Viral looks

Forty-four looks that travel on short-form video, and how to ask.

These are the looks that spread. Most are one idea pushed hard: a person made of marble, a room repainted by hand, a warm face against a frozen world. They work because they read in the first second, which is all a scroll gives you.

Painted, drawn and printed

12

The photograph is replaced by paint, ink or paper. These carry on any subject, which is why they last longer than the rest.

Agamemnon: An ordinary interior painted with warm realist brushwork.

An ordinary interior painted with warm realist brushwork.

Akrill: Thick bright brush strokes rebuild the scene in high-chroma paint.

Thick bright brush strokes rebuild the scene in high-chroma paint.

Canvas: The whole frame carries the weave and brushwork of a painting.

The whole frame carries the weave and brushwork of a painting.

Hand Paint: A brush paints over the scene while you watch.

A brush paints over the scene while you watch.

Monet Muse: Impressionist dappled brushwork breaks the light into colour patches.

Impressionist dappled brushwork breaks the light into colour patches.

Pearl Earring: Old-master portrait lighting: dark ground, one soft window source, a single highlight.

Old-master portrait lighting: dark ground, one soft window source, a single highlight.

Sketch: A pencil drawing sits half-finished over the photograph.

A pencil drawing sits half-finished over the photograph.

Comic: The frame becomes inked panels with halftone and heavy outlines.

The frame becomes inked panels with halftone and heavy outlines.

Flash Comic: Comic panel drawing collides with press flashes and motion.

Comic panel drawing collides with press flashes and motion.

Knight's Diary: The scene sits inside an aged illuminated manuscript page.

The scene sits inside an aged illuminated manuscript page.

Paper: Torn paper layers frame and interrupt the image.

Torn paper layers frame and interrupt the image.

Origami: The world is built from folded paper with visible creases.

The world is built from folded paper with visible creases.

Made of another material

4

The subject stops being flesh. Stone, rock, plastic or polygons.

Marble: The subject is carved white stone with polished surfaces.

The subject is carved white stone with polished surfaces.

Lava: A figure is made of cracked dark rock with molten light inside.

A figure is made of cracked dark rock with molten light inside.

Action Figure: A person is rendered as a poseable collectible figure.

A person is rendered as a poseable collectible figure.

3D Render: The scene reads as a computer render rather than a photograph.

The scene reads as a computer render rather than a photograph.

Colour pushed hard

7

One colour decision does the whole job, and it has to read at thumbnail size.

Acid: Saturated rainbow fringing crawls around every edge.

Saturated rainbow fringing crawls around every edge.

Two Color: The frame is reduced to two colours and nothing else.

The frame is reduced to two colours and nothing else.

Ultraviolet: UV light makes whites and pigments glow against near black.

UV light makes whites and pigments glow against near black.

Toxic: Sickly green vapour swallows the figure.

Sickly green vapour swallows the figure.

Cold Vision: A warm face burns against a frozen desaturated world.

A warm face burns against a frozen desaturated world.

Random Glow: Scattered warm bulbs float through the frame as glowing points.

Scattered warm bulbs float through the frame as glowing points.

Noir: Black and white, hard shadow, wet streets and blind slats.

Black and white, hard shadow, wet streets and blind slats.

Fame and the camera

5

Flashes, poses, and the styling that comes with being looked at.

Superstar: A wall of press flashes fires at a poised subject.

A wall of press flashes fires at a poised subject.

Magazine: Glossy editorial styling, saturated light and a held pose.

Glossy editorial styling, saturated light and a held pose.

2000s Paparazzi: Hard on-camera flash at night, caught rather than composed.

2000s Paparazzi

Hard on-camera flash at night, caught rather than composed.

Modern: Minimal contemporary interior, restrained and expensive.

Minimal contemporary interior, restrained and expensive.

Pigeons: Birds burst past the face, filling the frame with wings.

Birds burst past the face, filling the frame with wings.

Impossible rides and companions

9

A person and something far larger, played straight. The calm is what makes them work.

Dolphin Ride: A person rides a large sea animal across open water.

A person rides a large sea animal across open water.

Penguin Ride: A person rides a large polar bird across ice.

A person rides a large polar bird across ice.

Puffin Ride: A person rides a large seabird over coastal cliffs.

A person rides a large seabird over coastal cliffs.

Skatedog: A dog runs alongside a skater, shot low and fast on the street.

A dog runs alongside a skater, shot low and fast on the street.

Casual Monster Slayer: An ordinary person walks calmly while something enormous looms behind.

Casual Monster Slayer

An ordinary person walks calmly while something enormous looms behind.

Mighty Fighter: An armoured figure holds a heroic stance in a lit arena.

An armoured figure holds a heroic stance in a lit arena.

Fallen Angel: A winged figure stands above a city at night.

A winged figure stands above a city at night.

Orbital Presence: A figure floats in space with the planet curving below.

Orbital Presence

A figure floats in space with the planet curving below.

Race Track: A figure overlooks a racing circuit at speed.

A figure overlooks a racing circuit at speed.

Worlds that bend

7

The space itself is the effect: repeated, shattered, submerged, or opened into a book.

LSD: The room warps and trails as perception comes apart.

The room warps and trails as perception comes apart.

Multiverse: The same space repeats away into endless copies.

The same space repeats away into endless copies.

Broken Mirror: Shattered glass multiplies the subject into misaligned fragments.

Shattered glass multiplies the subject into misaligned fragments.

Blue Depth: The subject sits submerged in deep blue water with light above.

The subject sits submerged in deep blue water with light above.

Lost in a Book: An enormous open book becomes the world the subject enters.

An enormous open book becomes the world the subject enters.

Fairytale Castle: A storybook castle town under snow, lit like an illustration.

Fairytale Castle

A storybook castle town under snow, lit like an illustration.

Ink Riot: Ink and smoke burst around the subject in calligraphic strokes.

Ink and smoke burst around the subject in calligraphic strokes.

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Other techniques

Shot typesTwenty-five ways to frame a shot, and the wording that gets each one.25 shot types Camera anglesNineteen places to put the camera, and the wording that gets each one.19 camera angles Camera movementEighty-six ways to move the camera, and the wording that gets each one.86 camera moves CompositionThirty-two ways to arrange a frame, and the wording that gets each one.32 composition rules LightingForty-one lighting setups, and the wording that gets each one.41 lighting setups Lenses and opticsSeventeen lenses, and the wording that gets the look of each one.17 lenses Colour and film lookNineteen colour looks, and the wording that gets each one.19 colour looks Time and motionTwenty-one ways to bend time in a shot, and the wording for each one.21 time effects Cuts and transitionsTwenty-three ways to get from one shot to the next.23 transitions In-camera and optical effectsFifty-seven effects a camera can make on its own, and how to ask.57 effects Atmosphere and weatherThirteen ways to fill the air, and the wording that gets each one.13 atmosphere effects Genre looksTwenty-seven genres, and the wording that gets the look of each one.27 genre looks

Each one reads in a second. A viewer decides to keep watching before any story arrives, so the first frame has to carry the whole idea.