Indie short films are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind as a niche for startups to tackle. After all, compared to formulaic Hollywood fare, short films don’t cater to mainstream tastes and as such have limited appeal.
That has not stopped Ho Jia Jian and Derek Tan from starting Viddsee though. Borne out of their passion for their craft, Viddsee is a video platform that screens short films from talents in Southeast Asia. Think of it as YouTube designed for filmmakers and art buffs.
As a just-launched minimum viable product, Viddsee doesn’t yet boast the sophistication of other platforms out there. It doesn’t host its own videos; the creators opted to put them on Vimeo instead. Read more
Platformed creativity is on the rise, as elaborated by SGE’s assistant editor Terence Lee. Such platforms provide avenues for self-expression and creativity, relying on their creators to offer a value proposition to their consumers.
A platform without creators is a ghost town and there is little incentive for consumers to use it. Replicating the technology of YouTube is a considerably smaller challenge compared to replicating its community of video creators.
The creators are active partners in creating (and delivering) the value proposition of the platform. Hence, any startup building a creativity platform should:
1. Understand the motivations of the creators
2. Create enabling technology that caters to those motivations
3. Have a clear strategy to maximize the number of creators on the platforms.
The following 6 questions can help a platform think through these issues and enable it to successfully create a platform that finds traction. Read more
This is an edited version of the original article, first published here. The author, Daylon Soh, is the design founder of CuriousCatch, which helps independent artist and crafters sell creative products through its online video shopping channel.
Artwork by Brian from BRICK.sg
Terence, SGE‘s assistant editor, recently wrote an interesting article on “The rise of platformed creativity in Asia and how it’s connecting creators to consumers”. In brief, he touched on the increasing availability of online platforms/marketplaces where creative goods and services can be exchanged.
Many of the mentioned startups, including our own online store CuriousCatch.com, are fairly new channels that are reinventing (or replicating) what overseas counterparts are doing. These overseas sites include Fab, Etsy and Kickstarter, which are more established and well-funded than most of us.
Since our announced launch in 31 July, this year, we’ve been getting a variety of feedback and suggestions from our customers and personally I’ve come to learn more about how the local market consumes creative goods and services as compared to a market like the U.S. or China.
There’s also much to learn from studying brick and mortar set-ups in the same space, including multi-label boutiques and flea markets. Expanding on what Terence has shared, I hope to explore what are the pre-conditions necessary for the success of platformed creativity in Asia, particularly Singapore. Read more
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