micro-short drama group at the end of 2023 has indeed burned into 2024. At the beginning of the new year, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television issued a notice on the creation plan of "Traveling with Micro Shorts", proposing to create and broadcast 100 excellent microshorts with the theme of "Traveling with Microshorts" in 2024. The "2023-2024 China Micro-Short Drama Market Research Report" released by iiMedia Consulting 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%. This digital growth trend will continue in 2024.
With the popularity of micro-short dramas, its reputation has also begun to face more doubts: serious homogeneity of content, lack of ideological depth, perfunctory production, and uneven service levels... Even so, the development momentum of micro-short dramas remains Remarkably, the user base of micro-short dramas on many platforms still reaches hundreds of millions, and the growth momentum is obvious.
Since many micro-short dramas are full of routines and have no depth, but the audience still loves to watch them, why is this? Recently, reporters from Yangcheng Evening News interviewed many academic experts, practitioners, and heavy users with questions to find out the answers. Why do you see
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Psychological Massage: It's corny and awkward, but very classy.
The division of themes in micro-short dramas is highly similar to that of online novels, and is usually divided into two categories: male videos and female videos. Male channel dramas focus on "feeling cool", with themes including God of War, crossing over , counterattack, rebirth of , etc.; female channel dramas focus on "sweet pets", with themes including bosses, sadomasochism, etc. In these micro-short dramas, usually the more explosive and bloody the story is, the easier it is for the audience to get hooked.
Currently, there are works on the market that are known as head micro-short plays with different styles and involve many elements. For example, " Wushuang ", which claims to have "been online for 8 days and recharged over 100 million yuan," is a male video drama that focuses on "God of War" and "Sadomasochism." " please!" which is said to have "shared box office revenue exceeding 30 million yuan"! "Don't Pet Me " integrates elements such as palace fighting, time travel, fantasy, comedy, and emotion. "After a flash marriage, Mr. Fu's waistcoat can no longer be hidden", which is known as "24-hour recharge sales exceeded 20 million yuan", is a female video drama that tells the story of a pair of young people who got married in a flash marriage. After facing difficulties and understanding each other, they join hands. A heartwarming story about living together. The play incorporates a large number of hot topics related to family, workplace, friendship and so on.
Wang Minan, a professor at the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University, once proposed the concept of "micro-era". It uses mobile phones and computers as its material foundation and is based on Internet culture and technology. It constitutes a "more fragmented, fast-food, bubble, and flat , but also a more open, diverse, and intersubjective context.” During the investigation, a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News found that the mainstream feelings of many micro-short drama users coincided with Wang Minan’s assertion about the “micro era”.
First, they admitted that a large number of short dramas were shoddy. Netizen "Pangzhu" said: "From the perspective of actors' acting skills, scripts, screen editing, video shooting, scenes, props, etc., the production level of micro-short dramas is uneven. Some actors can't even speak Mandarin, which is different from traditional The quality of TV dramas varies greatly.”
Second, they acknowledged that mini-series generally lack textual depth. Netizen "kevin" said: "Micro-short dramas lack depth of content, let alone cultural depth." Netizen "Oh God Lulu" said: "The production of these dramas is easy to follow the trend. You can see which style is popular recently. A batch of similar works with perfunctory and exaggerated expressions. I have watched some works, but after laughing at them, I have no memory."
Thirdly, it is easy to get addicted to micro-short dramas. Netizen "johnsonhuang" said: "When I am physically and mentally exhausted after get off work and don't want to use my brain, these micro-short dramas can allow me to escape from the high-intensity work state for a short time and relax." Netizen "Naga" believes: "Many rough micro-shorts The drama can accurately hit the pain points of the audience."
In this regard, Yang Hui, associate professor at the School of Liberal Arts of Capital Normal University, said that many users watch micro-short dramas in the hope of relaxation and entertainment. "The tension or tear-jerking during watching is, in a sense, both A 'psychological massage'".She believes that the short, flat and fast production and broadcast mode of micro-short dramas caters to ordinary users’ psychological expectations for short videos and also satisfies users’ needs for stories. “People are now accustomed to recording and sharing their lives in short videos. Most of these short videos based on social needs are not professionally produced, and people are surrounded by a large number of non-professional videos as never before. Users have gradually become more tolerant of such short videos."
film and television editing blogger "Time is Sweet with You" analyzed: "Compared with traditional Internet film and television works, micro-short dramas have a tight plot rhythm, new actors and unrestricted themes."
Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Media of Southwest University When Tang Tiantian explored the motivations of viewers of micro-short dramas, in addition to agreeing with the two mainstream views of entertainment and gaining emotional resonance, Tang Tiantian also proposed three possibilities: "First, explore new stories and world views. Short video audiences They may be interested in novel storylines and unique world views. They hope to discover new ways of thinking, perspectives and ideas in micro-short dramas, thereby broadening their horizons. Second, social communication. Short video audiences may share their views with others They may participate in discussions, comments or interact with other viewers to establish common interests and topics. Third, artistic appreciation. Some short video audiences may regard micro-short plays as a An art form, appreciating and evaluating its performance skills, script creation, photography technology, etc., paying attention to the artistic details in the play, and pursuing a deeper viewing experience."
Who is watching?
Mainly young people, broadening to middle-aged and elderly groups
The "2023 China Internet Audiovisual Development Research Report" released by the Internet Audiovisual Program Service Association mentioned that more than 50% of users have watched short dramas, instant noodles and other content under 3 minutes. , among which young people account for nearly 60%. Tang Tiantian said: "Young audiences have more diversified needs for watching dramas. They prefer short dramas that explore different themes and styles. They pay more attention to the novelty, excitement and fun of the plot. They usually like dynamic and innovative plots, as well as those with interesting characters. Themes and characters related to their own age group."
As the middle-aged and elderly people quickly integrate into the Internet, many video platforms are also targeting this group to produce micro-short dramas. Works such as "Please, Grandma" and "Grandpa and Me" have achieved good response. Yang Hui discovered: "The needs of the audience for micro-short dramas are related to the styles of literary and artistic works they have watched for a long time. For example, 'Sweet Pet', 'Ba Boss', etc. are the favorite flavors of young people, while middle-aged and elderly people watch more traditional video styles. "Micro-short dramas."
Jiang Shuyuan, associate professor at the School of Digital Media and Design Art, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, believes: "If young people engage in micro-short dramas to relieve work pressure and pursue excitement, then older people do it to relieve boredom and relieve loneliness. "Tang Tiantian further explained that middle-aged and elderly people pay more attention to emotional resonance and the authenticity of life, "Middle-aged and elderly audiences usually prefer traditional plots and classic themes, such as family, friendship, love and life values. They pay more attention to The character creation and emotional expression in the play also have different requirements for the rhythm and depth of plot development."
What are the differences between micro-short drama audiences and TV drama and other traditional video audiences in terms of user profiles and drama viewing habits? Jiang Shuyuan believes that the audience for micro-short dramas is mainly young people such as college students and office workers; the audience for long-form dramas is differentiated according to the subject matter. "The viewing habits of the audience for long-form dramas are no longer passively following the TV station's every night Instead of two-episode programming, more choices are made such as 'concentrate on watching dramas', 'stay up late to catch up on dramas' or 'watch dramas at double speed'."
In terms of subject matter preferences, Tang Tiantian said: "The audience for micro-short dramas pays more attention to entertainment and a relaxed and enjoyable viewing experience. They tend to choose micro-short dramas that are humorous, relaxing, romantic, or suspenseful. And long-form dramas Drama audiences pay more attention to the depth and complexity of the plot, and prefer works with compact plots, fleshed-out characters, and exciting plots." Yang Hui's research found: "The audience for vertical screen micro-short dramas is closer to the user portraits of short videos, and the audience for horizontal screen micro-short dramas is closer to the user portraits of short videos. The audience for Pingwei short dramas is closer to the user profile of medium and long-term video platforms."
What to watch?
Overlay AI to enhance the experience
Jiang Shuyuan said bluntly that the audience's quality requirements for micro-short dramas will become higher and higher: "The audience cannot continue to be impressed by low-level and superficial entertainment effects, let alone be impressed by them. Impressed by the standardized and similar content. "Yang Hui said: "Nowadays, the situation of 'word-of-mouth upside down' is no longer common. The quality of works with high ratings must be guaranteed. As an emerging form of work, micro-short dramas currently allow audiences to obtain pleasure simply and conveniently, but if they want to develop in the longer term and avoid audience fatigue, the quality of micro-short dramas must be improved. "Many micro-short drama users also expressed that their interest in watching the drama is waning: "Now I have lost interest after watching a few episodes. They are all routines." "I have watched a lot, but few of them can be finished." "The previews are quite interesting. "But I have no interest in chasing after it"...
So, how can micro-short dramas find a sustainable development path? Jiang Shuyuan suggested: "It is necessary to enhance the audience's experience, interactivity and participation in watching dramas. Work hard in the fields of interactive narrative and game narrative. "Previously, Shenzhen Sudashui Culture Media Co., Ltd. has participated in the production of the well-known interactive video game "Finished! I am surrounded by beauties!". The work is highly interactive: the player becomes the male protagonist Gu Yi and is immersed in it through the first-person perspective Get to know six girls with different looks and personalities, and embark on a relaxing and sweet love journey with them. The charming witch, the innocent girl, the intellectual sister, the unruly young lady, the sexy mom, and the cool CEO, who will you end up with? , it’s up to the players to decide. Long Jingjing, founder of the company and well-known micro-short drama producer, said: “Internet film and television based on the integration of games, film and television is a new path for the development of micro-short dramas. In the future, new technologies such as AI and VR will be superimposed on micro-short dramas to achieve cross-border integration. ”
Tang Tiantian believes that the audience can be impressed in five aspects: “First, innovate story themes and narrative methods. Try to explore novel story themes such as science fiction, fantasy, and history, or use non-linear narrative, multi-angle display, etc. to increase the uniqueness and appeal of the work. Second, maintain excellent production standards. Refined processing in terms of photography, editing, sound effects, actors' performance skills and character creation. Third, emphasize social value and in-depth thinking. Explore and present hot social topics through plot settings and character creation. Fourth, strengthen interactivity and user participation. Increase audience loyalty through online voting, plot adaptation, etc. Fifth, cross-media cooperation and IP development. In addition to cooperating with movies, TV series, music and other fields, we can also develop IP for micro-short dramas and launch related derivative products to create more influential and commercially valuable works.
Yang Hui took "Escape from the British Museum" as an example. She believed that the play broke away from the common elements of micro-short dramas such as sadomasochism, sweet pets, and counterattacks, and achieved innovation. "The development of micro-short dramas in the future must be high-quality products." "". She believes that the development of micro-short dramas is similar to the development logic of online dramas: "People no longer equate 'shoddy production' with online dramas, but for a long time, the impression given by online dramas is 'Copycat', 'rough', 'low cost' or even 'unbelievable' etc. Through the accumulation of volume, online dramas have attracted some high-quality production companies to join the industry and gradually produce high-quality products. The production level of some online dramas is comparable to that of TV dramas, and even has the quality of movies. After these works are recognized by the market, they serve as demonstrations. Everyone found that once the online drama is done, it will have better market response. The development of micro-short dramas will be similar to the development of online dramas. After going through the jungle period with many production entities and low costs at the beginning, after the accumulation of volume, creators will find that if their works want to stand out, they must rely on production quality. "
Having said that, many practitioners are unsure about how to make micro-short dramas high-quality. Xiong Yifan, a well-known micro-short drama producer and director of Shenzhen Lanxin Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd., pointed out: "Now everyone Everyone is calling for micro-short dramas to take the high-quality route, and there are also micro-short dramas with production costs close to 1 million yuan. However, many industry peers have a wait-and-see attitude towards this."
Shanghai Yanjun Film and Television Culture Media Producer Ju Renxi said: "If we consider it purely from a market perspective, every creator hopes to have sufficient funds to improve his works, but the more funds invested, the greater the burden will be. risks of. The traffic and income obtained by high-cost high-quality dramas may not be better than that of low-cost short dramas. "Therefore, many practitioners also call on the government to increase its support for micro-short dramas and take the lead in producing micro-short dramas with correct orientation, rich types, and well-produced ones.
