Web aesthetics find their way onto TV
Flash's potential as a technology for TV is greater than expected, but it is not infinite
The potential of Flash as a technology for TV is greater than assumed, but not infiniteBy Clemens Hörler The programming language Flash is breaking through the boundaries of its crisis-ridden online home and entering television. Since last week, Orange has also been luring Swiss TV viewers to the Habbo Hotel with a Flash commercial, bringing web aesthetics to the TV screen.
Macromedia Flash is largely responsible for bringing movement to the web. The biggest advantage of the vector-based programming language is that it does not require large bandwidths or loading times to animate the web and make it more emotional. Online advertisers have also long since recognized the potential of Flash, whether for online marketing games, banner advertising or interstitials.
Travel24.com, for example, has created animated short films and advertising banners for its online campaign using Flash, which are based on the motifs of the offline campaign. The American fashion house Bisou Bisou has supported its advertising campaign with a three-part online soap in Flash (www.bisoulounge.com). The films, which are accompanied by sound, are built around advertisements and thus ensure a uniform appearance offline and online.
Flash knocks on the door of television producers
Both of these examples illustrate the use of Flash in online communication. However, Flash is now breaking through the boundaries of its virtual home and conquering offline media. The Zurich veggie restaurant Hiltl, for example, already made moviegoers' (meatless) mouths water two years ago with a Flash spot by Frame Eleven and Wirz.
Commercials produced with Flash have been flickering across TV screens in the USA and the UK since last year. And since last week, a Flash commercial produced by RØSA, Zurich, can also be seen on Pro 7 Switzerland and Star TV, attracting young, chat-hungry internationals in particular to the Habbo Hotel of Orange Switzerland.
However, Flash on TV screens is by no means limited to advertising. Flash cartoons, of which the web is teeming, are also finding their way into the offline world. MTV USA, for example, has secured the rights to the web cartoon "Miss Muffy and the Muff Mob" from New York company Bullseye Art Ltd. for this fall (www.bullseyeart.com/ website/).
Originally founded as a web-only company, Bullseye Art specializes in producing cartoons for online and offline media. Building on Flash, the company has developed the Broadcast Flash technology. This technology makes it possible to bring faster movement to Flash films and to develop animated content that can be used in all electronic media without any loss of quality. Bullseye Arts' Flash-based intro to the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" was even nominated for an Emmy a year ago (www.bullseyeart.com/rosie/).
Low production costs and shorter production times
Important impetus for the expansion of Flash into traditional media also comes from the music industry. Several artists have had flash videos produced for their songs, which have been shown both on the internet and on television. One example of this is Duran Duran (www.duranduran.com) with the song "Someone Else not Me".
But why would anyone come up with the idea of using a web technology on television that is rather flat and, at five to ten frames per second, does not (yet) allow for any overly spectacular animations? "The arguments for this are certainly the speed at which a Flash film can be produced and also the low production costs," explains Thomas Städeli, a co-owner of Frame Eleven, Zurich.
According to Josh Kimberg, head of Bullseye Art, the production time for a Flash film is around four times shorter than for conventional animation methods with similar animation quality.
But it is not only the fast and inexpensive production that is responsible for the introduction of Flash in
responsible for the offline media. Flash also conjures up a web aesthetic on the TV screen that you would otherwise only expect on the Internet. Flash films and commercials on TV stand out from the rest of the content and attract the viewer's attention.
This argument is particularly interesting for advertisers. But the surprise effect could soon come to an end: "Flash will also become more widespread in offline advertising as soon as advertisers have recognized the opportunities that this technology offers," Städeli believes.
Flash as the basis for convergent advertising
As long as few Internet users still have broadband access, lightweight Flash is an ideal basis for convergent advertising. Ideally, this consists of modular, digitized components that can be used in various electronic media without costly adaptations.
According to Marky Goldstein, CEO of RØSA, this idea is also the basis for the Habbo spot: "The material can be easily processed for banner ads and interstitials or even for a cinema spot." This not only reduces production costs, but also gives the advertising campaign a uniform look across all the media involved.
Despite all the advantages described above, Flash technology is simply unsuitable for certain content and messages. "Real and detailed images cannot be displayed well with Flash," explains Städeli. "To display movement, you usually have to make do with flat elements; detailed images are currently only possible as a background or as a short overlay." There are therefore clear limits to the creative minds' desire for animation and the expansion of Flash.
Macromedia Flash is largely responsible for bringing movement to the web. The biggest advantage of the vector-based programming language is that it does not require large bandwidths or loading times to animate the web and make it more emotional. Online advertisers have also long since recognized the potential of Flash, whether for online marketing games, banner advertising or interstitials.
Travel24.com, for example, has created animated short films and advertising banners for its online campaign using Flash, which are based on the motifs of the offline campaign. The American fashion house Bisou Bisou has supported its advertising campaign with a three-part online soap in Flash (www.bisoulounge.com). The films, which are accompanied by sound, are built around advertisements and thus ensure a uniform appearance offline and online.
Flash knocks on the door of television producers
Both of these examples illustrate the use of Flash in online communication. However, Flash is now breaking through the boundaries of its virtual home and conquering offline media. The Zurich veggie restaurant Hiltl, for example, already made moviegoers' (meatless) mouths water two years ago with a Flash spot by Frame Eleven and Wirz.
Commercials produced with Flash have been flickering across TV screens in the USA and the UK since last year. And since last week, a Flash commercial produced by RØSA, Zurich, can also be seen on Pro 7 Switzerland and Star TV, attracting young, chat-hungry internationals in particular to the Habbo Hotel of Orange Switzerland.
However, Flash on TV screens is by no means limited to advertising. Flash cartoons, of which the web is teeming, are also finding their way into the offline world. MTV USA, for example, has secured the rights to the web cartoon "Miss Muffy and the Muff Mob" from New York company Bullseye Art Ltd. for this fall (www.bullseyeart.com/ website/).
Originally founded as a web-only company, Bullseye Art specializes in producing cartoons for online and offline media. Building on Flash, the company has developed the Broadcast Flash technology. This technology makes it possible to bring faster movement to Flash films and to develop animated content that can be used in all electronic media without any loss of quality. Bullseye Arts' Flash-based intro to the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" was even nominated for an Emmy a year ago (www.bullseyeart.com/rosie/).
Low production costs and shorter production times
Important impetus for the expansion of Flash into traditional media also comes from the music industry. Several artists have had flash videos produced for their songs, which have been shown both on the internet and on television. One example of this is Duran Duran (www.duranduran.com) with the song "Someone Else not Me".
But why would anyone come up with the idea of using a web technology on television that is rather flat and, at five to ten frames per second, does not (yet) allow for any overly spectacular animations? "The arguments for this are certainly the speed at which a Flash film can be produced and also the low production costs," explains Thomas Städeli, a co-owner of Frame Eleven, Zurich.
According to Josh Kimberg, head of Bullseye Art, the production time for a Flash film is around four times shorter than for conventional animation methods with similar animation quality.
But it is not only the fast and inexpensive production that is responsible for the introduction of Flash in
responsible for the offline media. Flash also conjures up a web aesthetic on the TV screen that you would otherwise only expect on the Internet. Flash films and commercials on TV stand out from the rest of the content and attract the viewer's attention.
This argument is particularly interesting for advertisers. But the surprise effect could soon come to an end: "Flash will also become more widespread in offline advertising as soon as advertisers have recognized the opportunities that this technology offers," Städeli believes.
Flash as the basis for convergent advertising
As long as few Internet users still have broadband access, lightweight Flash is an ideal basis for convergent advertising. Ideally, this consists of modular, digitized components that can be used in various electronic media without costly adaptations.
According to Marky Goldstein, CEO of RØSA, this idea is also the basis for the Habbo spot: "The material can be easily processed for banner ads and interstitials or even for a cinema spot." This not only reduces production costs, but also gives the advertising campaign a uniform look across all the media involved.
Despite all the advantages described above, Flash technology is simply unsuitable for certain content and messages. "Real and detailed images cannot be displayed well with Flash," explains Städeli. "To display movement, you usually have to make do with flat elements; detailed images are currently only possible as a background or as a short overlay." There are therefore clear limits to the creative minds' desire for animation and the expansion of Flash.
