This article examines approaches to creating compelling visual storytelling without words in the format of short vertical videos on the TikTok and YouTube Shorts platforms. The study sought to identify key micro-tools and to correlate their effectiveness with the algorithmic requirements of modern platforms. The relevance of this work is justified by the rapid growth of TikTok and YouTube Shorts against the backdrop of the dominance of smartphone portrait orientation and the expanding practice of viewing video without sound. The high-speed environment of algorithmically personalized feeds requires authors to condense their narrative into a series of visually and emotionally engaging signals that are recognized by the viewer within the first few seconds and remain comprehensible regardless of linguistic or audio context. The novelty of the research lies in its interdisciplinary approach, which combines neurocognitive data on the functioning of mirror neurons and embodied simulation, a meta-analysis of documentation from TikTok and YouTube platforms, quantitative engagement metrics, and eye-tracking studies of editing patterns. A unified comparative analysis framework is proposed, linking neurophysiological mechanisms, the algorithmic constraints of recommendation systems, and the practices of short-video creators. The main findings demonstrate that an instantaneous compositional hook activates motor-mirror resonance, which is then imbued with affective valence by color and light contrast. That rhythmic editing, combined with geometric camera movement, produces a singular impulse that holds the viewer’s attention within the 60-second constraint. The synergy of these elements ensures the universality of wordless visual storytelling and promotes maximum organic distribution of content in recommendation feeds. This article will be beneficial to media and marketing researchers, digital content specialists, and creators of short videos.
Herasymiuk Heorhii (Thu,) studied this question.