12 Secrets to the Viral Video
Rule #2: Easily understandable concept

Welcome to the second post in our 12 Secrets to the Viral Video. The title cuts both ways: it can stop people from checking out your video, or it can draw them in. You want them drawn in. Today's rule centers around the concept: it must be easy to understand.

You probably haven't heard much about the Concept. If you've been keeping pace on the Fun Little Movies Twitter,we've tweeted on interesting ideas on how hard work can make a good movie viral. There's a really good starting point at TechnoBabble that even addresses the title.

SHORT FORM MEANS SHORT
If the title is the Gate to becoming viral, the concept is the floorplan. Your visitor is not going to stay any longer than three minutes. Which means it's gotta be easy for him or her to find the way to the bathroom. In a feature, your visitor has a chance to roam around, see the living room and the kitchen. They get a chance to meet interesting characters who develop over the course of the film, or, for a series, the course of a season. But three minutes is not a lot of time for complicated character development. You've got to KISS(Keep It Simple, Stupid) the audience.

You don't know whether the visitor is going to come back to see the next video, or if he will even stay for the end of that video. Or watch them in order. One key to keeping the visitor interested, though, is a simple concept. If you jump from humor at one second to drama the next, you may leave your audience, and your prospects of going viral, behind.

NEXT WEEK:

Rule # 3: Clear Genre

12 Secrets to the Viral Video: Rule #1

Welcome to Fun Little Movies!

WHY

Here at Fun Little Movies, our job is to squeeze big fun into your cellphone screen. But we need good, quality fun for the phone, which is why we're here. This blog is about how to make the best video snacks, so you can make them, and we can post them. Next time you find yourself in a line at the supermarket, you just might be able to pull out your cell phone and watch your own 3 minute Fun Little Movie!

If anyone knows what it takes to make a viral video, we do. Frank Chindamo, the guy in the picture, holds the world record for most short films independently produced, and founded the first company in America to publish videos to cell phones. He holds more than 20 awards worldwide for the mobisodes that he has already made.

MOBISODES vs VIRAL VIDEOS

But you saw the title, and it says, "Secrets to the Viral Video," and you're thinking, "If this is Mobisodes, then why tell us about Viral Videos?"

Mobisodes and Webisodes have a lot in common; they're both short, fast paced, and the audience can tune out at any second; so the ingredients that make a video viral are generally the same ones that would make it interesting on the cell phone.

The beauty of this new realm is that anyone can participate, but not everyone knows how to bring out the best material, which is why we've come up with the 12 Rules to a Viral Video.

Rule #1: Have a Great Title

Imagine this: You're standing in line, bored, so you pull out your cell phone to watch a quick short. You want to get the most out of your 3 minutes. So, you watch the video of the first title to catch your eye.

MAKE AN EYE-CATCHING COVER

You know why they said, "Don't judge a book by its cover"? It's because people do, and as the newest viral producer, you've gotta take advantage of this!

Wouldn't it be terrible to spend all your time and money making a great video, only to have no one watch it because they never got past the title? So, make a better title!

TITLE TIPS

Okay, okay, you're saying, so how do I make a good title? Well, think of what your audience is looking for as they surf their phone or the internet. Something that is

• quick
  

• interesting
  

• familiar
  

• funny

So, a series like, "Turbo Dates," is perfect. Turbo satisfies that speed that we're all looking for, and the title sounds similar to speed dating, something everyone knows about.

Or, take the viral hit, "The Landlord," short simple, and easy. CollegeHumor has an amazing array of good titles, like "Real Life Twitter," and "We Didn't Start the Flame War." Also, "Ask A Ninja" shows that it's silly, and "HotforWords" uses a keyword, "Hot" in its title.

TITLE SETS EXPECTATIONS

The key is that your viewer knows what they're gonna get right away from reading the title. If your title is funny, the audience should be able to tell. If it is dramatic, the audience should be able to tell. Your title sets the expectations for the piece. The next step is simple: fulfill those expectations.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Stay tuned for next week's Rule #2: Easy Concept, the first step in fulfilling those expectations!