Creating for content creators: an untapped audiovisual market

Javier Ortega partner strategic audiovisual for companies and YouTubers like Peldanyos, sheds light on the growing market for production services for content creators, a symptom of a change in trend that can provide significant opportunities to the audiovisual market.

A webcam, a mobile phone and, on special occasions, a small miniature camera or mirrorless. These were the main technological weapons with which a whole generation of content creators He began to define his own identity, which would end up becoming a key figure for communication and entertainment in the 21st century. Self-taught, and driven by their nature as digital natives, they created a way of communicating and entertaining based on trial and error, but also with the influence of a global community extended across YouTube.

A decade later, content creators have become the great references of the generations Z and Alpha. They are a measure identity transcends the content they create; formulas like IRL videos (In real life) They accompany them on their daily adventures, capturing the admiration of hundreds of thousands of viewers, who find in these videos a wealth of hours, whether in long format on YouTube, in streams in real time broadcast through platforms such as Twitch or Kick, or in short format through networks such as TikTok or Instagram. The important thing is not what happens, but Who stars in it and how is it told?.

Brands, as it could not be otherwise, exploit for their benefit the ability of content creators to lead opinions. The business volume is considerable: according to the IAB Spain Advertising Investment Study, the influencers, content creators and digital opinion leaders generated 125.9 million euros in online advertising. This large market, still full of opportunities today, although difficult to access, has caused a very rapid professionalization of the entire market. Agencies redefine their nature to approach these figures, and the creators themselves seek to stand out in a highly competitive market through their own identity, but also their staging.

In this context, either comfort or reinvestment, content creators decide to leave aside the technological perspective of their daily lives. Not only do they now have their own editors, often duplicated to cover the large volume of content, but a generation of videographers and audiovisual partners that cover the entire production and execution chain. “It has been a change from white to black,” he does not hesitate to affirm. Javier Ortega, one of these professionals who has managed to ride the wave to work with content creators like Peldanyos o El Xokas; work with eminently digital festivals such as Dreamhack Valencia; generate personal brand content with personalities like Doctor Antonio Hernandez, or collaborate on events with brands like Movistar o Saint Michael.

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Content creators: abandoning the cameras

“Peace of mind and scalability”: these are the two terms that Ortega uses to explain the reasons that have led a large part of the content creators in Spain to hang up their cameras to hand them over to external professionals. These personalities who previously managed a community and were in charge of supervising each part of the process have found themselves with the opportunity to monetize their daily lives, which has led them to give up responsibilities to “take care of only the parts they like” and, in the process, improve the marketing of their services by creating a staging more attractive for brands.

Personalities who previously managed a community and were in charge of supervising each part of the process have found themselves with the opportunity to monetize their daily lives, which has led them to give up responsibilities.

There is not only “Ibais Llanos” in the sector, who is an exception in the Hispanic community of YouTubers and who has a creative studio behind him with large productions with dozens of professionals. Creators of all sizes have decided to take over in audiovisual creation: "Even the smallest content creator, with only 1,000 followers, can make a lot of money with his community. Editing is almost always delegated, but there are teams specialized in generating ideas, locations, calendars or even uploading comments," explains Ortega, who states that there are certain content creators who "They don't even respond to their own comments.”, handing over the task to a “trustworthy and close” person who manages the community.

Commissioning the audiovisual production of a piece, in any case, does not often respond to the desire to improve the visual quality or deliver a more refined piece to the viewers. The visual language inherited from a modelo DIY, as well as the closeness with which the creators want to continue projecting themselves to their followers, takes precedence over the choice of starting filming with a production equipment with cinema cameras or ad-hoc lighting for each scene. The important thing is to offer a “minimum quality” and offer transparent content so that the viewer can watch it “from home or the subway” in a way comfortable: "Sometimes, we talk about viewers who are 13, 14 or 15 years old. They are not looking for the quality of a television program."

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El Fenómeno Vlog E IRL: PLEX, NIL Ojeda.

He IRL (In real life) is experiencing a moment of consolidation in Spain. This type of content, initially dedicated to live monitoring of a personality outside their usual studio, has evolved to merge with the format vlog and thus show, with an unprecedented closeness, different experiences by content creators: "Generally, they are videos trying food or traveling the world with several friends. They live experiences and share them on the Internet."

These adventures, initially shot with a mobile phone from a more personal perspective, have evolved to become productions in which, with the help of an external cameraman, a more documentary approach to these adventures. “The value is not in what they do per se, but in what they do it,” remarks Ortega, underlining the value of the trend and its impact on the YouTube ecosystem.

Vlogs, shot with a mobile phone from a more personal perspective, have evolved to become productions in which, with the help of an external cameraman, a more documentary approach.

As an example, the impact of some of the most prominent names in this area. I am Plex go up vlogs daily to audiences of 14.7 million viewers. Known for his “world tours” and his style challenges Mr. Beast, accumulates experiences in a format of around 40 minutes, frequently managing to exceed one and a half million views. Nile Ojeda, con 4.7 million subscribers on YouTube, exceeds one million views of its videos on a recurring basis with small films of between 60 and 90 minutes, in which it accumulates experiences with the luxury of the new generations. On another level is the world of YouTubers that conveys its gastronomic experiences in vlog format, headed by names like Joe Burgerchallenge (924,000 subscribers) or Peldanyos (398,000), which alternate content created by themselves with the collaboration of external cameramen.

Although all of them began their careers behind the cameras, they usually delegate the creation of audiovisual content to their collaborators after agreeing certain guidelines: “They know about storytelling and, although they may not call it that, they understand the concept of narration and framing. They always have an idea in their head,” says Ortega, who considers that the main job of these professionals will be to “take the ideas, organize them, launch them and bring them to land.”

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4K, portability and comfort

Providers of production services to content creators, explains Ortega, do without large production teams to accompany the adventures of their clients. The most widespread trend is the use of semi-professional cameras that offer portability and are compatible with wide angles, which allows obtaining extra versatility in the face of a possible vertical crop: “At most, you can find models like the FX3 from Sony, but it is very common to see models like the 7SM3 or the ZV-E1.”

He 4K60p has been established as the minimum resolution for this type of productions, since the editing language It requires numerous cuts and zooms that provide additional information in the form of reactions.

During the last years, the 4K60p It has been established as the minimum resolution for this type of production, since the extensive editing language in these areas requires numerous cuts and zooms that provide additional information in the form of reactions. Likewise, they usually generate multiple pieces in vertical format to expand the monetization of the videos and serve as a teaser for the main piece, a model that also favors this series of resolutions. When it comes to audio, Ortega usually works with shotgun microphones given the comfort it offers to the protagonists of the video, which does not prevent people from opting for wireless lapel microphones in complex situations.

The post-production, for its part, follows its usual course. The montages do not require great difficulty beyond maintaining the rhythm with the cuts, using the music appropriately to avoid rights problems, and inserting subtitles in those pieces that require it. Regarding the color correction, “the most common content creators have no idea” what it is and, therefore, it is not a great requirement: “In 80% of cases it is recorded without a color profile or in a very simple profile.” Although Premiere was the tool of choice for editors, Ortega sees a transition towards DaVinci Resolve of Blackmagic Design, pointing out that the Adobe tool follows a path similar to that followed by the ill-fated Sony Vegas.

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A sector that demands professionalization

Unlike in different areas of broadcast production, in which the cost of services has plummeted due to excess supply, progressive mistreatment of the recruitment professional and the normalization of a staging that is far from the usual neatness of the media, production services for content creators are in good shape. The creators are getting significant sums of money in exchange for their content, and they are reinvesting part of those profits in professionals to take their products to the next level. parts, escalating in the process y delegating a production process that, deep down, they don't enjoy: "They take the money and put it to work, reinvesting it in a better editor or a videographer with a more stable camera so that people don't complain in the comments."

The creators are getting significant sums of money in exchange for their content, and they are reinvesting part of those profits in professionals to take their products to the next level. parts, escalating in the process y delegating your production process.

Ortega recognizes that there are obstacles to overcome, such as the community of editors who lower the price of their service to up to €3 per hour of editing, but trusts that the process of professionalization of creators allows true professionals to stand out in a market in which "everyone who has a skill should exploit it": "There are opportunities to stand out, providing better service and greater value for content creators. I would not hesitate to recommend videographers, colorists or sound engineers start exploring the opportunities in content creation, because there are a lot of opportunities," he emphasizes.

While waiting to know if the professionalization process will result in a healthy audiovisual industry that complements content creators, it is worth looking into an area with new codes that begins to sue the usual professionals: "It is going to grow. It is a very competitive market that is already approaching that standard of professionalization. There are still things to polish, but we are close to being treated as a consolidated industry, like it could be the cinema”.

A report by Sergio Julián Gómez