Ari Merkin

All About the Prompts (cue Megan Trainor's "All About That Bass") Welcome to the Prompt Club at Far From Timid! We've integrated AI into every aspect of the creative process—briefs, brand voice, and storyboarding. The secret to boosting productivity with AI? Mastering the art of prompting. We all need to be expert prompt engineers. To sharpen our team's AI skills, I came up with an idea: Dive into screenplays. Learn from the best visual storytellers like Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Schrader, Sofia Coppola, Aaron Sorkin, and Quentin Tarantino. In screenplays, you'll discover how to describe set design, facial expressions, and timing with precision. For our first Prompt Club session, we're dissecting "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino. #process #becomelegendary #befarfromtimid #creativeagency #brandagency #prompt #ai #screenplay #engineer #writing #visualexpression #screenwriting #pulpfiction

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NARRATIVE MOTION is the visual podcast that explores all things related to video production, video marketing, and strategy. IN THIS EPISODE: "COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES: What Video Marketing Can Learn From the Art of Painting."

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I'm home from another fantastic shoot. I love being on a production. And, so far, my current production has gone great. There have been no curveballs or roadblocks (yet). We are on time. On budget. Great performances. Beautiful footage. The entire team... no, the entire LARGE team... crushed their respective roles. So, there's not a lot to complain about. That said, I believe it's vital to growth to "replay the game tape" and critique. Find things to improve on. This leaves me thinking about decision fatigue. And how to maintain full critical focus from the first decision to the last (besides brute force). Go with me here. I used to run Cross-country in high school and college. Back then, like I do with work, I would reflect on each race looking for ways to improve. Things that needed work. Often what I would find is a portion of a race where fatigue set in and hurt one of my splits*. The solve for the issues often came in preparation and training - aka run more fartleks*. BUT... just as often... the way to improve was recognition and attention to a larger issue. For example, I had a constant struggle with my second mile split. It was always the slowest. Why? Because of fatigue, obviously, but the more nuanced reason was this: my heart and body had to work very hard to get up to race pace. In response, my running form became worse. And as that became worse, each step was less efficient. More labored. Causing me to exert more effort for less result. I GOT SLOWER. And I stayed slower until I would find a rhythm. Usually around the third mile of a five-mile race. By recognizing this and focusing on my form – the swing of my arms, the momentum of my knees, my posture – I could improve my second mile split without increasing effort. By understanding what was going on, I could improve in the moment. Okay, so how does that relate to my shoot? Good question. I haven't figured that out yet. Until now, I've focused on preparation and pre-work. But like running a race, some things can't be trained away, they need to be fixed in the moment. I think managing decision fatigue is one of them. Anyone have recommendations?

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If you missed this video we produced for Aligned - here’s a laugh you won’t want to miss 😂 Thanks to ⚡️Arthur Castillo Saad Khan & Gal Aga for bringing my team and I on board for this funny project. I love when I get to produce creatives like this one. The Aligned team will have this video series for years to come!! #Video #videoproduction #content #videocontent #marketing #contentmarketing #videomarketing #digitalmarketing #ceo #founder #startups #startup #headofmarketing #videoproductionagency #videoproductioncompany #videoproductionservices #videoproductions

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How to visually tell :06 Stories in a Commercial 📽️🎬 We collaborated with Creative Director Jason Otis to tell four complete :06 stories in a :30 commercial for LCMC Health. 🏥💡 I share the process we used to develop the #VisualStorytelling, and I break down the first 6 scenes in the spot. 🎥🧩 Key aspects of the production process: ✅ #Collaboration with the creative team ✅ #VideoProduction and planning ✅ #FastPacedEditing with #QuickCuts and #1.5SecondShots ✅ #CreativeDirection to ensure a cohesive narrative Production + Post: CounterTake #CommercialProduction #VideoProduction #BehindTheScenes #Filmmaking #ContentCreation #HealthcareMarketing #HospitalMarketing #MedicalMarketing #HealthcareAdvertising #MarketingTwitter #AgencyLife #CreativeDirectors #AdAgency #DirectorsLife #FilmDirector #CommercialDirector #Expertise #KnowHow #NewOrleans #NOLA #Louisiana

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Not every creative can do every kind of creative. And that's a good thing. As a young writer, I saw the campaigns that would come out of Wieden + Kennedy and think, "Dang, that's great writing." Imported from Detroit. It's amazing what you're capable of. Find Your Greatness. Strike. (Even their new Winning Isn't For Everyone.) All of them extremely well written and inspiring and envy inducing in the best kinds of way. And while working on brands like Ram or Coke or Samsung or Target, I would try so hard to write like that but I always felt like it was a cheap knock you find on Temu. Even when my scripts sold and the clients LOVED them, I was always meh about the finished product. It took me years of failing to do this kind of writing and be this kind of writer to accept that that's not my style. I don't enjoy writing big poetic emotional manifesto anthem spots. (Which is good because clients don't ask for them much any more.) Sure, I can think of those kinds of big ideas, but when it comes to writing dialogue, it takes me an excruciatingly long time to land a VO I think could compete at that level. And it's not fun for me at all. I think I've done one or two I can say I'm proud of. (Look at the LeBron Samsung or Jeep SB spot I worked on.) Then one day, it hit me. I get comedy. Like many writers on LinkedIn, I did stand up in NY. I taught and performed improv comedy in NY, VA and UT. I still perform improv comedy regularly at ComedySportz Theatre. I get funny story telling and scene work. I like, no I LOVE to write funny ads. Not those slapstick infomercial spots you see coming out of Utah, but insightful and smart humor that connects people to products. So that's what I do. And that's what I get called to do. It's humbling to say this out loud. And even now as I write this I'm like, "You could do totally do that kind of writing. You're good enough to be a writer at WK." But that's my pride talking. To which I say, "Shhhh. It's okay. You're not gonna get asked by WK to write a Nike Manifesto. You'll be okay....shhhhhhhh...." The reason I'm sharing this is maybe you're struggling to figure out what kind of creative you are. Maybe you're trying to do something you're not good at and don't enjoy doing. Maybe you need to find peace in the truth that that's not you and that's okay. So if you're stuck on this excruciating wheel of creative self discovery, don't get off. Change the direction. Work to find out what kind of creative you are. Work to find out what kind of ads you ENJOY making. Then go forth and slay. You many need to make less money. Or have a lower title. But you'll be happier, I promise. And eventually, you'll get hired to do more of what you love. Or you'll get booked when agencies or brands need something you can deliver. It might not be every gig, but the ones you get, you'll love doing. In the mean time, let's watch this ad together and go, "Dang, that's great writing." #stayhungrymyfriends

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