Back to the Future

Life's a journey and this is no different.

When our journey in video production began the world was a very different place. A video meant a cassette tape, and digital content was a phrase that hadn't been invented yet. Facebook and Youtube were not even conceived and talking on a "video phone" was futuristic and we imagined it when we watched "Back to the Future" with Michael J Fox.

And yet here we are. Living in the future. A world where young kids have smart phones and Grannies use the internet. Yes, this is 2014!

So what has this meant for us and what does this mean for you?

For us, it means thinking about media in a completely different way. Viewers want to watch content that is short and to the point. We no longer have the patience to watch McGyver drive down the road, up the driveway, hop out of the car, slam the door and pace up to the door....where the action might take place. No thank you. Get us to the action now! I remember my Dad saying that we were the Sesame Street generation, meaning that we absorbed information in small bites. And that was 30 something years ago.

As for what this means for you? Well that's up to you to decide. If you are the viewer you might not have the patience you once had, and if you are a business trying to communicate a message, you'll need to give some careful consideration to how you can engage your audience.

An undeniable fact is that the optimal length for a video (in terms of viewers length of time watching) is 40 seconds! 40 SECONDS. Can you believe it? And that is our challenge today. To communicate a whole lot of information in an extremely short space of time.

Thank goodness that a picture can convey a thousand words! A moving picture and words put together? Well that's gold!

Author: Sarah Galbraith