
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
More from TVB Europe
06/12/2023
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
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
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
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
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
The Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Justine Evans, director of photog...
05/12/2023
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
According to the Charity, an unprecedented set of circumstances is leaving many ...
30/11/2023
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
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
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
Callaway, formerly technical solutions manager, will spearhead Bromptons initiat...
29/11/2023
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
The Media & Entertainment: Best in Market awards recognise the very best product...
27/11/2023
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
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
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
Shooting for approximately 7-hours a day, including set-up, three NXTGENbps Goat...
23/11/2023
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
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
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
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
CrewHQ aims to help develop talent, retain crew and create a diverse, skilled wo...
21/11/2023
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
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
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
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
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
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's video contribution solutions will stream synchronised ultra-low latency video to the Grabyo cloud production platform
By TVBEurope Staff
Pub...
16/11/2023
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
The company is exploring new opportunities and structuring crew incentives to at...
10/11/2023
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
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...