Reliving Pixar’s Storytelling Rules
This edition of Outside In is a “planned topic discovery”. In the last 2-3 weeks, Outside In has caught up on the Language (Speak), Visual (See) and Sonic (Hear) Influences for creating impactful Content. I felt, therefore, that it would be worthwhile to revisit an old classic to round off our ‘content’ series (for now) in a manner of speaking – with a topic that blends all the 3 Influences into one solid Output: Storytelling! And, what better way to capture it than to study from the masters of storytelling – Pixar Studios! Towards that effort, I have dugout an old content piece I had in my repository and looked to add some more insights on this old classic. Hope this will be a truly fun and inspiring read…
Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Originally Compiled by Emma Coats, Curated by Many…
Here’s the Outside In Visual adaptation…
What Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling Mean for Brand Content, compiled by Toast Studio
NO. 1: You admire a character for trying more than for her or his successes
In branded content, the hero of the story is very often the client, the customer or the person that is helped by the solution (product or service) the organization brings to the world. What the audience wants to hear is how this person tried to resolve their problem, what was keeping them awake at night. The audience wants to identify with the story they are hearing about
NO. 2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different
Empathy. As a content creator or marketing executive, put oneself in the audience’s shoes and create content that is about what interests them and what will catch and keep their attention. And depending on the various audience segments the brand might have, it might lead to telling multiple different stories in order to keep the interest alive across segments
NO. 3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about till you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite
Make sure to always plan some rewriting and adjusting. As co-founder of Pixar Ed Catmull, author of Creativity Inc., puts it: “Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way.”
NO. 4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___
Don’t make the brand’s stories too complicated. Keep it simple. Storytelling has a structure that the human brain is used to. Do not need to reinvent the wheel
NO. 5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff, but it sets you free
The human brain still has great capacity to concentrate and stay attentive. Get to the point. Keep the attention level up
NO. 6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
No story is a good story without an enemy. What is the client’s or stakeholder’s enemy in a brand story? What is keeping them in the rough, looking for a guide and a plan? Make sure that is in the story
NO. 7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard — get yours working up front
In branded content, this one is easy: every brand has the solution. Don’t put so much emphasis on everything else that people who watch the brand storytelling cannot even tell which brand, product or service is behind it. The brand needs to make sure its audience will attribute this back to the brand. Keep attribution top-of-mind
NO. 8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time
There’s always something that will hold the brand off. Things will not be perfect and the brand’s story will not be as finished as it wants. Maybe someone on the client’s side will not be available on the day of the interviews. Maybe the product will not be available the way the brand wanted. Sometimes one has to wait, but sometimes one has to jump. Otherwise a competitor will get their brand’s story out before our brand does. And it will hurt
NO. 9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what wouldn’t happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up
What could happen to your client? Has it happened in the past? What do you think has NEVER happened? Tell that story. Tell the horror stories that never were thanks to the solution
NO. 10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it
Get inspired. Watch what other brands are doing. And not only in the existing industry. One might be surprised by what inspires the brand and its content creators
NO. 11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone
At Toast Studio, they have a process for creating impactful brand stories that is split in 3 distinct phases:
1) Storygathering, 2) Storyshaping, 3) Storytelling
This rule is all about making sure that the brand is always gathering stories; that it has a process behind collecting great things that happen in their organization and with the brand. Even when the brand is not planning content production, they have to make sure that story gathering engine keeps running. Always be on the lookout for new stories
NO. 12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself
Content chaos is real. There is too much content out there, too much noise, and there is a need to stand out as a brand with its content. Do not hesitate to throw ideas away if they’ve been done too much. If they don’t stand out
NO. 13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience
The heroes of any brand storytelling are people; humans that have emotions, needs, core values and expectations themselves. Make it shine in the brand content. Make them alive
NO. 14: Why must you tell this story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it
These three questions will help shape brand films into something that will make a dent in its audience’s minds: 1) But why is this story so important? 2) Why would someone actually share it? 3) Who will help you share this story?
NO. 15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations
The audience wants to identify with the characters in a brand storytelling. These stories need to make an impact, so the audience wants to see something impressive happen. But make sure that through the impressiveness, the audience will recognize themselves and they will believe it
NO. 16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against
Make sure that at some point in the story, there is danger. That the characters in the brand films might not make it, they might not find a solution. There doesn’t need to be tears and fear, but audience wants to get to know them just enough so that the brand, maybe unconsciously, helps them to find a solution
NO. 17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on — it’ll come back around to be useful later
If one story doesn’t feel just right. Put it back in the pile and find another one. Storygathering is part of a process to create brand stories and one great thing about it is that when applied properly, there will be generating tons of brand storytelling ideas. Some will be good, but many will be great
NO. 18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining
Get to know what works for the brand. Get to know the brand audience. This is actually part of the content improvement process at Toast Studios: The 3 Rs – Reuse, Refresh, Recycle
NO. 19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating
If people in a brand’s stories end up getting out of trouble (thanks to the brand!), make sure that the audience understands how they got there. A brand provides a plan, a solution, to the clients and ideal customers. These are a brand’s customer stories. If a brand tells authentic stories and if it is possible for its audience to live what the character is telling them, they will identify with it and believe it
NO. 20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How do you rearrange them into what you DO like?
When a story or a piece of content does not feel right, pursue a chance to challenge the structure. Challenge the basic elements of the story. Is the problem that the brand is solving big enough? Is the way the story is told interesting? How could it be structured so that it grabs attention more quickly? Is there something that can be taken out?
NO. 21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make you act that way?
Put oneself in the audience’s shoes and make sure they will react the way a brand would want them to. In their reality, is the emotional response one wants them to feel – possible?
NO. 22: What’s the essence of your story? The most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there
There is an expectation with this rule, in regards to content marketing, that people expect effectiveness. They want a story told in the time it takes to tell that story. Just tell it like it is. Believable. Don’t waste your audience’s time
Additional Reading:
1) Khan Academy Course (!) – Pixar in a Box: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/pixar/start
2) Pixar Rules Analyzed E-Book by Stephan Vladimir Bugaj: https://www.bugaj.com/blog/2013/10/31/pixars-22-rules-of-story-analyzed-as-a-pdf-ebook
In Conclusion – On Storytelling and Content Marketing
In content marketing, we don’t have toys that come to life the way Toy Story had, or Monsters living in closets, but we have characters, stories, themes to address and we need an original idea for our content. All these elements make it possible to apply many of these storytelling rules to our marketing strategy and build a compelling story that will delight your audiences through brand storytelling
Content marketers can benefit from these rules. These rules serve as reminders as to what makes content stick, what not only catches the attention of your audience, but also makes sure they pay attention throughout. This is where value really resides. When you are able to keep the attention of your audience because your content strikes a chord, when it feels relevant to them while also making sure the time they spend with you is worthwhile
References and Sources
1) Washington Post Article on Pixar Tips by Emma Coats: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/pixar-tips-brave-artist-emma-coats-shares-her-storytelling-wit-and-wisdom-on-twitter%20followher/2012/06/25/gJQADaxd2V_blog.html
2) Toast Studio Article on Pixar’s Rules and How They Can Be Applied for Branded Content: https://www.toaststudio.com/en/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling/
3) No Film School Article: https://nofilmschool.com/pixar-recipe-good-storytelling
4) No Film School Free e-Book: https://nofilmschool.com/2013/12/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling-free-ebook