Video as an evolution of social contents of the near future

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#DigitalTalk with Fabio Catani

Thanks to a newsletter, i met the guys of Ememet Brown (now BABAU), a Video agency form Modena (like us of Weevo), and in particular I started this half interview-half conversation with Fabio Catani, Project Manager and Copy. The first thing that I asked him was if they have a flow channeler. And after I thought that he was the right person to know more about the “video marketing”, started with Luca Cannarozzo in this article.

Gabriele: “I think that video marketing could be in near future, true news in social world, where video contents of few seconds, like 5 or 10, could replace images. What do you think about it?

Fabio: “Yes, if we look the use of videos on social network and on general devices, the growth is exponential from year to year, I think that videos would be the only media in few years. Video is immediate, it doesn’t require efforts, it’s nice. It is becoming the favored media, but not just to show the dynamics (like an action of a basket player), but it is becoming the media used for information, concepts and explanations. It isn’t difficult to think that magazines in some years will do always video explainer to show dynamics, tell stories, report informations. So I agree with your hypotesis, I also think that video will replace the test more than images, wich will continue to have their function.”

Gabriele: “Very interesting concept, considering that we are a little bit late, in my opinion, compared to the avaitable technology, to make the tests more usable, for example from softwares TTS that read messages, emails and news from an earphone BT (like in the move “She” of Spike Jonze). Meanwhile there is who comapares the last TV series, like “True Detective” or “Fargo”, to real “narrated books”, hypothesizing not the death of books but their evolution from paper to screen. All this makes me think that the direction may be one we hypothesized. But we are comparing expensive videos to social contens that could be very cheap, perhaps comparable to the purchase of images of dedicate websites, so from 10 to 30 € eachone. In your opinion it is possible to make “casual videos” with a low budget?”

Fabio: “Interesting… If we think about it, behind every big great video, movie, music video or agency explainer video… the script is FUNDAMENTAL. If you haven’t a good text, clear, explicative… the video will be poor. I believe a lot when we make our products in the first phase, the scripting precisely. It is really where the video takes shape. So the text doesn’t die completly, it remains in the design phase, maybe the most important on a communicative level, but then gives way to illustations and moving images, exactly to the video, the task of interacting with the viewer. So the video increases communication effectiveness, but the message, the soul remains the script. About the production of low cost videos to industrialize video communication, it is a great theme, in past I worked on a project with this goal. I learned that maybe it is still early, and as far as you can industrialize some production steps, it is still difficult to be able to synthesize them. There are some examples on web about agencies or products who try to do this, I think about videohive where you can find some templates where you put your contents. However there isn’t the comunicative yield; maybe they put your photo in a nice frame… but to do good communication you can’t standardize it. Thanks to digital animation today is easier to create an effective communication, and cheaper, but it remains a manual process to do every time with a pro. ”

Gabriele: I step back, I come back to the script, the soul of the message. If in this first phase, you could define an achievable storytelling just in one time (from the point of view of filming), maybe it could be divided in a lot of mini videos. The creation could be one, so cheaper, but you must undestand if it is possible to create this type of script. I think that for B2C market it is possible, but for the B2B ? At that point the real challenge would be to the screenplay, not so much the creative one. What do you think about it?

Fabio: “ Yes, in a sense I agree. Entering the merits of the production, if the most of the effort is organizational from all points of view. If we were able to understand immediatly the costumer, imagine well every production step, and so on, then you could realize the ensured video. The price of a video today depends a lot from the “wasting” of time, for misunderstandings, because the costumer already know the productive phases, pratically on so many factors that eventually lead to having to do things over again, and so the increase of costs. If we think about it, what is the thing that synthesizes all the phases of discovery, briefing, comparison etc with che costumer? The script. In the script there is the essence of the relationship supplier-costumer, of production phases (you can’t do a explosion scene in New York without an incredible budget, or think about a famous testimonial ), and of the soul and goals of communication. In some sense yes, if the script was “perfect” the production costs would decrease, altrought I don’t how much it could be probable. The committement and the communicative culture and videos of the costumer should be so high, maybe often happens that we take care of some details, and often the costumer prefer to pay something more to have more revisions on a finished vide, rather than anticipate him some productive phases, like think about a storyboard. So in theory what you said is agreeable, in practice maybe it would be some conditions for which I think it’s difficul that they happen all together. ”

Gabriele: “And if we want to go further? Or watch the speech in reverse? There is the possibility that the costumer could create mini videos at home, starting from the perfect script? It would be enough a reflex entry level and a little knowledge of simple video editing programs? Probably not, italian agencies maybe aren’t ready for this extreme version of sharing. It is a matter of general knowledge? It’s possible something in between, where an agency like yours draws a detailed script, and assists the costumer in the registation process?”

Fabio: “Well until some time ago nobody would have dreamed of becoming floor layer for a day, or furniture maker… but last weekend I mounted in my home one of those floating parquet, and the kitchen alone, and I never picked up a tool (I’ll let you know how long it lasts). This to say that it is a common trend in almost all sectors, also the digital one, where the barriers to entry are always lower: you need just a computer and internet access, what you don’t know you can learn just with some desire. So, there is the need to understand what type of outputs you want to achieve. If I want something great, I will always have the need of good illustrators, animators, or copywriters. They aren’t jobs, as all, which you can learn in one day, and to do quality works there is the need of every of these skills, and these skills in one last analysis are the accumulation of experience, knowledges and hard work of every single person. The difference between a good videomaker and a makeshift one is clear. The technology has lowered the barriers to entry , this is good, but at one point I think it’s necessary estabilish a borderline from what you did at home and from real pros who make grow the level. Who hasn’t the budget can lose some nights ad make his own production, clearly with more results compared to nothing, but less professional, also because we need to remeber that the pros in parallel, thanks to always new possibilities of technology, could do always more.”

Gabriele: “You hit the spot. Now the question is: where is the borderline? How can I product good video contents at home, and how cheaper could be a professionale service? It’s easier to move to the first or to the second case? All this argument is obviously less applicable, but not impossible, to illustrated and animated videos, that need more than a reflex entry level.”

Fabio: “I think that there will be always more and more divergence: smalls and pros will search solution in house for the different productions, perhaps allowing himself sometimes the work of a pro, meanwhile the agencies with a budget to spend will never think about house solutions, also because once accostumed to high standards it’s difficult to go back. This is what I check with my costumers.”

Gabriele: “Thanks a lot Fabio, I think that our conversation could be helpful to agencies who want have explanations about video marketing world, and at the same time be an excellent reflection point for our coworkers.”

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