How to Create “Mystery Box” Content Like JJ Abrams

The best content tells a story, has a great hook and leaves people wanting more…

In this fascinating TED talk, JJ Abrams explains how he creates mystery:

The key takeaways for me were:

1. “Mystery represents infinite possibility and sense of potential” — try to leave them wanting more.
2. “Mystery is more important than knowledge” — not knowing something adds to the story as it makes you connect the dots — you don’t really see the shark in Jaws, or the alien in Aliens — you have to visualise it yourself.
3. In ET and Jaws, the real stories are about families going through a divorce — this is also where sequels often fail, they try to take the part that worked last time and repeat it, but it’s not about the extra-terrestrial or shark.
4. What you think you’re getting vs what you’re really getting — many unexpected twists and turns.
5. Distribution is key — movie theatre is the best way to capture and hold people’s concentration.
6. Creation of media is everywhere — “you don’t need the greatest technology to make things work”.

These are great tips from a world-class film and TV producer. Try thinking about how you can build them into the content you create…

About The Author

Kevin Gibbons is CEO of Re:signal. You can connect with him on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.