Ten Cent Words

07/12/2021

Our latest article is up!

It is a linguistic test to determine if media is worth watching.

Think the Bechdel test, but for words.

If you have ever lamented a TV show or a movie for having a genuinely terrible accent in it, then you should read this article.



https://tencentwords.co.uk/2021/12/07/how-to-decide-if-scripted-media-is-worthy-of-being-watched/

Is scripted media worthy of watching? There are so many streaming platforms these days that it is hard to keep track. Everyone and their grandmother is making scripted media, and although progress has been made towards more consistently inclusive and representative media, there is one area that stil...

24/08/2021

In content, as in real estate, it is location, location, location...

22/07/2021

If you are making clever content that plays with words, make it memorable.

Memorable language can be a little broken, or a little ungrammatical, but not stupid.

This, is stupid. "Ites" is not a word, except in the lyrics to a song by Raffi called Apples and Bananas.

This is marginally shareable content because of the stupid word, and because people were temporarily obsesed with the phrase It's Coming Home during the European Championships.

But overall it is cheap and lazy.

06/07/2021

A bit about words and grammar in content:

You may have seen this advertisement for St James Quarter around since it opened.

Someone paid a lot of money to develop this campaign. It is visually appealing: striking, and simple. These are all positive attributes, to be sure. But there is one thing that makes this content completely trash: grammar.

Hear me out: using slightly bad or non traditional grammar is a tried and true method of getting the attention of consumers. Something that is slightly different can be memorable.

Examples:

Find Your Happy (Rightmove)

Think Different (Apple)

I'm Lovin' It (McDonald's)

But this slogan - It's Time To Edinburgh Again - does not meet the marker for memorability. This is because it doesn't track. The word "to" is both a preposition (I go to school) and a particle (I like to move it move it).

Edinburgh is a place name, so the sentence that starts with a verbal construct (It's time to ...dance) switches mid sentence to a location. This does not clearly parse from right to left. The viewer would have to think about it, and no consumer spends any serious amount of time or energy on a slogan.

This is called a failed syllepsis, for anyone looking for the technical term.

It is also not a phrase. Nobody says "to Edinburgh" as a verb, so there is no colloquial reference for the consumer to relate to.

So this campaign, although pretty and striking, is not successful in attracting new viewers.

29/06/2021

Good content vs. bad content, Instagram version.

It is very tempting to put a lot of features into a graphic. But it is paramount to remember that an average viewer will look at the image for 2 seconds before they move on, if that.

So, having fewer features is important to ensure the message gets across.

The image on the left is incredibly simple, but effective. It is likely that the viewer would read the message, parse it, and potentially interact with it.

The image on the right is still pretty simple, but it has more involved features and would take the average reader that much more time to get to the message. This would mean that a large percentage of viewers would not actually read the message and wouldn't interact with it.

The graphics are both usable, but the righthand one is a graphic for dedicated followers. The lefthand one is a graphic for attracting new attention and keeping dedicated followers involved.

Makerbee Lab

25/05/2021

We recently did this promo video for the techno wizards at Makerbee Lab.

If you need anything sorted, from furniture to electric bikes to prototypes to prostheses, get in touch with them!

Makerbee Lab is a small prototyping company located in Edinburgh. We produce custom, on demand production parts, manufacture prototypes, support crowdfunding...

14/05/2021

We recently did this video for Ananda Animal Sanctuary, celebrating the story of their 12 rescued lambs and showcasing their most excellent antics.

08/04/2021

For a good twitter graphic, simplicity is key. Twitter crops the dimensions of images in different ways for each use. The original post, a share, a quoted share and a reshare are all cropped differently.

So a good twitter graphic needs to be simple and not use the edges as they will be cropped when a user actually sees it.

Example: this graphic for the Edinburgh Poverty Commission

31/03/2021

We put together this graphic for the Edinburgh Honey Company to reassure customers they were open during the holiday lockdown period.

If you or anyone you know need professional Instagram advice, please get in touch!

26/03/2021

We recently did a new logo for a community garden, done in watercolors.

We animated it and it turned out fantastic!

23/03/2021

The Edinburgh Shield Force was a volunteer group of engineers who rose to the challenge of supplying Scottish hospitals with face shields during the beginning of the pandemic.

We did several videos to showcase their efforts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrQ7eWWi8j8&ab_channel=EdinburghShieldForce

NHS Scotland

During the COVID-19 crisis a group of volunteers built a factory in Edinburgh. They went from an idea scribbled on a napkin to mass production in a month. ...

21/03/2021

The Leith Theatre is an amazing venue hidden in the heart of Leith. I learned about it only recently as part of a different project.

This is an instagram story that we did for them before the most recent lockdown.

18/03/2021

Buddha and Rye are two rescued dairy calves. They were destined to be slaughtered but were saved by a group of sanctuaries.

We made this video celebrating their rescue, and their new happy lives of frolicking and seducing everyone they meet with their cuteness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5MParekPWk

One of the largest dairy calf rescues in the UK. Buddha and Rye are now living their best life at Ananda Animal Sanctuary.

18/03/2021

These are a selection of graphics we did for Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts.