Latest news with #ReelShort
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Short Form Dramas Become Bigger Part Of The Entertainment Industry
'30 Days With The Vampire's Kiss' was created for the U.S. market, in response to an interest in ... More vampire stories. Micro dramas are having a moment. With episodes that last barely a minute, this form of mini-entertainment owes its newfound popularity to various factors, including our ever-shrinking attention spans. When psychologists and researchers began tracking attention spans in 2004, the average attention span on any screen was about two and a half minutes. In recent years that's dwindled to 47 seconds. Social media platforms and entertainment companies have taken notice, producing an increasing number of short, mobile-first dramas for viewing on smartphones. Fast-paced bite-size content is designed to fit into a hectic schedule and satisfy shorter attention spans. Although the trend began in Asia, short-form video content tailored to mobile viewing is now being produced and consumed worldwide. Such dramas can be viewed on TikTok and Instagram, on dedicated apps such as Drama Box and ReelShort or Korean platforms such as Top Reels. In ultra-connected South Korea, it's estimated that nearly 42% of smartphone users enjoy short dramas at least five days a week. However, short form dramas may become even more popular in the U.S. Neil Hyuk-jae Choi, CEO of SpoonLabs 'Globally right now there are almost 300 companies that are doing short form dramas and all of these companies think that this business has great potential," said Neil Hyuk-jae Choi, CEO of the Korean content creator SpoonLabs. SpoonLabs launched the streaming platform Vigloo in July 2024, offering short romances, mysteries, thrillers and comedies from Korea, Japan and the U.S., subtitled in eight languages. The U.S. market already generates 50% of the company's revenue and Vigloo is set to release over 100 original English language titles by the end of the year. 'Because a lot of U.S. users are very accustomed to TikTok, they took in the content really fast," said Choi. 'And short content really made strides in the U.S. at a very fast pace.' He compares Vigloo's production model to that of Netflix in the way that the company tailors content to local markets. 'It's the same for us,' said Choi. 'We create all the content locally and we also upload some of our episodes on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube or on our channels or via ads. And people see it there and then if they're attracted to the content, they come to our service.' Using the payment model employed by webtoons and some drama platforms, viewers can see the first few episodes for free and decide if they want to subscribe to see the rest. Storylines that span one to three minutes have to pack in a lot of content—and some dramatic cliffhangers—in just minutes if they hope to keep viewers coming back for more. Choi compares long and short form content to running a race. Normal long form content is like a marathon, while short form content is a sprint. 'So, just to give you an example of how fast paced it is, in one minute, one can meet someone, fall in love and even have a baby,' said Choi. The platform's top U.S. genres include romance, with popular sub-genres such as cross-cultural workplace romance (working abroad in Korea) and thrillers (betrayals and revenge plots). Some of Vigloo's most-watched dramas in the U.S. include Fight for Love, The Billionaire Cowboy's Runaway Bride, and Escaping the Bridezilla. According to Choi, the audience so far is mostly female. Short form content such as 'Those I Wish To Kill' is becoming more popular. 'Our target audience is women in their 30s and 40s,' said Choi. 'So the genre that works best in all formats, as of now, is romance, especially those kinds of romance that give you the pleasant fantasy of meeting Prince Charming. One of the tropes that is really common in short drama is you meet this guy and then he turns out to be very rich, but it's like a hidden identity you didn't know at first.' While this type of content is popular worldwide, there are some subjects that U.S. viewers enjoy that may not be as popular in other countries. 'For example, in Korea or in Japan, romances with vampires or werewolves are not that popular,' said Choi. 'In the States they are.' Content for the U.S. is created with production companies based in the U.S. 'Locally, when it comes to storytelling, we have internal teams with executive producers who try to weave in the stories for the US audience.' Not only do micro dramas mesh well with overtaxed attention spans, short content may prove increasingly attractive for producers. According to Choi, short dramas appeal to producers caught in a tight market because shorter content costs so much less to produce. With an average 2.5-month production cycle and a growing creator network, short form content has the potential to redefine storytelling for the streaming era. 'A lot of the OTT and film industry is not doing that great, not only in the States, but in Korea and Japan as well,' said Choi. 'There are a lot of creators who can't produce anything at the moment. So, a lot of producers and creators are actually coming to short form. Korean content is doing really well globally and the storytelling really includes a lot of people. The goal is to really use and leverage this know-how and this expertise, but at the same time really work tightly with the local producers. By the end of this year we are planning to make the most content in the States.'
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Hollywood's new obsession is a twist on the classic soap opera
Mini-drama apps made popular in Asia are surging in the US — and Hollywood is taking notice. These apps are best known for their soapy melodramas featuring princes, werewolves, and more, which are presented in bite-sized vertical episodes and meant for mobile phones. China-backed ReelShort is the most prominent purveyor of these, with typical titles like "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband." Another top player is DramaBox. Hollywood has been trying to figure out how it can capitalize on the mini-drama craze, and studios like Lionsgate have been evaluating opportunities in the space. "I get an overwhelming number of questions about this topic every week," said David Freeman, head of digital media at CAA. " Talent is actively exploring the space, creators are drawn to it due to the low cost of content production, and major companies are evaluating their strategic approach." Freeman said some key questions were which categories work well and whether the format could be expanded to the unscripted realm. "In time, I anticipate that Netflix will find a way to successfully integrate vertical video and potentially make it part of their strategy to engage Gen Z audiences," he continued. As TV and streaming giants spend more money on sports at the expense of traditional TV and film, producers, studios, and other players are casting around for other entertainment markets and ways to serve audiences on the cheap. Social-media stars have already been getting a second look from Hollywood. And now, so are mini-dramas. Industry players said they'd taken note of the marketing on TikTok that the mini-drama apps are throwing behind their stars. App tracker Appfigures counts 215 short drama apps in the US and estimated US spending on them more than doubled in the past 12 months, to more than $100 million a month in gross revenue. Hollywood is curious about mini-dramas Agents and others told Business Insider that while Hollywood is buzzing about mini-dramas, companies are generally still in the initial stages of exploring the format. One traditional player that's making concrete moves in the space is TelevisaUnivision. It's planning to debut 40 telenovela-style minidramas on ViX, its streaming platform, and intends to expand to other genres like docs and comedy. Others are at least mini-drama curious. Lionsgate, for one, has been in the early stages of exploring the format, a person familiar with the studio's plans said. Hallmark is another studio that's discussed the format internally, a person familiar with the company's thinking said. Select Management Group, an influencer talent management firm, is looking for mini-drama actors to sign, primarily those prominent on ReelShort. Select's Scott Fisher said verticals have "become another place you find talent," much like YouTube birthed digital stars like MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain. People have questions Despite Hollywood's interest, it's unclear how these vertical dramas could fit into the traditional film and TV system, which emphasizes high production values and guild-protected talent. And people in Hollywood told BI they had plenty of questions. Here are a few: These mini-dramas often fall below the budget threshold that would trigger certain rules from the Hollywood guilds. But how can legacy companies take advantage of these productions' low costs without alienating the guilds and their members? Soapy melodramas are the most popular form of vertical series, but are they extendable to other genres such as reality TV, docs, and true crime? A+E Global Networks is taking the unscripted route, launching a slate of original series for mobile around its History brand in an effort to reach young viewers. Can they make real money? The appeal is that they're cheap to make, but how big of a business can they be? And what's the right mix of revenue between ads and viewer payments? ReelShort parent Crazy Maple Studio's founder Joey Jia said last year that viewers typically paid $5 to $10 a week. How should they distribute them? TelevisaUnivision has its own platforms to post such shows. But production companies that don't have their own distribution arms could use the likes of TikTok or YouTube and share the revenue with the platform. Are these dramas too far out of Hollywood's comfort zone for it to get right? Hollywood insiders remember how Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg's idea to make quick-bite shows, went down in ignominy. The big difference is that Quibi's episodes were more highly produced than today's vertical dramas and didn't employ a "freemium," pay-as-you-go model. 'It's just a matter of time' Some media insiders think it's inevitable that big streamers and studios will at least test the format's potential. They've already shown some willingness to play with different formats and distribution platforms. For example, Paramount put "Mean Girls" on TikTok in 23 segments lasting one to 10 minutes. And YouTube and Amazon's Prime Video could make sense as distributors because they're already set up as platforms that allow people to rent or buy individual movies or shows. "There's just a question of how far are they going to stray from doing what they normally do," Fisher said of the Hollywood players. Industry analyst Evan Shapiro sees mini, vertical-shot dramas as "toilet television," something made for watching on mobile phones and fitting the scrolling mentality. He added that he believes the format is a natural way for companies to incubate shows for TV. "It's just a matter of time before you see a drama from one of these players and a fast follow into other formats," Shapiro said. "The big question is, how do we monetize that. But if it takes off, it converts to a premium, wide-screen format for TV."
Business Insider
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
The new Hollywood: working for YouTubers, starring in mini-dramas, and building side hustles
Mathieu Bonzon spent over a decade working in production in Hollywood, with credits including "Outrage" and "Ford v Ferrari." But when work slowed in 2022, Bonzon, who had a new baby at home, needed more financial stability than an independent producer's life allowed for. An introduction to the Gates Foundation led him to start making cinematic educational videos aimed at college kids for Gates, NASA, and other organizations. The long-term contracts brought a more predictable income than he had as a producer. He's able to get talented crews because so many people are looking for work. He also finds the work more rewarding than the Hollywood films he'd worked on, seeing the potential to make education more accessible. "It's liberated me from needing to do something to pay my bills and liberated me to do something that's more meaningful to me," Bonzon said. The end of Peak TV, Hollywood labor strikes, and the shift of TV and film productions to cheaper locations overseas have threatened the careers of people across filmed entertainment, from crews to actors to producers. Scripted TV series orders were down 25% in 2024 from their 2022 peak, when 3,108 shows were ordered as Hollywood raced to catch up to Netflix, according to industry tracker Ampere Analysis. TV writing jobs fell 42% from 2022 to 2023, per the Writers Guild of America. Trump's tariffs have also cast a shadow on the economy, dampening hopes for a Hollywood recovery. Some in creative fields have deferred or redefined their dreams of making it in Hollywood and retiring on a big studio salary. Others have abandoned those ambitions altogether for other careers or are trying to make ends meet in the gig economy. While traditional film and TV output has declined from its apex, adjacent creative fields are growing and providing opportunities for those willing and able to pivot. The creator economy continues to expand, with marketers poised to spend more than $10 billion on influencer marketing this year, according to a March EMARKETER forecast. Brands from Walmart to AB InBev are leaning into cinematic entertainment to cut through the ad clutter. Mini dramas, the bite-sized vertical soaps popularized by Asian-backed apps like DramaBox and ReelShort, are on a growth tear in the US, leading legacy TV companies like TelevisaUnivision to take note. Business Insider spoke to 11 producers, editors, and others at various career stages who shared their experiences in and lessons from working in these areas. Many are contending with painful financial adjustments, and some are still waiting for Hollywood to call. Film and TV pros who were at the top of their earning power also have to adapt to new financial realities. Zack Arnold, a film and TV editor ("Cobra Kai," "Glee"), shifted to podcasting and coaching several years ago. He helps other midlife Hollywood creative workers apply their storytelling skills to the entrepreneurial creator space. But a top Hollywood editor used to making thousands of dollars a week can't replace their income by editing short videos for YouTube. "There aren't enough hours in a day to do that," Arnold said. For others, the shift can lead to more stable income. Marc Herrmann, a TV film actor who's appeared in about 10 productions for the mini-drama app ReelShort, said he's been able to call himself a working actor for the first time. "That's everyone's dream," Herrmann said. "This vertical world has saved a lot of people from doing jobs they don't want to do." In the creator space, feedback comes fast Those who turned to creator-led studios built by YouTube stars say there's more opportunity, and the hands-on nature of the work can be rewarding. Isaac Diaz was laid off from his role as senior digital creative producer at the streaming service Paramount+ last year. He packed his bags and moved to Austin, never thinking that two months later he'd be working for a Minecraft YouTuber. He got the job because the team was looking for someone with traditional production management experience. As assistant director of production, Diaz helps the team at CatFace, the company behind the mega YouTuber Aphmau, who has over 23 million subscribers, build productions that can rival Hollywood shows. Diaz hasn't closed the door to traditional media. He would consider going back for the right opportunity. "However, having worked here has opened up my eyes to so much more opportunity," Diaz said. "I realized I don't necessarily need to be living in LA, and working for a major studio, to be doing something that I love." There is a level of culture shock that comes with a new media gig. Amanda Barnes, EVP of production at Smosh, a 64-person creator studio with 26 million YouTube subscribers, said she was thrown by the pace of creator content compared to her past work at Warner Bros. Animation. "There's no wait to see if you get a season two green light." Feedback comes fast when you have near-instant access to data on how content is performing with audiences. "We can learn what worked, what didn't work, at such a faster rate, and then get to do it all again," Barnes said. "I've never worked in a field where the feedback is that quick." There also tends to be less red tape than working in traditional media. Barnes, who reports directly to YouTubers Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, said it's nice to have fewer layers of clearances. Caroline Simmons, who worked on productions for Netflix and YouTube originals and is now the director of production at CatFace, was similarly shocked by the company's chain of command. She works closely with CEO Jessica Bravura, who created the character Aphmau. "At a traditional studio, you're never seeing a CEO," Simmons said. "And if you do, it's probably a bad day." Mini dramas are helping pay the rent Irvin Gelb has been in the entertainment business since the late '80s, initially helping Japanese corporations invest in Hollywood and later transitioning to talent management. After the 2023 Hollywood strikes, auditions started slowing down. In 2024, Gelb said he began seeing casting offers for vertical dramas. He was initially skeptical because he didn't want clients appearing in movies on phones, and the work paid less. Nevertheless, he submitted an up-and-coming actor, Cayman Cardiff, for a short titled "Santa Bring Me a Billionaire Husband," which became a hit. From there, Gelb began researching the space. "I saw the future, and I was in," he said. Cardiff has wrapped 14 verticals to date. Gelb said the medium has provided fresh opportunities for the "thousands of incredible actors that are not working." The actor Sarah Moliski has emerged as a leading player in the vertical scene, specializing in villain roles. Her characters have stolen sperm and hired drunk doctors to administer abortions, she said. She also hosts a podcast for leading mini-drama app ReelShort and works behind the scenes on casting. After hustling for years, Moliski said verticals "changed everything for me." She landed her first, "Ms. Swan, Teach Me Love," after dropping her team and submitting a self-tape. She wants to continue riding the wave and is hoping to land more lead roles that center strong female characters. While the outlandish storylines may raise eyebrows, more established directors and figures across other departments are getting involved, Moliski said. They're starting to say, "'Oh, these aren't so cringey' — because nothing's filming and what's cringey about paying rent?" Gelb said most vertical actors still have aspirations of foraying into the "horizontal world," but he's striking while the iron is hot. He's also pursuing producing and investing in verticals in collaboration with existing apps and his talent roster. "Every actor's biggest dream, I don't care what level you are at, is consistency," Moliski said. Brands are beckoning Some people have found opportunities to transfer their film and TV expertise to brands and other organizations. Jenifer Westphal is the founder and CEO of Wavelength, a Tony- and Emmy-winning production company behind documentaries like "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" A few years ago, she started working in branded content, applying Wavelength's character-driven storytelling to marketers, including Hoka and De Beers. Wavelength acquired an agency, Duplex Deli, and has grown from three to more than 20 full-timers. Today, most of Wavelength's revenue comes from brand work. "We're willing to do whatever creative a brand wants us to, as long as it fits with our ethos," she said. Marisa Levy spent 15 years making unscripted shows like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" for Discovery's TLC. In 2022, she jumped to branded content for companies including Rebel Girls, a girls' empowerment media brand, and then for herself. By then, Peak TV had come to a screeching halt. Looking around, Levy saw new places to apply her understanding of audiences. "Every brand needs to expand across platforms, whether it's a wine company or a media company," she said. "They're all so eager to build out their YouTube or TikTok, and our skill set is 100% applicable." It's been an adjustment. Going from a senior executive post at a network to startup land gave her a crash course in new skills like hiring influencers and making YouTube videos. It also meant trading business class for coach and learning a new work culture, with its specific jargon and presentation style. "Everything requires an analytical deck," she said. Having to count on herself brought insecurity. But while she's no longer working in Hollywood, Levy has found value in her new focus. "Some brands are doing such good stuff," she said. "You can still shape culture; you're just doing it in a different way."
Fast Company
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
The soap opera of the future is a vertical drama made for your phone. But you'll have to pay to see the ending
In the entertainment industry, as in life, change is the only constant. It wasn't that long ago that streaming services such as Netflix were the outsiders making waves and altering the way audiences watched movies. Today, there's a new kid on the block rapidly growing in popularity. Vertical dramas, essentially a 90-minute soap opera broken down into one-minute episodes viewed—you guessed it—vertically on smartphones, are here to shake things up even further. (I know this firsthand as an actor who has recently worked on some of these projects.) Joey Jia, the CEO of Crazy Maple Studios, is at the forefront of this movement. His content creation company was named one of 2024's TIME100 Most Influential Companies and has offices in Shenzhen, Beijing, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines. Under this banner, Jia created ReelShort in 2022, a short-form video-streaming app, when he realized there was an opportunity to marry growing romance book trends and Asian micro dramas. 'I noticed there is a trend,' Jia told Fast Company. 'People started shooting short-form content, especially five minutes long, 10 minutes long. That inspired me to have this idea: What if we revamp the video industry?' Jia decided to put stories into one-minute bite-size content, made specifically for mobile phones as a way of testing how the market would respond. Spoiler alert: It responded well. ReelShorts's production on track to triple in 2025 as compared to 2024. While Crazy Maple Studios declined to share revenue figures, it says it's seen impressive growth in monthly active users, from around 45 million in October to between 55 to 60 million monthly active users. Suffice it to say, it's in demand, paving the way for a story format that might be the future of scripted entertainment. At the intersection of art and tech The growing popularity of vertical dramas could never have occurred without the proper technology in place. The first smartphone, the Simon Personal Communicator, was invented by IBM in 1992, but it would take 18 years before these devices made their way to everyone's pockets. Apple's iPhone, famously announced to the world by Steve Jobs in 2007, played a big role in spreading the adoption of smartphones. The next stepping stone to verticals was social media. When TikTok was first released in 2016, it further trained users to create and view videos vertically. Instagram strengthened this habit when the app released its similar Reels feature in 2020. The stage was set for professional creators to monetize this technology. How China got there first In 2019, the Chinese company iQIYI released a special feature on its app dubbed the Vertical Video Zone, which comprised 25 sets of video, all shot in portrait mode to be viewed on a mobile phone. Around the same time, the Chinese social media platform Kuaishou unveiled 'Kuaishou Small Theatre' on its app. This comedy-centered, short-form content would lead to the 'micro-drama' brand Xingmang Micro Drama. By 2023, the platform would have over 94 million paid users. That same year, the larger micro-drama industry in China brought in $5.3 billion, making it 70% as large as the country's traditional film industry. According to DataEye, a Shenzhen-based research firm, micro-dramas out-earned domestic box office sales the following year, as the Los Angeles Times reported. The American company Quibi, led by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, tried to put its own spin on this trend, launching in April of 2020. This app utilized 'turnstyle' technology that allowed viewers to watch content both vertically and horizontally. However, its short-form videos were expensive to make, running about 10 minutes utilizing Hollywood stars. Just seven months after its creation, Quibi was forced to shut down due to low subscriber counts. 'Emotion-driven stories,' made for humans by humans Jia saw a potential opening in the American market and learned from Quibi's failure. He attributes ReelShorts's success to its focus on 'emotion-driven stories.' Plot is 'the missing component,' he says, 'So our job is to come up with a feel-good moment, feel-good stories, and we always have data to make sure we are on the right track. So our stories are evolving.' Vertical dramas tend to use well-known, over-the-top storytelling tropes, such as enemies to lovers, Cinderella-type makeovers, and corporate revenge. Some even explore fantasy plotlines, such as werewolves and different historical eras. ReelShorts's subscription service differs from traditional streamers because it is not a flat monthly fee. The first 10 or so episodes are free, but to see the story's conclusion, users have to pay based on consumption. This forces writers to make sure their content is fast-paced but not so quick that the audience gets lost. 'There is a fine balance between the story beats and the emotions. So this is really tricky,' Jia mused. Jia trains directors, producers, and screenwriters in-house and does not utilize artificial intelligence. 'I think of creativity coming from a human being, so I don't trust AI, to be honest,' Jia explained. He also uses simple, inexpensive sets and costumes, and unknown nonunion actors. What does the future hold? When asked if Jia thinks vertical dramas complement or disrupt the traditional movie and television industry, he replied: 'I think it's a disruptor. I think mobile entertainment will become a brand-new industry in the next few years. It will coexist with a traditional film industry, but it will bypass and beat the size so it gets bigger and bigger.' He thinks colleges will in the not-so-distant future add this format to its film school curriculum. As more and more people forgo traditional movie theaters while staying glued to their phones throughout much of the day, his predictions don't feel that far-fetched. Indeed, the average ReelShort user might surprise you. 'We initially thought the majority of our audience is like a teenager and younger demographic—but no, it's full spectrum,' Jia explained. Jia has already been approached by big-name studios but finds it difficult to work with established intellectual properties because of all the rules and hoops to jump through. Verticals are inexpensive to make and move quickly, with a movie essentially completed in about 11 days. That doesn't mean he isn't open to bigger collaborations. In the next five years, Jia aims to prove that this space has merit, saying he feels there is still very much a stigma attached to it. 'There's wide opportunity here,' he says. 'So the door is always open.' Jia is not alone in this space. Shelly Caldwell founded DramaBox, a mobile TV series company, in 2022. Similarly, ShortMax, a Chinese-based media company, was created in 2023 by Jiuzhou Wenhua. Other players in the game include FlexTV and LokShorts. Even Netflix is dipping its toe in the pool. It recently announced that for some select users, its app will begin testing a vertical video feed. Meanwhile, ReelShort is expanding into new genres, such as action. Undercover Prison King, the story of a private prison owner who poses as an inmate to reveal corruption, is performing very well. The recent in-person premiere of Wings of Fire: The Dragonslayer Is My Ex-Lover in Culver City successfully signaled verticals' legitimacy to the larger City of Angels. Jia also recently launched ReelShort Publishing House, a new division that will novelize popular romance titles on the app, a full circle moment for the man who saw the desire for this content early on. With a distribution deal with Amazon already in place, audiences may soon find themselves asking which came first, the vertical or the novel? As the way we consume media continues to evolve, Jia's foresight appears to have been the fulfillment of a prophecy of sorts. What direction is the future of entertainment going? It appears to be vertical.
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Clickbait titles and cliffhangers: TV serials made for phones grip viewers
Found a Homeless Billionaire Husband for Christmas. The Quarterback Next Door. Revenge of the XXL Wife. My Secret Agent Husband. These may sound like cringy fantasies, but they're actually titles of 'vertical dramas', a new form of episodic television that's gripping millions around the world. The genre, which originated in China and has been called 'TV for the Tiktok generation', consists of minute-long episodes designed for smartphones. It's experienced such a boom that the market is predicted to be worth $14bn (£11bn) by 2027. 'The rise means that there are a lot of audiences who haven't been satisfied by the current supply of the media market,' Zhou Yuan, founder of the Beijing-based vertical film production house Content Republic, told Hong Kong's Filmart last month. Duanjus – Chinese for micro dramas – began their life on social media before transforming the national audiovisual market in China. Chinese companies are now working with foreign production companies to export the form, buoyed by a slew of new streaming apps such as ReelShort, ShortTV, DramaPops and FlexTV. Last November, the California-based, Chinese-backed ReelShort overtook TikTok as the most popular product in the entertainment section of Apple's app store in the US – and has been downloaded by more than 30m people since its launch in 2022. 'Some people said, 'I can't believe someone would pay for this,'' Joey Jia, CEO of Crazy Maple Studio, the company behind ReelShort told the Washington Post. 'Our answer is: You think you understand the entire entertainment market? You don't.' Viewers are attracted to many of the tropes that BookTok readers recognise, such as enemies to lovers, secret billionaires and werewolves. They report becoming hooked thanks to the clickbait titles, cliffhangers and eyebrow-raising scenes. Apps will usually offer a handful of episodes for free, before requiring a paid subscription. Much like a video game, ReelShort allows its users to purchase 'coins' to access episodes. Jen Cooper, the British founder of the website Vertical Drama Love, was drawn to the format because of her love for romantic movies and comedies. 'Last April, I was going through a really difficult time personally. I couldn't relax or focus enough to watch full-length dramas anymore,' the former bookseller said. 'One day I was scrolling TikTok and saw an ad that made me go, 'what?!'.' She ended up watching her first vertical drama, You Belong With Me, about a jilted woman who gets together with her ex's uncle. 'It's full of classic tropes, but at the heart of it is a gorgeous love story with some genuinely funny moments,' she said. After that, Cooper 'went down the rabbit hole'. She set up an Instagram account to write reviews and connect with those within the industry, and quickly formed a community. The interest was so huge that when she set up fan awards, she received more than 16,000 votes from around the world in just one week. Cooper learned that many others discovered verticals during difficult times in their life. 'I've heard from fans who are bereaved, living with serious health conditions, or acting as carers. The audience is largely women, from early 20s to 60s. I've spoken to a student in Pakistan, a bed-bound older woman in Italy, and a single mum whose husband died from an overdose who tunes in while doing the housework.' The common appeal for all of them is escapism; a quick and guaranteed dopamine hit when life feels overwhelming. 'People want to see good triumph over bad, and – let's be honest – very attractive people falling in love.' Defne Turan, production manager for London-based Sea Star Productions, which makes verticals, said the format was 'the way of the world now'. She said the company had been receiving applications from film-makers and actors who wanted to be involved. 'It's a new genre and I believe it should be handled with as much care as any other part of the industry. Just because it's different and fast-paced doesn't mean the standards are any less,' she said. 'We use industry standard cameras and lots of the production crew and make-up artists have all worked on big productions.' For many of the actors, verticals have been a lifeline. At a time when strikes and cutbacks have made work hard to come by, they provide consistent jobs. Verticals are typically filmed in just seven to 10 days, with two cameras capturing scenes in a single take. Teig Sadhana, 29, a Australian-British actor based in New York, began working in verticals after graduating from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting last year. 'I applied to an ad on a pretty standard acting job site,' he said. 'I didn't know what a vertical was, I just needed the pay check.' He had a brief call with a director, and a few days later was on location in Pennsylvania to shoot Glory of Revenge. 'Since then I've made 10 films across all the major vertical platforms, worked with incredible professionals, and am finding some of the joys and comforts of having regular work. Not an easy thing to manage so quickly out of the conservatory.' While he initially struggled to make sense of a format with limited room for character development, Sadhana said it helped to avoid 'overcomplicating it too much'. Nic Westaway, a former star of the Australian TV soap opera Home and Away, who now appears in the hit vertical The Double Life of Mr President, told Filmart: 'In Australia, I played one character for nearly four years, nearly 400 episodes; but in the last nine months I've got to play 14 different characters in 14 different crazy verticals.' According to Zhou, Content Republic is aiming to have 400 verticals in production each year: 200 for the domestic Chinese market and 200 for an international audience. Whether the novelty factor will wear off is yet to be seen (Quibi shut down after just six months), but even traditional media companies are monitoring the trend as they look to appeal to younger viewers with diminishing attention spans. In 2023, Paramount Pictures briefly released Mean Girls on TikTok in 23 snippets. 'It's a space we're watching closely, with plenty to learn from how audiences and creators are embracing it,' Sacha Khari, Channel 4's head of digital commissioning, said.
