An AI-generated micro-drama themed on the Red Army's Long March (1934-36) is set to air on Mango TV on Wednesday.
The series, named Yong Bu Diao Dui (Never Fall Behind) comprises 10 episodes, each seven minutes long, and follows a Red Army soldier named Zhong Hua, who uses his remarkable memory to retain a key battle coordinate map that was destroyed in an explosion during the Long March, helping the troops break out of an encirclement.
Produced on LumeCreate, Mango TV's self-developed AI-generated content creation platform, the drama achieved full-process collaborative creation, covering everything from character and scene assets to the main footage and the opening and ending music.
The story features high-risk scenes, including perilous mountain passes and fierce battles, which are difficult and dangerous to shoot on location.
With the help of AI tools, the creative team re-created the distinctive terrain along the Long March route in Hunan province, reproducing Miao ethnic group villages and canyon strongholds.
Using techniques such as silhouettes and soft lighting, the team also toned down bloody and violent shots, using a poetic audiovisual language to convey the noble spirit of revolutionary soldiers who gave their lives for the cause.
The production kicked off in May and was completed and released in September. Leveraging a digital production model, it eliminated numerous steps such as building physical sets and scouting and shooting on location, significantly shortening both the production cycle and project cost.
The opening and ending songs were created by generating prompts through a language model, which were then refined by musicians who polished the instrumentation and melody by hand, ensuring that the emotion of the music dovetails closely with the series plot.
