How vertical dramas, born in China, are disrupting Hollywood, one minute at a time
Vertical dramas – or micro dramas – are like a ‘soap opera on cocaine’: one minute long and very addictive, according to one producer
In a faux castle on a hill in the US city of Los Angeles, a small film crew – with their cameras flipped sideways – squeeze into a bedroom and shoot a raunchy affair scene under the gaze of their Chinese producer.
This is the brave new world of vertical dramas – also called micro dramas – a multibillion-dollar industry that has taken Hollywood by storm in just two years, churning out algorithm-driven movies that are watched in addictive 60-second instalments on smartphones.
With kitschy plots about werewolves and billionaires, budgets of just a few hundred thousand dollars and breakneck filming schedules, this format from China is radically changing – and some say, saving – a struggling industry.
Vertical dramas are like a “soap opera on cocaine”, says producer Vincent Wang.
“In 30 days, we can get a show together. Hollywood takes two years. We have already made 500 shows by the time they make their first. Who is the future?”
Vertical dramas emerged in China in the 2010s, initially shot by amateurs and shared on TikTok. Big companies swept in, recognising the potential for rapid financial returns when hastily and cheaply produced micro dramas go viral.