China News Service, Beijing, March 1 (Reporter Wang Shiyao) "What a land, love to watch!" At the beginning of 2024, the opening dramas of various major TV and video platforms did not set off the expected ratings frenzy, and all the limelight was " Next Door" micro-short drama was snatched away.
During the Spring Festival this year, the micro-short drama "I Was a Stepmother in the 1980s" became very popular, and it was revealed that the recharge exceeded 20 million yuan on the day it was launched.
How can popular micro-short dramas be able to "make big gains with small things" and leverage tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan of wealth "cake" with an investment of only 10,000 or hundreds of thousands of yuan?
The audience "comes up" and pays for their emotions
There are currently three mainstream tracks for micro-short dramas.
The first type is horizontal screen shooting, which is launched on mainstream long-form video platforms. Most of them are customized dramas broadcast exclusively on the platform, and you need to purchase platform membership to watch.
The average length of each episode is less than 15 minutes, and the entire drama is less than 30 episodes.
There is also a type of micro-short dramas launched on short video platforms, which are shot in both horizontal and vertical screens.
Among them, most of the short dramas updated by self-media accounts are free, and the profit method is advertising placement; while the dramas produced by the platform or developed in cooperation with traditional film and television production companies require payment to watch.
The last category is mini-program dramas, which are shot vertically. Each episode is usually 1 to 2 minutes long, and the number of episodes is usually about 80-100.
This type of series requires payment to watch. Generally, the first few episodes are free to trial, and later episodes can be unlocked or paid for as a package.
The popular micro-short drama "I Became a Stepmother in the 1980s" mentioned above is a small program drama.
The play tells the story of Si Nian, a modern female college student who travels back to the 1980s and is arranged by her family to marry Zhou Yueshen, a divorced and wealthy pig farmer with two children.
The two got married first and then fell in love, fighting wits and courage with strange relatives, eliminating obstacles around them while making the braised food business bigger and stronger, and finally achieved a double harvest in career and love.
Fast pace, many reversals, and a strong sense of excitement... These are the "traffic passwords" currently mastered by the micro-short drama market. Coupled with themes such as revenge, grievances between wealthy families, time travel, rebirth, and counterattacks that stimulate the audience's adrenaline, they create a Wave after wave of micro-short dramas "The Myth".
Ms. Chen told a reporter from China News Service that the reason she watches short dramas is to pass the time. “When I go to work, my energy is always tense. After work, I just want to watch dramas without thinking.”
There are many viewers like Ms. Chen.
A reporter's investigation found that the often-criticized characteristics of many micro-short dramas, such as being earthy, brainless, and bloody, are precisely the reasons why some people choose to watch the dramas.
When some netizens promote their favorite mini-series, they use lines like: "It's very vulgar, but it's awesome, go watch it!"
These emotional short plays stimulated the audience to keep "getting up" and willingly opening their "wallets."
Celebrities and celebrities introduce micro-short dramas to transform into high-quality products
At the beginning of 2024, the micro-short drama market ushered in big news. "King of Comedy" Stephen Chow reached a short drama cooperation with the short video platform to jointly develop and operate "9527 Theater" and the first high-quality micro-short drama "Golden Pig and Jade Leaves" The first season is expected to be launched in May.
At the end of last year, the famous Hong Kong director Wang Jing attended the opening ceremony of the mini-series "Billions of Silly Princes" held in Hengdian.
According to the public photos of the scene, Hong Kong actor Yuen Qiongdan, who had previously announced that she would temporarily take a break from acting, was also present. The actor information sheet stated that she was a friendly star.
The combination of famous directors and veteran actors makes people look forward to whether it can bring a new round of impact to the micro-short drama market.
In the past, micro-short dramas were more often performed by unknown Internet celebrities or amateurs due to their low production costs.
As the market continues to improve and expand, more and more professional actors are turning their attention to micro-short dramas, fueling the transformation of micro-short dramas into high-quality products.
Last year's hit micro-short drama "Twenty-Nine" starred Yang Rong and Wang Yifei, both trained actors.
The series breaks away from the traditional cheating and beating mistress routine, and focuses on "double heroines, redemption".
Through their superb acting skills, the two actresses interpreted the true emotions of modern women working hard in the workplace, overcoming difficulties together, and redeeming each other.
The show has received more than 800 million views on a single platform, with a Douban score of 7.2, surpassing many popular long-running dramas.
However, currently, well-known artists and actors appearing in short plays are still regarded as a "resource downgrade".
Xu Mengjie, who was born in the limited-edition girl group Rocket Girls 101, has participated in popular dramas such as "Secret in the Dark" and "Twenty Not Confused 2" as an actor in recent years.
Recently, Xu Mengjie switched to the micro-short drama track, and collaborated with actor Li Chuan to film "The Chinese New Year", which focused on marital difficulties and personal growth.
The series sparked heated discussions after it was launched. Currently, 12 episodes have been updated, with a total viewing volume of over 600 million.
Although the show has a good reputation and click-through rate, there are still a lot of comments on the Internet about "Xu Mengjie lowering her status to film short dramas."
On February 15, Xu Mengjie responded to the relevant controversy on social platforms: "No matter whether it is a long play or a short play, or the role is big or small, it can bring me different learning and growth. I am very happy to meet you as an actor. "
In addition to more and more celebrities and celebrities appearing on the stage, helping the micro-short drama market to transform into high-quality products, there are also high-quality, positive micro-short dramas planned and filmed by outstanding self-media people like "Escape from the British Museum".
The popularity of "Escape from the British Museum" across the Internet has allowed more creators to see the profound heritage and unlimited potential of traditional Chinese culture, and they look forward to more and more "traffic flowers blooming in the depths of national emotions" in the future.
Micro-short drama goes out to sea to ride the wind and waves and attract fans of "foreigners"
In 2022, a Chinese company launched a short drama app called ReelShort for overseas markets. Its downloads once surpassed the "top-tier" TikTok, ranking first on the U.S. iOS entertainment list and second on the overall list.
When China's high-quality short dramas are "exported" overseas, most of them undergo "localization" transformation.
In addition to retaining the common character settings and high-energy plot twists in domestic micro-short dramas, it combines themes such as werewolves and vampires that are more familiar to European and American audiences, while using local actors and filming teams, plus the promotion of social media platforms , attracted a large number of local loyal audiences.
According to foreign media reports, on Double Eleven in 2023, ReelShort’s net income after deducting app store fees was US$459,000, or approximately RMB 3.3 million.
As of November 17, 2023, ReelShort's cumulative net income has exceeded US$22 million, which is approximately RMB 160 million.
The strong gold-mining ability makes overseas investors confident in the vigorous development of micro-short dramas and they have invested in them one after another.
After ReelShort became popular, many Chinese micro-short drama apps flocked to overseas platforms, which not only heated up the market but also intensified competition.
In fact, the core reason why micro-short dramas have become a global hit is that they meet the needs of ordinary people in busy modern society for instant, efficient and fragmented entertainment.
Whether it is a "localized" adaptation or an original "export", as long as the content is of excellent quality and the emotions conveyed are real and moving, it will be loved and accepted by more audiences.
On February 27, the official website of Japan Home Drama Channel updated the broadcast news. The micro-short drama "Xu Yan" from China will premiere in Japan on April 12.
The film's promotional slogan emphasizes that this suspenseful love costume drama ranks first among micro-short dramas in 2022.
"False Face" stars actors Ke Ying and Cheng Lei. It tells the story of a young painter, Shi Qi, who was tricked into changing his face with the eldest daughter of the Shen family in the prime minister's palace. After marrying into the general's palace instead of Miss Shen, a series of misunderstandings and misunderstandings occurred. A story of love and hate.
"Xuyan" received rave reviews when it aired due to its high-energy plot, online makeup, and excellent production. Now it is introduced by Japanese TV stations and it is reasonable to become the "vanguard" of Chinese micro-short dramas going overseas.
(over)