Only the score is not high out of the circle, and the short drama Zhou is still in the hidden corner

Author|Zhang Yun

After the explosion of "Crazy", it can also score 8 points on Douban, and the Youku short drama "Ligong Northeast Old Things" has a good strength.

Unfortunately, this high score was only obtained on the day of the end of "Ligong Northeast Old Things". The good reputation that caught off guard was too late to save this 12-episode short drama. 

Originally, this is a black humor with Cohen's crime style, a down-to-earth Northeast 90s picture guide, and elements of Chinese local strange stories, which is a rare masterpiece in recent times. 

Source: Douban

Since 2023, short dramas such as "The Daughter Back", "Moses on the Plain" and "Daming under the Microscope" have been launched one after another, even if the quality is not bad, but they have not become a hit.

In addition to short dramas, another form of domestic drama: Zhou Geng drama, which rarely can form a discussion boom in the audience, such as "This Life is also the First Time" being broadcast at the Mango Monsoon Theater, the topic is sensitive, directly refers to female fertility, which could have had a crazy momentum to create a topic, why was it broadcast quietly?

  Short dramas, weekly dramas, what is the problem that cannot be recognized by the market?

Dehydrate the water injection drama

 Tracing the development of Chinese TV dramas, the length of the series seems to have undergone a reincarnation. 

Initially, due to limited production levels, the average number of dramas was less than 10 episodes, and in the 90s, the empty "Longing" was 50 episodes per broadcast, and Chinese TV dramas developed exponentially, and then later, TV series were called out by the audience in order to be long and long. 

The reason, of course, is the promotion of capital - TV stations buy dramas by episode, resulting in a large number of water-injected dramas, eighty or ninety episodes of works are common, in addition to a few boutiques, quite a few long dramas make people's heads. 

This is also why, when video websites can be watched at double speed, many viewers click double speed without hesitation. In 2021, the "2021 China Network Audiovisual Development Research Report" released by the China Network Audiovisual Program Service Association showed that nearly 40% of the post-00s have the habit of watching online videos at double speed, and the reasons include the procrastinating plot rhythm and avoiding and disliking bridges.

Source: Sichuan TV News Editor

It is worth noting that popular titles such as "Crazy", the number of viewers who can watch the series in its entirety is also worth considering. A considerable number of viewers admitted that they either finished watching "Crazy" on the hot search, or they got the plot in the office. 

There is no need to inject water into inferior dramas, of course, to dehydrate mercilessly!      

In 2009, Hu Zhanfan, then deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said at the annual meeting that regulations limiting the length of TV dramas were about to be released: "If the TV series exceeds 30 episodes in the future, it will not be broadcast if it is not done well." ”       

But the reality is that the slimming order is only rhetorical, not a mandatory policy. 

On the cusp of the storm, some TV series have been temporarily reduced, but most of the film parties are unmoved.      

In February 2020, the State Administration of Radio and Television of China issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of the Creation and Production of TV Dramas and Online Dramas, which clearly stipulates that the filming and production of TV dramas and online dramas should not exceed 40 episodes, and the production of short dramas up to 30 episodes is encouraged. 

The short drama was finally officially "justified", and as a result, video websites also boldly launched their own layouts. 

In May 2020, iQIYI upgraded "Odd Suspense Theater" to "Misty Theater" and launched "Ten Days Game". Within two months, "Hidden Corner" became a hit.      

In just 12 episodes, but in just two weeks, it set off the terrier carnival of the year.      

After that, Youku simultaneously pushed the suspense theater; In the subdivided micro-drama track, Tencent Video also released the brand "Ten Theater". 

It can be said that "theater" represents a new operation model and investment promotion means, the most typical of which is to drive discussion through topic marketing. According to the 2021 China Network Audiovisual Development Research Report, 83% of the new online dramas in 2020 have less than 30 episodes, which is a very noteworthy figure. 

Zhou Geng drama is not new  

Domestic weekly dramas appeared earlier. At the end of 2011, Hunan Satellite TV launched a weekly theater. 

Due to the censorship system, different from the foreign model of filming and broadcasting, domestic weekly dramas are all finished dramas that have been filmed. This daily production is essentially a kind of "pseudo-weekly drama". 

However, the buyer has the final decision on the editing of the TV series, in order to increase the ratings, the finale can be specially cut out of an episode, and the previous plot review makes up half of the episode, and the willful editing has caused the audience to complain strongly. 

Despite this, Hunan Satellite TV spares no effort in the operation of the weekly broadcast theater. Although the name has changed, the first week broadcast theater, youth Sunday, diamond solo theater, youth in progress... 

But it has also created popular dramas: "Flower Thousand Bones", "Xuanyuan Sword Traces of the Sky", "Whirlwind Girl", "Chu Qiao Chuan" and "Ancient Sword and Qitan", all of which appeared in the summer file that meets the aesthetic taste of young audiences, which just in time to promote word-of-mouth momentum.

In contrast, Shanghai Oriental, Beijing Satellite TV, and Jiangsu Satellite TV, which have tried to arrange weekly dramas, have almost no movement and no name, and several theaters have even stopped around 2020. 

In 2021, Mango TV introduced the "Monsoon Plan", which adopts a weekly broadcast mode of 2 episodes per week, 70 minutes per episode, and a total of 12 episodes. The positioning of the Monsoon Theater given by China Merchants is quite domineering: through the theme of caring for reality and avant-garde perspective, it arouses the deep resonance of the audience. Strive to establish an industry benchmark with film-level short dramas and leverage the industry pattern. 

The first work of Monsoon Theater is "Wolf Hunter" starring Qin Hao, originally wanted to take advantage of the momentum of "Zhang Dongsheng" to watch Qin Hao break himself and create a new ratings miracle, but because the play itself has too many bugs, the ranger played by Qin Hao is like the protagonist halo of the immortal body, even if the photographic picture is good, it is a little difficult to bring in. 

Next, "True Detective of Lies" starring Yu Nan has similar problems, and good actors can't stand up to the pompous story construction. 

By the third part of the monsoon, "I'm fine in another country" was finally out of the loop. With a segmental focus on emotions about the life of Beipiao, this drama is really popular. While the audience complained that the plot did not conform to reality, they sought the resonance of the workers in the play, scolding and watching, 12 episodes, 38 days of broadcast cycle, giving the film a high score of 8.1, and the effective broadcast market share of the feature film has always been between 10-30, which is a small hit in the circle. 

The realistic theme of flesh and blood seems to be easier for the audience to ignore, and the torment of two episodes a week. In September 2022, Bilibili's "Sanyue Has a New Job" played by a pessimistic girl strung together a rich, diverse, full of sorrows and joys of different lives, and the warm world accompanied by chicken soup lines that can be screenshotted infinitely quickly came out of the circle. 

The road to breakthrough is difficult and difficult  

On the one hand, the original intention of advocating the creation of short dramas is to improve the quality of TV series.      

On the other hand, the two forms of short dramas and weekly dramas are ways for Chinese TV dramas to integrate with international standards.      

As we all know, the dramas that have gained a good reputation in the world are short and fast, such as "The Last of the Survivors", "House of Cards", "Game of Thrones" and other British and American dramas, with an average of 10 episodes each. 

According to Deadline North America, streaming Netflix believes in its own theory of short dramas, believing that more than 30 episodes, the cost will become expensive. "The shorter the episode, the easier it is to attract viewers." 

Paradoxically, domestic audiences can accept fast-paced European and American dramas, analyzing the plot and waiting for weekly changes. But for domestic short episodes and weekly changes, there seems to be little patience. 

Because the piracy channels of domestic dramas are too rich, many viewers have the attitude of "fattening" and then watching. 

Some short episodes, even if they are well-made, will miss the audience if they do not ferment a good reputation during the broadcast time. 

Short dramas and weekly dramas, if you want to capture the audience, you must first have excellent quality. 

It is worth noting that in the film and television theme, the suspense category is limited to more accurate genre skills, more distinctive image styles, and a high proportion of VIP people radiating people, which naturally stands out among various dramas. 

Reversals, climax, detailed performances, atmosphere creation, suspense settings... A good drama should make people willing to think about it and be terrified. 

"Undocumented Crime", "White Night Chase", "Hidden Corner", etc., are blessed by character interpretation through rich audiovisual language and aesthetic construction. The short dramas "White Moonlight" and "The Cloister Pavilion" have problems in the play itself, and there are too many bugs to justify themselves. 

If there are too many clues in the play, it is necessary to consider whether there are repeated editing, such as the weekly drama "The Disappearing Child" and "This Life is also the First Time", although the form is innovative and uses multi-angle narrative, but the repeated clips and pictures are extremely testing the patience of the audience. 

In short episodes and weekly dramas, any flaws in the play are magnified. This on the contrary raises the requirements for the play. 

The same production team, "Hidden Corner" invested three times as much as "Undocumented Crime", and it took 6 months just to find the candidate for the child's role. 

On the other hand, video websites must fight a protracted battle in terms of brand and precise operation. 

Good dramas and high-quality labels can form a good boost, Wannian Pictures' "Hidden Corner" helped iQiyi Mist Theater open up its popularity, and the follow-up arrangement of plays such as "Silent Witness" also deepened the audience's impression. "Ligong · Old Things in the Northeast" relies on high reputation, several creators should have better follow-up development, and the logic of element superposition should continue to advance. 

When the Berlin Film Festival shortlisted "Moses on the Plain" appeared in the Theater of the Mist, the audience almost didn't buy this literary and artistic life flow suspense film, because its temperament was too unique.

However, after "Ligong · Old Things in the Northeast" and "Moses on the Plain" have been broadcast, the number of viewers and ratings are still bullish, which also leads to thinking to some extent: how to promote short dramas and weekly drama operation platforms.

Especially for short episodes, the end of the show does not mean the end of marketing. 

Chen Xiao, senior vice president of iQiyi, once told Entertainment Capital: Short content in the market to spread publicity, the timeliness will be low, if only do one, others are promoting a 50-episode drama, I promote a ten-episode drama, but I invest twice as much publicity money as others, others have motivation. This model makes everyone dare not do boutique short plays. Now we promote the Theater of the Mist, and we use the funds of six or seven films to promote the Theater of the Mist, and the volume is even greater. 

For example, can "Ligong - Old Stories of the Northeast" be like "Youth Song Line", get a product such as "Youth Special Project", and stagger updates in the form of drama + life fan (or short variety show)? 

For short dramas and weekly dramas, the domestic industry environment is obviously still in a period of improvement, and there is still more room for upgrading in the creative environment, concept cognition, and marketing methods.