Narrative
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ScrIPTING
Video is a key component of any modern content marketing campaign, and a strong script is at the heart of any high-performing video.
I’ve spent a decade crafting scripts for a huge variety of video projects, from sprawling animated lore pieces to sub-60 comedy shorts, and everything in between.
The videos I’ve worked on have earned millions of views across multiple industries, and sparked countless conversations…and countless conversions.
Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo IV + Vessel of Hatred
While social copywriting was my initial focus on the Diablo IV team, I quickly embraced video production, working with multiple teams to craft engaging, narrative-driven video scripts that helped expand the lush narrative of the highly revered Diablo video game franchise.
As someone who grew up playing the first Diablo on an ancient Pentium PC, contributing to that creative endeavor was a professional dream come true.
Book of Lorath
Lore Series
To celebrate the release of Diablo IV and to honor the decades-long narrative legacy of the franchise, we embarked on an ambitious project: succinctly summarizing almost thirty years’ worth of cross-medium franchise lore in a series of four videos. I was the lead on this enormous writing project, crafting the scripts over the course of several weeks.
This formidable undertaking involved extensive collaboration with the lore team, the narrative team, the original content team, and of course, the talented animators and artists. The series was narrated by the venerable actor Ralph Ineson.
The series has nearly 6 million views and has been met with overwhelmingly positive reception from a passionate fanbase.
Part II: Sanctuary
Part III:The Lord of Terror
Part IV: The End of Days
Neyrelle’s Lament
The release of Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, heralded a new chapter in the dark saga of mankind’s struggle against the Burning Hells.
To help set the stage for the expansion’s notoriously disturbing cinematic introduction, I was tasked with writing a narrative prequel focused on Neyrelle – the emotional heart of the game’s story – exploring her struggle to contain a Prime Evil and her desperate journey to destroy Him.
This project required close collaboration with the lore and narrative teams, as the complex history of Sanctuary was actively evolving as the script was being written.
Hell Explains Series
With every new season of Diablo IV, we were tasked with highlighting the new mechanics and story updates in creatively compelling ways.
In an effort to templatize these recurring communications, I pitched the concept of highlighting gameplay changes from the perspective of the demons players are slaying by the hundreds. I then created these two mischievous little monstrosities, who would explain novel seasonal mechanics in a concise, informative, and lighthearted way.
We partnered with popular short-form animator Punkey Doodles to bring these goofy scenes to life across all vertical formats, with a focus on TikTok, where the videos performed well above average.
Hell Explains II: The Headrotten
Hell Explains III: Belial’s Return
Season of the Infernal Hordes – Lore Summary
This sub-60 second video was designed as a quick story summary of the 5th Season of Diablo IV for vertical platforms like Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok.
In addition to working with the lore and narrative teams on the script, I also recorded and edited the narration.
Having the opportunity to literally lend my voice to the Diablo universe was an enormously fulfilling creative experience.
Who Is Andariel?
Lore Summary
One of the most compelling narrative features of the Diablo franchise is its delightfully infernal collection of demonic antagonists.
Exploring the personalities, motivations, and grisly eccentricities of the many Prime and Lesser Evils was always a compelling creative challenge. This sub-60 second video highlighting The Maiden of Anguish herself, Andariel, was no exception.
I not only wrote the script, but also recorded and edited the voiceover for this piece.
Merchant Risk Council
During my time as the Content Manager for the Merchant Risk Council, a leading non-profit in online payments and fraud prevention, I was responsible for all external marketing copy.
This included thought leadership pieces like white papers and blog posts, along with marketing emails, press releases, and video scripts, such as the one below.
RAPID Edu Product Spotlight Video
One of the primary services provided by The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) is educational resources on payments and fraud prevention. In addition to the many free resources, the organization created a certification program designed to set an educational standard for the industry, benefiting both employees and employers.
This video highlighted the features of that program, which came to be called RAPID Edu.
In addition to writing the script, I also provided the voiceover.
Newegg Inc.
When I was in college studying for my degree in English, browsing PC hardware and designing builds on Newegg was a favorite pastime. When I had the opportunity to contribute my expertise to their global, multimedia content channels, it felt like providence.
While working with the gaming tech retailer, I was integral to the rebranding of their vast video content portfolio. That process included writing and producing dozens of industry-leading product videos with millions of views.
What follows are just a few examples.
How to Build a PC: Step by Step
A foundational staple of any PC hardware retailer is education on how the pieces all fit together. After all, who is going to buy PC parts if they don’t know what they do?
This ambitious overview briefly touches on every step of the sometimes complex PC building process, attempting to make the intimidating elements as accessible as possible, while providing precise instructions in a lighthearted tone.
Despite a compressed timeline, the finished product is one of Newegg’s most successful videos, with almost a million views and countless positive comments.
I also provided the voiceover in addition to writing the lengthy script.
Newegg Now
Newegg Now was a lightly scripted, B2C livestream designed to educate customers about new products in the PC hardware and gaming space. Every week I wrote product-focused scripts and provided live changes and support for the two hosts, Juan Carlos Bagnell and Trisha Hershberger, before and during filming.
Production was intense, requiring a tight turnaround and an enormously high volume of copy in a short timeframe.
There’s SO much more.
From small business social brand development to global-scale paid marketing campaigns, I’ve done it all. Whatever your copywriting or digital marketing needs, I can help.
Let’s connect and see what we can accomplish together.