Tell the story of China well (new language) and make good use of short videos

A famous creator starts from his unique perspective, making the narrative closer to life and expressing more down-to-earth, thereby creating empathy and inspiring resonance among the audience

In the current era of abundant media and artistic forms, how can short videos tell stories well and attract audiences? Recently, the large-scale integrated media program "China Short Video Conference" jointly launched by China Central Television, Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department, and Hangzhou Municipal Government has sparked heated discussions among netizens. The related topic Weibo has a reading volume of nearly 600 million and a video playback volume of over 780 million on the entire network... The popularity of the program has made people feel the excitement of "watching China in short videos" and also shown people the surging energy of telling good Chinese stories in short videos.

To tell the story of China well through short videos, it is first necessary to leverage the diverse advantages of short video creators. As a new form of media in the era of social media, short videos are characterized by a significant expansion of the creative subject, transforming from professional production content in the traditional media era to user production content in the social media era. The development of digital technology, the lowering of device barriers, the popularization of social platforms, and changes in communication modes have given every netizen the opportunity to become a creator and disseminator of short videos. The diversification of creative subjects further enhances the vitality and richness of short video creation. For example, in the China Short Video Conference, creators include bloggers, technology workers, police officers, chefs, and intangible cultural heritage artisans. The participation of practitioners from all walks of life brings a more authentic, vivid, and comprehensive perspective, and also tells the story of China more comprehensively, in detail, and better.

The diversity of subjects creates a rich theme for short videos. Compared to long videos, short video creation has a typical long tail effect, where the audience for each type of content is limited, but the categories of content are greatly diverse. One important reason why short video platforms are popular is that everyone can always find the content they are interested in, regardless of their interests. Therefore, short video creators should allow audiences to see China from different angles and sides. From the works of the China Short Video Conference, it can be seen that the topics chosen by the creators are brilliant and diverse. From ancient classics to intangible cultural heritage techniques, from urban entrepreneurship to rural revitalization, from youth and love to warm family relationships, from fashion and art to sports and health, from science popularization to legal education, these themes present a panoramic view of the development and progress of Chinese society and the spiritual charm of the Chinese people. Every short video is like a lamp, when countless lights converge, it will illuminate more beautiful scenes of life.

Rich themes also require vivid narratives. The advantage of short videos is to use small incisions to reflect the main theme and showcase the big era through small stories. For example, the short video news "China One Minute" series of micro videos showcase the styles of different regions, industries, and groups through one minute at a time, transforming the big into the small and the far into the near, presenting a real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China; The self media creator "Our Warm and Cold Life" uses a late night noodle stand as a stage to condense various aspects of life into a bowl of noodles, using warmth to heal people's hearts, allowing netizens to experience the city's fireworks and the true feelings of the human world; In her sixties, Pan Laolao, a popular internet celebrity in Jinzhai, Anhui, showcases the beauty of Chinese countryside by the stream, under the bamboo forest, and in front of the courtyard using simple and unadorned farmhouse dishes... A famous creator, from her unique perspective, makes the narrative closer to life and the expression more down-to-earth, thereby creating empathy and inspiring resonance among the audience.

Short videos have opened up vast space for innovative storytelling in China. As more and more people join the creation of short videos, this new media form will present a credible, cute, and respectable image of China to the world with more diverse subjects, richer themes, and more vivid narratives.