On May 29, 2021, in Tai'an, Shandong Province, visitors experienced digital image display at Taishan International Cultural Big Data Industry City. (Photo/ Visual China)
You must have noticed this phenomenon – whether it's the streets and subway cars, people with mobile phones are everywhere. There are many people attracted by this square-inch screen, and there are even elderly people and young children. They usually flip their fingers up and down quickly, their expressions are either depressed or happy, and sometimes they want to let go, but they can't stop.
This phenomenon stems from the rapid development of the video industry in the 5G era. On this topic, you must be able to talk about it: "Today Li Jiaqi is going to live!" "That blogger's paragraph is super funny!" Because it's really relevant to the daily lives of contemporary people.
The age of video as a mainstream medium
In 1964, at the age of 52, Marshall McLuhan mentioned concepts such as "global village" and "media as information" in his book Understanding the Medium: On the Extension of Man. At that time, the world did not understand, but standing in the 5G era, it is not difficult for us to find that the "global village" has become a reality.
With the increasing popularity of computers and mobile phones and the many iterations of technology, the relationship between people's lives and the Internet has become closer - "global village" is not only the shortening of the physical distance brought about by the development of trains, airplanes and other means of transportation, but also the "globalization" of human beings at the level of receiving information or ideology.
Human civilization has never stopped moving forward - text is no longer the only way to convey information, it has a trend of integration with multiple carriers such as voice, pictures, and videos; and with the maturity of 5G technology, the era of video as a mainstream medium is also opening.
Of course, this is an outcome that everyone can accept. Because every iteration of the industrial field involves human "desires" involved. Desire drives us to create new ways of life, and at the same time, we accept the "taming" of desire and seek a higher level of self-satisfaction.
From the original communication method of word of mouth to the printing medium represented by the four major inventions, and then to the video industry in today's 5G era, people's way of understanding the world is no longer only visual and text, but extends to all senses, so as to receive information more comprehensively and in real time. At the same time, a variety of video information gushes out, and people can test the correctness of the information by comparing and consulting, which invisibly promotes the independent thinking of human beings as individuals.
As Marshall McLuhan predicted, the era of video as the mainstream medium not only makes the earth a "village", but also, after experiencing several iterations of the Internet, human beings have evolved to be more comprehensive and concrete- becoming people who integrate multiple perceptions and thinking, understand and grasp the world through themselves.
Opportunities and challenges for video practitioners
So, what can the video industry in the 5G era bring to people?
"When I first started working, I spent every night shift reading the newspaper, and now that I'm retired, times have changed, and I've changed. When I go downstairs to walk my dog, I have to live and listen to them tell jokes. A 60-year-old Beijing uncle said this and showed the reporter what he was watching - in the picture, a young boy was broadcasting live on the Kuaishou platform, showing his antique vase.
At the same time, a middle-aged air conditioning maintenance worker is also brushing vibrato videos.
He said: "I usually wait for work, if I don't brush vibrato, time passes too slowly." "This is not a random phenomenon, and passing the fragmentation time by browsing videos is already a common way of life for the public."
On August 27, 2021, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the 48th Statistical Report on the Development of China's Internet Network. According to the report, as of June 2021, the number of Netizens in China reached 1.011 billion, of which the scale of short video users was 888 million. This further proves that short videos and live broadcasts are becoming a new way of life for the whole people.
Not only that, the arrival of 5G has also stimulated new needs for video platforms among netizens, that is, to enhance "interactivity".
If people's identity in the 3G and 4G era is still just ordinary netizens, most of the needs of the network only stay in browsing information and releasing fragments of daily life, then, with the advent of the 5G era, more netizens are no longer satisfied with browsing information, but actively incarnate as video creators, publish video content on major platforms, and comment, like and forward in real time.
Some people also market through the platform, monetize traffic to earn fees - or express serious things through interesting remarks in a specific scene; or incarnate vertical creators, impart knowledge or skills in beauty, cars, food, mother and baby and other fields, and accumulate fans and trust to pave the way for the future launch of live streaming.
Such short video bloggers are collectively referred to as "internet celebrities". For example, "papi sauce" became popular because of humorous and sharp remarks; TikTok blogger "Leng Shao" successfully attracted fans with the nonsense comedy of "the earthy version of Wong Kar-wai"; "Niu Aifang's small village flower" and "KangZai farmer" and others were popular with rural life records, while bloggers who taught dressing and makeup skills abounded.
Indeed, the high traffic of short videos has led to a new wave of economic boom – these influencers understand this – and once they are "red", advertisers flock to it. As long as the content is made interesting, it will usher in fame and fortune.
Under this trend, people are vying to imitate. The large number of videos and the increase in profit-seeking crowds have made the audience visually tired and have a higher demand for content.
Today's short video with goods has also been transformed from "interesting" and "useful" to "quality and texture". Because "no audience will actually reject ads, provided your content is interesting enough"
For the long video industry, 5G is both an outlet and a challenge.
Not long ago, "iQiyi canceled the advanced on-demand" once appeared on Weibo's hot search, triggering heated discussion. Youku and Tencent also quickly followed up, announcing the cancellation of advanced on-demand. From the beginning of "Chen Qing Ling", it has been continuously "verbally criticized" for more than two years, and it has officially announced its offline.
Gong Yu, CEO of iQIYI, responded: "This matter may not be as objective and logical as we think, especially the consumer psychology of members affects our final decision." The core essence of the membership business is to ensure member satisfaction. ”
An industry official told reporters: "Although the advanced on-demand has been cancelled, the membership competition of major video platforms will not be reduced, because members will still jump between various platforms according to the content." ”
With the blessing of 5G technology, long video is about to usher in opportunities for further expansion and development. Therefore, in line with the purpose of video entertainment, platforms such as iQiyi and Tencent Video firmly believe that content is king.
Tencent Video, for example, opens up new ways for users to subscribe by providing exclusive content. According to the "2020 Tencent Video Annual Index Report", in 2020, Tencent Video's solo dramas reached 48, of which the three head online dramas "An Jia", "Qing Ping Le" and "Thirty Only" contributed nearly 20 billion plays.
iQIYI seeks high-quality development by releasing 260 new content, such as the "Mist Theater" that broadcasts high-scoring episodes such as "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth", which will be upgraded to the "Misty Universe", and through the atmosphere structure of characters, cases, cities, and emotions, the Mist Theater will be integrated with other stories; the variety shows familiar to the audience such as "The Annual Comedy Competition" and "Strange Story 8" will also achieve creative upgrades.
At the same time, iQIYI launched a new thing, cloud cinema, that is, cooperation with cinema films, 30 days before the film was released in theaters, cloud cinema adopted the PVOD model for paid on-demand, priced at 12 yuan to 30 yuan. Tencent Video integrates offline content and online channels, launches the "cloud launch" model, and moves multiple categories of content such as movies, concerts, and dramas online, and broadcasts them in the form of free or preferential payment for members.
On August 8, 2020, Beijing, the first performance of the "Colorful Autumn Rhymes" series of concerts was held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and the world's first live broadcast of stage art "5G+8K" was held. (Photo/ Visual China)
Promote the development of the national digital economy
Nowadays, "add a WeChat", "Baidu" and "shoot a vibrato" have become the daily life of the people, and the integration of 5G with 4K/8K, AR/VR, AI and other technologies will also give birth to more diverse video content forms. Among them, with the popularization of user scale and the popularization of content creation, the video industry is expected to become one of the first areas to erupt, which will also drive the new development of China's digital economy.
Among them, the application achievements of the ultra-high-definition video industry in the sports industry can be seen. For example, before the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games, a number of large ultra-high-definition broadcast trucks of the Central Radio and Television Station equipped with 4K/8K ultra-high-definition broadcasting systems appeared on the streets of Tokyo, triggering a domestic carnival about "Chinese red".
Despite the epidemic period, the real-time broadcast through 5G has allowed countless Chinese audiences to watch this wonderful event without having to be there in person - they are breathless for the last jump of Quan Hongchan and regret that they can pick up silver for the table tennis mixed doubles. This greatly satisfies the audience's sense of participation in sports events.
The upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, the "Science and Technology Winter Olympics" HD video project is also steadily progressing. Ren Shipeng, director of the Broadcast coordination office of the Media Operation Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said: "I hope that riding on the east wind of large-scale sports events, the industry can accelerate its upgrading and development, so that 2022 will become the first year of China's 8K ultra-high-definition industry." ”
Not only that, 5G transmission coupled with ultra-high-definition video, combined with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality technology (VR), can make the audience feel as if they are immersed in the scene and feel the charm of sports at zero distance.
Liu Xin, chairman of China Mobile Migu, described the experience of watching the game in the ultra-high-definition era: "The athlete you like can appear in front of your eyes, and even clearly see his sweat and hear his heartbeat." ”
There are many video application examples in the 5G era, which are not only used in the entertainment field, but also innovatively applied in smart medical, smart classroom, security monitoring and other fields. In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration of Radio and Television, and the Central Radio and Television Administration issued the "Action Plan for the Development of the Ultra-HIGH-definition Video Industry (2019-2022)" that by 2022, the overall scale of China's ultra-high-definition video industry will exceed 4 trillion yuan.
It can be seen that the video industry in the 5G era not only changes everyone's lifestyle, but also closely related to politics, economy and culture. As an inevitable participant in history, human beings can never exist without the "media", so trying to accept the 5G era, understand the media, and maintain independent thinking with the help of a wide range of media effects can better avoid being impacted by this information age, and can also live in peace in the next wave of new media.