I believe that there are two kinds of Web videos – those that exist as self-contained narratives, and those that serve a functional external purpose.
Self-contained narratives are iterations of a larger type, what we have classically referred to as “movies” or “films”. Movies can be anything from that 15 second clip of a dog on a skateboard to a two-hour long Netflix stream of Spider-Man 3. To a degree such videos can serve a functional external purpose – for example, the skateboard video could be co-opted by a skateboarding website to help generate pageviews, and we certainly understand a large Hollywood movie like Spider-Man 3 is going to have all kinds of licensed merchandise tie-ins – but invariably, “movies” are, in the old media sense, individual SKUs meant to be consumed on a per-performance basis. By individual SKU, I mean that we think of these movies as products, something we would have traditionally exhibited on the aforementioned per-performance basis; we’d sell tickets or rent the DVD or otherwise distribute, or commoditize, these self-contained narratives for no other reason than to create a viewing experience, or an individual performance of a narrative which, hopefully, would be paid for individually. Moreover, the experience can end when the curtains close and the lights come up.
Now, the fortunate thing about the Web is that anyone, anywhere, even collaboratively over great distances, can produce movies, the 15-second or 2-hour variety, completely unrestricted, and post them almost anywhere on-line. From there, movies can take on new life in the social media space, too, in that they can spread an idea, help build a filmmaker’s portfolio and reputation, foster a meme, and perhaps lead to further work for the filmmakers. Also, movies can become an active part of participatory culture.
The unfortunate thing is that, as digital commodities with a reproduction price of zero, movies on-line are painfully difficult to sell as self-contained narratives. Almost all must (or inevitably will via infringement) be shared for free.
Which brings me to our second variety of Web video, material that serves a functional external purpose… As explained above in our skateboarding dog or Spider-Man examples, Web videos with functional external purposes can also be self-contained narratives – most, in fact, are. However, web video that serves a functional external purpose does not rely on itself as a monetizable commodity. As indicated, in today’s information economy, ones-and-zeroes are tough to sell on a per-unit basis. The only goods that can still command a reasonable price are tangible ones. Thus, wise digital storytellers will realize that their Web videos will go further and produce a higher return on investment if they serve a functional external purpose. Viral videos that directly or indirectly share information about certain products or services which must be obtained elsewhere easily and immediately fit in to this category. However, don’t conclude from this that Web video should only exist as a marketing or advertising strategy. There are many examples of how Web video can serve a multitude of external purposes, purposes which exist outside of the narrative of your video.
Web videos that serve a functional external purpose exist to inform viewers about cultural artifacts, social conditions, or related material assets. They explicitly or implicitly offer viewers a choice about an outside agent(s). That external subject matter may or may not be featured in the video, but somehow the video will direct viewers towards such agents, inviting them to do something tangible. A TV station’s news clip can inform the public about a dangerous situation, such as a police stand-off in a particular neighborhood – the viewer is implicitly invited to make a choice – go or do not go to that neighborhood. A documentary about small business owners facing up against large chain stores can indirectly invite viewers to take political action in their home town. A short video about the ills of alcoholism can explicitly invite viewers to donate time or money to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. A promotional piece for the latest James Bond film can encourage the audience to purchase tickets at a local cinemaplex or to buy James Bond DVDs. A comedy clip on Funny Or Die can help create a fanbase surrounding a particular actor or actress, indirectly inviting the viewer to consume that performers craft in other forms, such as watching the star in his or her latest TV series. An entire Arrowsmith music video anthology could be posted to a music service for free, inviting users to remix and mashup the videos, creating additional cultural artifacts while simultaneously promoting Arrowsmith concert tickets and merchandise. All of these examples represent ways in which Web video can serve a functional external purpose.
I believe the days in which we pay for movies in the traditional sense are swiftly coming to a close. My proposal for a solution to the net neutrality debate represents one way in which traditional movie content can be monetized (it behaving as a selling point for distribution services, but that particular solution is more pipe-dream than anything). No, instead I think the best way to monetize Web video, even old-fashioned “movies”, is to use them as a platform to communicate messages about functional external purposes – or, if not that, such as in our TV newsstation example, to at least inform the public of societal circumstances (in which case you make your money through your reputation as a reliable news source, selling what advertising space you can). Fostering a free information commons and encouraging participatory culture only helps to spread the messages you share through video. If you try to control your content and expect people to pay for it as a standalone product, you will fail because you are working against the tide – you fail to understand that by digitizing your content you are changing the way it is used and consumed. Forward-thinking institutions and businesses recognize this and are wise to marry their content to functional external purposes.
My hope, as a New Media Producer, is to help organizations create video that serves a functional external purpose and promote that video within the social media landscape.
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Tags: film, social media, social media video, video, web video