Marta Fernández: "Whoever invented the 'scroll' probably regrets it."

PalmContent creator and trainer in audiovisual techniques and narratives Marta Fernández believes that the person who invented thescroll –swiping up, down, or sideways with a finger on a screen to see more content– is something he regrets. This technique, which allows users to view a large amount of content in a short time, has affected citizens' attention spans, which are now "very short because we've become accustomed to endless consumption," according to Fernández. "We're not even capable of reading a book," he laments.

New audiovisual narratives have had to adapt to current consumption trends implemented by social media: short and direct information. Therefore, these new narratives "are emptier of content because there's no space for in-depth explanation, and they're just headlines," he considers. He approaches the world of political communication and acknowledges that parties have also resorted to this short format adapted to social media to reach younger audiences. "This leads young people to watch them and create their own discourse, but without substance."

Regarding the changes that have occurred in new narratives, he points out that formats used to be very rigid, but now everything is much more open and dynamic. Messages were very defined, unlike now. "Today, the public wants to feel involved in what they are being told. Now you can comment on a video, which was unthinkable before. You watched a report and that was it," he recalls.

He adds that the audiovisual world "has become much more democratized." Unlike years ago, when recording and editing a video required a series of technological devices, today anyone can record a video with their mobile phone and upload it. He believes that this fact "is not incompatible" with the work done by audiovisual professionals and even thinks that the democratization of this field makes them "more important." In this sense, he explains that "a professional brings perspective, judgment, and sensitivity, and today they are more important because they must know how to organize the boom of information they receive, in addition to connecting with people." For her, assembling and editing is "like following a recipe." When she started working in the audiovisual world, she was against vertical videos, "but you have to adapt," she admits. Currently, what clients ask for most are videos of, at most, 20 seconds.

She admits that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has streamlined processes that, before this computer system existed, were very time-consuming. Changing the way of telling the story

Recently, while out for a walk with a friend who also enjoys the audiovisual world, she thought it would be a good idea to hold a workshop on transforming the analog tapes that many people accumulate in a drawer into an original video clip to give as a Christmas gift. "I thought they could take them out of the drawers with a purpose: to transform something obsolete into a touching Christmas gift that can be shared through current media. These are memories stored in a box, and we need to change the way we tell them."

The workshops she will be holding to transform these tapes into a Christmas gift will take place on December 13th, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at Sa Congregación (Sa Pobla); on December 27th, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at Can Gelabert (Binissalem); and on January 3rd, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Can Bum (Pollença). To register, please contact Fernández via email (info@curlycommas.comFurthermore, to participate in the activity, the tapes to be digitized (in VHS, MiniDV, 8mm, or DVD format) must be submitted five days prior to the workshop date. Participants must bring a laptop with at least 80 MB of free space and headphones. With these workshops, Fernández aims to "offer gifts geared towards our audiovisual consumption habits." "These days, you're not going to watch a 45-minute VHS tape, and therefore, this digital transformation is an attractive way to preserve memories using current audiovisual language."