“These companies are desperate for opportunities. The Chinese economy, globally, is not performing well.”
The companies chinese of production of microdramas “they are desperate” to expand business in the world due to the country’s slow economic recovery, an academic specializing in the sector pointed out today.
“These companies are desperate for opportunities. Chinese economy, globally, is not performing well“, described Xiaoping Wu, associate professor of Languages and Cultures at Beijing and Hong Kong Normal University.
Microdramas are produced specifically to be viewed in cell phones and on social networks, generally having episodes lasting between 60 and 90 secondshaving won popularity in recent years both in China and abroad.
During the lecture “Human-AI Co-production for Cross-Cultural Adaptation: The Case of Chinese Microdramas” held at the University of Macau, the researcher described that the size of the industry has already exceeded 1.28 billion yuan (159 billion euros), driven by the consumption of short videos and ‘live streaming’.
Currently, the number of companies operating in the online audiovisual sector in China already exceeds 800 mil, described Wu, but many “aren’t making a profit” and are aiming for international markets.
“Target markets for Chinese companies now include the South Asia, the United States and Europe“, stated Wu.
A production company in Beijing, for example, began “directing funds to its production team in Los Angeles” in the United States, in order to counter current low profits, the academic described.
Another example is the microdrama platform “RealShort”, a Chinese company that operates and produces microdramas for the United States market, and which already has 1.2 million active users per month.
According to Wu, the sector presents two types of microdramas: those that use real actors or those generated by AI, the latter of which are “very cheap to produce, but with less quality”.
The researcher described that several Chinese companies are turning to real actors foreigners to try to reach an international audience, but a production with real actors can cost 200 thousand dollars (185 thousand euros), with a screenwriter earning 30 thousand yuan (3,800 euros) per month.
“There is this opportunity with the IA which is growing. Everyone wants to enjoy it, regardless of the cost they have to bear at the beginning,” said Wu.
Companies in the sector have even turned to AI tools to select existing Chinese microdramas and adapt them as foreign versions, while tailoring them to local audiences’ preferences and reducing expenses.
“A IA is also being used in writing of arguments. Sometimes there are also missing characters in filming with real actors and it is necessary to use AI to add them later”, he explained, based on research he carried out with five professionals in the sector.
The researcher also pointed out that entire segments of special effects, marketing materials or clips generated by AI are produced.
“Some companies use AI to create marketing clips that have nothing to do with the actual short dramafor example, giving superpowers to a character, such as transforming them into a cyborg, just to attract attention. It’s absurd, but effective,” he said.
Last year, Chinese microdrama company COL established a specialized production studio in Hengqin, a special economic zone adjacent to Macau, to accelerate its global expansion.
With 10,000 square meters, this is the first studio dedicated to microdramas in the sector, with 30 recording studios designed specifically for the production of microdramas in several languages, including Portuguese, with Brazil as the target.
