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Concrete brand talk in an ephemeral world

Tell a story in 140 char

Some people bemoan the widespread use of texting and Tweet-style communication as the death of true writing. While spelling and correct grammar might be taking a hit, I’d argue that limiting yourself to 140 characters challenges any writer to get straight to the point — quickly. Maybe these short bursts of text don’t signify the death of nuance, but a rebirth in editing. After all, with such little space, every word counts.

The true question is, can we (as marketers and regular people) convey the essence of a complex idea in 140 characters or less? Can a Tweet be a story? If less is more, and the use of Twitter grows as a true marketing tool, then our future might be filled with these cleverly-constructed nuggets of meaning.

We found an easy way to test this theory: Take familiar stories — classic films, and run them through the 140 character grinder. We will let you decide. Does restricting text to 140 characters remove the magic, or can stories shine through regardless?

This became a great exercise in leaving out details, and it was challenging to keep the essential story intact — and this just reinforces the value of good editors, and the need for each word to do something essential.

Star Wars:

Space farm boy gets caught up in intergalactic war, joins rebellion w/ smuggler pilot, princess & an old man who shows him path of heroes.

Godfather:

Mumbling mafia Dad leads Fam in bloody mob war & horse head delivery; Dad shot but last son gets revenge, runs 2 Italy & returns as new Don.

Superman:

Aliens send baby from doomed planet 2 Kansas; he grows up w/ super powers, gets blue spandex & reporter gf; spins world 2 beat evil realtor.

Gone With The Wind:

Southern girl pines for man, meets scoundrel instead; saves fam & home when S. loses Civil War; weds scoundrel but he bolts aftr child dies.

Casablanca:

Cynical man owns club & meets ex gf & her nazi-fighting hubby. Fights bitterness, nazis & french cops 2 get visas 4 them 2 leave country.

Wizard of Oz:

Kansas girl & dog sent by tornado 2 land of midgets, yellow st. & witches. Gets red shoes, misfit friends & melts witch w/ h20, cliks home.

Psycho:

Man runs creepy motel where sexy $ thief hides & dies by shower stabbing. Son blames crazy mom but cops & friends find son is knifey “mom”.

Wall-E:

Trash compacting robot meets cute girl probe & finds plant life on abandoned earth while teaching ship full of fat humans what life’s about.

Can you write a synopsis of your favorite film in 140 characters? We’d love to see you try in the comment section below.

Jan 13 2010

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3 Responses to “Tell a story in 140 char”

  1. Ty Grigg says:

    (500) Days of Summer:
    Hopelessly romantic boy falls for love-skeptic girl. Fling follows but girl dumps him and marries a man. Boy’s pain helps him grow up.

  2. Adam Webb says:

    Death of poor boy turned rich brat turned newspaper man turned failed politician. Memories of him vary wildly. But no one remembers rosebud.

  3. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hexanine, Hexanine. Hexanine said: What good are 140 characters? http://tinyurl.com/ygrvq2f Can you tell a movie's story (or any story) in Tweet-sized pieces? [...]

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