It’s possible to learn some handy graphic design tips from the Webby Award winning online video series You Suck at Photoshop. But You Suck, from creators Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch, teaches entertainment and advertising creatives a lot more about how to tell a story in the online medium.

As story, Donnie Hoyle’s tortured tutorials involving the use of the cloning tool and the horrible breakdown of his marriage is brilliant.

That’s because it shows us what elements are most important for telling a good story on the web:

• First-Person Point-of-View: Donnie talks right at us. This is completely one man’s life. Narrow focus.
• Specific World: You are literally sucked into Donnie’s existence, which is confined within the Photoshop interface and his computer screen. It feels immediate and real.
• Viewer Involvement: Because Donnie’s explaining things to you, you’re engaged by the character in a different way than you would be if you were passively watching him act things out. Visual information is layered in. Because the show is online, you can stop, start and repeat to catch all the jokes.

Compare it to the passive viewing experience of an online comedy show like Viralcom. Despite great talent and slick production, it’s not nearly as memorable or as funny.

Maybe that’s why fans demanded that Bledsoe and Hitch make more. They’ve responded with 10 more episodes set to launch on June 27. You Suck doesn’t suck.

Article Tags: Add new tag | creative | Matt Bledsoe | story | Tom Mitchell | Troy Hitch | Video | Viral | viral marketing | viral video | Viralcom | Webby Awards | You Suck at Photoshop

Filed under: Graphic design, Interactive, Media artists, TV, Uncategorized, Video, Viral, literature