Now Age Storytelling Lab

Skilled storytelling for vertical micro-dramas is the key to mastering a trend that is now reaching the German-speaking film industry and marketing sector.

What few people know: I have been working with vertical storytelling and native smartphone content formats since 2012 — at a time when this approach was still widely dismissed.

Unlike classical audiovisual formats, vertical micro-dramas follow no fixed rules. They require a deep understanding of mobile dramaturgy, audiovisual grammar, and emotional compression.

Storytellers and media professionals who truly master this specific language remain rare in the German-speaking market.

At the same time, the form and its genres offer substantial potential — for both fictional and factual narratives, as well as for formal experimentation.

Vertical micro-dramas demand condensed storytelling while enabling a flexible content manufactory, with fluid narratives that can be developed further across media.

They reach large and diverse audiences — first and foremost on the smartphone: across generations and social milieus, many of them active and fully engaged in everyday life.

Their vertical, pointed dramaturgy enables “binge-biting”: one or several short episodes can be consumed anytime, anywhere, directly on the smartphone — ideally with headphones.

Every second counts.

Close-ups and emotionally charged moments draw viewers in. Music and sound effects create intimacy, set rhythm, and introduce precise narrative ruptures.

In our first TOP:Talente e.V. workshop on vertical micro-dramas, held under my direction, we consolidated current knowledge, explored genres, developed stories, and produced initial clips — ranging from documentary cartoons and fictional dramas to horror scenarios and journalistic reportages.

I welcome conversations with producers, editorial teams, and recruiters who are interested in advancing vertical micro-dramas in the German-speaking market.

Engineer prompts and benefit from generative AI tools - intro class with Professor Devadas Rajaram

Everyone is talking AI.
We are teaching AI.

No matter who you are,
No matter in which field you work,
you should know the possibilities and challenges of AI.

For that, join the Independent Media Initiative's free AI introduction class led by eminent digital media trainer Devadas Rajaram.

Or get in touch for AI classes in the near future.

We wrote our book "Social Media Storytelling" because Devadas Rajaram and I wish to share a significant part of our practice-relevant knowledge and offer a radical new toolbox for storytelling in the social web.

It’s available:
1. Either in German @ Rheinwerk Bonn or in English @ Routledge London.
2. Either as hard copy or as paperback.
3. And also as eBook for download.