Singaporean industry is improving its audiovisual narratives. In addition to local dramas, there is a strong interest in exposing social stories of current problems in the country. The short video platform Viddsee, which was launched in 2013 and whose business was content curation, now has expanded to original production.
As it built its subscriber base and content library, Viddsee grew its community of filmmakers through new forms of business such as partnerships with pan-regional and international film festivals. It also focused on empowering its filmmakers, with key partnerships such as with Tech Nikon and also giving voice to unconventional stories for content in the country.
Today, Viddsee has over a million subscribers on its main YouTube platform, while also running a separate account called Nuggets by Viddsee focused on short-form content aimed at Singaporean youth.
‘We don’t see TikTok as a social platform, where you are connected with your friends. In fact, it is an outlet where you move around while you can see content. It is a platform supported by audiovisual creators in greater or less mastery of the trade,’ she recently explained’, said Michele Schofield, senior vice president of advertising at Viddsee.
‘We were presented with the opportunity to offer content different from what is broadcast on television. To our surprise, people have found it moving to see these short-lived disruptive stories. And we learned that when content is of good quality and goes viral, it has great repercussions for the filmmakers,’ she added. that content tends to do quite well and go viral’, she added.
One of the peculiarities of the platform is not to exploit the stories, even when they have worked very well. Schofield noted: ‘The team works on achieving a balance of stories. For example, episode two of the original series Love & Grief is titled To My Lost Mum and tells the story of a woman whose mother was murdered by the family’s maid when she was six years old. Schofield said that if Viddsee had called the episode My Helper Murdered My Mother, social media engagement could have skyrocketed’.
Kenny Tan, Vice President of Studios Viddsee, is the figure behind these decisions, and who carries out the majority of the commissions.
Likewise, a fundamental part of the platform structure is the marketing unit, who analyzes the impact that each video will have. ‘We sit there to say what we think the audience is going to respond to,’ Schofield remarked. ‘I run through ideas and sometimes say I need a more SEO-rich title or banner if one series looks like another.’
One of Viddsee’s priorities is to open opportunities to filmmakers from all over Singapore and, in addition to constantly looking for ideas, the platform makes regular calls to factual filmmakers.
