The Genius Ways 5-Second Films Became a Hit

5-Second Films was founded by students at the University of Southern California in 2005. It now has almost 400,000 subscribers on YouTube as well as over 115 million views. The series features short, concise comedy videos. As you may have guessed, most of them take place over only five seconds (not including extra seconds of titles and credits).

Today, the series has earned a considerable amount of success. Here are a few things YouTubers can learn from the series.

1. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

The tagline for 5-Second Films is, “waste your time but not very much.” They have never been afraid to be goofy and give into indulgent humor; they are concerned with making their viewers laugh and that is all.

Follow 5-Second Films’ lead and don’t be afraid to be silly.

2. Comment on current trends.

5-Second Films has made several videos commenting on current trends on social media and YouTube; this strategy makes it easy to find new material for videos and remain relevant. When commenting on the artist Banksy’s extremism became a social media trend, 5-Second Films uploaded their own take. They created a spoof of the ice bucket challenge at the height of its popularity. They’ve created numerous videos commenting on the innovation of Apple technology.

Don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from current trends socially.

3. Be concise.

Viewers can always count on 5 Second Films to provide a quick laugh with almost no time commitment. The beauty of 5-Second Films lies in its conciseness; they are proof that videos don’t require a lot of time in order to be effective.

Try cutting away unnecessary fluff and focus on just telling your story or conveying your message.

5-Second Films create quality comedic content in short periods of time; YouTubers can draw inspiration from their unique format and humor.

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Jana is a Communication Studies major and French Studies minor at the University of San Francisco. She loves Mac DeMarco, Beyonce, and the ocean.