Short-form videos are here to stay and content creators are geared up for the trend

The dramatic growth of short-video platforms and content consumption has affected the way content overall is being produced. From music being made specifically for the purpose of going viral, to artists creating pieces that can be showcased in minutes, a lot has changed. 

The important thing is that these changes are here to stay and more will happen in the coming days as creators try to come up with new ways to make content crisper and more trendy.

Speaking about the current situation of content creation, Sorabh Pant, stand-up comedian and influencer, said that he now pays special attention to making content that can be converted into shorter bits. 

Pant was speaking at the ‘FICCI Frames Fastrack 2022’ at a session titled 'Is Short the New Big'. The panel also had creators and officials from companies like Priya Malik, Niharika NM, Shreya Agarwal- Head- Filter copy; Samir Vora, CMO, VerSe Innovation (Josh); Viraj Sheth, Co-Founder and CEO of Monk Entertainment (Moderator). 

"I was doing these long-form videos on YouTube. I hired someone to cut bits and upload them on Reels and Shots. The results were very interesting, one of them went viral and helped ticket sales. My whole point of doing that was for people to come and see my stand-up, everything else around is just a coincidence," said Pant.

Elaborating on this, Malik said, "I still create long-form content, when I write spoken word pieces. But now when I write my pieces, I am very mindful about what bits I can cut for a reel, which has really helped me as a poet. The fact that I am getting paid to do what I love is a big achievement. If I am writing a poem, even if it’s not for a brand, I'll make sure there are bits in there which I know will be relatable and shareable which can be cut into bits."

While delivering a keynote address about content in the short-video space, Paras Sharma, Director and Head of Content and Community Partnerships - Entertainment, Sports, News, Music, Social – Facebook (Meta), said the short-video made content creation easier for a larger audience.

He also said platforms like theirs made video making much easier with their editing tools, effects, overlays etc. "It also removed the wall of distribution. Content created by anyone can reach vast audiences. The ease of creating content aided the supply side of what we today know as the ‘creator ecosystem’." 

"We at Meta wanted to explore a large number of Indian creators and want to play a strong role in their journey. We want to educate them about the best tools and practices through initiatives like ‘Born on Instagram’. More than 200,000 creators in India get access to our creator educational program for free. Through our programs we made sure we are reaching the ‘Bharat’ creators and giving their content distributed," he added. 

He said that the scope for short videos is only increasing. "40% of the top 100 Instagram business accounts come from smaller towns. That shows how diverse and deep-rooted the ecosystem has become."

Elaborating on how the algorithm of platforms affects a creator's growth, Samir Vora said, platforms are always dependent on the creators. 

Upon being questioned whether platforms throttle the growth of creators after they get a certain reach, Vora said, "There is no right answer to this because the idea is never to restrict reach and for us, the idea is that the more breakout stars we get, the more that content is pushed around and the greater the propensity for people to come back.  Abroad there is a little conversation around this but in India, we have not reached that stage. I don’t think anyone is throttling creative talent."