
-- --
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: The exponential rise of mobile-driven (and funded) content platforms is starting to have some interesting, and potentially problematic side-effects in terms of selection (curatorship), censorship and the freedom of creative expression.
As the emergence of short form content as an industry driver becomes more and more clear, producers find themselves in a complex situation in terms of what they produce and how it is distributed.
-- --
Social media, and of course YouTube, have been the dominant platforms for sharing and monetising this content over the past decade. Brand and digital agencies have also looked to short form producers to produce impactful content around specific narratives and briefs.
Short form content then could be broken down into two main categories; firstly, creative driven short films are often developed on the hopes of securing a place and accolades at film festivals, going viral on social media or similar platforms and possibly promoting the career of the producer/filmmaker or securing funding for a full feature or TV series.
A second category of commercially driven content has been driven by brands and agencies looking to capitalise on the power and impact of social media. The prevalence of this content has opened up lucrative career paths for many young producers, but ultimately falls within the world of advertising.
The reality for purely creative driven short form producers has been that apart from niche categories at film festivals, and social media sharing, opportunities to drive or monetise their content were slim.
However, as mobile platforms start to become the primary platform for more and more people to watch any kind of video content, creative short form is now taking its place as the most lucrative and essential format on the market.
The massive hunger now being shown particularly by mobile operators for short content however must not only be seen as a positive driver of the industry. While it is true that the opportunities for exposure and monetisation, especially for young African producers, are real, there is a cost to this process.
The biggest area of concern, as I see it, is in terms of selection and curation. For all its ills and algorithms, social media, at least to a certain extent, and in certain countries is somewhat democratic. Commercial content often goes viral due to massive budgets and boosts, but often, quirky and original producer uploaded content manages to go global based purely on word of mouth and sharing.
Mobile content platforms however are heavily curated, moderated and gate-kept. Is anyone asking who exactly within the mobile platforms is selecting the content, on what criteria and for what markets? Clearly its all about expected profit. The content selected by any mobile platform, especially the content promoted within those platforms, is going to be that which is determined to gather the most eyeballs for as long as possible.
The gatekeepers of these mobile content platforms then are often found within the marketing departments - and content is selected often not for any kind of creative originality but rather on projected returns or within very narrow prescriptive norms.
As these platforms become more dominant destinations for content consumption amongst consumers, one has to consider the role of these all-powerful gatekeepers and what it means for the future of creative and perhaps even controversial content. Mobile platforms will inherently shy away from political content, or any content that offends certain governments, think Google in China. So if mobile platforms become the main source of news and information for an entire generation it is essential to look at the impact that this highly curated environment will have on both the viewers and the producers.
Already many bemoan the apparent censorship and narrowcasting of content on social media, but this will be exponentially increased when mobile operators control both the access and the content itself.
Producers will find themselves having to make more of the same - shorter and shorter bits of content aimed to please the most number of viewers without offending or taking any risks. This is the kind of content that will be rewarded financially leading to a process of self-censorship within the industry.
So while we celebrate the income and opportunities that arise from the growth of mobile content platforms - let's also be mindful of the potential pitfalls in terms of creative, free and fair expression.
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
-- --
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
01/05/2025
01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives
All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...
01/05/2025
How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...
01/05/2025
Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton May 1, 2025
0 Comments
CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...
30/04/2025
Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...
30/04/2025
EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...
30/04/2025
The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...
30/04/2025
Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...
30/04/2025
Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award
30 April, 2025
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...
30/04/2025
SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives
30 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...
30/04/2025
By Joyce JC Cataldo
The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...
30/04/2025
An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...
30/04/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...
30/04/2025
AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...
30/04/2025
The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...
30/04/2025
NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...
30/04/2025
Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson
Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...
30/04/2025
Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...
30/04/2025
ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...
30/04/2025
The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...
30/04/2025
Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...
30/04/2025
LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...
30/04/2025
Stand: A40
Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...
30/04/2025
Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...
30/04/2025
Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories
nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...
30/04/2025
Connecting the present, building the future
FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...
30/04/2025
DAD by NTP Technology reports a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas where the company focused on upcoming expansion options in development for its Thunder | Core a...
30/04/2025
CVP and Canon UK & Ireland are proud to announce the winning projects from the third annual Stories in Motion Young Filmmakers Awards, which took place on the e...
30/04/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that beIN MEDIA GROUP ( beIN'), one of the foremost global sports and entertainment broadcasters...
30/04/2025
The Canadian Premier League (CPL) today launched a new-look website and app, offering supporters of Canada's men's domestic professional soccer league a...
30/04/2025
WASHINGTON In a wide-ranging press conference, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had both good and bad news for broadcasters, stressing that ...
30/04/2025
TORONTO Cignal TV is relying on Quickplay's Shorts tool for its recently launched Pilipinas Live Shorts service, available to millions of users of Pilipinas...
30/04/2025
NEW YORK Steve Lanzano will retire as president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Advertising at year-end, the group said....
30/04/2025
The news production tech provider nxtedition is reporting that it supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, an independent news producer based...
30/04/2025
NEW YORK As part of a major push to advance the role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has...
30/04/2025
Uzbekistan Airways is the latest airline to choose SES's network, while Thai...
30/04/2025
Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams
Brie Clayton April 29, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Studio Cameras and Micro Studio Camer...
30/04/2025
Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA
Brie Clayton April 29, 2025
0 Comments
After a successful debut in 2024, MIDiA is calling once...
30/04/2025
Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee&...
30/04/2025
Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College ...
30/04/2025
Damien Molony will head back to Jersey for a second series of Bergerac, written by Toby Whithouse alongside Ashley Sanders, Emilie Robson and Faebian Averies
D...
30/04/2025
Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations...
30/04/2025
Rohde & Schwarz pioneers the future of automotive Ethernet using Analog Devices&...
30/04/2025
Wuppertal April 30, 2025
Riedel Communications Expands Asia-Pacific Presence with New Office in Hong KongRiedel Communications, a global leader in real-time v...
30/04/2025
Back to All News
Mad Unicorn' Trailer Reveals a Riveting Rags-to-Riches Sa...
30/04/2025
Back to All News
Get Ready to Get Wild: Netflix Announces Mating Season, a New ...
30/04/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 30, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that...
30/04/2025
How a Backbone of Thirty Switchers Delivered Unmatched Flexibility, HDR Brillian...
30/04/2025
The quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry is being reinvented by AI.
For exam...
30/04/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales has secured a major contract to modernise...