Young Esteves dreamed big. “I always tell people: Videos found me,” he says. “I used to walk around high school with a small camera, telling people: ‘Hey, I’m famous. I’m going to be a big deal one day—watch.’”
After a self-made clip of Esteves dancing through school hallways captured an estimated 300,000 views overnight, he was hooked. “It gave me fire in my heart. Like, wow, people are reacting to this. Let me do more.”
Today, Esteves channels his love of music and film into showcasing real life through visual narrative. “I hope to shine a light on aspects of the modern immigrant experience that are rarely depicted on screen in a truthful way,” he shares on his company’s website. “Our pain and rage … but also redemption and beauty.”
Being that fly on the wall, being ready for the moment—that launched my career.”
“
As a company owner, you always have to be thinking about the technology in your hands and staying a few steps ahead.”
“
Esteves attributes his accomplishments in part to a willingness to change—whether it's adjusting a mindset, testing a new platform or adopting a cutting-edge tool. “It’s all about embracing the unexpected and reinventing yourself,” he says.
“I didn’t think too hard about social media and jumped into it. … I started posting everything and gained a quick following. You want to be at the forefront so as innovations blow up, you have a chance.”
Creators and brands need to be similarly nimble in adapting to the lightning-fast changes across media and tech, ready to seize whatever video innovations
come next.
With a career that’s spanned marketing, photography, film, graphic design and music, Esteves appreciates the versatility that video offers storytellers and viewers.
Despite “people’s attention spans getting smaller and smaller,” Esteves maintains a soft spot for longer, deeper digital content. “You can take time to dive into the character or the story,” he says. “Naturally, you have more information for the viewer to process.”
He’s no stranger to the power of brevity, though, and recognizes that today’s viewers can absorb information in a flash. “It just goes to show, I think you need both. I’m very energized to see where short-form content goes.”
I’m always going to go long-form. … But honestly, short-form content, I’ve learned so much from 15-second clips.”
“
film director & Founder,
Blank Square Productions
The Venezuelan-born creative and Forbes Under 30 honoree experimented with video as a kid growing up in Miami and never looked back. For Edgar Esteves—whose family immigrated to the U.S. when he was a baby—digital storytelling became integral to self-expression. Today, he directs music videos for multiplatinum and emerging artists and aims to elevate the work of diverse creators through his L.A.-based production company.
Sophia Li describes herself as an independent storyteller and futurist—she creates content to shape a better world. Li got her start at an iconic fashion magazine, where she helped launch its social media and video presence before setting off to freelance in the climate action and social justice space. Today, she produces what she terms “conscious content,” hosting podcasts, interviewing activists and celebrities, reporting on sustainability issues and directing campaign films for big-name brands.
multimedia journalist, film director & environmental advocate
Vice President & General Manager, BlueJeans By Verizon
Video presents opportunities for engagement and inclusion. Whether you’re an individual creator or an enterprise team, you need access to tools that help increase your brand awareness and connect to audiences.”
“
Companies can use the latest video technology to defy the limits of a “normal meeting,” says Chris Lewter, who oversees Verizon’s recently launched BlueJeans Studio. “It’s our responsibility to create something that’s better.”
The new livestreaming product enhances the video experience for meetings, presentations, webinars and events, offering 1080p image definition and state-of-the-art functionality with a nod to cable news. “It’s production-quality mirroring and livestreaming together, creating this immersive TV news-style environment with multiple screens, tickers, live polling, Q&As and chat features to get the audience engaged,” says Lewter.
Inclusivity is core to the vision behind BlueJeans Studio: Lewter hopes the offering can make creating video—and participating in it—a universally seamless, comfortable and dynamic experience.
“Studio is for the masses,” he says. “One of the goals is to ensure that everybody within an organization is represented on video in the way that they want to be represented. Some people are self-conscious in a remote environment. If they don’t feel natural, how do you foster engagement for the best business outcome possible?”
BlueJeans Studio can help businesses solve for this, democratizing virtual experiences with its simple, user-friendly interface and customizable features that enrich communication.
“We’re all trying to get our message out there, and video presents opportunities for engagement and inclusion,” says Lewter. “Whether you’re an individual creator or an enterprise team in HR, sales or training and development, you need access to tools that help increase your brand awareness and connect to audiences.”
Li envisions a world without barriers between live and virtual attendance. “They used to be two very separate activities,” she says. “As we saw from the pandemic, video can no longer be seen as separate. It’s now fully immersive as live experiences and community touch points.”
When live and virtual experiences operate in harmony, content benefits—and so do the audiences that consume it. Li imagines that this richer connection, dialogue and community-building can amplify the climate movement and ignite participation and collective action.
“I believe video will be the main form of communication within the next five years, seamlessly blended into everyday life,” she says. “Video offers an ongoing experience that communities and audiences can take part in.”
This curiosity, this community, this cosupport—that translates way better through video.”
“
Today’s media environment is oversaturated, and creators have a unique responsibility to clean up where they can.
That’s why Li takes a “conscious-content” approach to her work and refuses to place too much emphasis on clicks, views and followers. Brands shouldn’t chase the ever-changing algorithms, she suggests, but instead rely on their communities for video engagement, sustainable growth and real impact.
“I have friends who are content creators with millions of followers and friends with just a couple hundred,” she says. “The number doesn't matter anymore. It just matters how engaged your community is and how deep you go with them.”
We live in the age of content pollution, and I want to be a storyteller that combats that.”
Li says video “helps get to the root of things.” Brands that leverage it can rise above the noise and give audiences the truth and connection they crave.
When she joined the climate movement, for example, Li embraced being an “imperfect environmentalist” in her content—an identity that appealed to a growing following. The angle made her digital presence approachable, she explains, particularly to audiences that cared about environmental issues but perhaps felt intimidated by zero-waste ideals.
Video allows for nuance and honesty that resonates with people. “This shift to video has helped us dig deeper. … Instead of being on the outside, it’s like we're in it together,” she says.
Because of video, I was able to show humanity, humility and vulnerability.”
“
“