Matei Dima, Creator of Bromania. About the Secret of Internet Success.

Matei Dima is known on the Internet as BROMANIA. A 28-year-old US scientist, who started with Vines, moved on Facebook, on Instagram, and now he is on YouTube with comic sketches.

Matei Dima, Bromania, worked with Inna and Loredana as director and producer. But the world on the net knows him as "the boy with the movies". Matei is a producer, director, screenwriter, actor, doubles or character in millions of viral clips.

”We started a year and a half ago", he says. ”In L.A. I met a boy with whom I was at the mastership. Together we started making YouTube content. At one point he has become very great on Vines, 8-second video applications. When I saw that he rumbled, I said he would come to us at some point.”

In the States, the appearance and spread of the viral have come naturally. Internet archives say that until the YouTube era, such clips were spread via e-mail. In 1995, a gentleman from Fox remembered that at the beginning of the same decade he saw an animation called "The Spirit of Christmas" with some nasty kids and a snowman which became devil.

He pulled a thousand dollars from his mattress and asked the creators to make him an animated virtual congratulation, ”Christmas Surprise”. He gave about 80 emails to acquaintances. They, in turn, were amused and gave it to others. And so to Comedy Central. Who took the wise decision to make an animated series with those characters. They told him "South Park" and it appeared on TV. The rest is history.

BRomania has become an in time a phenomenon. From Beba Veche to Sulina and from Hodoristea to Zimnicea. Matei currently has shows with stand-up comedy. Why not try in this direction?

Everything started, of course, with a spark. An idea and a bit of orientation in the social media. ”I had everything, I played theater, director, I learned to shoot. I just had to have the right ideas and put them on the internet. I had a help, because I'm directing music videos, I know industry people. My first jokes were with Inna, Antonia, Smiley. After seeing the phenomenon, they wanted to be part of it.”

How does Matei's production look like? The short ones are made without professional lights and makeup for the protagonists. There's no need. They have a two-row script and are mounted in iMovie. And the world identified with the experience offered by BRomania. From here, we uncover a vital trait of the viral - making people aware that they have gone through such a thing, or they are affected, or that they will have a similar phenomenon in the future. Put it in a familiar situation!

Another secret, which is actually no secret, is to attract people's attention. In fact, they are speaking verbally or by sharing experience. They are the ones who have the ability to build and then strengthen the viral nature of the content.

All good and beautiful. But how does social media work in Romania and in general?

Matei Dima: ”Everyone has a positive thing. Everybody is there, grandparents, parents, it can quickly become viral. Facebook cuts off your reach, if you do not pay. I do not want to waste money. Instagram is loyal, faster, more private. But, the negative aspect, you cannot really share. On Facebook it is easier because you can share. The numbers are high, at the moment there are 123,000 followers. There are artists who have not gotten so high.”

Regarding money, things are a little more complicated when it comes to us. Matei Dima: ”You have statistics on YouTube, and I get a certain amount, three times smaller than in other countries. Monetization comes from sponsorships. We have a market problem.”

However, Matei monetizes success on stage. I said earlier that BRomania has lots of stand-up shows at cultural homes. Here's just proof. "Here are the live shows, coming from the theater, I want to go back to the stage. I have a lot of ideas that I want to do differently. You get people's phones. Yeah, come over and give me your phone. I read their messages on WhatsApp, Facebook – total chaos. If it’s natural, the world laughs. That cannot be directed. It's three or four times more fun than what I said.”

Matei uses his talent and mobile phones to amuse millions of people. Will he enrich with his work? It's hard to say. But he is definitely growing up with his audience. He's still making short clips, but he's also looking for humoristic sketches, scenarios, production teams and VIPs. But the content he creates, along with the efforts of others, support the Internet in Romania. And, after all, they define it.

Macavei Madalina-Alexandra

Media Communication, MA II Year