Mobile First Video

Chris Cyronek    mobilefirstent.com
*intro by Craig Berger
*photos by Daniel Kennedy

March 31st 2015
There’s a good chance you are reading this on a cell phone where the lines of communication and entertainment have been, for a good while now, blurred into a singular connected self.  That self includes video.  A lot of video.

As of 2014 there were 235 million mobile smart phone users.  Forty percent of those users access video content on a regular basis.  By 2017, it’s estimated to be two-thirds.  With the explosion of user-made content and original streaming subscription-based series, the challenge then becomes connecting the right content with the right user faster than the speed of attention (or lack thereof).

One of these pioneering young new media visionaries Chris Cyronek and his LA-based company Mobile First Entertainment are here to explain this new wild mobile west.
Chris:

We’ve all witnessed over the last few years a shifting paradigm in video media content.  The streaming-titans like YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix and Amazon have taken full advantage of the boom in mobile tech and increased 4G/LTE data transfer speeds to prove year-over-year double-digit growth.

The current film/television industry has been very slow to adapt and aging against the growing field of more agile and creative content creators.  What was once considered groundbreaking like Direct TV has become too expensive, complicated, and buggy to depend on as a primary dedicated entertainment provider.  The old school glacial entertainment industry simply isn't willing to adapt to new ways of creative expression and connecting with an audience.

Audiences are moving quickly now towards mobile video options.  Subscribers for top videos are in the tens of millions.  The top three YouTube subscriptions include general interest topics like #Music (88.8M subscribers), #Gaming (78.2M subscribers) and #Sports (76.8M subscribers).  Then things get interesting with the breakout Swedish video blogger PewDiePie (35.3M subscribers), comedy duo Smosh (20M subscribers) and a mixed bag of special interest topics like Michelle Phan’s DIY makeup tips (7M subscribers), specific artists like KatyPerryVEVO (15M subscribers), and self-produced entertainment like the animated series Simon’s Cat (3M subscribers).

The video game culture has helped lead the charge along with goofy comedic sketches, product reviews, and how-to videos thanks to ever-improving and more affordable video production equipment and editing software.

Something that didn't exist a decade ago that is now a part of everyone's media gorging diet is binge watching.  In droves, Millennials (like myself) are moving away from television to entertainment options that fit easily in their schedule, style, and mood.  Leaving live sports as the only real reason to tune into television and cable networks.  Although, more live streaming may make even that obsolete in the coming years.

The old system also has fallen behind in providing consistently compelling and engaging content that is worth investing in.  For the last fifty years, most of Hollywood and the main networks have been stuck in the same restrictive creative models and limited advertising to safe perspectives.  It hasn’t been economical to challenge perceptions too much.  Even "creative" studios like Disney and Universal Studios have become too big and steeped in old traditions to effectively change along with this new audience.  Nothing betrays the drought of innovation more than the volume of sequels and remakes every year. Thankfully that is changing.

These new and expansive platforms for video have finally inspired (and allowed for) a generation of artists and filmmakers who aren’t afraid to fail.  The visionaries are willing to push new and innovative ideas that can challenge the archaic Hollywood system and blockbuster culture.


I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, got an acting part in a film, joined SAG in 2007, then did the whole moving to LA thing.  Like many actors, you struggle in between work and low points that you supplement with jobs like bartending.  One place where I’ve bartended is smack in the middle of Universal CityWalk.  It's a hub of aging myths and neon superficiality.  A reminder that my career began in advertising.

When I turned thirty, I decided to take some control back and focus on the next thing.  I connected with creative friends who shared the same drive, and we created a pilot for our mobile video community-based talk show called “Off-Topic”.


The show was around 10 minutes and filmed in Glendale, covering different topics and with various guests.  One of the biggest challenges was in distribution.  For MCN's (Multi-Channel Networks) it appears to be “easy” to post up web videos and publish a series although, in reality, there are all sorts of costs and compromises required.   Here are a few examples of the fine print:

Profit sharing. On average most content creators see anywhere between 15-55% of their ad revenue. You Tube is at the top and takes 45% of ad revenue.  At the lower end of the scale is iTunes and Google Play, which each take 30%.  Not to mention the fact that content creators have no say in ad pricing negotiations, so depending on the marketplace that share can increase substantially.

Hidden Costs.  Once you “publish” your IP (Intellectual Property) is out there.  So, securing copy write, trademark, and patent protection is important for some original products along with understanding if you are infringing on others.  You’re streaming video service partner won’t be helping with legal fees. 

Exclusivity Clauses.  Can range from 3 months to unlimited and incorporate first or supplemental publishing rights.  As more publishing options become available, more content creators are cautious about giving away too much exclusivity, which has become a hot topic for many of the high volume content providers.  Imagine spending months or years of hard work and savings while maxing out credit cards to get a passion project produced and then having it stolen from you?  Welcome to the brutal world of online video publishing.   

Marketing.  One of the sobering realities of publishing creative media is that there are still no cheap and easy ways to promote it much beyond your circle of friends and family.  Even Facebook and Twitter ads cost money which can rack up in the thousands, and it still doesn't guarantee engagement.  The very tiny percentage of a percentage of videos that go viral usually occur by accident.  They ride a fast wave of pop culture consciousness and memes which then often ends as quickly as it begins.  Unfortunately, for those who can find a successful subscription base on YouTube or Vimeo, any outside marketing efforts become strictly controlled.


There are obviously many obstacles to navigate as budding video artists so our team started to brainstorm ways to control our own content and distribution via a simple platform that can also give control back to other artists. Soon enough, Mobile First was borne. We found programmers to support us and a hungry marketplace of innovative content providers wary of the titans.  We pulled together funds and outsourced portions of the coding as needed to get an Alpha version up and running quickly.  Like the brewery where I bartend which was at the forefront of the Southern Cali craft beer movement, we aspire to be at the forefront of the mobile video revolution.

One way we differentiate is that all of our content providers keep full rights over their content.  As a multi-app network (a term that doesn’t exist yet) we can focus on video content and customizability by creating apps built specifically for different content providers.  Also, creating a team and family atmosphere in which content creators, producers, and artists can bounce ideas off of one another and share in the creative process.

Six dedicated original content providers later and we are focused now on expanding and raising funds to compete at a larger scale and offer a louder promotional voice for our original content creators.  With additional in-house resources, we can manage both geek-core programming needs and offer video editing/voice-over services.  Advertising has a great strength to generate revenue, but these days you need more precision than just a random banner ad and less invasiveness than an in-your-face pop-up video.  The mobile app we've been developing has been coded in the backend as a win-win for both the artists and advertisers.

For advertisers, we offer a direct reach to Millennials and mobile users, with high Fill Rate (Ad visibility) which includes optional Pre-Roll ads (those clips you see before the video) and Push Notifications (alerts).

Along with fundraising, our sights are on PR and marketing.  Social media doesn’t do much to drive in new customers.  Our expanding network of artists should help bring in celebrity endorsements and progressive mobile video partners.  We are also planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign on April 6th, so please show your support!

Although there are many challenges ahead, I am confident that the mobile video future is bright and still relatively untapped.   Our team at Mobile First Entertainment is grateful that we can be at the forefront with cutting edge tools to help emerging artists, like the ones featured in Bloated Hippo Magazine, to continue challenging perceptions.