Micro-series shouldn't be linear!

I've started to think it's a mistake trying to make a micro-series (i.e. published on tiktok) where the episodes have a beginning, middle and ending.

AMV-editors got it figured out

Creating associations, not linear storytelling, is where it's at for short-form video.

A micro-series should be almost like a collage, a compilation, a "fan"-edit of itself. Like somewhere out there exists the full show, but it never actually did.

An episode should have no linearity, just the central themes of the story front and center, told through associations made by intercutting dialogue, music, and scenes.

In practice: detach key dialogue from the scenes that they were written for and patch together a whole new reel that will play over shots from the story (the good shots that would be iconic if only the was a full work).

Create the feeling that an audience has seen a glimpse into a full show.

This is also a cheat for less work

I know I'm not alone in saying, that when new stories come to me, they arrive in the form of a select key scenes, key moments, character interactions. That's the inspiration, from which I then have to try and write a coherent story. I have the story in my head, so I know what these scenes mean, what they're trying to say, so now the challenge of writing is making the audience see, understand and feel what I intuitively feel about these scenes in my head.

By creating works that are AMV-like, we sort of cheat our way around the work of having to write a full story.

I don't say this in a "less work is better" type of way. Stories get most of their meaning from this 'extra' work, and as an artist you shouldn't try to reduce the amount of work for no reason at all.

What I am saying is that by cheating, i.e. only showing the parts that inspired us, we create a different kind of work. It's not a reduced, lesser version of the 'real' work, nor is it somehow more pure and emotionally raw version. It's just different. But it is less work.

It has been done before

Really what I'm describing is a pitch or a trailer. It has been done before.

Miraculous Ladybug did it once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlwV3scCgAM

Kyousougiga did it as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKGUDOwepyU

But its not the same! These certainly give a feeling of what the shows would be like (neither actually exist in the form they are here), but not how the show feels. There's zero sauce.

These are made, and have always been made, with the assumption that someone is gonna sit down and watch these videos. You invite the executive over, turn on the projector, dim the lights, and play the video so that they get a sense for what is being made.

They're not made for a random doom-scrolling 20-something yearning to FEEL.

Examples

Look at these

Fox and the Hound edit https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRVJEDKJ/

FLCL edit https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRVeQMEH/

Now these are some real YEARNERS. (the Fox and the Hound edit is almost comically dramatic)

Or how about this Helsinki based people videographer hand crafting what Helsinki feels like through nothing but people association.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRVevMHC/

If you want your audience to FEEL, you really don't got time to focus on linear story telling!