Over the intervening years, the internet has fundamentally disrupted how video content is produced, distributed and consumed, from the proliferation of on-demand TV platforms to\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u2019s 1.5 billion users.<\/p>\n Ho and Tan, both engineers and film buffs, finally launched their own foray into the Wild West of internet video in 2013.\u00a0Viddsee<\/a>\u00a0began as a platform hosting short films from Southeast Asia, based around a small community of filmmakers who were the creators of \u2014 and an audience for \u2014 the content.<\/p>\n As well as fueling their own passion for making movies, Viddsee was a gamble on the emerging appetite for videos that can be watched on a small screen during a daily commute, and for content produced by local talent telling local stories.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought that short, premium content was a great way to engage an audience in a mobile-first environment,\u201d Ho says.<\/p>\n Viddsee\u2019s community has since grown to more than 3,000 filmmakers across the region. At the end of 2017, the company shifted from purely curating films to producing them. Last year they released 35 \u2018originals\u2019, a mix of self-directed projects and videos created in partnership with brands \u2014 including five short films for the\u00a0Singapore Tourism Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n The strategy is two-pronged: Creative projects are aimed at generating Viddsee its own content with longer-term potential, while partnerships generate cashflow in the shorter term.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Having built its own network of creatives and a discovery platform for content, Viddsee is able to link potential commercial partners with filmmaking talent and provide them with data on the type of content that is generating views and engagement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Viddsee founder Ho Jia Jian: \u201cWe thought that short, premium content was a great way to engage an audience in a mobile-first environment.\u201d Photo by Peter Guest.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are bringing value to the table beyond the content that is created, and [on] the distribution side we have a relationship with audiences,\u201d Ho says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re able to use that to identify filmmakers, but at the same time understand that the content and the stories that we\u2019re building for brands is actually in line with the consumption habits that we\u2019re seeing within our platform.\u201d<\/p>\n This year the company has already\u00a0announced a partnership<\/a>\u00a0with the Indonesian telco Telkomsel, which includes a four-episode original series that will be released on Telkomsel\u2019s streaming service, as well as 24 other shorts curated from the Viddsee platform throughout February.<\/p>\n Moving into paid-for production has strengthened Viddsee\u2019s relationship with the filmmakers in its network, Ho says, by giving content creators the opportunity to pitch for the kind of work that may have been out of their reach previously. Viddsee has also brought young filmmakers onto commercial projects and pitches, giving them paid work and exposure.<\/p>\n Ho believes that this network, and a heritage of promoting creative work, will help it to survive in a crowded and uncertain space.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Large media companies have periodically pivoted to online video and back away again, having struggled to integrate the medium with their existing content business, or to monetize it.\u00a0Much-hyped, millennial-focused brands<\/a>\u00a0such as VICE, which has invested heavily in digital video, have announced cutbacks over the past few months.<\/p>\n At the same time, traditional advertising and PR agencies are encroaching on the digital video space, and TV-on-demand services like Netflix and its Southeast Asian analogue\u00a0iflix<\/a>\u00a0are increasingly investing in locally-made content to serve the same demand Viddsee is targeting.<\/p>\n Ho says the company is confident it can win in its niche of short-form, premium video content by continuing to deepen its engagement with its audience and filmmakers. Viddsee is experimenting with subscription products that offer users a chance to support productions and access additional community features.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just different ways for audiences to get behind the scenes and own the story \u2014 owning it from an experience standpoint,\u201d Ho says.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what we\u2019ve seen with the whole direct-to-consumer play is that authenticity matters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes to our mission of empowering storytellers and building engagement. We think that that\u2019s something that will differentiate our play\u2026 we think that that\u2019s what will build long-term loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0<\/a>was originally published by\u00a0Splice<\/a>. It was republished on IJNet with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Peter Guest<\/a>\u00a0is an independent journalist and photographer, based in Southeast Asia. He’s a contributing writer at Nikkei Asian Review, and his articles and photographs have appeared in The Atlantic, Newsweek, The Financial Times, Wired, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and others.<\/em><\/p>\n Main image CC licensed by\u00a0Unsplash<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0Jakob Owens<\/a>.<\/em>Building a community<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Sustaining filmmakers<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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