On December 27, the short drama "Seven Two Lives" jointly produced by Douyin and Chuangyi Technology held a screening salon in Beijing. It is the first virtual production short drama in China and was shot in a studio with an LED virtual screen. In addition to the screening of the feature film, the event will feature the starring role of Douyin’s high-quality creator Hui Huizhou, the chief director and chairman of Chuangyi Technology Xie Duosheng, and Liu Shuo, associate professor of the Directing Department of the School of Drama, Film and Television of Communication University of China, who is responsible for Douyin’s high-quality short plays. Qian Lili and other guests attended the post-screening salon to discuss topics such as the film’s creative opportunities, shooting and production techniques, and the industry prospects of applying virtual production technology to short dramas. It is reported that the film will be launched on Douyin on January 3, 2024.
"Seven Two Lives" will be officially launched on Douyin on January 3.
"Seven Two Lives" has a total of 16 episodes, and the total length of the feature film is 90 minutes. The story of the play revolves around a child kidnapping case, involving a comatose man, a pregnant woman, a doctor, an old woman... "Of the seven suspects, only one can survive." Who is the real murderer? At the beginning of the story, the city in heavy rain, the high-speed cable car, the mother who lost her daughter and lost her temper, and each suspect's dodge when faced with questioning... The director used only a few shots to weave together a picture. The web of suspense made all the audience's hearts flutter like the rickety cable car.
In addition to the exciting storyline, one of the biggest highlights of the film is the "virtual production" method that combines virtual reality with real-life shooting, such as the panoramic view of the building in the heavy rain and the scene of the cable car falling. Quick conversion of images and different scene spaces, etc. It is understood that virtual production uses LED virtual studios to replace real scenes. In the past, virtual production was mainly widely used in large-scale film productions, and a small number of applications in film and television dramas were also concentrated in long-form dramas. "If we use traditional methods to produce a drama of this level, the special effects time may take another 10 months, and the cost will double. Through virtual production technology, it can bring about significant efficiency improvements." Xie Duosheng said Said during the post-screening salon session.
In order to better present the virtual city background outside the high-altitude cable car, the film uses a horizontal screen shooting method. "This is the first time I have watched a micro-short play using ue5 to build movie scenes." Liu Shuo believes that the entire film "gives the quality of a movie" and the "virtual production" production method "deepens the suspenseful story." The plot tension it possesses creates an audio-visual feast where technology shines into reality."
virtual production studio replaces real-life
short plays as a new thing in the content track, carrying the technical production trend of the film and television industry. Chuangyi Technology, the producer of "Seven Two Lives", has created the phenomenon-level IP "Liu Yexi" across the Internet. The short drama "Liu Yexi·Earthly Branches Mystery" starring a virtual person was broadcast on Douyin after six episodes. With a total volume of more than 300 million, it has led to the creation of a series of "Metaverse" label themes in the field of micro-short dramas, demonstrating the possibility of technology intervention in science fiction and fantasy themes. Regarding the development direction of the content and themes of short plays, the Creation One team believes that various types of themes that have appeared in movies and long plays in the past may be "short-played" by professional teams in the future, and the production cycle of short plays will be shorter, which is consistent with Hot topics in current society can be more closely integrated. Just as "Seven Lives" is a suspense genre, it is actually a story about women overcoming multiple difficulties and ultimately achieving self-growth.
On the other hand, high-quality micro-short dramas with different themes and types have emerged on Douyin in the past year, such as the "hot-selling" short drama "Escape from the British Museum" that became popular on Douyin not long ago, and was produced by Douyin. The creators "Summer Sister" and "Jianbing Guozai" collaborated and made their own, telling the story of a Chinese cultural relic in the British Museum that transformed into a modern girl to find her roots and return home.
Regarding the cooperation with Chuangyi Technology, Qian Lili, the person in charge of Douyin’s high-quality short dramas, said that Douyin has always been very welcome to work with partner organizations to create high-quality short dramas, and is willing to work with Chuangyi Technology on creativity, content and technology. , to jointly explore the future of innovation and refinement in short dramas.
In addition to focusing on creating high-quality short dramas in terms of content, Douyin also takes multiple measures in ecological governance and diversified support. Through measures such as special fund support, exposure support, and operational support, Douyin helps high-quality short dramas on the platform gain more exposure. At the "Future of Drama - High-Quality Micro-Short Drama Cooperation Seminar" held in Hangzhou, Douyin announced that it would join hands with Xinhua News Agency, Xinhuanet, CCTV and other media organizations to create high-quality micro-short dramas. It is reported that the first batch of co-created high-quality micro-short dramas will be launched in March 2024.
