Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

If a single picture is worth 1,000 words, how valuable is video?

08/09/2022

Andre Torsvik, VP marketing strategy and planning at Vizrt Group, argues that for broadcasters worldwide the competitive environment is increasing and the number of screens and formats they must support are also growing

By Contributor

Published: September 8, 2022

Andre Torsvik, VP marketing strategy and planning at Vizrt Group, argues that for broadcasters worldwide the competitive environment is increasing and the number of screens and formats they must support are also growing

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

All storytelling is powerful - stories are the stuff of our lives, they surround us and provide meaning and purpose. But in an increasingly information-saturated world, the visual storyteller has the ability to cut through the noise and be remembered. The history of media consumption is one where the primacy of the visuals has always been instinctively understood. Technological development follows suit, so screens in cinemas and the domestic environment get bigger, images get richer, and it is not by accident that the introduction of the web browser and enough bandwidth to support images (and later video) was what made the internet a genuinely mass-market proposition.

Humans are primarily visually driven creatures. University of Rochester researchers have discovered that more than 50 per cent of the cortex, the surface area of the brain, is devoted to processing visual information. Though we are nowadays interacting with digital and increasingly virtual spaces, we are doing so with senses that evolved over millions of years to keep us safe. Our acute eyesight and the importance our brain puts on processing visual data is part of that - when our eyes are open, a full 2 billion of the 3 billion neurons firing every second, deal with visual information. We already know that we process visual information quicker than that received by any other sense. Though the frequently quoted figure of processing images 60,000x faster than text has been roundly debunked as marketing flimflam, the fact remains that we can correctly identify images seen for as little as 13 milliseconds. Crucially, we also retain that information better.

Examination of what is known as the Picture Superiority Effect shows that our memory improves markedly with increasing visual stimuli. One study concluded that after three hours the ability to recall information from a spoken lecture was 25 per cent, rising to 72 per cent for reading the same information, and 80% for visual and verbal material (participatory learning involving role plays etc. took this all the way up to 90%). There are some things we remember better than others - the most easily remembered object in a photo, rather charmingly, is another human face.

There are multiple theories that try to explain this. A commonly understood one, the Dual Coding Theory, posits that pictures are stored twice in the brain, once as an image and once as a verbal record, making them easier to retrieve. Either way, the Picture Superiority Effect explains why, when you look at metrics concerning modern media, the data for engagement with visual material is so impressive. Simply put, people remember pictures better and they remember them longer.

This is reflected in social media. We have known that graphics have an important effect on social media engagement for some time now. In 2014, Twitter analysed its already substantial datasets and concluded that the inclusion of photo material in tweets boosted retweets by 35 per cent and overall engagement by 3x. Video, meanwhile, led to a 28 per cent boost, and it is likely that this value has risen since then as video content has become more prevalent in high bandwidth environments. In a similar vein, in 2015 Buzzsumo concluded that images added to Facebook posts led to 2.3x more engagement. And when you look into demographic data, an interesting trend emerges; a recent study found that images influence millennials (33%) more than Generation Xers (21%) and baby boomers (12%). Appealing to a younger audience is crucial to commercial success, so it was no idle whim that saw Facebook buy the then 13-employee strong Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.

Silent pictures A decade on, Instagram generated an estimated $47.6 billion revenue in 2021, accounting for almost 50 per cent of Facebook's total revenue, and it is interesting to note where we currently are in the accelerating journey towards more visual content. In an increasingly noisy reality, audiences are starting to rely solely on their visual sense more to consume media that was originally created with both audio and visual components. Up to 85 per cent of people watch Facebook videos with the sound off, meaning that the visual element has to convey more information than ever.

Automated subtitles have historically been one way of ensuring this happens, but transcription errors have tended to be at the mercy of a plethora of screen sizes and aspect ratios, making their effectiveness hit or miss.

After all, if the consumption of media ends up so stripped-back that only the visual remains, there is a real danger that it becomes impossible to understand the meaning of what we are seeing, thus robbing the story of any value whatsoever. That means producers need to add something, and that something is broadcast graphics. And once you add a tool as powerful as that to your process, the path is short between conveying information and enhancing it.

In 2018, the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the USA pioneered a workflow that saw it rapidly capture, log, and tag video which was then passed on to editors sitting on top of different social media channels. At this stage in the process, Vizrt's Viz Libero sports analysis tool was used to provide a layer of graphics, the idea being that the graphics would compress the time it took to
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/media-consumption/if-a-single-picture-is-wor...
See more stories from tvb

More from TVB Europe

06/12/2023

Post house ENVY upgrades editing and storage workflows

ENVY has signed a multi-year multi-site Avid subscription and support deal with Jigsaw24 Media to upgrade editing and storage workflows By Jenny Priestley Pu...

06/12/2023

DPP: The media industry is in a post-transformative' phase

The DPP report predicts that in 2024 the industry will increasingly hear technology and operational strategies placed in a business context - not a general, asp...

06/12/2023

Samir Shah confirmed as government's preferred candidate for BBC chair

Shah has previously served as non-executive director at the broadcaster By Jenny Priestley Published: December 6, 2023 Shah has previously served as non-e...

06/12/2023

Marc Aldrich joins ThinkAnalytics as worldwide CEO

Aldrich joins the company from Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he held the position of general manager for the media and entertainment (M&E) industry business u...

06/12/2023

Televideo assets go up for auction

The assets on sale include outside broadcast trailers and rigid trucks, Sony and Panasonic camera channels, Vinten and Sachtler grip, EVS video servers, outside...

05/12/2023

Eurovision, The Traitors, Queen Elizabeth's funeral honoured at RTS Craft & Design Awards

The Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Justine Evans, director of photog...

05/12/2023

Case study: Behind the scenes at Catch Me if You Can

nxo Noya Castro, technical director, Voz Audiovisual, reveals how technology from Blackmagic Design helps produce the Spanish game show By Contributor Publis...

05/12/2023

Meet the VP, media operations

By TVBEurope Staff Published: December 5, 2023 Brian Kenworthy, VP, media operations TMT Insights, breaks the first rule of Fight Club as he tells TVBEurop...

05/12/2023

Linear broadcasters prevail: Sky, TNT Sports win Premier League rights

The Amazon experiment is no more and with no further new players entering the market, linear broadcasters prevail ushering in a new era, analyst Paolo Pescatore...

04/12/2023

TVBEurope December 2023 issue out now

TVBEuropes final issue of 2023 talks to the director of Aardmans latest film, meets Telestream CEO Rhonda Bassett-Spiers, and investigates the latest developmen...

04/12/2023

UK government threatens to renege on 2022 licence fee agreement

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the current forecast of a rise of around 9 per cent, or £15, is a lot of money and that is one of the things that we are cons...

04/12/2023

Varnish Software appoints Fredrik Borg as CEO

Borg has previously held roles at Nordic telecom infrastructure provider, Global Connect and multinational telecom firm, Telenor, where he led its operations fo...

01/12/2023

Viaplay details rescue plan

The launch of today's recapitalisation package brings us closer to the conclusion of what has been a very difficult period for the company and its stakehold...

01/12/2023

Gravity Media makes key appointments at White City production centre

R is n McKeniry has joined as head of technology, while Paul Sykes has been appointed chief facility engineer (Westworks Project) By Jenny Priestley Publishe...

30/11/2023

The future of video quality has AI written all over it

Yoann Hinard, COO at Witbe, looks at how AI has the potential to transform the video industry in various ways, including real-time video quality evaluation and ...

30/11/2023

Film & TV Charity shines spotlight on below-the-line talent ahead of toughest winter in its 100 year history'

According to the Charity, an unprecedented set of circumstances is leaving many ...

30/11/2023

The trends of 2023: Camera robotics

By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 30, 2023 Updated: December 1, 2023 Paddy Taylor, head of broadcast, MRMC, talks to TVBEurope about the adoption of...

30/11/2023

Jigsaw24 Media shuffles exec team ahead of busy 2024'

David Skeggs has been appointed technical and operations director, while Jason Cowan moves to managing director By Jenny Priestley Published: November 30, 20...

29/11/2023

Production powerhouse Banijay launches sport division

The new sports-focused division will not venture into broadcast and streaming rights, said the company By Jenny Priestley Published: November 29, 2023 The...

29/11/2023

Brompton Technology promotes Adam Callaway to lead global virtual production and broadcast activity

Callaway, formerly technical solutions manager, will spearhead Bromptons initiat...

29/11/2023

Deadline extended: TVBEurope Media and Entertainment: Best in Market 2023 awards

Companies now have until midnight on Tuesday 5 December to submit their products and solutions for consideration By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 29, ...

28/11/2023

TVBEurope Media and Entertainment: Best in Market 2023 awards still time to enter

The Media & Entertainment: Best in Market awards recognise the very best product...

27/11/2023

Meet the senior director of international field engineering

By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 27, 2023 Updated: November 28, 2023 Chris Fellows, senior director of international field engineering at Zixi, tel...

27/11/2023

Techex appoints new CEO

Scott Kewleys appointment will see Richard Bailey move to the role of chief product and technology officer By Jenny Priestley Published: November 27, 2023 ...

24/11/2023

The need for collaboration in the global media industry

Writing exclusively for TVBEurope, media analyst Paolo Pescatore takes a look at the partnership between BT and Telstra Broadcast Services, and explains why com...

24/11/2023

Plimsoll Productions cooks up sustainable power for latest Ainsley Harriott series

Shooting for approximately 7-hours a day, including set-up, three NXTGENbps Goat...

23/11/2023

The changing face of the video industry

If there's one thing that's certain in the video industry, it's that nothing stays the same for long, so providers must also embrace a change in ste...

23/11/2023

Report: Doctor Who regenerates investment in Wales' creative sector

Across the UK, Doctor Who production activities generated £256 million since the show was relaunched, finds the report By Jenny Priestley Published: November...

23/11/2023

UK TV and film industry reacts to Autumn Statement

Organisations including the UK Screen Alliance, British Film Commission, BFI and Bectu have reacted to Jeremy Hunts plan to provide more additional tax relief f...

23/11/2023

Rise announces second UK mentoring cohort of 2023

The organisation said it has been able to deliver the programme twice in 2023 due to demand as well as additional sponsorship By Jenny Priestley Published: N...

22/11/2023

Warner Bros Discovery launches UK's first production led on-site training centre

CrewHQ aims to help develop talent, retain crew and create a diverse, skilled wo...

21/11/2023

Broadcast graphics: a great career MOOV

By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 21, 2023 Perry Litman, graphics operator at MOOV, has worked in post production environments for some of the industr...

21/11/2023

Oriol Icart rejoins TVU Networks as director of technical operations for EMEA

He rejoins the company after spending the last two years at betev By Jenny Priestley Published: November 21, 2023 He rejoins the company after spending t...

20/11/2023

UK screen sector collaborates on new Skills Task Force

The new initiative, backed by Bectu, is being developed to address skills development across the creative industries By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 2...

20/11/2023

DTG releases new FAST handbook

The FAST Forward handbook has been created to provide guidance on the free ad-supported TV (FAST) environment By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 20, 202...

16/11/2023

Industry partnerships accelerate AI-augmented video streaming

Partnerships between video streaming ecosystem experts are key to fostering innovation, writes Alain Pellen, senior manager, OTT and IPTV solutions, at Harmonic...

16/11/2023

Vizrt appoints global channel general manager

The company has hired Marco Kraak as its general manager, global channel to unlock the full portfolio potential for Vizrt's partners around the world By TV...

16/11/2023

Haivision partners with Grabyo on live multi-camera cloud production

Haivision's video contribution solutions will stream synchronised ultra-low latency video to the Grabyo cloud production platform By TVBEurope Staff Pub...

16/11/2023

Meet the solution area expert

Jonathan Smith, solution area expert, cloud at Net Insight, talks us through spending his career trying to make products fly By TVBEurope Staff Published: No...

15/11/2023

Shinfield Studios nears completion

Thirteen soundstages are now in operation, with the 1 million sq ft studio complex due to complete during the first quarter of 2024 By TVBEurope Staff Publis...

15/11/2023

GatesAir adds to CALA sales team

The company appoints Carlos Lira Valdez to its CALA (Central America, Caribbean and Latin America) sales team By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 15, 2023...

15/11/2023

ISE 2024 to highlight technologies shaping the future of broadcast

ISE 2024 takes place at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via from 30 Jan - 2 Feb 2024. This special 20th anniversary edition is set to be the biggest yet, as ISE celebra...

14/11/2023

NBA team broadcasts AR graphics from handheld camera

Portland Trail Blazers become first NBA team to broadcast augmented reality graphics from a handheld camera By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 14, 2023 ...

14/11/2023

BBC Studios appoints digital and on-demand director

Kasia Jablonska has been moved up to director of digital and on-demand for EMEA at BBC Studios By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 14, 2023 Kasia Jablo...

13/11/2023

FilmLight Colour Awards winners announced

The 2023 FilmLight Colour Award winners were announced by jury president Lawrence Sher, ASC, at a ceremony during EnergaCAMERIMAGE in Poland yesterday By TVBE...

13/11/2023

AIB reveals 2023 awards winners at London gala

Sir Michael Palin, Clive Myrie, and the BBCs coverage of the war in Ukraine among winners of the 2023 awards By TVBEurope Staff Published: November 13, 2023 ...

10/11/2023

Avid CEO Jeff Rosica announces plans to retire

Announcement comes days after STG completed its $1.4B acquisition of the company By Tom Butts Published: November 10, 2023 Announcement comes days after S...

10/11/2023

Stage Fifty forms strategic partnership with Universal Production Services, looks to expand into Spain

The company is exploring new opportunities and structuring crew incentives to at...

10/11/2023

Amagi to acquire Tellyo's business

In bringing together Tellyo's product development centre in Poland and its own technology centres in India and Croatia, Amagi said it expects to drive cloud...

09/11/2023

Establishing the visual language of Apple's The Buccaneers

Cinematographer Oliver Curtis tells Jenny Priestley how he went about shooting and lighting Apple TVs adaptation of Edith Whartons novel, and how he drew inspir...