# Logo sting

> Make a short unnarrated motion unit under 10 s, such as a logo reveal, a stat hit or a moving title.

Canonical: https://vawe.dev/docs/logo-sting

At the end of this page you have a <Term id="film">film</Term> of 3 to 8 s in which motion is the message: a logo reveal, a stat hit or a moving title. A sting has no narration.

You need a name for the brand. If the brand does not exist, invent it. The example film `films/examples/colour-sting` does this.

## What this film needs

A request is a sting when it is under 10 s and motion carries the message (`guides/ROUTING.md`, row 9). A 6 s logo reveal for a real brand is still a sting. A film “from this site” with no length is a [launch video](https://vawe.dev/docs/launch-video).

A sting has one <Term id="beat">beat</Term> or a few. Under 15 s most films are one continuous action, so plan the thread first: one object, type line, colour or rhythm that stays through every cut. The `thread` rule asks for it.

Put the <Term id="spectacle">spectacle</Term> in the middle. In `colour-sting` the page sets `<meta name="spectacle" content="2.75">` in a 5 s film: the ring lands as the “o” of the name. Quiet comes before it.

Two recipes in `prompts/moves/RECIPES.md` are 5 s stings:

| Recipe        | Led by            | Thread                                                                     |
| ------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 Brand sting | graphic or colour | the name: a window, then a rider on the colour block, then the lockup word |
| 2 Brand sting | type              | a rhythm: one pulse every 0.48 s (125 bpm); every landing and cut is on it |

Each recipe has an `invent` row. Do not copy it. Design that beat from the brand’s own mark, colour or name.

<Diagram
  label="Three boxes in a row: the mark lands, the word opens, the lockup keeps moving to the last frame. The word opening holds the spectacle."
  caption="A logo sting in three parts. Something on the lockup still moves in the last second."
  narrow="
  <svg viewBox=&#x22;0 0 361 221&#x22;>
    <DiagramBox x={0} y={0} w={360} h={50} />
    <DiagramText x={16} y={30}>Mark lands</DiagramText>
    <DiagramText x={344} y={30} kind=&#x22;mono&#x22; anchor=&#x22;end&#x22;>frame 0 shows it</DiagramText>
    <DiagramBox x={0} y={85} w={360} h={50} accent />
    <DiagramText x={16} y={115}>Word opens</DiagramText>
    <DiagramText x={344} y={115} kind=&#x22;mono&#x22; anchor=&#x22;end&#x22;>spectacle</DiagramText>
    <DiagramBox x={0} y={170} w={360} h={50} />
    <DiagramText x={16} y={200}>Lockup moves</DiagramText>
    <DiagramText x={344} y={200} kind=&#x22;mono&#x22; anchor=&#x22;end&#x22;>to the end</DiagramText>
    <DiagramArrow points={[[180, 51], [180, 84]]} />
    <DiagramArrow points={[[180, 136], [180, 169]]} />
  </svg>
"
>
  <svg viewBox="0 0 681 81">
    <DiagramBox x="0" y="0" w="200" h="80" />

    <DiagramText x="16" y="30">
      Mark lands
    </DiagramText>

    <DiagramText x="16" y="56" kind="mono">
      frame 0 shows it
    </DiagramText>

    <DiagramArrow points="[[201, 40], [239, 40]]" />

    <DiagramBox x="240" y="0" w="200" h="80" />

    <DiagramText x="256" y="30">
      Word opens
    </DiagramText>

    <DiagramText x="256" y="56" kind="mono">
      spectacle
    </DiagramText>

    <DiagramArrow points="[[441, 40], [479, 40]]" />

    <DiagramBox x="480" y="0" w="200" h="80" />

    <DiagramText x="496" y="30">
      Lockup moves
    </DiagramText>

    <DiagramText x="496" y="56" kind="mono">
      to the end
    </DiagramText>
  </svg>
</Diagram>

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Write the brief with the beat sheet

    ```bash
    bin/vawe new onsen --from prompts/beat-sheet.md --length 5 --aspect 16:9
    ```

    `beat-sheet.md` is the template for a sting: one table with one row for each shot. When no template fits, `new` takes a sting by default (`bin/vawe new --help`). Fill the Shots, Words and Objects tables in `brief.md` before the page. Each Shots row has one focal action. The slowest row is at least 3 times the fastest.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Check the first frame

    ```bash
    bin/vawe frames films/onsen/page.html
    ```

    The `first-frame` rule says the subject shows by 0.1 s, and the ground is never empty for the first 0.5 s. Read the stills at full size.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Draft and read the cuts

    ```bash
    bin/vawe dev films/onsen/page.html
    bin/vawe strip films/onsen/page.html --cuts
    ```

    Read [Draft](https://vawe.dev/docs/draft) and [Motion pass](https://vawe.dev/docs/motion-pass). In a 5 s film each seam matters, so look at every one.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Add sound last, and keep it small

    A sting takes a few <Term id="cue">cues</Term>, placed 30 ms before their frame. Do not add a synth <Term id="bed">bed</Term>. Read [Audio](https://vawe.dev/docs/audio).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Pitfalls from the taste digest

* **End on motion** (`moving-tail`). A wordmark may land and hold, but one part of the lockup moves in the last second. A camera push does not count.
* **Use the sheen band once** (`no-tells`). The `logo-sting` move and the `mark-trace` move each carry a stock device. Take one of them, not both.
* **The logo is large enough** (`logo-prominence`): at least 5 percent of the frame height, about 7 percent in practice.
* **Choose the hero from the direction**, not from the attractor list (`attractors`): a glowing orb, a dusk sun, a lens streak, an accent bar. A disc needs a light source and a surface.

Two traps from recipe 1 cost time. Swap shots under the colour block, never before it. Start `logo-sting` when the trailing block passes the centre, or the mark lands under the block.

## Common mistakes

| What you see                       | Why                                     | What to do                                             |
| ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| The mark lands under another layer | The move starts before the block clears | Start the move when the block passes the centre        |
| The tail freezes                   | The push runs a fixed time              | Set the push to the time left                          |
| The sting reads as a template      | A recipe followed 1:1                   | Change at least two moves and design the `invent` beat |

## What to read next

  <Card title="Motion" href="/docs/motion">
    Pick a move by its job.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Recipes" href="/docs/recipes">
    The two sting chains in full.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Kinetic type" href="/docs/kinetic-type">
    A sting made of words.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Loops" href="/docs/loops">
    A sting that repeats.
  </Card>

{/* sources (vawe 4d9a5acb4):
  sting under 10 s, row 9, beat-sheet.md, ambiguities: guides/ROUTING.md lines 25, 36-38
  3 to 8 s: guides/ROUTING.md line 48 ("sting 3 to 8 s")
  default sting: bin/vawe new --help (--from)
  colour-sting meta duration 5, spectacle 2.75, ring lands as the o: films/examples/colour-sting/page.html lines 5-8; brief.md "Task"
  recipes 1 and 2, 0.48 s pulse, invent row: prompts/moves/RECIPES.md
  slowest row at least 3x the fastest, cues 30 ms early: prompts/beat-sheet.md lines 24-27, 74
  first-frame, moving-tail, logo-prominence, attractors: taste/rules, taste/build/DIGEST.md
  stock device once per film: prompts/moves/logo-sting.md, mark-trace.md
  recipe 1 traps: prompts/moves/RECIPES.md recipe 1
  strip --cuts, frames: bin/vawe --help
  */}