Bite-sized drama boom

Localized effort

With AI-generated productions accounting for more than 90 percent of newly released micro-dramas from January to August, rapid advances in digital technology are reshaping how Chinese companies target international audiences.

The evolution of AI has greatly enhanced the visual effects of AI micro-dramas, making it easier and more realistic to bring fantastical scenes to life, said Nan Yapeng, vice-president of Crazy Maple Studio, which operates ReelShort, one of the highest-grossing vertical-drama platforms in the United States.

A werewolf transforming into a handsome young man under a full moon, or an ancient wonderland inhabited by powerful creatures — scenes that once required huge special-effects budgets — can now be generated quickly with prompts.

Interestingly, Chinese kung fu — one of the earliest genres to attract Western audiences — is also appearing in new micro-dramas with the help of AI, Nan said.

Launched in August 2022 by Crazy Maple Studio, ReelShort later built local production teams in Los Angeles, recruiting Hollywood and local creative talent to produce localized vertical dramas.

"At first, quite a few Hollywood directors and actors found the scripts hard to understand or the production rough, and were unwilling to participate," said Nan.

"We recruited some Chinese Americans and Chinese graduates from American universities who could understand micro-dramas while also knowing the full Hollywood filming process."

Over the past four years, as the industry has developed, more American-born actors and production staff members have joined Chinese-led micro-drama productions, he added.

Still, American audiences prefer stories rooted in their own cultural background and characters played by local actors, Nan said.

Chinese production teams now tend to make more revenge-driven stories to attract American viewers, he added. For example, in one story, a gunslinger with extraordinary skills who has retired to a shooting range in an obscure small town is forced out of retirement and makes a name for himself.

The boom in online literature has also given micro-drama producers a rich source of stories, as Chinese web novels have built a large readership overseas, Nan said.

In the past, producing one season of a live-action micro-drama typically required a budget of $300,000.

An AI-generated production can now cost just $10,000 to $20,000, allowing Chinese micro-dramas to be made faster and in greater volume while creating more room for low-cost experimentation, Lin said.

Cultural resonance

The rapid expansion of micro-dramas is also reshaping an entertainment production pipeline that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

A TV drama spanning dozens of episodes or a feature film usually requires three to five months of shooting. A micro-drama consisting of 60 to 80 episodes, however, can be completed in less than two weeks.

Niu Dun, director of The Lady from the Northeast, recalls it took him just 12 to 14 days to shoot the 80-episode series. By his standards, that was already a relatively long production.

The series follows the heir of a Malaysian billionaire family as he falls for a carefree woman from northeastern China. Its cast and crew of more than 40 people traveled thousands of kilometers, from Hainan province in southern China to Liaoning province in the northeast, to capture two contrasting settings.

Born in Shenyang, Liaoning, in 1987, Niu was among the early entrants to China's fledgling micro-drama industry. Trained in stage performance, he made his acting debut as Hamlet before eventually turning away from theater to embrace a format still regarded by many as a niche corner of the entertainment business.

Niu sees something different in it: a future.

With modest budgets, smaller crews and easily accessible distribution platforms, micro-dramas have lowered the barriers for people trying to enter the industry, he said.

As more Chinese micro-dramas target overseas markets, The Lady from the Northeast has made cultural differences between China and Malaysia a pivotal element of its script, in an effort to resonate with a wider Southeast Asian audience.

In the drama, the female protagonist discovers that she must take off her shoes and go barefoot when entering the male protagonist's luxurious home in an unnamed Southeast Asian country — a sharp contrast to keeping her feet warm in her northeastern Chinese hometown.

Malaysia's traditional Spring Festival dish, lo hei — also known as "prosperity toss", a raw fish salad — also features in the drama, striking a chord with local audiences.

"During Spring Festival, we eat lo hei and say auspicious phrases, while in northeastern China, winter is freezing cold, and the table is filled with stewed dishes, handmade dumplings, and more. The festive atmosphere of the two places is completely different," actor Chen said, reflecting on what he learned from the Chinese crew.

Such small cultural differences are becoming part of how micro-dramas travel overseas. AI may make stories faster and cheaper to produce, but the harder task is finding the details that allow audiences in different cultures to see something familiar on a small screen, industry observers said.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn