Internet vid content jumps on mobile wave

February 14, 2006

In the thriller recut of the romantic trailer for "Sleepless in Seattle," a needy Meg Ryan stalks her next victim, the lonely widower Tom Hanks residing in the painfully overcast, rainy city.

The short, created by 29-year-old editor and compositor Demis Lyall-Wilson of Sydney, Australia, earlier this year, began as a joke and has since had uncanny Internet success, Lyall-Wilson said.

"Short, Internet-style content is currently one of the best ways of quickly getting a message around to a maximum number of people," he said. "So far it has mostly been advertising companies that have seen its potential, but I think since the number of desktop/bedroom video editors has skyrocketed in the last year or two, it has become a very accessible way of actually 'creating' content."

A recent study from eMarketer suggests that the number of Americans who will be able to access video content on their mobile phones will rise from 1 million users to 15 million by 2009; it begs to question, what will they be watching?

It won't be just episodes of "Lost" or the "Daily Show."

Media experts say the explosion of portable devices and advanced mobile phones will bore a new artistic medium designed for consumers with downtime, but this content is already here and free -- now it's just a matter of making the transition.

Whereas Internet videos were just funny accidents -- such as strange animal recorded to video -- Lyall-Wilson says, it has only been in the last year that individuals have started deliberately producing short content at home and getting the same widespread audiences that a random joke used to get.

And while shorts are the tip of the iceberg, short format films have allowed him to enjoy success as a small-time director. Sites like pocketmovies.net providing short format content to mobile devices, has offered him a great place to submit serious dramatic work as well as jokes that reaches the masses after its been forwarded or emailed to from peer-to-peer, he said.

But whether an income can be made is still questionable due to the given nature of the content. And it's still easy for the average Internet user to find content they don't ever have to pay for.

"I'm sure it will happen," Lyall-Wilson said, "but right now, as a director/creator, I see the Internet as more of a good way of getting an aspiring director/creator to establish a name for themselves, leading to possible job offers which then leads to income. I don't expect to make any money off the content itself, but like a good commercial, will probably see the financial benefits in the long run."

Darryl Ohrt, founder of the design and branding firm VIA, created a similar mash-up with his team transforming the classic "A Christmas Story" to "A Christmas Gory."

With what was meant to be a funny Christmas card to their 265 clients and friends, turned into over 100,000 people watching it on sites that mirrored version of sites like eBaum's World, he said.

"Consumers have more tools available to them, more media available to them, and the ability to release and distribute media to the masses, without a major television network behind them," he said. "Also, it's become a distribution channel for brands, companies and artists who couldn't previously afford or didn't have the resources to get on television."

But he says Internet video content may make the jump to mobile and portable devices, seeing a new income -- at least within the next five years.

"The eBaum's TV deal, and those two new guys on SNL -- just the start of a huge media crossover in our future," he said. "Look at the teen trends and you'll see that they barely watch television anymore. And why should they? Everything's becoming available to watch when I want to watch it, on the device that I choose. That's absolutely the future. And it will cross back, as well -- like eBaum's getting their own television show. The same media - reaching two separate audiences."

eBaum's World found themselves in a lucky position last month when USA Network struck a deal with Fox Television Studios to create a one hour pilot based on the site's content called "EBAUM'S WORLD" which is expected to compete against the late night WWE show MONDAY NIGHT RAW.

There seems to be evidence supporting the assumption that the transition from Internet videos to mobile videos could be a reality as strong viewership of Internet video content continues.

The June 2005 report comScore Media Metrix found 56 percent of U.S. online audience had watched streaming videos this year, and over a three-month period, the average consumer viewed 73 minutes of streaming video content per month.

Moreover according to Accustream Research in August 2005, video streams were forecast to grow by 48 percent in 2005 to over 21 billion served. Moreover, the research group had also estimated in a different study that the combined market for streaming advertising, subscription, and download media was estimated at $1.36 billion in 2005 alone.

"The phenomenon of Internet video content will transition to the mobile entertainment," said Scott Roesch, Atom Films' vice president and general manager, "the Video iPod is just the tip."

According to Roesch, short-format content has long been an unexploited niche; this comes from a company who has successfully made a respected name for itself in the online content industry, supplying over a thousand of creative and original two to five-minute content and boasting some 5 million users a month.

He admits Atom Films has been looking into the jump into the mobile industry, and making the jump between the two would seem logical given that the two mediums are comparable both giving the user similar viewing experiences.

"Digital entertainment gives consumer total control of their viewing experience," Roesch said. "Their schedule is no longer two hours or 30 minutes shows, rather you can access wherever and however long you want it -- that's pretty revolutionary."

Moreover, Internet video content will be tailored more to mobile technology; however, the similarities outweigh differences, he says.

In addition, he mentions the company is looking into the type of content that audiences want whether it is big entertainment productions, Web cams videos, or original contact from new artists.

And whether or not, content will be paid for, he says it should resemble the current payment system but does see a possible ad-support for free content in the future.

"Mobile has such a great transitional environment," said Roesch. "Short format content is going to bring about a mass market option with huge demand for it."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International