..but I’ve learned a few lessons from Taiwanese computer animated sequences.

Last week, The Age featured an article about the new viral sensation of Next Media, an animation company from Taiwan that specializes in reenactment of real news events.

It all started with the Tiger Woods scandal, and then Lindsay Lohan, and more recently the ’so sad yet so funny’ Australian election.

Anyway, these videos have taught me five lessons:

Lesson one: Viral can happen anywhere, even the tiny island of Taiwan. It’s all about the story. If it’s interesting, it will generate interest.

Lesson two: If you’ve watched the clips, you’d notice that most of them last for 60–90 seconds. In less than 2 minutes the production team managed to craft complicated messages into a simple, understandable, engaging form. (Sounds familiar?) Even if we don’t understand Mandarin, we could pretty much get what’s happening in the videos. These animations understand and apply the art of simplicity.

Lesson three: Apparently it only takes a few hours for this Taiwanese company to churn a video out. I know Asia is speculated to dominate the world’s economy in the next decade or so. Now I’m wondering if the domination includes advertising production.

Lesson four: It seems that, because the company is Taiwanese, they’re able to apply fresh, daring takes on western events and news. To have a ground-breaking solution to a problem, perhaps we first need to step away from the problem?

Lesson five: If you find yourself in a Taiwanese animation, you’ve made it and you’re famous.

H.

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Tags: harvard wang, viral