An inquiry into the narrative innovation of short video content from the perspective of creative media
Keying Li
Communication University of China
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/pmcs.v7i4.12795
Keywords: short video; narrative innovation; creative media; algorithmic storytelling; participatory culture; micro-narrative
Abstract
Short video platforms like TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts have experienced explosive growth and are completely changing how people communicate and consume information online: This paper studies the narrative innovations being produced in this extremely constrained but very active medium from a "creative media" perspective. This lens steps out from the textual analysis to look into the more complicated dance that goes on between technological chances, users making stuff up, and algorithms picking what to show together as one big creative system. With time restraints (15-60sec) and vertical aspect ratio constraints, it is not that it limits story-telling but that it actively encourages new story shapes. What this question is looking for are four primary innovations: Compressing plot into "micro-narratives" driven by immediate hooks, quick payoff structures; moving away from passive consumption toward "participatory narratives," made possible by features like Duets and Stitches; algorithmic storytelling, where the For You page creates an endless, personalized stream of an endlessly looping, endless show; ambient and aesthetic narratives that focus on mood, feeling, sensation, over the traditional "show." This paper claims that these innovations represent a significant development in narrative logic, challenging traditional narrative theory, and showing how creative media environments create new ways of making meaning. The results indicate that short video is no "lesser" story-telling but a special and advanced story-telling ecological system.
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