author | Hard Candy King
has experienced rapid growth in the past three years. Micro-short dramas that are at the forefront of new trends have become the most imaginative film and television concepts in early 2024. With the guidance of management measures from the General Administration and the proactive traction of far-sighted video platforms, the micro-short drama market is now even more impressive in terms of quality.
At the 2023 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honors Release held on December 16, Li La, deputy general manager of Tencent Online Video Platform Operations Department, presented awards including the 2023 Tencent Video "Most Favorite Micro Short Series" and "The Most IP Valuable Micro Series". The golden goose honor of "Short Drama" fully conveys the importance Tencent Video attaches to the micro-short drama track. "Shifen Theater" is a trump card of Tencent Video's layout of high-quality micro-short dramas. While driving the rapid development of the industry, it always looks up to the stars.
It is not difficult to find from Yunhe Dataâs micro-short drama domination list that Tencent Videoâs micro-short dramas account for more than 80%, leading by an absolute advantage. Not only that, Tencent Videoâs âShifen Theaterâ performance is also far ahead: it has firmly occupied 2 seats in the 2023 full-year list so far, 4 seats in the h1 list, 2 seats in the q3 list, and many works have won the National Radio, Film and Television , the recommendation and recognition of provincial radio and television units, which can be said to be a double harvest of popularity and reputation.
Blow away all the sand before reaching gold. "Shifen Theater" was launched as the first high-quality micro-short drama label when it launched in the industry in 2021. In 2022, it proposed "taking excellence as the ruler and walking toward the United States", and now it is the micro-short drama label with the highest quality rate. , Mr. Hard Candy also interpreted a new trend:
trend one, dare to be the first in type layout, and actively broaden the boundaries of content and experience. When the industry tends to fall into the dilemma of homogenization of female channel content, at the beginning of 2023, "Shifen Theater" set a benchmark for male channels with its first "system flow" short drama "Starting with a Mountain"; in the second half of 23 It also produced works such as "Moyu Xuanqi 2" from the experimental track of "interactive drama", constantly gaining insights into user demand trends, developing new topics, and driving the micro-short drama industry into a new stage.
Trend 2: Diversified categories are working together to develop "warm realism" with remarkable results. In the relatively mature female channel genre, the Republic of China love micro-short drama "Invitation" exceeded 20 million in revenue, and the number of topics on the entire network exceeded 3.5 billion. It was also selected into the "2023 Outstanding Online Audiovisual Works Selection List" of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. What deserves more attention is that in the male video genre, which has always been regarded as more difficult to develop by the film and television industry, "Shifen Theater" has achieved outstanding results through the "Small Town Suspense Short Drama" series.
type layout Dare to be the first to take the initiative to broaden the boundaries of content and experience
Since the establishment of "Shifen Theater" in 2021, "new experience" has been implemented as one of the brand spirits in the theater's content layout. What is a ânew experienceâ? That is to make full use of the lightweight size of micro-short dramas and the social nature of users to watch dramas, and constantly experiment with immersive experiences.
interactive drama is an area that Tencent Video has been deeply exploring in micro-short dramas. It is said by the industry to have provided a fourth new track besides horizontal screen short dramas, vertical screen short dramas and mini program short dramas. The interactive drama "Moyu Xuanqi 2" launched by "Shifen Theater" at the end of 2023 attracted nearly 10 million interactions as soon as it was launched. It became the Shanxi Provincial Radio and Television Bureau's recommended online audio-visual program in the fourth quarter of 2023 and received a large number of interactions. Evaluation and tap water Amway, the total number of topics on the entire network has exceeded 700 million.
As early as 2019, "Moyu Xuanqi 1" began its exploration of interactive dramas and created a score of 7.2 on Douban. Compared with the previous game, "Moyu Xuanqi 2" changes from vertical screen to horizontal screen. Through sophisticated creation upgrades and fresh and interesting interactions, it has a new charm:
First of all, the experience is fresh. Rather than letting the audience take on the role of the heroine, the audience is allowed to form a contract with the heroine as an "immortal official". Compared with the fixed system or golden finger in the traditional movie game plot to unfold the plot, wouldn't it be more fun and immersive for the audience to be the "system" themselves?
And "Moyu Xuanqi" can break the fourth wall and establish a strong bond with the audience because it improves the audience's "control over watching the drama". It not only provides an immersive experience and participation, but also allows the audience to have a sense of participation. A greater sense of accomplishment. Because of this, the audience no longer has no emotion for the protagonist, but instead wants to help her because of her dependence and trust.Compared with wanting to collect props and show off abilities, this feeling of "being of one mind" with the heroine is a stronger and more powerful driving force, making the audience willing to continue playing.
Secondly, the form is fresh. The play introduces a game-like incentive mechanism without increasing the burden on the audience: the heroine will change her appearance every time she is promoted, collect a prop every time she passes a level, and generate a character that can be fissured on social platforms. Ending card. The card not only contains the verdict, but also the percentage of people defeated. It combines a dress-up game and a psychological test.
In addition, the main creator also controls the difficulty of interaction. Some options are so difficult that they can exhaust a person's lifelong emotional intelligence, while other interactive gameplay is easy to learn, such as choosing a recipe to make wontons, tapping the screen to speed up escape, or using simple gestures. Erase acne marks for beauties, etc. Enhance usersâ sense of accomplishment and reduce frustration.
Third, the content is fresh. In the past, after seeing this kind of story about survival advancement, the audience often hoped that the protagonist would be decisive and flexible, but after being slapped in the face countless times, they would find that these things are not easy to do. Even if you can't hit a straight ball regardless of the consequences, and you may fail to pass the level if you play the old-fashioned thick black method, the truly effective choice is to stick to your heart and treat others sincerely.
When I read the synopsis of this drama, I thought it was a common history of leveling up, killing monsters, and ascending to the top. After playing it myself, I discovered that it is a survival wisdom textbook. It has lost the sense of preaching and is more deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Next, more interactive drama works of "Shifen Theater" are also ready to be launched, among which "Master" and "Prince Gong's Mansion" are the most anticipated. "Master" will be cut into and unfolded from the first perspective of an anti-narcotics police officer, using the form of an interactive drama to allow the audience to have a deep understanding of anti-drug and legal knowledge. "Prince Kung's Mansion" combines online immersive viewing with offline real-life experience in the form of an interactive drama. It uses a new perspective to interpret the history and traditional architecture, food, etiquette and other cultures of Prince Kung's Mansion, and takes the responsibility of creating the culture of Prince Kung's Mansion. ip, the important task of inspiring young peopleâs cultural confidence.
It can be seen that the interactive theme selection of "Shifen Theater" combines the breadth of realistic themes, the emotional warmth of the story and the strength of value transmission, which is worthy of the industry's expectations and attention.
Diversified categories have worked together, and the achievements in "warm realism" have been remarkable
Since Li La first proposed the "subdivision diversification" development direction at the 2023 Shanghai TV Festival, the diversification trend of various themes has become more obvious: Female Channel Xiang's Republic of China romance, fairy tale fantasy; male fan Xiang's passionate counterattack, era entrepreneurship, suspense and other emerging vertical themes are at the top of the Yunhe list.
Driven by the popularity of "Shifen Theater", Hard Candy found that Tencent Video's short drama channel also launched two major sections: "Girls must-see" and "Boys must-see" to provide more precise supply to users' segmented needs. .
In terms of female channel content, "Shifen Theater" dared to break the so-called "hot hit" formula, and once again amazed the whole year with its sincere original intention of creation and delicate emotions: it presented the industry's top account amount, and was called " "Pure Love Ceiling", "Invitation", and "Nine Encounters with You", which have been praised by many film critics as "surprises in the micro-short drama industry" and "treasure short dramas of the year".
In the fierce competition on the female video track, "Shifen Theater" is the first to implement the principle of "reduce quantity and improve quality", and continuously promotes the industry from aspects such as emotional resonance, character creation, lens language, structural ingenuity, and aesthetic ability. The upper limit of quality.
In terms of male video content, "Shifen Theater" launched two "small town suspense short dramas" "Mystery" and "Extraordinary Police" in the first half of the year. The former won the annual special attention in the short video section of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival The short drama, which features the first-generation internet celebrities Da Mo and Zhu Yi, won the first place on many short video platform lists as soon as it was aired.
's exploration of the "warm realism" genre in the second half of the year is also quite eye-catching: "Anti-Fraud Storm", the country's first online micro-short drama with the theme of "Anti-Telecom Fraud", has exceeded 10 million, and was selected as one of the Beijing TV dramas. The Radio, Film and Television Bureauâs âYouth Chinese Dreamâ online audio-visual masterpiece.As soon as the show was launched, it was given a high score of 8.5 by 67,000 users on the site. The audience commented, "I suggest you share it with family groups. Parents are getting older and need this kind of conscience drama to popularize anti-fraud knowledge."
Focusing on the lives of the masses and thinking deeply about practical issues, "Anti-Fraud Storm" has gained both word-of-mouth and popularity, injecting a "stimulant" into creators with positive energy themes.
"Domino-style reversal short drama" "The Gambling" created a new form of circular narrative from one character's perspective in one episode. It integrated social issues such as campus bullying, native family, and marriage relationships into it. It not only provided a suspenseful short story The play explores a fresh set of solutions and generates deep social discussions. The screening event before the show was launched has already won the support and benefit of many actors such as Lin Gengxin, Huang Yi, Bao Beier, Lou Yixiao, etc. Later, it was awarded the Guangdong Province's Outstanding Online Audiovisual Program Recommendation for the Third Quarter of 2023 and was shortlisted for the 2023 "Shared Wealth" Cup" China Audiovisual Innovation Competition.
The absurd road comedy "Flying for the Rest of My Life" starring Zang Hongfei and Gong Jinguo aroused the audience's empathy and reflection on the plight of the elderly, and also conveyed a positive attitude towards aging and death. It was called "the most cinematic micro-comedy" by the audience. Short drama".
When it was announced at the end of 2022 that Tencent Videoâs micro-short dramas would be adding âwarm realismâ, Li La once said, âWe do not deliberately avoid the difficulties in real life and the conflicts between people. We must explore them through micro-short dramas. The truth, goodness and beauty of human nature bring warmth and upward power to the audience." In the year since
, "Shifen Theater" has lived up to expectations and delivered wonderful answers: it actively cares about reality, cares about real individuals, explores current social issues, focuses on real life from a young and artistic perspective, and satisfies users' expectations of reality. The appeal of the content type is to create "new mainstream" stories that allow ordinary people to stand at the center of the stage, convey depth and embody warmth.
It can be said that under the difficult proposition of "warm realism", "Shifen Theater" has found the most suitable aspect for telling stories, so that "warm realism" successfully got out of the dilemma of homogeneous themes and greatly expanded The audience boundary of micro-short drama content provides the possibility for in-depth vertical exploration of the micro-short drama track.
"Shifen Theater" continues to open up into the future, and its popularity, word-of-mouth and commercial value lead both ways.
Tencent Video's "Shifen Theater" focuses on content production, and under the protection of platform operations, content publicity and commercialization, it constantly breaks through new themes, creates new value, Set a new benchmark. During the upcoming Spring Festival, "Shifen Theater" will present a variety of short plays "New Year's Eve Dinner" to the audience. At the same time, it also officially announced a piece of good news - Tencent Video's "Shifen Theater" and Tongcheng Travel have reached an exclusive title cooperate. This means that "Shifen Theater" once again takes the lead, making the premium micro-short drama brand highly recognized by advertisers.
The commercialization problem of micro-short dramas has been urgently needed to be solved. In addition to flexible and diverse C-end payment policies, how to obtain income from B-end investment is also an outlet that each platform continues to explore.
At the end of 2022, Tencent Video released an upgrade to the investment rules for micro-short dramas, announcing that partners in split-account dramas can receive up to 80% of the income sharing, and use the greatest strength and sincerity to encourage independent investment. In line with what Li La said, "Good content means consumption." Whether they are c-end users or b-end customers, they are willing to pay for good works based on high-quality content experience. It is understood that Tencent Videoâs âShifen Theaterâ and Tongcheng Travelâs Spring Festival schedule customized pages have been launched on the Tencent Video site. We look forward to new sparks from the collision between brand owners, content creators and theater operators.
In 2024, micro-short dramas have reached another critical moment and need the leadership of the platform. We also look forward to Shifen Theater bringing more surprises. As Li La put it at the Hangzhou Micro-Short Drama Conference, "We not only advocate focusing on high-quality products, taking the right and long way, but also advocate vertical segmentation, change and innovation, and taking the road wide and well; with us partners to work together to create more works that resonate with users in terms of value, resonate with users emotionally, and break through the user experience in form."
