“Serials on cocaine”: The Hollywood industry, upset by the new “vertical dramas”, filmed in record time
In a fake castle set up on a hill in Los Angeles, a small production team is filming an adultery scene under the watchful eyes of its Chinese producer, writes AFP on Friday.
Welcome to the wonderful world of “vertical dramas”: a multi-billion dollar industry that has taken Hollywood by storm in just two years, churning out algorithm-driven series designed to be watched on mobile in vertical format in seemingly addictive 60-second episodes.
With its kitsch plots about werewolves or billionaires, its budgets of only a few hundred thousand dollars and its lightning-fast filming, this format originating in China radically changes the codes of an industry in difficulty, to the rescue of which, according to some specialists, it may still help.
Producer Vincent Wang considers these programs to be a kind of “cocaine series”.
“In just 30 days we can shoot a series. Hollywood takes two years,” he proudly declared. “What is the future?” asked Vincent Wang.
Appeared in China in the 2010s, “vertical series” very quickly attracted major companies, seduced by their viral potential and their low production costs, notes Agerpres.
They are an $8 billion industry today.
In the United States, this genre of audiovisual production is dominated by Asian-headquartered platforms such as ReelShort, DramaBox and FlareFlow, which have hired thousands of actors and directors hitherto ignored by the Hollywood industry.
“I honestly think this is the future,” said actor Zachary Shadrin, met by AFP journalists during the filming.
“A Toxic Thing”
Like many of his Los Angeles peers, he was skeptical at first.
“Vertical dramas” get a bad rap because of the frenetic pace of filming, sometimes completed in just five days, as well as their obsession with toxic relationships and violent male leads.
“Personally, I find this toxic,” admits Zachary Shadrin.
He did, however, agree to star in FlareFlow's 'Love Through All Seasons', a 'cute' romantic comedy about the age gap between two characters.
“It's not the kind of thing I used to see often in this format,” he explained, adding that he hopes for a future improvement in the quality of the scripts.
Several actors who have recently filmed such formats revealed to AFP that they were pleasantly surprised by the professionalism on the sets.
“We sometimes laugh at certain lines that are completely ridiculous,” admits actor Nicholas McDonald.
“But everybody gets into the game and stays professional. Because there's money involved,” he added.
The makers of these formats say they don't want to compete with HBO or Netflix, but rather with TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
The business model of these “vertical drama” platforms is simple: they broadcast the first mini-episodes for free, then ask viewers to pay to watch the next episodes.
“About to come out of the shadows”
Each episode therefore has to contain a number of twists and turns to keep viewers on their toes around simple plots that are generally based on clichés.
“The audience can be captivated immediately without having to think too much,” explained Weiyang Li, director of the series “Love Through All Seasons”.
“Everyone is already exhausted because of the current life,” he added.
Producers analyze audience data to identify “recipes” that work, which allows them to produce dozens of similar series in just a few months.
Footage is often released even before the scripts – sometimes inspired by Chinese versions and designed with the help of artificial intelligence – are finalized, according to screenwriter Qu Zhiyuan, who works for the FlareFlow platform.
The vertical format, designed for smartphone screens, further reduces production costs by shrinking the frames around the actors, thus reducing the need for sets and staff.
Although “vertical dramas” remain popular especially in Asia, the booming American and European markets are more profitable.
After years of filming shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, strikes and relocations, these productions have become particularly attractive to Hollywood.
“I can give up my little side jobs to be able to act (…) it's great,” declared Nicholas McDonald with great joy, who estimates that 80% of the auditions he attends are now for this type of program.
“Vertical dramas” are “coming out of the shadows,” he added.
