Regardless of genre, the content industry is ‘shortform’ The trend is dominant. Short form content, which was seen as a special point limited to mobile, at some point expanded its scope to terrestrial and middot; cable. Short form content is a concept that is distinct from CF, which can be called the original, and has even changed the flow of broadcasting. In the entertainment industry, we will shed light on the trend of shortening the content industry.
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◇Short form content armed with mobile & middot; communication & intuition
Short form content is short video content that does not exceed a unit of time, from a few seconds as short as a few seconds to as long as a few seconds. Unlike the existing content that is close to an hour, all short-form content has been referred to as short-form content. Short form content can be found in CF. Although the commercial element of CF is strong, it can be said that the value as content is a work in which trends and attractive elements, as well as models, visual beauty, and sound that express them, are integrated in a short period of time in seconds.
photo = provided by meta
Short form content seems to emphasize the value of CF content more. In particular, in line with the era of the 4th industrial revolution, it is expanding the range of properties and values of short-form content that is different from the existing ones.
The characteristic of short form content is that it is mobile-oriented. Existing content was produced in consideration of TVs, movie screens, or displays that have a certain sense of space even if they are light. As the filming technique and technology, as well as graphic design, are put in a lot of effort, the unit cost of operating costs rises, and the amount itself is inevitably long depending on the message it expresses. That puts a burden on both the operating and consumer entities.
photo = youtube capture
On the other hand, short-form content was created with mobile optimization in mind for the age of one smartphone per person. It leaves room for both operators and consumers to be lightweight and easily accessible. The operating entity has a presence as an addictive snack content that fully conveys the content message or meaning implicitly while approaching the consumer while operating at a low unit price, while not concentrating on the consumption aspect.
Another characteristic is quick communication. This is the biggest difference from the original CF. CF is one-way ready-made content that is pre-produced for the purpose of advertising on a specific topic, and the feedback itself leads to other directions such as purchase rate or campaign behavior, and it takes time to communicate. On the other hand, short form content shares the same dimension as sharing a specific topic, but the feedback itself is different in that it can be quickly reflected within the platform, such as comments on the content, ripple emoticons, and reaction videos.
Photo = Capture of YouTube channel Giant Peng tv shorts
It is also different in that it is content that is completed through direct consumer participation based on communication. The difference is that while ready-made content focuses on delivering their message clearly, short-form content considers the view count area for communication purposes as well as the flow of content that is newly completed through feedback.
Photo = Capture of ITZYs official TikTok channel
Starting with Zico ‘AnySong’ in January 2020, TikTok-based ‘Challenge’ is the representative short-form content of K-Pop that has developed on a global basis. Compared to the previous showcase, which only showed point choreography, the challenge video leads a flow that naturally forms a music sympathy with the feedback content of fans filmed with a smartphone, and shows communication different from the existing one-way content. Instead of releasing an official sound source right away, it induces related promotion changes, such as releasing a sound source after increasing familiarity through a short-form platform.
Short-form content intuitiveness is also noteworthy. The aspect of short-form content for promotion of long-form content is also in contact with the original short-form content CF, which shows trends in short lengths such as 15 seconds or 30 seconds with impact.
Photo = Kang Hye-wons official YouTube channel capture
Intuition is also revealed in other directions. Promotional Short-form content by minutes rather than second-by-minute short-form content sometimes contains promotions, but by itself, it throws a message along with a storyline that is creative. 10-minute short-form content, which is often classified as mid-form, shows a short but clear breath for each episode along with the web drama format, showing differentiated charm from existing content systems. Minute-by-minute short-form content is also mentioned as a new killer point such as online video service, opening up the possibility of diversification such as remix of ready-made content, as well as spin-off of intellectual property of heterogeneous content such as K-pop along with visualization of webtoons.
Photo = Courtesy of Kakao Entertainment
◇Contents are limited as much as trend communication
Short form content is approaching the public as intuitive content with quick communication optimized for mobile based on a relatively short amount of content. Although we are positive about the success of short-form content, there are also challenges. First of all, short-form content, including the mid-form area, is highly communicative as much as its length, but is highly volatile. It responds quickly to trends and there is content that repeats in the form of a season system, but it is difficult to expect a long run beyond a certain period.
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Of course, it is unreasonable to expect a long run as it is a snack content that has a different perspective from the established media-grade long form content. For example, web dramas that are on the border between mid-form and short-form are inevitably unreasonable to have a spin-off that deviated from the stage of visualizing the first webtoon format. Long-term access to mid-form & long-form content linked to it is quite limited.
Photo: Courtesy of Getty Image Bank
Along with the demand for snack-type short-form content, it may lead to limitations on well-made works. In the recent media industry, it is similar to not being consumed by a planned report that devotes a fairly long amount of time to a short story with a provocative headline added. Of course, like the media reports, the demand for long-form content itself can vary depending on the content and level. If you become accustomed to short-form content that encourages quick consumption in line with trends, the supply and demand for well-made works itself will inevitably decrease.
Photo = provided by Teabing
The content flow itself is bound to change, focusing on trending short-form content that is not a so-called tentpole-grade well-made video, but has a relatively short production period and an advantageous investment scale. Currently, domestic OTTs such as Teabing & Middot; Wave & Middot; Watcha are doing well, but domestic well-made contents are distributed through Netflix, Disney +, Apple TV +, etc., which are relatively active in long-form investments. Because there are also significant limitations.
Photo: Courtesy of Getty Image Bank
In short, short-form content is a content genre and marketing element that draws communication with taste sniping, but its negative effects are also of concern. ‘short form content’ that broadens the genre and expression range from short form in seconds such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Release, and TikTok to YouTube & middot;OTT in minutes. The right growth as a work depends on the right gaze.
