TikTok, audiovisual and broadcast: a guide to a new universe

Its possibilities are endless, as is its growth perspective, expanding more and more age groups as the months go by. TikTok It is presented as the social network that will mark the generational change of the next decade. The producer Young Soul Studios, a TikTok partner in Spain, opens the doors to a world full of opportunities for the audiovisual industry in general, and broadcasting in particular.

Tiktok seeks to be much more than a social network: it is a community that brings together all kinds of creators and offers them the possibility of sharing short videos with the help of a versatile integrated editor, an ecosystem full of smart filters and production options, and huge catalog of songs and a algorithm what a reward so much the originality As the be part of the trend.

Its growth seems to have no end. Chinese company owned ByteDance, currently ranks as the third social network in the world, with a user base of about 800 million monthly. Born in 2016 as Douyin, renamed in 2017 as TikTok and promoted globally in 2018 after the integration of Musical.ly, the debacle of other alternatives such as Vine y Snapchat, the pandemic and the constant alliances with influencers and celebrities have allowed it to reach its current figures.

Some figures that continue to be beaten. According to one of the latest reports from Sensor Tower, TikTok is positioned as the most downloaded application in the first quarter of 2022 (175 million downloads), surpassing for the first time Instagram (155 million) or Facebook (152 million). While the service continues to grow and address challenges to face its leap to a more aggressive marketing, The number of companies, broadcasters y interested producers on the platform it multiplies. However, few have explored all the possibilities of the platform. In order to do this, they must first perfectly understand its nature and possibilities. Roger Grau y Maria Medinilla, CEOs and directors of Young Soul Studios, provide a transversal vision of TikTok.

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Adapting to a unique language

TikTok is a platform that hosts a myriad of visual languages. However, it is easy to identify some common points, like his unavoidable commitment to vertical format, he fast pace of assembly, he standardized graphics, los visual resources that identify the theme of the video and, above all, the closeness when creating content.

“The content that you can see on TikTok has one very good thing, and that is that provides verisimilitude. Users can record themselves doing stupid things, and the people watching it can feel identified because they have probably done the same stupid thing at some point in their lives, or have had a period of downturn and wanted to explain it. TikTok allows you to convey a certain truth", comments Grau, alluding to one of the main features that make this social network unique.

Another element shared by Grau and Medinilla himself is the “young spirit” platform: a casual, close, intimate, vulnerable language (sometimes) and that largely alludes to their realities. Assuming this language will be essential requirement to consolidate a solid follower base And power create content with viralization capacity.

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Verisimilitude: UGC vs PGC

The TRUE (a controversial element, since social networks continue to be just a reflection or projection of a more or less real reality) paradoxically becomes a central element of the TikTok experience. The user becomes the center of conversation, compared to what happens on other social platforms, in which The brand has a voice and a discourse that can “compete” face to face with the voice of the user.

In this regard, Medinilla identifies two keys To understand content production on TikTok: UGC y PGC. “The UGC, User Generated Content (User-generated content), refers to the type of content that looks like real content, which provides verisimilitude; You cannot identify that it is edited by a production company, but it really seems that it is your neighbor who could be shaping that video. With the PGC, Profesional Generated Content (Content generated by professionals), you can see a difference between the user and the professional,” he explains.

The Young Soul Studios team considers it essential to bet on a UGC content creation strategy, regardless of the production company or television responsible for creating the content. As Grau points out: “A young person or young adult, if they see a video on TikTok with a macro production behind it, will think that it is just another advertisement and will move on to the next content.” And, on TikTok, it may be too easy to do the dreaded swipe up.

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A battle for attention

3 seconds. Not one more, not one less. That is the estimated time by TikTok, confirmed by the Young Souls Studios team, for capture and hold the viewer's attention. If in that period it is not achieved create a connection with the viewer, the content of the video is not clear or a topic of interest is not presented in a visually attractive way, the user will continue diving into the dense ocean of content that the platform represents: “Either you stay, or you go, there is no room for maneuver. The first big challenge to take into account, whether the content is a gag, fiction or a recipe, is to find something that engages super quickly.”

There are several techniques that can be applied to minimize the risk of swipe up. From a more “serious” perspective, Medinilla acknowledges, TikTok users tend to pose a situation, which can generate interest that invites you to stay to see how it ends. Another common technique is visual loop construction that invite the user to see how a recipe, a tip or a makeup video ends, and, at the same time, encourage loop viewing of the content: “Instead of starting by cutting some potatoes, since no one is going to be interested a knife with one hand, you see a very cool ending, you think about how it can be done, and you stay.”

This visual blow is sometimes accompanied by some more questionable techniques from the point of view of content, but that They are undoubtedly effective. Medinilla continues providing details: “What works a lot is making loud noise. You can be watching TikToks and suddenly a loud noise comes and, just because of that, you don't do the swipe up and you stay. It is something very absurd and, in fact, on many occasions the initial scream or the beat of music has nothing to do with the content, but it manages to capture your attention.”

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@cruztc28 #Never trust no one #viral #video #porinfiel🙄🤚 #Little piece of heaven #fyp #2022 #parte1 #followme_for_more_videos_asi ♬ original sound – *cely cruz Tamara 28🥰

Loyalty or disappear

The limited duration of TikToks, which usually extend between 15 and 60 seconds, implies the need to generate content constantly to achieve build audience loyalty y al ever changing algorithm.

Grau emphasizes that community maintenance It is essential to persist in a platform full of stimuli in which It's easy to be seen, but also forgotten: “There are more and more companies that are beginning to understand that on TikTok you must have maintenance. If you only upload one video a week you are going to die trying. “There has to be continuity.” The Young Soul team points out that, at a minimum, they should be uploaded 3 videos daily.

The creation of content on this platform, therefore, there is nothing spontaneous. Apart from possible improvisations, there is a deep work of structuring and programming content to maintain the loyalty of followers. Sometimes, it will be the videos that invite the user to remain attentive to the development of the profile. As Grau points out: “On TikTok, “Part 1” is used a lot. It is a label that is used a lot to gain attention. It's very short, you're going to read it no matter what, and even if you want to swipe up, not knowing what it's going to talk about invites you to stay." As the reader can intuit, each of these episodes will have hooks attractive enough to make the user travel to the TikTok profile to find out the end of a story.

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Creation options: editor, effects, rights...

Unlike what could be its biggest competitor today, Instagram through its function reels, TikTok contains in its core and deep editing toolset that allow the user experiment and create content with ease. As Medinilla recognizes, the first approach to this platform can be chaotic If the user comes from more traditional publishers and professionals, but the learning curve is extremely easy.

The system integrate recording with editing, so that both processes develop in parallel. The user can gravedigger, to stop, rewind a recording and even store multiple projects in real time to continue production afterwards. This tool is completed with a very wide selection of effects that are added day by day: lighting schemes, options to create cromas, solutions for react in real time to other videos o virtual reality effects generated in real time.

From the point of view of sound, the user, beyond be able to manage multiple audio channels and perform a basic mix, has at its disposal a huge catalog of songs, soundtracks and effects to accompany each of its pieces. As you well recognize Grau, the issue of audiovisual rights on TikTok is quite lax in what represents independent creators. As we will address later, the issue changes completely if it is a company that is creating content.

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The risk of creating from external tools

If the TikTok ecosystem is not attractive enough for the producer or the broadcaster responsible for creating content, they always have the option of upload a video in H.264 format. However, the scope of the content is likely be more limited that if this is generated entirely from the application itself.

“The algorithm benefits using TikTok's own tools. For example, if you use a song available on TikTok as a user, the algorithm will give it a positive weight. However, if you have uploaded a video and entered the song from outside, you will not have the same luck,” Grau explains.

Everything depends, in any case, on the reach and projection of the user. It is possible to combine, and in fact is done with increasing frequency, UGC with PGC to achieve different objectives of a certain campaign on TikTok.

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Technical keys: 9:16 vs 16:9, framing…

If you decide to create content from a external platform, the Young Soul Studio team identifies essential elements to achieve fit visually within TikTok.

Leaving aside maintaining aesthetics UGC, Grau and Medinilla consider that it is essential to export the content in 1080 x 1920 (an aspect ratio of 9:16) in format .mp4, which will help the video to be processed correctly on the platform. When capturing images, They recommend recording in a conventional 16:9 implementing squads in the camera settings themselves so that the director and cameraman are able to identify the look end of the piece. Then will come the corresponding reframings, just as it usually happens when shooting in 4K and then exporting in HD.

Regarding the composition of the shot, TikTok recommends that everything important happens in the center of the image, which explains why sometimes frames are made with some disproportionate airs compared to traditional production schemes. “If you are making a fruit recipe, the fruit should be visible in the center. There is no other option,” says Medinilla.

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The Flash: Photographing for TikTok

The direction of photography, interestingly, recovers the maxims of the most traditional television, the one that indiscreetly states that a dark production lacking colors and brightness will cause the zapping by the viewer.

“No darkness. The more brightness, color and light there is, the better,” says Medinilla. Homogeneously illuminated scenes, saturated colors, use of LED light rings…Everything adds up to focus attention on the element that the creator decides. Even so, as it could not be otherwise, exceptions allowed: “If someone decided to make a horror fiction, obviously it wouldn't make sense, but for the application in general it is what works,” says Medinilla, to which Grau points out: “The most prominent users allow themselves licenses, such as create lighting based on only two colors or turn them off on some occasions. However, whenever people appear, it is essential that they are well lit.”

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The direct ones: possibilities, competitors...

For a few months now, TikTok He is betting everything on the direct. From the outside, one might think that the platform, with this movement, “betrays” his own identity with a format that requires longer consumption over time compared to the volatility of its more traditional content. Nothing is further from reality.

TikTok's live streams are differentiated from their main competitors, such as Twitch or Instagram, through the adoption of its own audiovisual language. The assembly is hyperdynamic, the unpredictability reigns and the engagement it multiplies. As examples, the recent creations promoted by the platform's own creative team, starring artists like Rosalía o Camila Cabello: “They appeal to an audience that needs new things with a very defined language. (…) Instagram may have been left behind, since it has opted for one-on-one. On the other hand, the big names on Twitch are committed to a television aesthetic,” says Medinilla.

Regarding the production of a live show on TikTok, this can be done in two ways: the first, from the own application with the options for creators it provides. The second part of an old acquaintance of the audiovisual panorama: open software Note Studio, which allows you to connect multiple sources and include visual elements to create a more professional live show. There are many professional equipment manufacturers that are beginning to make their production tools compatible with TikTok.

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Monetization for companies and broadcasters

TikTok is an evolving platform that has committed since its launch to generating a social network with a clear language and aesthetics, so that It still has a long way to go to make the most of its possibilities as a communication channel.. In this case, today, monetizing content generation for professionals is off the table.

Large companies, producers or broadcasters can gain notoriety through the social platform, but They do not have a monetization system for views, subscriptions or patronage as they exist on other platforms such as YouTube o Twitch. Of course, these will have exclusive tools to measure the reach of the publications and the possibility of investing money to disseminate specific pieces.

Likewise, the creation of content, if done from the platform itself, is will do with limited resources compared to the rest of the users: “You have many more limitations when it comes to music if you are a company. TikTok does not allow you to use the song that is trending If you are a brand, because they don't want you to assimilate the songs that are featured. What does TikTok do that I think is a good solution? “They have an exclusive song bank with other types of music.”

On the contrary, there is a monetization program for creators that rewards virality and the visualizations, although this is restricted to independent authors.

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@us.serie Would you trust your #family? 🤔 #tiktok #quarantine #I stay at home #boredathome #serie #webseries #tiktokseries #viral #acting #bellaciao #madreamer ♬ original sound – Young Soul Studios

Creating a series: the case of Us

TikTok provides numerous possibilities that go beyond the creation of the non-fiction. Young Soul defends the possibility of create content adapted to the language, narrative and dynamics of the platform.

One of the production company's first projects was the creation of the series Us, an initiative supported by the Barcelona's town hall, the Consell de l’Audiovisual de Catalunya, the educational association EPIC, the Montblanc foundation and the company Atrápalo, which presented in a traditional format adolescent problems such as bullying or violence within the classroom from a recreational point of view. In 2020, once the production of the first two seasons and with a third in standby in the wake of the pandemic, Young Soul Studios He decided bring the format to TikTok. Grau conveys the details: “We adapted the format of the series. We re-assembled the chapters, which lasted between 5 and 10 minutes, to adapt them to the maximum minute allowed by the platform. We were publishing for two months and the boom was spectacular: we got 40,000 followers, 4 million accumulated views, 300,000 likes, thousands of comments…”

Adapting a traditional format to TikTok does not usually work well. Young Soul defends, above all, the creation of content adapted to the format, language and dynamics of the platform. However, the style of fiction adapted to the nature of the platform, as Medinilla states: “Although it is a fiction series shot with professional equipment, we shot it hand-held with long sequence shots. This caused some people to even ask us how we recorded ourselves. There we managed to break that barrier, since people thought that the person behind the production was just another person from the network.”

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Promote a format from TikTok

Another unconventional use of TikTok, but remarkably effective, is the promotion and expansion of the content of a serial fiction or a film. To achieve this, Young Soul is committed to transmedia, an approach complemented by the publication of elements behind the scenes.

This approach is already being promoted from different global platforms. Specifically, Grau stops to value the remarkable campaign that he signed HBO for the promotion of the second season of Euphoria: “HBO has managed to retain the public during the two or three months that the second season of Euphoria. He has done so by generating a lot of hype on TikTok, generating many trends and more challenges. The vast majority have emerged from HBO itself, but also from different influencers with whom TikTok collaborates. This has caused a teenager who initially did not consider watching the series, to have decided to watch both seasons of the series. And that is something very difficult.”

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Television on TikTok?

Little by little, the Spanish televisions They are taking their first steps in the TikTok ecosystem. Whether with external collaborations, as is the preferred option of Mediaset, or with original content, such as that of a important selection of public chains, they try to find their space with mixed results.

Medinilla and Grau consider that, on many occasions, the right steps are not being taken. They identify that the way to interact with people is not correct, since they frequently choose some very distant languages to those of TikTok: “You see that they take a series from 2000, that part of the TikTok audience had not yet been born, and they create a comic gag. It may be very funny to me, but the unborn child will not understand anything,” says Medinilla. On the other hand, Grau highlights that the global communication has no place on TikTok: “You can't create homogeneous content for both the 14-year-old and the 90-year-old to see, because then you won't reach either of them.”

Given this perspective, Young Soul Studios, which has recently begun to advise the channel Super3 of CCMA to support the generation of content for TikTok, considers that the question that television stations should ask themselves is “What type of content do I have to create to reach a specific audience?””. “Television networks must try to adapt the language they have to the new media based on the audience they must approach. They must do an analysis to identify the audience they are really looking for, what this audience consumes and when they do swipe up and when not,” Grau remarks.

In this regard, it is also considered It is essential to study in detail the type of content to create: “This content cannot be introducing a TV clip, since anyone can do that. "If I'm going to make a television show, I have to know the details of this program and create transmedia content that can generate a specific audience on TikTok and, at the same time, make this content interesting enough for them to make the jump to TV." .

Al final, Televisions do not have to bring their content to TikTok, but rather they have to create content on TikTok to search, find or recover their audience.

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One more time…

The team of Young Soul Studios, as young professionals with extensive experience on TikTok, are concerned that Televisions are missing the opportunity that TikTok represents for not understanding the idiosyncrasies of the platform. Medinilla is clear that “generations change just as everyday life changes, so televisions, producers and brands must adapt to what exists. In the end, we are digital natives, but if you compare it with the new generations, the difference is very noticeable.”

Given this perspective, Grau considers that it is necessary to carry out an effort to dedicate economic and infrastructure efforts to adapt to these new trends. “At the same time that television stations take the step of going to TikTok, they must especially evaluate which people have these profiles, because it is only the younger people who have the current language that this network drives more integrated. (…) We young generations do not come to take away jobs, but to promote new languages ​​that can be functional for everyone.”

“Either you adapt or you end up dying”says Grau. Generations change, but diagnoses remain.

A report by Sergio Julián Gómez

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