China's micro-dramas a screen saver for film world
New storytelling art form designed for smartphones extends its reach overseas
High-quality productions
The growing popularity of short and micro-dramas is not only writing new chapters in overseas markets, but is also seeing ongoing transformation in the mature Chinese market.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence is already making a difference in the production of micro-dramas. Cutting costs and improving efficiency, it has greatly facilitated the production process, fostering a new boom in animated micro-dramas.
Heard Island, one of China's top micro drama labels owned by Shiyue Media, has produced a number of highly acclaimed hits in the past two years, such as the recent My Sweet Home.
Garnering billions of views, the 79-episode micro-drama uses the Sichuan dialect to tell the heartwarming story of ordinary family life, exploring the intricacies of relationship dynamics and the human experience.
Viewers have praised the series for delivering high-quality storytelling, rich in detail and depth, with exceptional performances, and well-crafted narratives.
Its success demonstrates the label's insights on the future direction of China's micro-dramas, which includes high-quality production, real-life experiences and IP series.
"In terms of high-quality micro-dramas, we are looking at three aspects: sentiment, innovation and aesthetics. Sentiment means the themes or messages to convey to the audience, innovation means new genres and categories, and aesthetics means impressive visual effects and presentation," said Zhao Youxiu, chief producer of Heard Island.
Yang, from O.M Studio, said the rapid development of micro-dramas in China is expected to empower many other industries, through integration with cultural tourism, intangible cultural heritage, e-commerce, branding, education, popularization, public welfare, rural vitalization and others.
According to a report released by the China Internet Network Information Center, China's short and micro-drama users continued to grow and reached 626 million by June. The iMedia Research forecasts that China's short and micro-drama market will increase 34.4 percent year-on-year to 67.79 billion yuan ($9.54 billion) in 2025, and is expected to surpass 150 billion yuan by 2030.
