米紙 (Ricezi2) is a newly-established video platform focusing on profile interviews and stories about local culture and communities. It has recently been named one of the top 10 content creators in Hong Kong by YouTube. Telum Media recently caught up with the Ricezi2 team to find out more about their editorial work and their views on the rise of new media in the city.

Can you please briefly talk about Ricezi2’s editorial focus and its operation as a whole?
The vision of our editorial team is to simply focus on storytelling. We love sharing stories about what’s happening in our community and produce profile interviews with individuals who make our city the way it is. We never expected it to be an instant success; in fact, some of us had to take up other part-time roles to make ends meet in the beginning. But thanks to the support from our audience, we reached 100,000 subscribers in just three months.

After topping the list of “YouTube Hong Kong 2021 Top-ten Popular Content Creator”, we have been hearing more from different stakeholders in the industry for potential partnerships and collaboration. And this is great news for us.

What makes videos more engaging than written content?
A lot of us have come from a video journalism background so it isn’t any surprise that we have chosen this path. Videos do offer a lot more storytelling potential as our audience can feel for themselves the interviewee’s tone, body language and facial expressions.  

What are the opportunities and challenges arising from the growing prevalence of video content?
It’s all about what the audience are looking for. Nowadays, you can hardly find someone talking about the “latest episode” on television. Instead, people want to know what’s trending on YouTube and Netflix.

With the Internet, people now have more choices in obtaining information and they expect more from what they see and read. With demand comes supply - the quality of the videos produced across different platforms has improved significantly so you see a growing amount of professional-grade videos that you would normally see on primetime TV shows or movie theatres.

Technology has also made it easier for anyone to create content and provided media workers with plenty of opportunities. Having said that, we have to be cautious about how this sort of big data- and algorithm-driven content is shaping what our audience want. Can non-mainstream videos that are less entertaining and viral survive the tide of overflowing clickbait content and bite-sized videos? This is something we have to be aware of.

From finding a new story to the post-production process, what are the main challenges and lessons learnt?
Ricezi2 is a new online platform and we started from scratch, meaning we are not part of a bigger brand. It makes it tricky sometimes when it comes to finding an interviewee and making a pitch. It is all part of a learning curve – however – and we are constantly trying to make our videos better.

What makes a good video content maker?
Use your heart and stay curious. Show your empathy to build strong bonds with your interviewees. Give them the confidence to show the best of themselves. The audience will definitely feel it.

Any top tips for public relations professionals who might want to make a pitch to you?
Just give us time to respond to you as we are often out and about filming or tied up with editing videos. We might occasionally miss your inbox messages or emails. Bear with us and try again.