Very Short Videos Are Changing Film Industries
2024-10-19
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1On a film set in China, a 69-year-old actor is playing the part of a wealthy family leader.
2In "Grandma's Moon," actor Zhu Jian celebrates his birthday with a costly dinner party.
3And he is about to get a big surprise: One of the workers at the party is his granddaughter.
4But there is another big surprise.
5"Grandma's Moon" is not a movie or even a television show.
6Instead, it is a series of short videos, called a micro drama.
7Creators shoot them vertically for easy watching on cell phones.
8Each episode is only minutes long.
9Most of the people watching "Grandma's Moon" are middle-aged workers and retired people.
10Zhu said that these viewers do not go to movie theaters anymore.
11He added that it is so easy "...to hold a mobile phone and watch something anytime you want."
12Micro dramas use story-telling methods like hooks and plot twists to keep millions of viewers watching on their cellphones.
13And these audiences are very willing to pay for more.
14The cliffhangers at the end of each episode are critical to the success of micro dramas.
15Cliffhangers keep a viewer interested and wanting to watch more.
16Audiences must pay for the next episode to find out what happened.
17Reuters News Agency reports that China's micro drama industry is worth $5 billion.
18Micro dramas are shot quickly and with little money.
19The first few episodes are often free.
20But to watch the whole micro drama series, audiences may have to pay money to watch additional episodes.
21Experts say micro dramas are successfully competing with China's film industry.
22The micro drama leader is the app Kuaishou.
23The app is responsible for 60 percent of the top 50 Chinese micro dramas last year.
24That information comes from Endata, a company that studies media.
25Douyin is owned by internet technology company Bytedance, which is also popular with micro drama fans.
26Other Chinese social media apps like Xiaohongshu and YouTube competitor Bilibili have announced plans to make more.
27Micro dramas are now spreading to the United States.
28"China discovered this audience first," said Layla Cao, a Chinese producer based in Los Angeles.
29Hollywood, she says, has not yet.
30Micro dramas are successful not only for their story-telling methods but also for their interesting plots.
31Many popular micro dramas for Chinese audiences are stories about revenge or reaching higher social status.
32Their popularity is happening at a time when making money and changing your status in China is difficult. Youth unemployment is also high.
33The micro dramas often "show people who one day are lower class and the next day become upper class ..." said a 26-year-old screenwriter.
34Writing under the name Camille Rao, she recently left a low-paid job in the traditional film industry.
35Now, she writes micro drama stories for American audiences.
36China's Communist Party has been critical of micro dramas.
37Between late 2022 and early 2023, China's regulatory agency, the National Radio and Television Administration, or NRTA, removed 25,300 micro dramas.
38In June, the Chinese government began requiring some creators to register micro dramas with the NRTA.
39The regulator did not answer Reuters' request for comment.
40Actor Zhu added that the plot is often unreal or over-the-top; "...so it catches people's attention and a large audience wants to see them," he said.
41Zhu said he loves classic films, like "Casablanca."
42And like many other film lovers working in micro dramas, he thinks they have limited artistic value.
43He said, "I see it as fast food..."
44However, loyal fans of micro dramas disagree.
45Huang Siyi is a 28-year-old customer service agent.
46She enjoys watching romantic micro dramas because "the acting is good and the male and female leads are good-looking."
47She adds that it is easy to get hooked on micro dramas.
48Micro dramas can be made with little money.
49The amount of money needed to make them can be between $28,000 (200,000 yuan) and $280,000 (2 million yuan), the market research company iResearch reports.
50In the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, creators are making "Grandma's Moon" with not much money and not much time.
51The show was filmed in just six days.
52As micro dramas grow in popularity, actors' earnings have grown too.
53Many Chinese micro drama producers have their eye on Western markets.
54Micro dramas designed for the West are often made by production and acting crews in Los Angeles and shot on location.
55The stories are in English and often involve wealth, cheating partners, and miracles.
56One of the apps that distributes micro dramas in the West is called LoveShots.
57In one of its latest micro dramas, a paralyzed woman miraculously regains her ability to walk.
58Then, she walks in to find her husband cheating on her.
59I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Anna Matteo.
1On a film set in China, a 69-year-old actor is playing the part of a wealthy family leader. 2In "Grandma's Moon," actor Zhu Jian celebrates his birthday with a costly dinner party. And he is about to get a big surprise: One of the workers at the party is his granddaughter. 3But there is another big surprise. 4"Grandma's Moon" is not a movie or even a television show. Instead, it is a series of short videos, called a micro drama. Creators shoot them vertically for easy watching on cell phones. Each episode is only minutes long. 5Most of the people watching "Grandma's Moon" are middle-aged workers and retired people. Zhu said that these viewers do not go to movie theaters anymore. He added that it is so easy "...to hold a mobile phone and watch something anytime you want." 6Micro dramas use story-telling methods like hooks and plot twists to keep millions of viewers watching on their cellphones. And these audiences are very willing to pay for more. 7The cliffhangers at the end of each episode are critical to the success of micro dramas. Cliffhangers keep a viewer interested and wanting to watch more. Audiences must pay for the next episode to find out what happened. 8Changing the industry 9Reuters News Agency reports that China's micro drama industry is worth $5 billion. Micro dramas are shot quickly and with little money. The first few episodes are often free. But to watch the whole micro drama series, audiences may have to pay money to watch additional episodes. 10Experts say micro dramas are successfully competing with China's film industry. 11The micro drama leader is the app Kuaishou. The app is responsible for 60 percent of the top 50 Chinese micro dramas last year. That information comes from Endata, a company that studies media. 12Douyin is owned by internet technology company Bytedance, which is also popular with micro drama fans. Other Chinese social media apps like Xiaohongshu and YouTube competitor Bilibili have announced plans to make more. 13Micro dramas are now spreading to the United States. 14"China discovered this audience first," said Layla Cao, a Chinese producer based in Los Angeles. Hollywood, she says, has not yet. 15Popular Storylines story-telling techniques 16Micro dramas are successful not only for their story-telling methods but also for their interesting plots. 17Many popular micro dramas for Chinese audiences are stories about revenge or reaching higher social status. Their popularity is happening at a time when making money and changing your status in China is difficult. Youth unemployment is also high. 18The micro dramas often "show people who one day are lower class and the next day become upper class ..." said a 26-year-old screenwriter. Writing under the name Camille Rao, she recently left a low-paid job in the traditional film industry. Now, she writes micro drama stories for American audiences. 19Criticisms of micro dramas 20China's Communist Party has been critical of micro dramas. Between late 2022 and early 2023, China's regulatory agency, the National Radio and Television Administration, or NRTA, removed 25,300 micro dramas. 21In June, the Chinese government began requiring some creators to register micro dramas with the NRTA. The regulator did not answer Reuters' request for comment. 22Actor Zhu added that the plot is often unreal or over-the-top; "...so it catches people's attention and a large audience wants to see them," he said. 23Zhu said he loves classic films, like "Casablanca." And like many other film lovers working in micro dramas, he thinks they have limited artistic value. He said, "I see it as fast food..." 24However, loyal fans of micro dramas disagree. 25Huang Siyi is a 28-year-old customer service agent. She enjoys watching romantic micro dramas because "the acting is good and the male and female leads are good-looking." 26She adds that it is easy to get hooked on micro dramas. 27Explosive growth 28Micro dramas can be made with little money. The amount of money needed to make them can be between $28,000 (200,000 yuan) and $280,000 (2 million yuan), the market research company iResearch reports. 29In the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, creators are making "Grandma's Moon" with not much money and not much time. The show was filmed in just six days. 30As micro dramas grow in popularity, actors' earnings have grown too. 31Many Chinese micro drama producers have their eye on Western markets. 32Micro dramas designed for the West are often made by production and acting crews in Los Angeles and shot on location. The stories are in English and often involve wealth, cheating partners, and miracles. 33One of the apps that distributes micro dramas in the West is called LoveShots. In one of its latest micro dramas, a paralyzed woman miraculously regains her ability to walk. Then, she walks in to find her husband cheating on her. 34I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Anna Matteo. 35Antoni Slodkowski reported this story for Reuters with additional reporting from Tingshu Wang and Xiaoyu Yin. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 36______________________________________________ 37Words in This Story 38vertically -adv. straight up or at an angle of 90° to a horizontal surface or line 39episode -n. an event that is part of a longer story or of history or a life but which is viewed as complete by itself 40hook -n. a device especially in music or writing that catches the attention 41plot twist -n. literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction 42audience -n. a group that listens or watches (as at a play or concert) 43revenge -n. to get even for a wrong done 44status -n. position or rank in relation to others 45screenwriter -n. a writer of scripts and often shooting directions of a story prepared for movie production 46miracle -n. an extraordinary event taken as a sign of the supernatural power of God 47paralyzed -adj. rendered incapable of movement or action 48We want to hear from you. 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