Author: Fu Qiongyin
The dark thread behind the media changes is the change of technology. After 1995, the development of satellite technology brought more and more "satellite" television stations, and the television sets of every household created a strong mass entertainment culture. After 2010, the development of mobile network infrastructure and Internet technology has given small-scale circle culture the opportunity to be amplified and consumed through mobile terminals.
What will be the next mass media? At present, it seems that the jury is still inconclusive, the only thing that is clear is that for good content platforms, technology and culture have always been closely integrated, prosperous and symbiotic, and the focus of technology competition is revolving around AIGC technology. In Mango TV's currently popular variety show "We", the first AI director in China "Aimang" appeared, and his interesting performance was widely discussed in the program.
AIGC technology has been the focus of discussion and presentation on streaming media platforms at home and abroad in recent years. In March last year, Netflix released a short animated film "Dogs and Boys" of less than 4 minutes, in which the scene drawing work was completed by AIGC, which is also the first distribution-level work of AIGC technology-assisted commercial animation. The Disney Group has also set up a task force to study AIGC and how it can be applied to the group as a whole.
At a time when AIGC has an important impact on cultural content planning, production, publicity and other dimensions, the key to wrestling with the platform is not how high the coverage of AIGC's content is, but how it helps the platform forge a competitive longboard from its huge arsenal.
"Aimang" was born with this idea in mind. Instead of taking the road that most AI models in China are mostly used in the planning, development and production of film and drama content, "Aimang" is an AI model that is perpendicular to content production. But this is also very mango-specific. After all, this is a platform for solo variety shows that are far earlier than solo dramas, and it has a number of long-lived national variety show IPs.
As the first AI director in China, the appearance of "Aimang" is synthesized by the portraits of the producers of Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV, and the voice is synthesized by the voices of young directors born in the 95s and 00s. Judging from his appearance on "We", "Aimang" has been able to undertake tasks for guests, recommend entertainment content for guests, generate Vlogs based on video materials recorded by guests, etc., which can be said to have multi-dimensional capabilities such as planning, screenwriting, and editing.
At present, "Aimang" is training and growing at a geometric speed, and what assists it in learning is the massive high-quality variety show IP on the Mango TV platform, as well as the rich creative experience of generations of variety show producers from Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV. Future. Aimang will also participate in a series of programs, evenings and activities of Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV, and interact with audiences from many countries.
In addition to being deeply involved in content production, AIGC technology is also widely used in business scenarios such as media asset operation, advertising, member interaction, video editing, and content production within Mango TV. According to Mango Supermedia's 2023 annual report, AI second-creation short videos are currently being used in variety shows such as "Overcoming Thorns" and "All Acceleration", producing more than 1 million short videos, greatly reducing the cost of content publicity and distribution and the cost of customer acquisition on the platform.
AIGC content broadens the boundaries of content imagination and improves the production efficiency of content planning, production, publicity and other links, but the iteration of science and technology can achieve far more than that. It not only realizes the "impossible" in the past content, but also creates a new way to consume entertainment content.
VR is a new way of consumption. It allows users to not only mobilize their visual and auditory senses, but also have more immersive body movements when consuming film and drama content. Streaming platforms are also actively embracing the possibility of interacting with VR, with Disney announcing in February that its streaming platform Disney+ will be launched on Apple's VR headset Apple Vision Pro, allowing viewers to watch 42 Disney 3D movies on Apple Vision Pro.
The one who is at the forefront in China is still Mango TV. In February, Disney announced that it was with Vision Pro, Mango TV also launched Vision Pro, which is the first long video platform in China to launch Vision Pro's native application. Bring Vision Pro into MangoTV,Users can see the barrage presented in a three-dimensional space、It will not block the video screen,And as long as"Look at it",You can capture the barrage of interest to participate in interaction,There will be more interactive gameplay in the future、Gesture to heart、Voice input3D video and so on。
In a short period of time,Vision Pro will not be as popular as iphone,But Mango TV's exploration of VR content,It has already taken many steps,Users who are not qualified to ownVR equipment,You can also feel the texture of VR content in Mango TV's variety show。
The variety show "All Acceleration 2023" broadcast last year has experienced a world like "Player One" from the perspective of an artist. One of the core gameplay in "Full Acceleration 2023" is to use VR headsets to transform the real world and virtual space. The VR headset has become a "teleportation device" for the artists, and in the "Acceleration City" that the artists go to, they will also generate the exclusive digital sapiens images of the acceleration team members. During the "City of Acceleration Challenge", the artist's camera screen will be unfolded from a dual perspective combining digital and real, which can make the audience feel more immersive.
These contents can really go to the audience, be felt and experienced by the audience, and behind it is a long trek of technicians. Users only need to enjoy the results of quantitative change to qualitative change, but the platform needs to do down-to-earth thinking and iteration of "quantitative change".
As of this year, the "Malanshan Cup" International Audio and Video Algorithm Competition has been held for the fifth year. The competition is hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and the Hunan Provincial Department of Education, and jointly organized by China (Changsha) Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industrial Park and Mango TV. In the past four years, the competition has attracted a total of 30,000 teams from all over the world to participate, and more than 100 algorithm talents have been recruited to Hunan Radio and Television. In this year's competition, there is also an "invisible watermark" that can be used to invisibly mark audio and video products, and spatial audio technology that generates binaural audio from mono through algorithms instead of expensive equipment is closely related to the current streaming environment.
Over the years, discussions such as "the ceiling of the number of members of streaming media platforms" and "the ceiling of content" have appeared frequently, and practitioners seem to have acquiesced that it is currently an era of stock competition and cake grabbing. However, the emergence of the next new media will inevitably open up a vast market for incremental competition and cake-making.
To break through those "ceilings", technology is the sharp spear.