Picture source @Visual China
text | Cultural Industry Review, author | Jian Ming, editor | Peninsula
Recently, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television released the "Travel with Micro Short Plays" creation plan, and proposed 8 ideas in the notice Great creative direction. This notice provides an action guide for the micro-short drama industry to maintain integrity and innovate, and to expand its territory. Based on the review of the current status of "micro-short drama + cultural tourism", this article explains six creative cases in detail, providing reference for the specific implementation of the "travel with micro-short drama" creative plan.
On January 12, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television released the "Traveling with Micro Shorts" creation plan, proposing to create and broadcast 100 excellent microshorts with the theme of "Traveling with Microshorts" in 2024, and promote a batch of The physical filming locations follow the popularity of micro-short dramas and create a new trend of "checking in" across the country with micro-short dramas.
"Micro-short drama + cultural tourism" opens a new era
The meaning of this notice issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is not difficult to understand, let's look at the cultural industry comments and analysis.
In 2023, micro-short dramas will develop vigorously. Detawen data shows that a total of 899 new micro-short dramas will be released on major platforms in 2023, an increase of 98% compared to 2022. iiMedia Consulting data shows that China’s online micro-short drama market size will be 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 267.65%. The rapid development of micro-short dramas has also attracted "regular forces" such as government agencies, state-owned enterprises, publishing groups, radio and television media, etc. to enter the market, and the trend of high-quality dramas has become increasingly obvious.
In terms of cooperation model, various platforms are increasingly collaborating and complementing each other to help the high-quality development of micro-short dramas; in terms of production, micro-short dramas are also integrating with innovative forms such as games and VR to explore new forms; in terms of content, micro-short dramas are also integrating with innovative forms such as games and VR to explore new forms. Short dramas can integrate strong IP and deeper cultural elements to release new momentum.
At the beginning of the year, the "Travel with Micro-Shorts" creative plan proposed by Radio and Television is a guide for the "high-quality" micro-shorts, aiming to promote innovation in the themes and genres of micro-shorts, and actively explore the connection with culture and tourism. In-depth cross-border integration of industries. The realization of micro-short dramas no longer only relies on brainless plot models, but also becomes a link in large-scale culture and tourism consumption. Micro-short dramas will target a broader and more mainstream market.
's "micro-short drama + cultural tourism" creative model, although innovative, does not arise out of thin air.
short videos have always helped a lot in cultural tourism communication. The wild horse boy Ding Zhen has made his hometown Litang a dark horse in the tourism market; the directors of cultural tourism in Sichuan, Hubei, Xinjiang and other places cross-dressed and appeared in the industry; the summit meetings in Zibo and Erbin were also indispensable with the help of short videos; The recent fancy cultural and tourism activities in various places are also dizzying.
Micro-short plays can also be understood in layman’s terms as serialized short videos with strong storytelling. “Micro-short plays + cultural tourism” came into being and are highly anticipated. It is a new type of video for the cultural tourism market. Trying, for micro-short plays, is a creative opportunity with unlimited prospects.
What are the advantages of integrating micro-short dramas with culture and tourism?
Cultural Industry Commentary believes that it can be considered from three perspectives: content carrying capacity, production difficulty, and realization cycle. "Micro-short drama + cultural tourism" is a lightweight version of "film and television + cultural tourism" and an expanded version of "short video + cultural tourism".
Compared with conventional film and television works, micro-short dramas have a shorter production cycle, lower costs, and lower entry barriers. General cultural and tourism units and small micro video companies can also enter the game. Compared with short videos, its story carrying capacity and creative space are broader, and it can better meet the needs of in-depth, high-quality, and content-rich cultural and tourism communication.
Therefore, with the introduction of the "travel with micro-short dramas" policy, the creative model of "micro-short dramas + cultural tourism" will be unprecedentedly popular, with full market potential.
8 Creative Directions, Current Situation and Current Cases
But regardless of the "trough" or the "trough", travelers should have a clear mind. They should not only see the lighthouses and ideals in the distance, but also pay attention to the road and bumps under their feet.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television proposed 8 creative directions in the "Travel with Micro-Shorts" creative plan:
These 8 directions have greatly helped the creators focus on the subject matter, especially the display of typical scenes, from the countryside From tourism to scenic spots and landscapes, from archaeological projects to cultural relics and heritage, from industrial bases to city walks, it covers sectors in the cultural tourism industry that account for a large proportion of industries and have greater communication needs.
The next question is, are there currently 8 successful cases in the creative direction of ? How do they use micro-short dramas to empower tourism?
Based on the existing market research, I selected 6 micro-short drama cases to learn from the viewers.
1. The rural-themed micro-short drama "The Story of Gaobeidian" can be watched on Youku
As a 2022 Beijing Radio and Television Network Audiovisual Development Fund support project, "The Story of Gaobeidian" tells the story of Zhang Xiaolei, a villager in Gaobeidian Village, and his relationship with the renter. Song Ziqi, a returnee executive from his own family, is committed to promoting the development of emerging cultural industries in the village and helping villagers solve their living problems. This is a rural revitalization story.
"Gaobeidian Story" has a total of 50 episodes. Each episode lasts from 1 to 3 minutes. It can be regarded as a minimalist mini-drama. As can be seen from the above table, this micro-short drama uses the two contrasting characters Zhang Xiaolei and Song Ziqi as clues to set up a core conflict or turning point within 3 minutes, and most of the episodes only contain two scenes. Several episodes are combined to tell a small story, such as the conflict between father and son, old and new, between Uncle Jiang and Yan Ming. Through the perspective of the male and female protagonists, we witness Gaobeidian Village’s implementation of the strategy of cultural revitalization and industrial upgrading in the past ten years, and finally achieve the goal of revitalizing the village through culture and industrial upgrading. A warm story from "Three No Countrysides" to "The Most Beautiful Countryside".
Although this drama did not stir up much excitement, it basically followed the creative format of micro-short dramas and also presented multiple unit stories in a main line. However, because the characters are relatively traditional, there are not many laughs, the topic is not strong, and the pictures are not beautiful enough, the communication effect is very limited.
If we want to create the creative direction required by the notice of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television - rural revitalization story, and guide rural tourism, we should first think about the purpose of creation? Is it to enhance the brand influence of rural tourism in a place, or to show the development and revitalization of this place over the past few years? Is it to attract people for sightseeing and leisure, or to experience the folk customs and food here?
sorted out the rural tourism resources and found this core purpose before constructing the micro-short story. For example, our focus is to spread the folk food culture of a certain village, and the main scenes that can show food are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... So, what kind of protagonist character can combine these? Are the scenes connected organically? She can be an explorer, looking for a certain flavor in memory; she can be an outsider, breaking the original harmony of the countryside; she can be a breakthrough, moving from the countryside to the larger world... Based on these imaginations , redesign conflicts and plots, and organically integrate them with the rural food scene.
In short, if we think from the perspective of micro-short dramas to empower rural tourism, we must pay attention to the needs of the audience and the contrast and impact of the scene. For people in bustling cities, the kind of "longing for life" can be It is the first driving force to stimulate the enthusiasm for tourism.
2. The archaeological short drama "The Bone Whistle of Hemudu" can be watched on CCTV
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of Hemudu culture, China Central Radio and Television, Ningbo Radio and Television Group and the Propaganda Department of the Yuyao Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, produced "Love for Hemudu" Integrated media projects, "The Bone Whistle of Hemudu" is one of the micro-short drama products.
In the micro-short drama market, this work is relatively delicate and well-produced. The real-life shooting restores the state of field archaeologists. The innovative audio-visual expressions make the life scenes of ancient ancestors vividly appear before our eyes. Close-ups of utensils such as pig-patterned pottery bowls, rattan bone bowls, and single-eared wooden bowls also allow people to more truly feel the brilliance of Hemudu culture.
Although it can’t be said to be out of the entertainment industry, as a small but sophisticated micro-short drama with an archaeological theme, "The Bone Whistle of Hemudu" still has certain reference significance for the creation of similar themes.How to integrate professionalism and interest is the biggest problem in this creative direction. Perhaps you can refer to the art series made by the account @何师 Zaida on Douyin: Where did those famous paintings/works come from? It does not only focus on the core archeology. Engineering can also contextualize and popularize history.
3, Zhu Tiexiong, the creator of intangible cultural heritage themes, can be viewed on Douyin
Compared with archeology, the creation of intangible cultural heritage themes is actually relatively easier to access first-hand materials, and it is also more popular with the public. Although there are currently no outstanding micro-shorts on intangible cultural heritage, the short video platform has incubated many talented intangible cultural creators, such as @ ZhuTiexiong, who is known for his high quality and low output.
In addition to the cross-dressing sessions with core competitiveness, almost all of his videos feature old people + young people as the protagonists. From conflicts to retreat after frustration to relief and passion, he reaches the peak of the audience's emotions and conveys the intangible inheritance. The dilemma of development awakens the mission of young people.
Although the plots of these short videos are not coherent, his grasp of emotional dynamics and contradictory themes is worth learning from intangible cultural heritage-themed mini-shorts.
4. The cultural relic-themed micro-short drama "Escape from the British Museum" can be watched on Douyin
Among the eight directions, the cultural relic-themed micro-short drama is actually more attractive. Because it not only involves scenes, but also points to specific objects, and objects have relationships, stories and imagination behind them.
Personification is an important method in the creation of cultural relics-themed micro-shorts. Last year's popular micro-short "Escape from the British Museum" was quite clever, telling the story of a Chinese jade pot "escaping" from the British Museum to find it. The story of the journey back home.
This case allows us to see the best way to play micro-short dramas on cultural relics. It is not only about boasting about how long it is, how rich the history is, and how wonderful the art is, but more importantly, it allows the cultural relics to create an emotional and life link with the audience. With this Only through empathy can we enter a deeper humanistic world.
Among the eight major creative directions required by the notice of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, there are a lot of excellent cases related to entertainment, cultural tourism and cultural creative projects in recent years. There is a lot of experience that can be learned. The creative techniques commonly used in videos include time-traveling, ancient and modern dialogue, and anthropomorphic activation. Its essence is the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture.
5. City roaming micro-short dramas "The Secret Between Us", "Take You to a Good Place", "I'm Siming"
Generally speaking, urban-themed dramas have their own urban genes and can carry more cities Scenes, and implanted into the hearts of the audience through high-profile plots and characters, inspiring people's yearning. From "Hurry Up", "Where the Wind Goes" to "Flowers", the saying "a drama can set a city on fire" has become commonplace. Makes no sense.
has also made attempts in the field of micro-short dramas. Recently, the first Macau-themed micro-short drama "The Secret Between Us" produced by Mango TV was broadcast. With the support of the Cultural Development Fund of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and Melco Macau, this drama presents cultural features such as Macau’s food, beautiful scenery and urban environment in a multi-faceted manner, highlighting the spiritual outlook of the new generation of young people living in Macau.
"The Secret Between Us" stills
Douyin platform, Wuyi County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province planned and filmed a series of micro-short dramas "Take You to a Good Place", based on a character named "We-media person Xiaomao" As the main line, explore the landscape and culture of Wuyi County. @ Geng Tiaotiao created a series of micro-short plays "I am Siming", which combines the adventures of migrant workers with cultural and tourism elements. The average number of likes on the episodes exceeded 10,000. In the comment area, many viewers were impressed by the scenes in the play and expressed their desire to Travel to Xiamen. Although
is not very popular, as one of the few urban roaming micro-shorts currently available, their existence also provides a template for such creations. It should be noted that the presentation of urban scenes should have its significance in the plot, rather than superimposed presentations such as promotional films and scenery films.
6, Scenic Spot micro-short drama "Temperature" Tencent Video can watch
Chongqing Hot Spring Twelve Golden Hairpin series micro-short drama "Temperature" focuses on social topics such as single-parent families, autistic children, intergenerational communication, etc., and combines it with the twelve golden hairpins It is a new attempt to organically integrate the unique Chongqing hot springs to show the natural style and humanistic beauty of the scenic spot.
I watched two of the episodes. The plot setting is relatively extensive and the production is not high quality. In fact, it is still in the mode of a drama promotional film, but it is packaged in the shell of a micro-short drama. This also illustrates the common problem that the current "micro-short drama + cultural tourism" model may encounter, that is, old wine in new bottles, and gimmicks are better than actual effects.
makes micro-short dramas about scenic spots. In fact, you might as well change the idea of passing the game. Don't insist on going online to offline. You can also think about opening up from offline to online.
On the one hand, cultural and tourism live performance has accumulated very profound and successful experience over the years, including many situational story elements. When making micro-short plays on scenic spots, you can refer to how these real-life performances integrate cultural and tourism characteristics. Take a look at how Zhang Yimou, Wang Chaoge, and Hangzhou Songcheng did it. Apply these skills to the creation of micro-short plays, and the score should be Not too bad either.
On the other hand, when creating micro-short dramas about scenic spots, we must not break away from online and offline interactive scenes. For example, the "Male and Female Daji" in Henan's Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area has become popular recently, triggering heated discussions among netizens. According to the response, they actually played mythical characters in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. If the Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area wants to create a micro-short play, it might as well make use of the existing celebrity traffic and scenes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas to create a story about the Classic of Mountains and Seas that is both true and imaginary, giving flesh and blood to the NPCs of these mythical characters, and continuing the audience’s sense of immersion. and a sense of gain, and at the same time can better ease online disputes.
Among the eight major creative directions required by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), five and six (telling the stories of the Great Wall culture, the Grand Canal culture, the Long March spirit, the Yellow River culture, and the feelings of family and country and the spirit of struggle contained in them, helping the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, The construction of national cultural parks such as the Long March and the Yellow River. Using industrial tourism, science and technology tourism and other bases, parks and routes as narrative scenes to tell the story of "Made in China", "China Speed" and "China Power".) is currently in the field of micro-short dramas less common. Perhaps for micro-short dramas, these topics and scenes have relatively high thresholds and are difficult to integrate into daily scenes, so they are rarely covered. However, with the creation and updating of micro-short plays, "micro-speech and great meaning" can be more profoundly reflected, and the gaps in this direction will also be filled.
Conclusion
Based on the above observations, although there are many pioneers in the field of "micro-short drama + cultural tourism" who have a keen sense of smell and are the first to try it, most of the works have received mediocre response, with little data support, and it is difficult to evaluate their impact on tourism. the communication value of the place. In actual implementation, whether micro-short dramas can give full play to their advantages and inject new energy into the cultural tourism industry still needs to be continuously verified in practice.
However, with the proposal and advancement of the "Travel with Micro Shorts" creative plan, the past trial of crossing the river by trial and error will become today's active entry into the game, and the micro-short drama industry will also usher in a new era of high-quality development. I believe that the heroes competing for the throne will eventually achieve something.
