Hard Part 2

Narrative Structures

One of the difficulties when making any story is realizing how much of it your own brain is filling in. I talk a lot about transitions for that reason. By now you can see there are many different ways in which you can guide the reader from one stage to the next. These five slides accomplish several things:

That ominous voice speaks for the last time. Takes center stage and delivers the title of the next chapter.
The main protagonist(and reader) is feeling more hopeful, but this happens in stages. This is important because we want to guide the reader to the next bit, not shove them into a hole the way we did previously.
Introduction of the Ascii art. It appears for the first time in the story for two reasons: One because it fits, second because it will keep appearing.
The reader is now finally full on board and ready to go.
We re-introduce the smoke to remind the reader of where we were before.

For more in depth information, check out this video about game level design and game mechanics. Where the creator uses a type of narrative structure
called Kishōtenketsu which is used in Japanese comics and Poems.

Graphic Match Cut

We had previously introduced the word "Sound Track" and the musical notes. The reader was already expecting a musical bit. This means we are ready for the next part.

In this tip, we'll introduce something called "Graphic Match Cut." This is done in movies to create transitions by maintaining a similar graphic from one scene to the next. Things to notice in this bit:

There are only two musical symbols used throughout. This implies that they are only symbolic.
The amount of space before and after the text is always the same.
Words such as "This place is..." remain in the same place from slide to slide. This helps convey the feeling of a chorus being sung.
The second line always has the same amount of words.

Simulating music

This particular bit aims to simulate the way music would rise and increase in volume. Where we previously had smoke in the background, we now have solid black. This is telling the reader exactly where we would like his or her attention and feelings to be focused on.

Notice the effect that word placement, formatting, and spacing has on the way that the interaction feels.

Graphic Match Cut (Part 2)

These six slides try to wrap up many of the elements that had been introduced before and makes them slightly more complicated.

The previous slides make it reasonably easy to understand that we are now at a concert.
Ascii art is introduced again, but there is no text yet and the background is the same
A graphic match cut imbues the symbol of the stick man with real-life content.
Zoom out a gif of the crowd is introduced to symbolize the magnitude of the event taking place. The realization that the main protagonist came to.
The smoke clears in favor of a spotlight coming from the right, just like we had sunlight peaking through the cave hole before.
Finally, we reintroduce all of the elements together including the main spotlight.

Reaching the Climax

This bit does a few new things while it builds up for the climax:

The top half of the stage is introduced together with the lights (color makes the first appearance)
The public is now light up, and you can see faces.
The full stage, lyrics and stick man in movement finally come together.
The close up of a female singer in contrast to the previous male is telling the reader that this is not about one particular person. Color moves to red
Stage lights are also red now (Graphic & Movement Match cut)
Lower and release some of the tension
"Explosion."

Feelings through word placement

One of the most exciting things that happen when you repurpose images and Gifs is how they sometimes fit perfectly. This particular Gif was lifted off just as you see it. The positioning of the word "Head" closely matches the next slide. Plus the guy is visually singing and in close up.

The attention now moves to the partially light crowd. Notice that the text is not perfectly readable due to the movement and the difference in light. But in this case, it is precisely what we want since it gives the sensation that the words cannot be heard since the crowd is now singing.

Once again, the text remains in the same spot. The formatting of the lyrics is also precisely the same, and this allows people attention to be carefully managed.

Raising the emotion for the end

In this bit, the focus goes entirely to the crowd. The stickman remains unchanged (as if raising the microphone away). The text now gains movement from the gif in preparation for the last climax.

Movement Match Cut

Only a few things are happening here. In preparation for a ridiculous ending, the stick man starts doing acrobatics. Where you place it as it transitions from one position to the next, will determine the rhythm with which the reader clicks to move the story forward.

The choice of adding the word "boom," as well as the next expansive shot was a personal choice. The constant difficulty came in deciding how much information the reader should have before reaching a particular bit. This entire sequence moves in a way that the final explosion makes more sense, but it is still surprising.

Final tip

Can you locate one question which your story answers? A premise around which everything gets built?

For this story that question was:

"How can we justify THIS gif?"