Writing
Whilst I am chiefly a visual creative, I do enjoy writing and have (when the need arose) contributed my humble efforts to produce some half-decent copy for a variety of media, including scripts, social content, pitch decks and strategy documents.
Shown here are some examples of script for video and radio / spoken word projects.
Ages of Empires IV
Idea Creation, Copywriting
“Make History Your Story”
For Age of Empires, the campaign tagline “Make History Your Story” lent itself perfectly to creating a series of dry comedic videos in the style of a classic ‘mockumentary’ TV interview (similar to “What We Do In The Shadows” or “Modern Family”) featuring everyday people as they play the game. They’d really inhabit the historical counterpart, and elements of the game itself would bleed into their own life and character in fun and silly ways.
Video 1 - Jenny, “Joan of Arc”
Interview, Jenny in front of camera
“Hi I’m Jenny, and I’m currently battling the English, and it’s not easy - who knew the Hundred Year’s War would drag out this much!”
Desk with monitor, gaming mouse and keyboard, from over Jenny’s shoulder.
Gameplay footage
“Struggling a bit with the language; my French GCSE doesn’t seem to be helping much.”
“Alexa, what’s French for ‘We will never surrender to you dogs of King Charles VII!’?”
Gameplay footage of horse-mounted warriors
“I’m having fun though”
Gameplay of French units defeating the English, cut to Jenny celebrating enthusiastically and yelling something in French (e.g. “C'est magnifique!”)
“And I’ve always loved French architecture...”. Gameplay of a castle / church being built “It’s just so.. sturdy”
“I’ve been to brush up on my military tactics whenever I can, of course…”
Shot of her opening a parcel delivery from Amazon which contains a mini trebuchet model (which we then see her playing with on a table)
Gameplay footage of siege engines / trebuchet in action
“and ultimately I think we will be victorious, unless I’m captured of course…”
Her partner / husband can be heard in the background, shouting “Jen, I was thinking of steaks for dinner...” Jenny looks horrified.
Gameplay footage of a huge battle
Text Super: AGE OF EMPIRES IV - Make History Your Story
Video 2 - Gerry, “Genghis Khan”
Interview, Gerry in front of camera
“Hi, I’m Gerry, and I’m just in the middle of invading northern China”
Gerry on sat on sofa with gaming laptop
Gameplay footage
“I didn’t realise just how vast my empire was, not wonder we rode horses everywhere!”
Gameplay footage of horse riders
Shot of Gerry pulling out a book from an Amazon parcel, ‘Horse riding for beginners’
“But as I always say; when expanding one’s empire, take it one ‘steppe’ at a time…”
Gameplay of tutorials / guides
Shot of Gerry about to drink a glass of milk;
“Alexa, how many calories in a glass of yak’s milk?”
Gameplay footage of the Mongol camp / army moving and travelling across the plains
Gerry picks up laptop and moves towards a makeshift yurt constructed in the garden;
”Well, we were a nomadic people…”
Gerry slips into the yurt, laptop in hand, and out of view shouts in Mongolian
“BRING ME ANOTHER YAK’S MILK!” (shown in English subtitles)
Gameplay footage of a huge battle
Text Super: AGE OF EMPIRES IV - Make History Your Story
Swann Security | Alternative Ideas
Idea Creation, Copywriting
These concepts were presented and much loved by the client, but unfortunately this project started just as the world was hit by the 2020 global pandemic, and as such any mention of travel was not viable.
I was asked to keep the humour for the rewrite, and although we received great feedback on the updated creative, the final ad was ultimately striped back to be very functional and straight-forward. That finished audio ad can be heard on the Audio Ads page.
Round 1 - Summer Holiday
VO: - There’s a lot to think about before going on holiday; has my passport expired? Will I fit into those old swimming trucks? But with Swann security systems, you can enjoy your summer break and know your property is safe. With our smartphone app you can see what’s happening in your home at anytime, from anywhere in the world; even whilst your sunbathing by the pool.
CTA: - Search Swann, that’s S-W-A-N-N, on Amazon to find out more.
Round 2 | Option 1 - Flowerbeds
VO: - When our prize flowerbeds kept being dug up, of course we suspected the neighbour’s cat, but we had no proof. That was until we installed a Swann home surveillance system, which let us quickly and easily see what’s happening in the house (and garden) from anywhere at any time, using the smartphone app. When we discovered the culprit was actually a fox, we were amazed. How did the neighbours train a fox?
CTA: - Search ‘Swann’, that’s S-W-A-N-N, on Amazon to find out more.
Round 2 | Option 2 - Fridge
VO: - When food starting disappearing from our fridge overnight, and none of my family admitted to it, I needed to catch the culprit. So I installed a Swann home security system, which let me see what’s happening throughout the house at any time, from anywhere, using their clever smartphone app. Unfortunately, it seemed that the culprit was in fact, me. Sleepwalking. I wonder if Swann do fridge alarms...
CTA: - Search ‘Swann’, that’s S-W-A-N-N, on Amazon to find out more.