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WHY CONTENT IS KING – PERSPECTIVES FROM CONTENT CREATORS AND FILMMAKERS Canon recently hosted a panel discussion with three well-known content creators working in different spaces – films, documentaries and social media platforms – to explore how they have evolved on their journeys and made their craft commercially viable
When Bill Gates coined the phrase ‘content is king’ 26 years ago, no one could have imagined how much content would turn media and entertainment on its head. When the mid-noughties heralded the era of Google, Facebook and YouTube, the way content was created and who created it changed overnight, with blogs, podcasts, infographics and GIFs becoming the norm. During the 2020 lockdown, demand for content reached new heights with people spending an average of 2.5 hours every day on social media and messaging apps, mostly looking at content. When lockdowns began, 50% of streaming video subscribers increased the time they spent watching content. Video is now the leading content format. This includes not just Netflix, StarzPlay, OSN+ and Shahid, but services such as TikTok, Meta, Reels and Snap too. Consumers have taken control of their own media consumption, backed by a constant stream of new channels. Coupled with MENA's mobile phone usage being the highest in the world, video content continues to shape the regional entertainment economy. Indeed, content creation has become big business, with the creator economy worth more than $100bn in 2022. One major element that has levelled the playing field is the availability of cost-effective new technologies that empower anyone with a good script to create broadcast-quality content. One prominent player that has helped make content creation easier with the development of new camera technologies is Canon. The vendor recently brought together three renowned names from the region’s video and content creation industry for a special discussion on ‘How the Content Creation Landscape Is Changing’. Ahmed Nokari, Head of Production for Nas News Arabia and an expert in the social media space; Faisal Hashmi, well-known in the UAE for his short films and independent
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features; and Hasan Aslan, most prominent for his documentary work, welcomed the opportunity to share their success stories. They discussed how content creators can make their craft commercially viable while maintaining quality, quantity and creativity, and how new and evolving technologies had helped them develop their craft. What each panellist had in common, despite specialising in different types of content across different platforms, was the fact that they had all persisted on this journey and enjoyed success in the process. Nokari was born and raised in Lebanon with a passion for radio and television. “Ignoring people who insisted it wasn’t a money-making career, I decided to study this at university level. I returned to Dubai as a promo producer when content creation was still nascent and then switched to social media content, joining Nas Daily, who influenced my art by showing me how to use content to spread the positive side of the world. Today we have six million followers!” Pakistani national Hashmi was born and raised in the UAE, which he calls home. A business graduate, he found his passion in making films once he graduated, and then there was no turning back. “We didn’t have a film industry here back then. I studied business. At one point, however, I realised I loved telling stories and my writings were more cinematic in nature. That’s how I got into scriptwriting.” In around 2009, when YouTube was becoming a resource for learning filmmaking, Canon released the 5D, an affordable DSLR that people could easily use no matter their skill level. Hashmi bought one and learned by trial and error. “I just figured what works and what doesn't work and improved. Over the last ten years, I've been primarily making short films. Now I make horror films, thrillers and sci-fi. My films have played at festivals in the UAE and globally.”
