Not only with movies or videos in the cinema, TV or on the computer is the image design a relevant point, but also on the cell phone certain characteristics must be considered so that the recipient likes the content (Giessen, 2016, 93f).
The following results were found in the survey conducted by Giessen:
Image size
Here, attention should be paid to the fact that, in addition to extreme close-ups, few details are to be seen in the image, to be able to grasp the content strikingly and quickly. Furthermore, the objects or faces should be shown in a way that fills the picture and, in the case of landscapes or crowded scenes, care should be taken that they are not too varied (ibid., 97-99).
Cut rhythm
In order not to let the picture stand too long, fast cuts (between three and five seconds) should tend to happen (ibid., 99-101).
Movement
The respondents agree that there should be hardly any movement in cell phone formats, as these are mostly consumed when there is a lot of movement around the recipient (ibid., 101f).
Contrasts
Since videos on cell phones are often consumed in public spaces and at different locations, the contrast should also be designed to be very strong and show a lot of color. The eye is very strained in dark light situations and the differentiation of the image content can also be impaired by the smaller format. Therefore details, structures and textures should be easily recognizable and tend to create a bright light situation (ibid., 102-104).
Format
On the cell phone, the format can be adjusted depending on how the device is held. Many images that are intentionally created in wide format look even smaller and more irritating. This is a reason to change the format to portrait format, in which mainly eye-catching close-ups and strong contrasts are to be used. Unlike the creative possibilities already mentioned, the format change in the moving image represents an extension, because the position of the human eye is ignored, which could result in increased attention (ibid., 104-f).
Film length
On cell phones, users are usually more concentrated to follow the content than in multimedia productions. On average, streaming content should be ten to fifteen minutes long. What still needs to be considered here, is social media consumption, which has not yet been taken into consideration (ibid., 105-107).
Content
Content consumption is very diverse; in addition to private videos of family and friends, music videos, news, sports or erotic content are also popular. In this context, it is important to mention that different content is relevant depending on age. In contrast to moving image productions that are played back with the computer, the chronological, argumentative, evolving content is possible with the cell phone (ibid., 107-110).
Bibliography:
Giessen, Hans W. (2016): Mediengestaltung im Wandel der Technologien – Wie Handys die Videoproduktion verändern. Bd. 1 (2016): Stabilität im Wandel (2016). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.hdjbo.23561.