEOS" 16 “STORYBOARDING YOUR BRAND’S FUTURE” 21 “WHAT FICTION WRITERS CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT VIDEO MARKETING” 26 "WHEN THE AUDIENCE BECOMES THE AUTHOR” 32 "THE HERO’S JOURNEY ISN’T JUST FOR HOLLYWOOD" 37 "SUSTAIN THE FLAME: KEEPING THE STORY ENGINE RUNNING ALL YEAR" 42 4

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FROM PLOT TO PROFIT: WHY EVERY BRAND NEEDS ASTORY ENGINELet’s get one thing straight: people don’t buy products, they buy stories.They don’t stick around for your service features or your neat little bulletpoints. They stay for the narrative. For the feeling that your brand givesthem. For the why behind the what. You can have the best widget on themarket, but if your story’s garbage—or worse, non-existent—you’re justbackground noise in a world already screaming for attention.You need a story engine—a process, a mindset, a relentless commitment tonarrative. Not just a one-off about how the company started in yourgrandma’s garage, but a living, breathing mechanism that powers everycampaign, every video, every customer touchpoint. It’s not a gimmick. It’sthe core of your brand's soul.WHAT IS A STORY ENGINE, ANYWAY?Think of a story engine like the engine in a car. It's not the shiny paint, thecustom rims, or the leather seats—it’s what makes the damn thing move.A story engine is the consistent, creative infrastructure behind every pieceof content you put out. It defines your brand voice, your visual language,your character arcs, and how you emotionally hook your audience—againand again.It’s not just storytelling. It’s systematic storytelling. Done on purpose. Crafted.Repeated. Scaled.WHY MOST BRANDS ARE RUNNING ON EMPTYToo many businesses are running on fumes. Their content is sporadic.Their messaging changes with the wind. One day they’re playful, the nextday corporate stiff. There’s no spine. No through-line. No heartbeat.6NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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7NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Why? Because they’ve confused marketing with meaning. They chase clicks,not connections. They post because it’s Tuesday, not because they havesomething to say. They hire “content creators” who make noise instead ofresonance. You can crank out a dozen videos a week, but without a storyengine, you're just spinning wheels.CHARACTERS, CONFLICT, RESOLUTION: THECORE OF YOUR ENGINEGreat stories have characters. So should your brand. Who’s the hero?Spoiler alert: it’s not you. It’s your customer. Your client. Yourcommunity. You’re the guide, the mentor, the Obi-Wan to their Luke.Then there’s conflict. What’s the struggle your audience faces? What painare they in before they discover you? Are they overwhelmed?Underwhelmed? Lost in a sea of sameness?And finally—resolution. How do you come in, lights blazing, and maketheir world better? Not in a cheesy “we care more” way, but with real, feltimpact.Build your engine around these three things—character, conflict, andresolution—and you’ll never run out of fuel.THE POWER OF SERIALIZATIONThink about your favorite TV show. You don’t just watch one episodeand dip. You binge. You come back for the next chapter. You’re invested.That’s the power of serialization. Your story engine needs to produceepisodic content—mini arcs that build over time. A behind-the-scenesdocuseries. A customer journey broken into chapters. A founder’s vlog. Amonthly dispatch from the front lines. Whatever it is, keep the threadrunning. Let your audience grow with you.Don’t just post. Build a narrative ecosystem.THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH ABOUT VIDEOMARKETINGLet’s get real: 99% of business videos suck. They’re generic, self-congratulatory, or worse—boring. You know the ones. Stock footage,corporate jargon, bland narration. Nothing lands. Nothing sticks.

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Now watch a great branded doc. A mini-film. A slice-of-life moment withraw emotion. What do you remember? The feeling. That’s the difference astory engine makes. It doesn’t just push content; it creates connection. Itmoves people. It moves product.That’s not magic. That’s craft.EVERY PIECE OF CONTENT IS A CHAPTER, NOT ACOMMERCIALImagine every post, every reel, every podcast, every email as a page in yourbrand's book. You wouldn’t write a novel where every chapter screams“BUY NOW!” That’s not a story, it’s a hard sell. And hard sells don’t scale.But a well-told story? That spreads like wildfire.Your story engine turns content into chapters. It builds anticipation. Itdeepens trust. It makes people care. And once they care, the rest—sales,loyalty, advocacy—follows.BUILDING YOUR STORY ENGINE: A BLUEPRINTHere’s how you do it:Define Your Narrative Pillars: These are the three to five themes thatdefine who you are. They might be “resilience,” “curiosity,” “community,”“innovation.” Choose wisely—these pillars will shape your entire storytellingframework.Develop Archetypes: Create recurring characters. Maybe it's the scrappyfounder. Maybe it's the eccentric customer. Maybe it’s a silent protagonist—your product seen through others’ lives. These archetypes give your contentcontinuity and heart.Map the Journey: Outline the emotional arc you want your audience totake. Start with their struggle. Build tension. Highlight the turning point.Deliver the transformation. Every piece of content should hit one beat ofthat journey.Create a Repeatable Format: Design formats you can replicate: Day-in-the-life series. Problem/solution stories. Origin stories. Future vision pieces.Consistency is key to momentum.8NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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9NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Commit to Consistency Over Perfection: A story engine doesn’t needOscar-worthy cinematography every time. But it does need rhythm. Cadence.Trust. Better to post a raw, real weekly update than an overproducedmasterpiece that drops twice a year.REAL BRANDS, REAL IMPACTLet’s look at who’s doing it right.A pizza joint that tells weekly stories about its staff, its customers, and theneighborhoods it serves. Not just pizza photos—portraits of real lives. Abiotech startup that shares failure as openly as success. A skateboardcompany that shoots mini-docs on its riders, focusing on their dreams, notjust tricks.These are brands with engines. Not campaigns. Engines.And guess what? They win. Not just eyeballs—but loyalty. Revenue. Ravingfans.WHY THIS MATTERS MORE THAN EVERWe’re living in a world flooded with content. AI writes faster than anyhuman. Algorithms shift daily. Attention spans are down to milliseconds.What cuts through? Story. Not as a tactic, but as a philosophy.You can’t hack your way to trust. You have to earn it. You have to show upwith something real. Your story engine is the way.And when your story hits? When it clicks with someone’s heart, not just theirfeed? That’s where the profit is. Not just in dollars. In meaning. Inmovement. In momentum.DON’T WAIT TO GET IT PERFECT. JUST STARTTELLING THE TRUTHHere’s the truth: most businesses wait too long. They want the storyperfectly framed, polished, edited into oblivion. Meanwhile, the raw, realversion—the one people would actually connect with—gets shelved. Thatversion has scrapes. Imperfections. Honesty.But that’s the one people believe.

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Start there. Tell the behind-the-scenes version. The one with doubt. Struggle.Hope. Humanity. That’s the version that builds trust and keeps your storyengine running for the long haul.FINAL GEAR: BUILD NOW, SCALE FOREVERYour business isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s not a deck. It’s a story. Every singleday you’re writing it—through your choices, your content, your connectionto the people who care.So build your story engine. Get under the hood. Craft the arcs. Build thebeats. Fuel it with truth and fire and rhythm. Then watch as that enginepowers not just your marketing—but your movement.From plot to profit—it’s the only way forward.10NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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PLOT TWISTS THAT BUILD TRUST:USING SURPRISE IN STORYTELLINGIn a world flooded with content, attention is currency. And the best way toearn it—and keep it—is with a good story. But not just any story. The kindthat makes the audience sit up, lean forward, and mutter, “No way.” That’swhere the plot twist comes in. It’s not about gimmicks or cheap tricks. Whendone right, a surprising turn in storytelling can do something magical: it canbuild trust.For businesses and organizations trying to connect with real people—customers, clients, donors, partners—the plot twist isn’t just a cinematicdevice. It’s a strategic move. A well-timed surprise disrupts expectations in away that feels authentic, making the storyteller seem more real, morerelatable, and more worth listening to. In short, surprise can earn belief.THE POWER OF SURPRISE: WHY BRAINS LOVE THEUNEXPECTEDThere’s neuroscience behind this. The human brain is hardwired to noticechange. When something deviates from the norm, the brain lights up. Itshifts into alert mode, starts making new connections, and most importantly—remembers.In marketing and brand storytelling, this means that when a businesspresents a message that breaks the mold or takes a sharp turn from theexpected narrative, the audience doesn’t just notice—it remembers. And ifthat twist feels sincere, even vulnerable, trust forms in that instant ofsurprise.This doesn’t require fireworks or massive reveals. Sometimes, the mostpowerful surprises are small truths said plainly. A CEO admitting a mistake.A nonprofit showing a failed campaign before it found success. A founderrevealing what nearly broke them before the breakthrough. These momentscatch the audience off guard because they’re not what’s expected. And that’sexactly the point.11NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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WHEN TRANSPARENCY TWISTS: THE SURPRISE OFHONESTYIn most brand storytelling, the audience assumes the narrative will go acertain way: “Here’s the problem. We had a solution. Now everything’sgreat.” But that’s not real life—and audiences know it. They’ve seen enoughpolished perfection to know when something smells manufactured.Now imagine this instead: a video begins with a company proudlyannouncing its new product. But halfway through, the tone shifts. Thefounder admits they almost didn’t launch because they were scared. Theprototype failed twice. Their best friend told them it would flop. And theyalmost listened.This isn’t a deviation from the story. It is the story. The twist here isn’tfailure—it’s openness. That vulnerability is unexpected. It pulls the curtainback and shows something raw and human. And that’s what builds trust. Notsuccess wrapped in shiny paper, but the jagged, weird, emotional journey thatled there.THE ART OF BUILDING TRUST THROUGH PLOTTWISTSTo use plot twists well in storytelling—whether in videos, blogs, socialcontent, or presentations—it helps to follow a few principles:Start With Predictability: People need something to hold onto. Ifeverything is wild from the beginning, nothing feels surprising. Start witha familiar setup—something that follows the expected rhythm.1.Interrupt the Pattern: The twist must come at a moment that disruptsthe trajectory. Not so soon that it feels random. Not so late that it losespunch. Somewhere around two-thirds of the way in is often the sweetspot.2.Make It Emotional, Not Just Informational: A good twist doesn’tjust shift the facts—it shifts the feeling. It deepens empathy, flipsperception, or reveals humanity. It says, “You thought you knew us. Buthere’s what’s really going on.”3.Anchor It in Truth: A twist must be real. If it feels like manipulation,the trust breaks. But if it feels earned—if it comes from genuinereflection or experience—the audience leans in closer.4.12NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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SURPRISE ISN’T SHOCK—IT’S REVELATIONA small nonprofit launched a video campaign to raise funds for a children’sliteracy program. Most organizations would begin by showing smiling kids,success stories, and polished classrooms.But this one started differently.The first half of the video showed empty chairs. Dusty books. Volunteerscrying. The executive director sat in a dim room and said, “We didn’t thinkwe’d make it. Our pilot program collapsed. We lost funding. But then,something happened.”That “something” was the community stepping in. Teachers volunteeringunpaid. Parents forming reading circles. An anonymous donor dropping offa $10,000 check.The twist wasn’t that they succeeded. The twist was how close they came tofailing—and what pulled them back. The result? Donors didn’t just give—they stayed. They became long-term supporters because they believed in thestruggle, not just the triumph.PLOT TWISTS IN BUSINESS: FROM POLISHED TOPERSONALIt’s easy for businesses to fall into the trap of looking perfect. Slick branding.Clean copy. Polished case studies. But that perfection can come off cold.Detached. Impersonal.Injecting surprise through storytelling changes that. When a startup sharesthe story of how their first investor laughed them out of the room—thenlater begged to buy shares—it humanizes them. When a brand shares acustomer review that wasn’t glowing but shows how they responded andimproved, it turns a potential negative into a moment of credibility.Surprise doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes, it’s as simple as telling thestory that wasn’t supposed to be told.BUILDING A BRAND ON PLOT TWISTSSome of the most memorable brands in the world have built theirreputations on consistent, purposeful surprise.13NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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A snack brand that rebrands every six months just for fun. A clothingcompany that reveals unsold inventory and explains how it will be recycledrather than hidden. A tech startup that shows the people behind the product—mistakes and all.Each of these choices breaks the expected storyline. And each twist becomesa brick in the wall of trust. When a brand can surprise without faking it, ittells the audience: “We’re real. We’re brave enough to be unpredictable. Andwe trust you enough to show you the truth.”And in return, that audience gives them something more valuable than clicksor likes: loyalty.THE FINAL TURN: TELLING STORIES THAT EARNBELIEFAt the end of the day, storytelling isn’t just about attention—it’s aboutconnection. And connection requires risk. That’s what the best plot twistsare: a risk. A risk to show something unpolished. A risk to veer off theexpected path. A risk to be more human.But that’s also where trust lives. Not in the perfectly lit room, but in themoment the lights flicker—and someone still chooses to stay.Businesses and organizations that learn to use surprise in their storytellingaren’t just becoming better marketers. They’re becoming better listeners.Better leaders. Better humans.So, when crafting the next video, the next blog post, the next pitch—consider the twist. Consider the moment when the expected gives way to thereal. And watch as the audience does something rare and beautiful:They believe.CONCLUSION: THE TRUST EQUATIONIn the world of storytelling, trust isn’t given—it’s earned. And the currencythat earns it fastest is surprise. Not loud, jarring shock—but thoughtful,honest revelation.A plot twist says, “This is who we really are.” And when that twist is true, thestory doesn’t just entertain—it endures.14NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025

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16NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025In the chaos of content overload—shorts, reels, trailers, promos—it’s easy toget lost in the game of one-offs. Businesses often focus so much onproducing one great video that they forget something crucial: a single video, nomatter how flashy or viral, is just a snapshot. A moment. A beat. But what ifthose beats strung together into a rhythm? What if a business could create asymphony instead of just a jingle?That’s where building a narrative arc across multiple videos comes in. It’s thedifference between a shout in a crowd and a story that people come back for—again and again.WHY SINGLE VIDEOS FALL SHORTMost marketing videos are designed to do one thing: convert. But that laserfocus can backfire. The pressure to cram an entire brand, product pitch,emotional connection, and call to action into 60 or 90 seconds leads tosurface-level storytelling. And surface-level stories don’t stick.Consumers are smarter now. They binge-watch. They follow series. Theycrave depth. They want to be pulled into a world, not just pushed into apurchase. A narrative arc—spread across multiple videos—offers a way to doexactly that.START WITH THE END IN MINDBefore a single frame is shot, there has to be clarity: What is the journey beingtold? Every great arc starts by defining its destination.Is the arc about a founder’s rise from the garage to the boardroom? Is it aboutsolving a massive social problem through a nonprofit’s work? Is it aboutshowing the transformation of a community over time? Think in terms ofwhere the viewer starts and where they end up. That’s the arc. That’s thespine.HOW TO BUILD A NARRATIVE ARC ACROSS MULTIPLE VIDEOS

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17NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025It’s not enough to say, “we want to make a series of videos.” There must be athrough-line, a golden thread that binds each episode to the next.CHARACTERS OVER FEATURESThe human brain remembers people, not data. Brands make a critical errorwhen they focus too heavily on features, specs, or accolades. Instead, videoarcs should center on characters. Real people. Flawed, driven, passionatehumans.Introduce a character early—a founder, an employee, a customer, abeneficiary—and follow their story. Let them be raw. Let them stumble. Letthem grow. Audiences don’t need perfection; they need connection.By anchoring a video arc around a compelling character, each new episodebecomes an emotional checkpoint in that person’s journey. And emotionalinvestment equals retention.STRUCTURE: THINK IN CHAPTERS, NOT CLIPSTreat each video as a chapter in a larger book. There should be rising action,conflict, stakes, resolution—just spread out.A three-video arc might look like this:Video 1 – The Spark: Introduce the protagonist, the setting, and thechallenge. End with tension, a problem unresolved.Video 2 – The Struggle: Show the difficulty, the setbacks, the doubts.Make it feel real. This is the emotional meat.Video 3 – The Shift: Resolve the arc. The problem is addressed, abreakthrough occurs, or a transformation is complete. Callbacks toearlier videos strengthen the payoff.A six-video arc? Same rules apply. It just means more nuance, more beats,more time for development. The structure should never feel like anafterthought. It’s the framework that holds the narrative weight.BUILDING ANTICIPATION: TEASE, DON’T TELLThe key to keeping viewers coming back is tension. Curiosity. Cliffhangers.Every episode should raise questions that the next one promises to answer.

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18NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025This doesn’t mean manipulating viewers. It means inviting them into aprocess. Showing them just enough and trusting them to follow the trail.This is where editing becomes a tool for storytelling—not just trimming fatbut shaping suspense.Think of the best video series—not commercials, but actual episodicYouTube, docuseries, or creator-led journeys. They always end with a tease.Not a cheap trick, but a nudge. A whisper: There’s more coming. Stay tuned.STYLE MATTERS: CONSISTENCY IS CHARACTERBeyond story structure, consistency in tone, music, visuals, and pacing iscritical. If each video feels completely different, the arc breaks. Cohesion iskey.Use the same title card. Recur musical cues. Let color grading and fontchoices become part of the storytelling. This visual glue reinforces thatviewers aren’t watching random videos—they’re part of a saga.Even if the individual episodes are weeks or months apart, the brandingshould never let them feel disconnected. This is where many businesses dropthe ball. They treat each piece as a standalone promo rather than a puzzlepiece in a larger canvas.THE POWER OF RECAPS AND CALLBACKSIn a multi-video arc, the audience’s memory is your best friend—and yourbiggest risk. People forget. That’s human nature. But there’s a fix: strategicrecaps and callbacks.Quick flashbacks, subtle references, even just a line of dialogue that nods to aprevious moment—these are tools that deepen the story and rewardattentive viewers.When an audience catches the callback, they feel smart. Included. Invested.It’s storytelling intimacy, and it builds brand loyalty without selling a singlething.

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19NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025FLEXIBILITY INSIDE THE FRAMEWORKHere’s where it gets tricky: the narrative arc should be planned, but not rigid.Stories breathe. People change. Unexpected moments happen on camera thatare better than anything scripted.The smart move is to allow space for spontaneity. A founder says somethingunscripted that hits like a sledgehammer? Let it reshape the next episode. Acustomer’s story takes a left turn into something far more powerful thanexpected? Follow it.This adaptive approach isn’t chaotic—it’s cinematic jazz. The arc is themelody, but the improvisations make it sing.METRICS DON’T MEAN WHAT YOU THINKToo often, businesses abandon a series because Episode One didn’t go viral.But that’s a misunderstanding of what a narrative arc is supposed to do.A single episode’s view count is like judging a movie by the first five minutes.It’s incomplete. The value of a narrative arc reveals itself over time—inengagement, in return visits, in comments that say, “I’ve been following thissince the beginning.”And eventually, in loyalty. Narrative arcs don’t just attract attention—theybuild tribes.THE UNEXPECTED BONUS: INTERNAL BUY-INOne overlooked benefit of building narrative arcs? The internal alignment itcreates. Team members become part of the story. Employees see themselvesin the videos and start to believe in the mission on a deeper level.That kind of buy-in is contagious. When people feel like they’re part of astory that’s being told to the world, they show up differently. With morepride. More purpose. And that energy radiates outward to the viewer.CASE IN POINT: THE LONG GAME WORKSThink about the video series that defined movements. The docuseries thatled to legislation. The brand videos that launched an unknown product intothe stratosphere. None of those were one-offs. They were arcs. Meticulouslybuilt, emotionally driven, purposefully released.

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20NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025It’s not just entertainment that benefits from this. Startups, nonprofits,community groups—any organization with a story to tell can stretch it acrosstime, deepen its resonance, and watch it gain power with each newinstallment.THE CLOSING CHORD: BE BOLD ENOUGH TOKEEP GOINGThe temptation to quit halfway through an arc is real. There’s pressure topivot, rebrand, or abandon the long-form for the instant gratification of a“viral hit.” But those who resist that pull and stick to their narrative arc—those are the storytellers who leave a mark.Each video may not be perfect. That’s okay. The point isn’t perfection—it’smomentum. Progress. The unfolding of something bigger than the sum of itsparts.That’s what viewers remember. Not the polish, but the path.FINAL THOUGHTS: NARRATIVE ARC AS BRANDDNAUltimately, a multi-video arc isn’t just a marketing strategy—it’s aphilosophy. A commitment to storytelling that values depth over flash,continuity over chaos, and emotion over efficiency.It says to the audience, “We’re not just selling you something. We’re tellingyou something. And we’re going to keep telling it until you see yourself in it.”Because at the end of the day, the best stories don’t end—they evolve.And the best brands don’t sell—they share.One arc at a time.

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21NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Every legendary movie starts the same way—not with a camera, but with apen. Long before a scene is shot, someone sits down and draws it out. Beatby beat. Frame by frame. That’s the storyboard. And in a world whereattention is currency and stories shape perception, businesses need toapproach their futures the exact same way.Storyboarding isn’t just for film school nerds or creative agencies holed up inloft offices. It’s for brands that understand that the future isn’t somethingthat just happens. It’s something you design—scene by scene. Vision isn’tenough anymore. The brands that thrive are the ones that map it out,anticipate the turns, and build momentum frame by frame.THE MYTH OF WINGING ITToo many brands operate on vibes alone. They launch products because theyfeel like it. They throw together ad campaigns because it’s the end of thequarter. Their social media feels like it’s managed by a distracted intern who’s80% sure the brand sells socks. That’s not strategy—that’s improvisationwithout rhythm. And while spontaneity can have its moments, it rarely buildslegacy.A brand without a storyboard is a brand begging for chaos. It drifts. It reactsinstead of acts. And worst of all, it forgets what made it special in the firstplace.Storyboarding forces discipline. It doesn’t kill creativity—it channels it. Itasks, “What are we building here?” And it doesn’t stop until the answer issomething worth watching.THE SCENE BEGINS: DEFINE THE OPENING SHOTEvery great story starts somewhere. For a brand, that “opening shot” is whatcustomers see first—the website, the storefront, the packaging, the first fewseconds of a promo video. It’s not just aesthetics. It’s tone. Energy.Presence.STORYBOARDING YOUR BRAND’S FUTURE

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22NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Smart brands storyboard that moment relentlessly. They ask: – What do we want our audience to feel instantly? – Are we creating curiosity? Trust? Excitement? – Does this look like us? More importantly, does it feel like us?The opening shot is the brand’s handshake with the world. Get it wrong, andit doesn’t matter how brilliant the rest of the story is. No one sticks around.PLOT POINTS MATTER: BUILD THE NARRATIVEARCThe middle is where most brands get lazy. After the launch, after the buzz,when the algorithms stop favoring the new kid on the block—that’s whenstoryboarding matters most.The narrative arc of a brand needs momentum. This means planning out thehighs and lows, the wins and the challenges. It means forecasting productlaunches not just as events but as episodes in an ongoing series. Everycampaign isn’t just a standalone piece—it’s a chapter.Does the holiday campaign build off the summer launch?Is the new product an evolution or a side quest?What role does customer feedback play in shaping the plot?Storyboarding this arc helps a brand avoid redundancy and stay consistentwithout becoming predictable.CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: WHO IS YOURBRAND, REALLY?People don’t buy logos. They buy characters. Archetypes.Personalities. Storyboarding your brand means deciding who youare in the story—and sticking to it.Is the brand the underdog fighting the system?

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23NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025The elegant guide who shows customers a better way?The disruptor who breaks all the rules with a wink and a smile?Whatever the character, it needs development. Brands grow. They learn.They evolve. A good storyboard allows space for that growth without losingthe core identity.Think of it like a protagonist in a film. You want to cheer for them. Youwant to follow them. You want to see what they’ll do next.CONFLICT CREATES CONNECTIONA brand without tension is forgettable. Tension doesn’t mean scandal ordrama—it means stakes. It means showing the struggle. The build. The grind.Document the process. Showcase the behind-the-scenes. Let the audiencesee the messy middle, not just the polished result. Every storyboard worthanything includes the hard moments: the late nights, the missed deadlines,the pivot that nearly broke the team.Why? Because conflict is human. And humans connect with other humans,not faceless corporations.When brands show that they bleed, sweat, and sometimes cry, they earnloyalty that marketing budgets can’t buy.VISUAL LANGUAGE IS EVERYTHINGIf a brand’s future is a storyboard, then its visual language is the camera lens.What’s the aesthetic? The color palette? The vibe? It’s not just aboutconsistency—it’s about emotional memory.Think about the brands people love most. Their visuals don’t just look good—they feel like home. Every photo, every post, every video frame reinforcesa world the brand has built. Customers don’t just recognize it. They inhabitit.A strong storyboard ensures that every visual element adds to the story. Noblurry metaphors. No off-brand tangents. Just clarity. Confidence. Intent.

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24NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025SOUNDTRACK THE MOMENT: DON'T FORGET THEAUDIOSound gets overlooked, but it shouldn't. In the world of TikTok, Reels, andYouTube Shorts, audio is everything. The right track can elevate a brandfrom "meh" to "I gotta share this."Brands that storyboard their future know what they sound like. Do theythump with energy? Flow with elegance? Crackle with weirdness?Picking your soundtrack is as essential as picking your logo. If your brandwere a mixtape, what would be on it?CLOSE THE LOOP: PAYOFF AND CALLBACKSNo great story leaves the audience hanging. Payoffs matter. Callbacks aregold. When a brand references an early promise and then fulfills it later, theaudience feels like they’ve been part of a journey.This means tracking your own story. Did the rebrand really deliver betterclarity? Did the new app solve the problem customers were ranting about lastyear? Did the “big announcement” back in Q2 live up to the hype?Brands that follow through build trust. Storyboarding helps make sure thereis a follow-through—on time, on purpose, and with impact.EDIT IN REAL TIME, BUT KEEP THE SCRIPTPlans change. Storyboards evolve. The market shifts. But the storyboard isstill the anchor. Even when the sea gets choppy.A smart brand doesn’t toss the storyboard when the first wave hits. Itadjusts. It refines. It moves the camera angle. Maybe it skips a scene. But itdoesn’t lose the plot.The storyboard exists to guide, not restrict. It’s the framework that allowsspontaneity without losing direction.MAKE THE CUSTOMER A CHARACTER, NOT JUST ASPECTATORThe smartest brands don’t just tell stories—they invite people into them.

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25NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025They turn customers into characters. Co-stars. Collaborators.User-generated content. Fan shoutouts. Community features. Feedbackloops. It’s all part of the script.Storyboarding the future means deciding where the audience fits in. Are theyjust watching from the seats? Or are they holding the camera with you?The brands that bring customers into the story—those are the ones thatbuild cult followings, not just customer bases.THE FUTURE ISN'T WRITTEN—IT’S DRAWNBusiness plans are important. Budgets are essential. But storyboards? That’swhere the soul lives.The brand that storyboards its future doesn’t drift. It doesn’t chase trendsblindly. It doesn’t lose itself in the noise. Instead, it creates a rhythm. Acadence. A visual and emotional map that shows everyone—founders, teams,customers—where it’s going and why it matters.Whether it’s drawn with stick figures on a whiteboard or sketched in a high-end deck with vector graphics and mood boards doesn’t matter. Whatmatters is that the story exists. That the frames are intentional. That someonecared enough to imagine the future before trying to build it.FADE IN: YOUR NEXT MOVEIt’s not about perfection. It’s about direction.Storyboarding your brand’s future isn’t a gimmick. It’s not a trendy businessbuzzword. It’s a philosophy. It’s how movements start. It’s how brands rise.Not with guesswork. Not with noise. But with purpose.Draw the first frame.Then draw the next. And make every one count.

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26NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Video marketing isn't just about showing off a product or service. It’s notabout drone shots, high-end transitions, or even slick lighting setups. Thoseare tools. What really grabs attention, holds it hostage, and turns viewers intobelievers—into buyers—is story. And who better to learn from than themasters of story themselves: fiction writers.Whether they’re crafting sprawling epics or short punchy thrillers, fictionwriters know how to captivate an audience. They build worlds in a sentence.They make you care about people who don’t exist. They mess with youremotions on purpose—and they do it all with nothing more than words. Ifvideo marketers paid more attention to how fiction writers work, their videoswould go from forgettable to unforgettable.Here’s what fiction writers can teach you about video marketing—and whythe smartest brands are already stealing their secrets.START IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTIONFiction writers have a phrase for this: in medias res. Drop your reader rightinto the chaos. Into the heat of the moment. No slow build. Nointroduction. Just bam—you're in it.Great video marketing works the same way. Attention spans are short. If youwaste ten seconds building a scene, people scroll away. A fiction writerwouldn’t start with “Once upon a time, in a village, there was a man…”They’d start with: “The man was already dead when she arrived.”Video marketers, take note. Start with the knife twist. The tension. Theunexpected. Then fill in the rest. It hooks viewers and gives them a reason tostick around.WHAT FICTION WRITERS CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT VIDEO MARKETING

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27NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025EVERY CHARACTER WANTS SOMETHING—SOSHOULD YOUR VIEWERSEvery good story is driven by desire. Fiction writers obsess over this. Whatdoes the protagonist want? Love? Revenge? Redemption? That goal drivesevery action, every setback, every scene.In video marketing, the same rule applies: every viewer should wantsomething. Maybe they want to be inspired. Maybe they want a solution to anagging problem. Maybe they just want to laugh. But if your video doesn’ttap into desire, it dies.Smart marketers think like novelists. They ask, “What does my audiencewant right now?” Then they build a narrative around that want. Not thecompany’s desire to sell—but the viewer’s desire to feel, solve, or connect.SHOW, DON’T TELLThis one’s tattooed on every fiction writer’s soul. Don’t say, “She wasscared.” Show her hands trembling. Show the door creak. Show her holdingher breath in the dark.Video marketers fall into the trap of telling. “We care about our customers.”“We make high-quality products.” Yawn.Instead—show it. Film the care. Capture the sweat. Let the footage do thetalking. Use silence, close-ups, even the tiniest moments. That’s whereemotion lives. That’s where trust is built. Don’t write a monologue. Film afeeling.EVERY SCENE MUST MOVE THE STORY FORWARDFiction writers cut ruthlessly. If a scene doesn’t push the plot forward orreveal something crucial about a character—it gets deleted. No fluff. Nofiller. Just velocity.Too many video marketers drag their feet. They pad their content withdrawn-out intros, overlong testimonials, or excessive B-roll. The result? Viewers tap out before the call to action.

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28NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Borrow a fiction writer’s editing knife. Ask: Does this clip move the storyforward? Does it deepen the emotion, raise the stakes, or make the viewercare more? If not—cut it.A STRONG ENDING REDEEMS EVERYTHINGA novel can have a slow start, a saggy middle, but if it ends with a gut-punchor a twist that leaves readers stunned, it wins. Fiction writers know the lastpage matters more than the first.Same goes for video marketing. Too many videos coast to the end. They fadeout with a weak CTA or a generic logo splash. That’s not an ending. That’san afterthought.A great ending does something. It hits hard. It makes the viewer feelsomething real. It demands action. It leaves an imprint. That’s the job. Don’tfade out. Drop the mic.THE SETTING IS A CHARACTERGreat fiction writers treat setting like a living, breathing thing. The fog, theneon lights, the dirty motel room—these aren’t background. They’recharacters. They set the tone. They tell the truth.Video marketing often treats setting as an afterthought. But where you film—and how you light and frame that space—tells a story. Is your office sterileand cold? Maybe don’t film there. Is your client’s bakery cozy and warm? Usethat. Lean into it.The setting matters. It’s another chance to deepen the emotional impact, tosay more without saying a word. Make it count.THE BEST STORIES HAVE CONFLICTNo one wants to read a novel where everything goes fine and everyone getsalong. Fiction demands friction. Stakes. Conflict. The best fiction pits thehero against impossible odds. It shows struggle—and growth.Video marketing doesn’t always like to admit this. Brands want tolook perfect. Polished. Flawless. But perfection is boring.Vulnerability, on the other hand, is magnetic.

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29NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025A company that admits its struggles? That shows the mess, the learningcurve, the hard road? That brand becomes human. And humans buildloyalty. Fiction writers understand: without conflict, there is no story. Videomarketers should embrace that, not fear it.DIALOGUE REVEALS CHARACTER—USE IT WISELYFiction writers don’t waste dialogue. Every line reveals something: aboutpower dynamics, fear, desire, secrets. Real dialogue is messy, charged, andlayered.In video marketing, talking heads often sound scripted. Safe. Sanitized. Butthe best videos let real people speak in real voices. A stammer, a pause, achuckle—they all matter.If your script reads like a press release, throw it out. Interview people. Letcustomers talk. Capture the pauses, the quirks, the unfiltered truth. That’swhere real connection happens.KILL YOUR DARLINGSWriters fall in love with certain phrases, scenes, or lines—and then they’retold to cut them. It hurts, but it’s necessary. If it doesn’t serve the story, itgoes.Video marketers need this ruthlessness, too. Maybe the drone shot lookscool. Maybe the founder’s cameo was funny. But if it doesn’t make the videostronger, it weakens it.Be willing to cut. Be willing to simplify. Let the story breathe. Let clarity winover ego. That’s how great fiction gets made—and great video marketing,too.TENSION IS EVERYTHINGFiction writers know how to stretch tension like a rubber band. Will shemake it? Will he confess? What’s behind the door?Video marketers rarely play with tension. They give away the point too soon.They spoil the ending. But if you hold back—tease the viewer—make themwonder what’s coming next—you win.

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30NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Authenticity matters here. If your brand is gritty and grassroots, don’t fakeglitz with a polished pop song. If you’re sleek and premium, don’t go lo-fi forthe sake of seeming hip.Tension creates engagement. Curiosity. Emotional investment. Use music,pacing, shot selection. Delay the payoff. Build the tension like a novelistbuilds a climax. Then deliver the release.THEMES MATTERA good novel isn’t just a story. It means something. It’s about grief. Orjustice. Or freedom. Fiction writers thread this meaning quietly throughoutthe book. It lingers.Video marketing can do the same. Sure, the video is about a product—butwhat’s it really about? Belonging? Transformation? Hope?The smartest marketers layer in themes. A skincare brand might be sellingcream, but the video is really about self-worth. A nonprofit might be askingfor donations, but the video is really about dignity.Meaning gives your message weight. Let it shine through the cracks.EVERY STORY HAS A BEGINNING, MIDDLE, ANDENDIt sounds obvious, but fiction writers structure everything around this holytrinity. Setup, conflict, resolution. Character meets obstacle. Characterchanges.Too many video marketers ignore this. They just slap some footage togetherand hope for the best. But without structure, there’s no journey. Nomomentum.Treat your video like a short story. Open with a hook. Introduce a struggle.Resolve it with emotion and clarity. That arc is what makes stories satisfying—and what makes viewers remember your video.

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31NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025IN CONCLUSION: THINK LIKE A NOVELIST, NOT ASALESPERSONThe best fiction writers don’t write to sell something. They write to move you.To pull you into another world. To make you feel something so deeply thatyou forget everything else.Video marketing can—and should—do the same. When it’s done right, itdoesn’t feel like marketing at all. It feels like story. Like truth. Like art.So, take a page from the fiction writer’s notebook. Craft characters. Buildtension. Show, don’t tell. Kill the fluff. And most of all—respect theaudience. Trust them to follow the journey. Trust them to feel.Because the future of video marketing isn’t louder. It’s smarter. And fictionwriters have been doing smart storytelling since the first campfire tale wastold. Now it’s your turn.

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32NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Once upon a time, storytelling was a monologue. A brand would craft amessage, polish it like a diamond, and then send it out into the world hopingit would sparkle in just the right way. Television spots, print ads, radio jingles—each one carefully composed by marketers who assumed full control overthe narrative. The audience? They were passive spectators, maybe clappingfrom the seats, but never stepping on stage.But that era is gone. Long gone.In a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket and a platform intheir palm, the dynamic has flipped. Now, the audience isn’t just reacting tothe story. They’re shaping it, remixing it, and—sometimes—writing italtogether. This is the new frontier: when the audience becomes the author.THE PARTICIPATION SHIFTThis isn’t just about TikTok challenges or meme culture. It’s a fundamentalreordering of power. Today’s audiences don’t want to be sold to—they wantto collaborate. They want in on the creative process. They want their voiceheard, their perspective validated, and their version of the story to matter.Take any viral campaign worth remembering in the past five years, and you’llsee a common thread: participation. Brands that invite their audience into thenarrative, rather than simply broadcasting at them, create something far morepowerful than an ad—they create community.Suddenly, the audience isn’t sitting in the back row. They’re on stage, camerarolling, directing their own version of the scene.WHEN THE AUDIENCE BECOMES THE AUTHOR

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33NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025THE RISE OF CO-AUTHORED CONTENTCo-authored content is everywhere. It’s in reaction videos. It’s in duets andremixes. It’s in stitched stories on Instagram, collaborative playlists onSpotify, fan theories on Reddit. It’s that YouTube comment that becomesmore popular than the video itself. It’s a retweet with a caption that reframesthe entire meaning of the original post.The smartest brands aren’t just noticing this trend—they’re engineering forit. They’re creating content with gaps that beg to be filled by the audience.They’re crafting campaigns that are less finished products and more creativeprompts.Think of a campaign not as a polished sculpture, but as a block of marblehanded to a thousand sculptors. What the audience carves is as valuable—sometimes more valuable—than what the brand intended to begin with.THE DANGERS OF CONTROL FREAKERYThere’s a reason some businesses are still stuck in the old model. Letting goof the narrative feels terrifying. What if someone misinterprets the message?What if someone mocks it? What if they take the brand in a direction it neverintended?But the truth is, trying to control the narrative in 2025 is like trying to put aleash on a tornado. The more brands try to lock down the story, the morebrittle and lifeless it becomes. And today’s audiences can smell inauthenticitylike a dog smells fear.It’s not about total loss of control—it’s about understanding the power ofshared authorship. The goal isn’t to dictate the story, but to light the sparkand see what catches fire.WHY IT WORKS: THE EMOTIONAL BUY-INWhen the audience contributes to a narrative, they develop emotional equity.It becomes their story. That kind of buy-in is priceless. It builds loyalty,deepens engagement, and turns casual viewers into vocal evangelists.No ad budget in the world can compete with someone who chooses to tellyour story as if it were their own.

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34NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Whether it’s a customer posting a heartfelt unboxing video, a creator makinga parody that spreads awareness faster than any official ad, or a usersubmitting their own footage to be part of a campaign—these moments aren’taccidents. They’re proof that people want to be part of something bigger thanthemselves. They want to co-create. They want to matter.THE TOOLS THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLETen years ago, audience participation might’ve required a complicated contestor a costly microsite. Now? All it takes is a hashtag, a story prompt, or aclever video idea designed to be copied and remixed.Tools like Adobe Express’ free online video converter, for instance, make iteasy for anyone to take raw footage and reformat it for whatever platformthey’re using. Suddenly, anyone can be a creator—no expensive software, nosteep learning curve, no gatekeepers. That democratization of tools hasopened the floodgates for creative response.The barrier to entry is gone. Everyone’s in the sandbox. The audience is nolonger waiting for permission—they’re building castles of their own.WHEN THE STORY SURPRISES THE BRANDSometimes the audience tells a better story than the brand ever imagined.They bring layers of nuance, humor, or insight that no boardroom couldmanufacture. It’s not a failure of marketing—it’s a success of listening.The brand’s job shifts from “creator of content” to “curator of momentum.”Instead of directing the narrative, they’re amplifying the best contributions,celebrating the creativity of their audience, and letting the story evolve in realtime.Some of the best stories come from unexpected corners. A customer using aproduct in a way the brand never intended. A protestor repurposing acorporate slogan into a rallying cry. A fan drawing art that redefines what abrand means. These moments aren’t PR nightmares—they’re gold mines, if abrand is bold enough to embrace them.

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35NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025CASE IN POINT: THE BRANDS THAT GET ITLook at brands like LEGO, who actively encourage fan-built creations andeven turn them into official sets. Or Duolingo, whose unhinged owl personaon TikTok was largely shaped by how users reacted to its early content. OrWendy’s, who flipped the script on fast food social media by roastingfollowers and embracing absurdist humor—all born from audienceengagement.These brands aren’t lucky. They’re intentional. They design for interactivity,they listen more than they speak, and they reward creativity from the outsidejust as much as they pursue it from the inside.They understand that when the audience becomes the author, the brandbecomes the platform—not the performance.THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD OF TRANSPARENCYOf course, when you invite the audience in, you also invite scrutiny. Mistakesare amplified. Hypocrisy is punished. If your values don’t line up with youractions, the audience won’t just call you out—they’ll rewrite your story foryou, and not in a good way.That’s why honesty, transparency, and humility are essential in this newdynamic. You can’t fake your way through audience authorship. It demands alevel of authenticity that traditional marketing never had to contend with.And that’s a good thing.Because it forces brands to stop hiding behind polished copy and perfectlighting. It forces them to show up. To be vulnerable. To be real.THE FUTURE IS A COLLABORATIONThis is not a fad. It’s a permanent shift in how stories are told, shared, andremembered. The audience isn’t going back to the sidelines anytime soon.They’ve tasted authorship, and they want more.And why shouldn’t they?They’re the ones watching, buying, sharing, remixing. They’re the ones whocan take a quiet campaign and turn it into a cultural moment. They’re not justreceivers of the message—they’re the message now.

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36NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025The smartest businesses, creators, and marketers will see this not as a threatto their creativity, but as an upgrade to it. A creative force multiplied. A newera of storytelling that isn’t linear—it’s alive.A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT NARRATIVEThe next time a brand sits down to plan a campaign, the first questionshouldn’t be, “What do we want to say?” but “What story does the audiencewant to help us tell?”It’s a different lens. A humbler one. A riskier one. But it’s also more honest,more human, and more powerful.Because in this era, storytelling isn’t just about crafting the perfect message.It’s about creating space. Space for others to step in, speak up, and surpriseyou.And when the audience becomes the author, the result is something nosingle mind could have invented alone.It’s messier. Louder. Unexpected.And it just might be better.

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37NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025In the world of business video marketing, most companies play it safe. Atalking head, a few b-roll shots of happy customers, maybe a drone pass forgood measure. They hit the usual beats: “We’re great,” “Here’s our product,”“Buy now.” But the problem is, these videos rarely stick. They don’tcaptivate, they don’t compel, and most of all—they don’t transform.Yet the secret to unforgettable video content isn’t locked in some marketingtextbook or corporate training manual. It’s been hiding in plain sight sincelong before brands were even a thing. It’s in mythology, in folklore, inblockbuster films, and in the stories passed down through generations.It’s called The Hero’s Journey—and it isn’t just for Hollywood.THE BLUEPRINT THAT MOVES PEOPLEThe Hero’s Journey, a term popularized by Joseph Campbell, isn’t aboutdragons and magic swords—not at its core. It’s about transformation. Areluctant hero is called to action, faces challenges, overcomes fear, andemerges changed. It’s a framework that audiences intuitively recognize,whether they’ve studied film or not.And here’s the kicker: businesses can harness it, too. Not to fake drama, butto tell the real, raw story behind what they do—through the eyes of someonewhose life they’ve touched.Because when a company makes the customer—not themselves—the heroof the story, everything changes.VIDEO AS MODERN-DAY MYTHIn ancient times, people gathered around fires and told stories. Today, peoplegather around screens. The technology has evolved, but the need hasn’t.People still crave meaning. They still look for guidance. They still want tobelieve that transformation is possible.THE HERO’S JOURNEY ISN’T JUST FORHOLLYWOOD

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38NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025That’s why storytelling in marketing isn’t just fluff—it’s mission-critical. Butit’s not about inserting a generic “narrative arc” or slapping on a script with atidy resolution. It’s about crafting a story that actually moves, that evolves. Astory that reflects the viewer’s own unspoken hopes and hesitations.A great video doesn’t just showcase a product. It casts the viewer as theprotagonist. It invites them on a journey—from who they are now to whothey could become.THE CALL TO ADVENTUREEvery good journey starts with a call. In business video, this might be aquestion: “What if your mornings didn’t start with chaos?” “Are you tired of feeling overlooked?” “What’s holding your team back?”These questions aren’t just hooks—they’re invitations. They don’t sell aproduct; they invite a transformation.When a video opens with this kind of emotional resonance, the viewerdoesn’t feel targeted—they feel seen. And once they feel seen, they lean in.They’re no longer an audience; they’re a participant.ENTERING THE UNKNOWNIn myth, the hero leaves the familiar world and steps into the unknown. Invideo marketing, this can be the part where we meet the obstacle, theproblem, the pain point.This is where the company introduces the stakes—not in corporate speak,but in real, human terms. Maybe it’s a burned-out nurse struggling to managepatient loads. Maybe it’s a small-town restaurant trying to keep its doorsopen. Maybe it’s a teenager who finally feels heard because a nonprofitshowed up.This is the part where the video gets real. No filters, no polish, just honesttension. This is what makes the eventual solution feel earned.

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39NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025THE MENTOR APPEARSEvery hero needs a guide. Obi-Wan. Gandalf. Haymitch. They don’t steal thespotlight—they help the hero shine.In business video, the company doesn’t play the hero. They play the mentor.The product or service? That’s the tool. The staff? They’re the support team.The client, customer, or community member is the one we’re rooting for.This shift in perspective is everything. When businesses position themselvesas enablers of the hero’s growth—not the center of the story—they gaintrust. They inspire belief. And they sidestep the self-congratulatory trap somany brands fall into.FACING THE ORDEALThe heart of any story is the struggle. And too often, business videos rushpast this part. They want to go straight from problem to solution. But theaudience wants to feel the climb, not just see the view.The ordeal is where doubt creeps in. Where the hero almost gives up. Inmarketing terms, this might be a failed prototype, a period of low sales, or amoment when the mission almost didn’t make it.This vulnerability? It’s gold. It creates empathy. It makes the audience investemotionally. Because if the hero earns the win, then the transformation isbelievable. It’s not hype—it’s hope.THE RETURN TRANSFORMEDFinally, the hero returns—not as who they were, but as who they’ve become.This is the payoff.In a business video, this could be the mom who finally launches her Etsyshop. The veteran who finds a job with dignity. The startup that survives themake-or-break moment.This is the real climax—not just “sales went up” or “the product worked,”but what that change meant. It’s not about metrics. It’s about meaning.The closing moments of the video should resonate like a soft landing—not asales pitch. They should leave the viewer thinking: If they can do it, maybe I cantoo.

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40NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025WHY THIS MATTERS NOW MORE THAN EVERWe’re living in a world that’s drowning in content. The average person seesthousands of brand messages a day. And most of it disappears like vapor.But stories? Real stories? They stay. They shape us. They build trust. Theymake people care.The Hero’s Journey gives businesses a framework to rise above the noise—not by shouting louder, but by speaking with clarity. With purpose. Withsoul.This isn’t about dressing up an ad with some dramatic music. It’s aboutstructuring content in a way that aligns with how humans are wired toexperience transformation.When done right, a 90-second video can do what no slogan ever could: makesomeone feel something real.NOT JUST FOR BIG BRANDSHere’s the other myth that needs breaking: you don’t need a massive budgetto tell a story. You need perspective.A one-person shop in a small town can tell a more compelling hero’s journeythan a Fortune 500 brand with a million-dollar campaign—if the story is true,and told with heart.A local nonprofit helping foster youth? That’s a hero’s journey. A welder starting over after injury? That’s a hero’s journey. A woman building her own bakery after years of self-doubt? That’s a hero’sjourney.The scale doesn’t matter. The sincerity does.GETTING STARTEDBusinesses ready to embrace this model don’t need to hire screenwriters orbecome filmmakers overnight. They need to start by asking better questions:

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41NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Who is the real hero in this story?What was their call to adventure?What challenges did they face?How did we help them overcome those challenges?How are they different now?From there, the script almost writes itself.THE POWER OF HUMAN-CENTEREDSTORYTELLINGMarketing isn’t war. It’s not a battle to the top of an algorithm. It’s a chanceto connect. To elevate. To inspire.The Hero’s Journey reminds marketers and businesses of what video canactually do: not just convert, but transform—both the viewer and the brand.The companies that get this, really get this, will stop making videos that“check the box.” They’ll start making stories that open hearts.Not because they’re trendy. But because they’re timeless.And in the end, isn’t that what every business wants?To be remembered. To matter. To be part of something bigger than the product on the screen.Because the journey? It was never just for Hollywood.It was always for all of us.

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43NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025It’s easy to light the match. Launching a new brand campaign, shooting aflashy promo video, or kicking off a bold content strategy brings theadrenaline rush that makes everyone believe this is the year it all changes.And for a few weeks—or maybe even a month—it does change. Viewsspike. Engagement rises. There's a buzz. But then? Life happens. Deadlinesshift. Teams get busy. The glow dims. And the story engine sputters out.But the ones who win? The ones who keep that story engine humming everysingle week—through chaos, holidays, Q4 meltdowns, and creative droughts—are the ones who understand that marketing isn’t about the launch. It’sabout the maintenance. The hard, gritty, repetitive—but incredibly rewarding—grind of showing up. That’s where the magic lives.THE STORY ENGINE ISN’T A ONE-OFF—IT’S ALIFESTYLEThink of your story engine like a campfire. If you walk away from it, the firedoesn’t rage forever. It flickers. It fades. And soon enough, you’re stuck withsmoke and ashes. That’s what happens to brands that post one killer video,then vanish. One great origin story, then silence.Sustainable storytelling is about fuel and friction. You need fresh ideas likedry kindling. You need process and rhythm like a steady hand on the bellows.You need commitment like you need oxygen.Too many brands act like storytelling is a quarterly project. But audiencesdon’t consume content quarterly. They scroll and watch daily. And in thatendless scroll, only the ones who show up again and again earn a place in thefeed—and in people’s minds.BUILD SYSTEMS, NOT JUST STORIESEveryone’s got a burst of creative genius now and then. But what happens inMarch? What happens in August when everyone’s on vacation? Whathappens in November when budgets tighten?SUSTAIN THE FLAME: KEEPING THE STORYENGINE RUNNING ALL YEAR

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44NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Sustainable storytelling isn’t just about creativity—it’s about systems.Calendars. Workflow. Backlogs of ideas. Production sprints. Repurposing.Rethinking. Reformatting.If you’re a business trying to stay visible, it’s not enough to want to tellstories. You need to plan for them.That means building a three-month content pipeline, not scrambling everyFriday afternoon. It means having a plan for evergreen content during dryspells. It means giving your team breathing room to think—not just to react.You wouldn’t expect a car to run without gas. You wouldn’t expect a startupto thrive without a business plan. Why expect your brand to grow without areal storytelling engine?RITUAL BEATS INSPIRATION EVERY TIMEThere’s this myth that great content only comes from big inspiration. That alightning bolt hits, and you just know what story to tell next.Truth? The people who tell great stories all year don’t wait for lightning.They build lightning rods.They get up at 5 a.m. to film before the world wakes up. They schedulemonthly brainstorms. They post when nobody’s watching. They take thecamera to places nobody else would. They’ve made storytelling a habit, not ahope.That’s the secret. Ritual. It creates discipline. And discipline breedsconsistency. And consistency, over time, earns trust. Trust earns loyalty. Andloyalty? That’s the goal.REIGNITE WITH PURPOSE, NOT PANICLet’s be real—every story engine stalls. That’s normal. The key isn’t to panic.The key is to reignite with intention.Too many businesses react to lulls with desperation—cranking out half-baked content just to be seen. But good storytelling doesn’t come frompanic. It comes from pause. From remembering why you’re telling the storyin the first place.

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45NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025What’s the mission? What’s the truth behind the brand? What’s the thingyour audience actually cares about?When the fire dims, go back to the source. Interview your founder again.Talk to customers. Walk your factory floor. Sit in on a sales call. Find thespark in real people, real moments, real impact. That’s where the flame lives.DIVERSIFY YOUR FUEL SOURCESYou can’t run the same story forever. Even the best origin story gets stale. Sosmart brands diversify.Maybe it starts with a big brand anthem. But then it branches out—customertestimonials, behind-the-scenes looks, how-tos, founder Q&As, livestreams,motion graphics, reels, case studies, bloopers, employee takeovers.Each piece is fuel. Different types for different seasons. Some ignite quickly—like a trending TikTok. Others burn slow and steady—like a long-formdocumentary on YouTube. But all of it matters.The more diverse your content, the more resilient your story enginebecomes. When one type of content underperforms, another picks up theslack. And when everything’s firing, you get that roaring blaze that turnsheads.THE AUDIENCE ISN’T PASSIVE—IT’SPARTICIPATINGHere’s the wild thing: the audience doesn’t just want content. They wantconnection. They want to feel part of something.So let them stoke the fire too.Feature their stories. Ask their opinions. Respond to their comments. Invitethem into the process. Run contests. Share user-generated content. Celebratetheir milestones alongside yours.A sustainable story engine doesn’t run at people—it runs with them. Itcreates a loop: brand to audience, audience to brand. That loop buildsmomentum. And that momentum? It keeps the flame alive long after theinitial spark fades.

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46NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025SHOW UP SMALL TO GO BIGThe best brands in the world didn’t go viral overnight. They showed up.Every day. Every week. Even when nobody was watching. Even whennobody was watching.They posted raw footage when the big idea wasn’t ready. They told a quickstory from the road while planning the next production. They madesomething instead of nothing.Because small adds up. A one-minute clip viewed 200 times every week?That’s over 10,000 impressions in a year. That’s trust. That’s brandawareness. That’s presence.The story engine doesn’t need to be perfect to be powerful. It just needs tokeep running.LEADERS NEED TO FUEL THE FIRE TOOHere’s a thing most businesses get wrong: they treat storytelling like amarketing department problem. But the most enduring stories come fromleadership. From vision. From heart.If a founder shows up on camera, if an executive shares personal stakes, ifthe team behind the curtain steps forward—that’s gold.Because it’s human. And people don’t follow brands. They follow humansbehind brands.If leaders want to build a sustainable storytelling engine, they’ve got to stepup. Not just by approving budgets or saying “yes” to another video. But bymodeling vulnerability. By being seen. By being real.DATA HELPS YOU STAY WARMAnalytics isn’t just a numbers game—it’s a temperature check. Is the fireroaring? Smoldering? Dying?Don’t just track views. Track watch time. Shares. Comments. Conversions.Drop-off points. Then adapt. Don’t keep pouring logs on a fire that’sburning the wrong direction.Data helps you know when to fan the flame, what kind of content works,and who is actually warming their hands by your fire.

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47NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Sustainable storytelling means listening. Paying attention. Tweaking the fuelmix until it burns hotter, cleaner, stronger.DON’T WAIT FOR PERMISSIONThis one’s big: a lot of people are waiting for the “right time.” The rightapproval. The perfect camera. The big idea. The budget. The go-ahead.Forget all that.The story engine doesn’t need permission. It needs motion.Shoot it on your phone. Write it on your lunch break. Record it in your car.Build the flame now, even if it’s tiny. Because once you’re in motion,momentum kicks in. And momentum beats perfection every single time.THE FIRE YOU KEEP MAY SAVE YOUR BUSINESSIn a world where attention is currency, consistency is king. A single storymight get someone to glance your way. But sustained storytelling—that getsthem to stay.It gets them to believe. To care. To act.Your story engine is more than content. It’s identity. It’s presence. It’sculture.So protect it. Fuel it. Show up for it. Every week. Every month. Everyquarter. Not just when the mood strikes or the campaign launches.Because the brands that endure aren’t the ones that burned brightest for amoment. They’re the ones who sustained the flame.And that? That’s how you keep the story engine running all year.

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48NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Beneath the glossy surface of every startup, nonprofit, or successful brandcampaign, there's something quiet and powerful humming beneath it all. It’snot just the software, the pitch deck, or the product design. It's not thecustomer data, the slick camera angles, or the social media metrics. It’ssomething far less visible and far more essential.It’s the internal story.Call it what you want—core belief, company ethos, personal narrative. It’sthe story people tell themselves when no one's watching. It’s what fuels 5a.m. wake-ups and 1 a.m. brainstorms. It’s the unseen script that determineshow brands show up, how teams operate, and how businesses endure.This article is about that story. The one no one talks about but everyonecarries. The quiet engine that shapes external success.THE MYTH OF THE EXTERNAL WORLDIn a culture obsessed with optics—followers, likes, investor rounds, productlaunches—there’s an illusion that success is built outside-in. That if thewebsite looks clean, the pitch sounds polished, and the metrics say“winning,” then the business must be solid.But let’s be honest.People can fake the metrics. Hire a branding firm. Buy followers. Drop cashon ads. Outsource charisma.None of that matters if the internal story is broken.If a founder believes they’re a fraud, the company eventually reflects thatdoubt. If a nonprofit doubts its worthiness to ask for funding, donors willsense that uncertainty. If a team tells itself “we’re just getting by,” then “justgetting by” becomes a ceiling.THE QUIET ENGINE: HOW INTERNAL STORIES SHAPE EXTERNAL SUCCESS

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49NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025The external world is just a mirror. It reflects back whatever narrative thebusiness, the brand, or the leader is telling inside.WHY THE INTERNAL STORY MATTERSInternal stories are more than just pep talks or mission statements. They areframeworks for identity, action, and decision-making. They answer questionslike:Why do we exist?What problem are we solving?Do we believe we can actually solve it?Are we the underdog? The disruptor? The caretaker? The renegade?Think of every successful brand: Patagonia’s story isn’t just about jackets—it’s about environmental activism. Tesla isn’t just about cars—it’s aboutdisrupting the status quo. Even your local bakery that became a communitystaple? Probably has an internal story about resilience, tradition, or family.When these internal stories are strong, cohesive, and believed, they give riseto a kind of magnetic authenticity. And people—customers, investors,collaborators—are drawn to that.Because people don’t buy products. They buy stories. And the mostcompelling stories start inside.WHEN THE STORY BREAKS DOWNThere’s a moment in every business or brand when the internal story starts tocrack.Maybe it’s burnout. Maybe a public failure. Maybe the team gets too big andforgets the original “why.” Maybe it’s mission drift, or chasing trends, ortrying to be something to everyone.When that happens, the signs start to show up externally.The messaging feels off.

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50NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Videos feel hollow.Customers stop engaging.Employees become transactional.And it’s tempting to fix the outside: new marketing campaign, new website, afresh rebrand.But the real work has to start inside.Not with aesthetics. With alignment.The leadership has to pause and ask: What story are we telling ourselves rightnow? Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it courageous?REWRITING THE INTERNAL SCRIPTInternal stories aren’t fixed. They’re living, evolving frameworks that can berewritten.A nonprofit that used to see itself as a “helper” might need to evolve into a“fighter.” A solopreneur who felt like an impostor might need to start seeingherself as a guide. A business that’s always seen itself as scrappy might needto own its new role as a leader in the space.Rewriting an internal story isn’t therapy. It’s strategy.It’s about aligning belief with action.And yes, it takes courage. It takes facing the parts of the story that no longerserve. The narratives inherited from old jobs, past failures, culturalexpectations. But in the end, it’s that re-authored story that fuels the nextstage of growth.THE POWER OF VIDEO IN REVEALING (ANDSHAPING) THE INTERNAL STORYThis is where video marketing becomes less of a tactic and more of a truth-telling device.

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51NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025Video has a way of revealing what’s really going on. It’s hard to fake emotionon camera. Hard to hide misalignment in a team interview. Hard to maskuncertainty in a founder’s voice.But here’s the twist.Video can also reshape the internal story.When a business sees itself through the lens of a well-told story—capturedhonestly, edited thoughtfully, and presented with care—it can start to believethat story more fully. It becomes a mirror, yes, but also a guide.Internal stories aren’t just spoken. They’re shown.That’s why the best video marketing isn’t about hype. It’s about resonance.About showing a brand back to itself in a way that says: This is who you are.This is what you’re capable of.And once that truth is internalized, the ripple effects are enormous.THE QUIET ENGINE IN ACTIONThere’s a coffee shop in Montana that never planned to be a communityhub. They just wanted to make good espresso. But during the pandemic,their story changed. They became a safe space. A signal of continuity. Andthe owners started to believe that role wasn’t accidental—it was essential.They began telling that story—quietly, consistently—in their posts, videos,and conversations. Not with polish, but with purpose. And their businessgrew—not because of their lattes, but because of their alignment.There’s a startup in New York that spent its first year trying to sound likeevery other startup. Buzzwords. Whiteboards. Founders doing awkwardLinkedIn humblebrags.Then they dropped the act. Told their real story—a product born frompersonal pain, built out of necessity. They filmed a single video: raw,unscripted, and honest. It changed everything. Investors leaned in.Customers connected. Why? Because the story was true. And because theteam believed it again.

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52NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025BUILDING A STORY-FIRST BUSINESSEvery business already has an internal story. The only question is whether it’sintentional or accidental.Smart businesses make it intentional.They workshop it. They write it down. They test it in real conversations.They build internal rituals around it. They hire people who align with it. Theylet it shape how they talk, how they sell, how they serve.The story becomes the filter. Not just for branding—but for decisions.If the story is “we care about community,” then partnerships, pricing, andeven office space need to reflect that. If the story is “we’re the rebels,” thenthe marketing better have an edge. If the story is “we make things simple,”then your onboarding process better be a breeze.The internal story sets the standard. It either strengthens the brand—orundercuts it.KEEPING THE ENGINE TUNEDInternal stories aren’t “set it and forget it.” They need maintenance.That’s why the best founders and creatives check in with themselvesregularly. They ask hard questions. They listen to team dynamics. They payattention to what feels off. They adjust the narrative not to be trendy—but tostay true.And they surround themselves with people who help refine the story. Notyes-men. Story editors. People who hold up the mirror.Because the story can drift. And when it drifts too far, the engine sputters.But when it’s clear, focused, and believed.Everything flows. Messaging, morale, marketing. All of it.

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53NARRATIVE MOTION MAY/JUNE 2025CONCLUSION: LISTENING TO THE QUIET ENGINEIn a world that screams for attention, sometimes the most powerful thing abusiness can do is go quiet for a minute.To tune out the noise. To stop obsessing over output. To listen to the quietengine.The one powered by purpose. Fueled by belief. Tuned by story.The truth is, most external success is just the visible tip of a deeper narrative.So if something’s off—sales down, audience disengaged, energy low—itmight not be a strategy problem.It might be a story problem.And the answer isn’t louder marketing.It’s a clearer mirror.Fix the internal story, and the external world will catch up. That’s how realsuccess is built. Quietly. Consistently. From the inside out.

NARRATIVE MOTION (The Story Engine)

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