Would you say that the jump from stills to videos is a quantum leap when it comes to home entertainment? Most certainly, and when the addition of audio as well as color to what was previously a black and white feature most definitely made home video an engaging proposition – all the way until now. When Instagram launched its Video On feature, it had its fair share of niggles and yet managed to achieve five million uploads in 24 hours. This time around, things are about to get real with Instagram posing as the vehicle of choice for an original video series to be shown to the masses, as the ‘Shield 5’ story unfolds 15 seconds at a time.
Shield 5, being an original video series, will see the show directed by Hello Carter’s Anthony Wilcox, and it is all about a security driver who is on-the-run after being framed for a crime that he was not involved in. After all, it made sense – a diamond heist would certainly have an insider to pull of the trick, but this security driver is a morally upright person who does not believe that crime pays. With the 15-second video format translating to watching the series across 28 episodes throughout an entire month, that amounts to 7 minutes thereabouts.
Far from being an epic, at least it offers something different for users, but how long will the suspense factor be able to glue the viewer and the show together?