Have you encountered someone who has asked you to make a viral video? Do you know what a viral video is? A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites and email. Viral videos often contain humorous content and include televised comedy sketches, such as Saturday Night Live‘s Lazy Sunday and Dick in a Box, amateur video clips like Star Wars Kid, the Numa Numa videos, The Dancing Cadet, The Evolution of Dance, the “Benny Lava” video, Chocolate Rain on youtube; and web-only productions such as I Got a Crush… on Obama. Some “eyewitness” events have also been caught on video and have “gone viral,” such as the Battle at Kruger.
Humor is often a characteristic of viral videos, but not a defining one. A viral video is any video that’s passed electronically, from person to person, regardless of its content. With the proliferation of camera phones, many videos are being shot by amateurs on these devices. The availability of inexpensive video editing and publishing tools allows video shot on mobile phones to be edited and distributed virally, by email or website, and between phones by Bluetooth or MMS. These consumer-shot videos are typically non-commercial, intended for viewing by friends or family.
By looking at the definition above, you can just conclude that a person cannot intentionally create a viral video. You can make a video and share it and hope that it goes viral and that people will pick it up and share it without having to be prompted. So you cannot really make one, but you can hope to have one. Some brands may even assume that viral videos are cheap. It’s true, some can be, depending on what you work on and how you want it done, but there are some videos that have become viral not because they were just funny, but also because of the production value and because celebrities participated in them. Always remember that content is key, it should be sharable and interesting enough to be passed on.
Here is an example of a video using Darth Vader as a talent, I love it because it was funny and produced very well. I hope it goes viral. What do you think?
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