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Elephant News reporters: Feng Jingwen, Zhao Chaoyang, Zhang Yu, Zhang Heng, Feng Chong, Li Junfeng, Xu Zhaopeng
I watched the first episode and wanted to watch the second episode. Micro-short dramas are becoming the current trend.
Zhengzhou is running rapidly to build a "vertical store" comparable to Hengdian: more than 1,100 micro-short dramas are reviewed and broadcast in accordance with regulations a year; some production companies produce 10 micro-short dramas a month; more and more actors are pouring into this new track, and short drama characters such as the Dragon King, God of War, Son-in-law, and stepmother are being mass-produced; various types such as sweet pets, sadomasochism, and rebirth emerge one after another......
The skit attracted a large audience. Some netizens posted a payment record of recharging more than 10,000 yuan for chasing dramas. Why do skits make people so popular?
Onlookers at the filming site of the skit
"Okay, let's prepare, turn on!3, 2, 1, let's go!"
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……
A driving "Jiang A" brand luxury car was urgently stopped by a black commercial vehicle, and a group of "little gangsters" wearing black suits rushed out of the car. The tall and handsome "boss" stepped out of the luxury car, blocking the petite heroine behind him, and was about to stage the classic drama of "heroes save beauty".
April 17, 10 a.m., Zhengzhou, Henan. On the streets of the Central Plains District, an elephant news reporter visited the filming site of a short drama.
"We basically shoot 10 episodes a day, and the venues are relatively scattered, about 7 or 8 days to finish. Director Li Wanqi said.
There is no imaginary luxury nanny car, and there is no thrilling big scene. In five or six scenes, although there are only more than 30 producers, directors, actors and staff, there are all kinds of makeup artists, recording engineers, costume engineers, props masters, lighting engineers and other types of work that can touch up makeup at any time.
At the shooting scene, the producer sometimes made a cameo appearance as the "boss driver", and sometimes acted as a drag racer. For the sake of one shot, the cast and crew repeatedly shot and polished.
The post-95s actor moved from Hengdian to Zhengzhou
"I graduated from acting, filmed in Hengdian before, and played against well-known actors. During the break, post-95 actor Sun Jian chatted with reporters about the daily life of filming micro-short dramas in Zhengzhou.
"Because (Hengdian) competition is too big, in the filming of film and television dramas, small roles are particularly difficult, it is really tens of thousands of people competing for a role, and short dramas actually give many actors a chance. Sun Jian said frankly that in general, the income from filming short dramas is more stable, and it is also an opportunity to exercise and learn.
"I have made more than 30 short dramas, and almost 20 of them were filmed in Zhengzhou. has played the male lead four or five times, and it is estimated that half of the dramas that have exploded. ”
When he first filmed the short drama, Sun Jian was not very adaptable.
"The performance method of the short drama is different from the horizontal screen long play, it is short in time and the rhythm is relatively tight. The director said that the emotions should be given directly, and the rhythm should be a little faster. Sun Jian said, "The director said that this is the rhythm, when you are angry, you will put your expression to the maximum, if you are sad, you will cry hard, and your expression will be magnified all the time." ”
During this time, Sun Jian also really experienced the popularity of short dramas, relatives and friends often brush up on the dramas he filmed, even in Zhengzhou for a haircut, the boss can recognize him at a glance, "I asked the boss if you also watch short dramas, and he said, 'No one should not watch it now!'"
There are 10 moonrises, and the actors and editing schedules expire
The cycle is short, the cost is low, the rhythm is fast, the plot is cool, and the micro-short dramas are frequently out of the circle. In the eyes of industry insiders, Zhengzhou, which integrates content planning, filming and production, has become a "vertical store" that outperforms Hengdian.
Post-production was also intense
According to reports, since 2023, 5 completed short dramas in Zhengzhou have passed the review of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and obtained online drama distribution licenses and online filing numbers, 77 online micro-short dramas have been reviewed and reported by the Provincial Bureau of Radio, Film and Television to obtain planning record numbers, and more than 1,100 micro-short dramas have been self-reviewed and broadcast through online audio-visual platform institutions in accordance with regulations.
It was once rumored that "30% to 40% of the country's short drama production in 2023 will come from Zhengzhou", and micro-short dramas have become a "new track" for rapid rise and a "new outlet" for content investment.
"This is an industry that is relatively popular now, if you do a good job, the monthly income is not low, I think at least it is better than going to work. Ding Weikang, founder and chief producer of Xingman Universal Pictures (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd., returned to Zhengzhou from Beijing at the end of 2022 to do micro-short dramas, and he witnessed the development of the industry.
Ding Weikang, founder and chief producer of Xingman Universal Pictures (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd
Ding Weikang analyzed that before Zhengzhou made short dramas, it ranked first and second in the country in terms of information flow (small plot advertising), "At that time, Zhengzhou produced a large number of information flow actors, and they changed careers to make short dramas, so that Zhengzhou quickly occupied the short drama market." ”
"The artist I signed is now scheduled for mid-May, and her time has to be set at least more than a month in advance. Ding Weikang said, "We produce about 10 films a month, and more than 80% of the actors are local to Zhengzhou." ”
In Zhengzhou, Henan, the post-stage personnel of the short drama are busy
In a micro-short drama production company in Zhengzhou's Jinshui District, twenty or thirty editors sit in front of the computer, selecting shots and arranging materials according to the characters and plot of the script.
The schedule on the wall is densely packed with 12 dramas to be broadcast, and today's progress, delivery date, and today's status are updated in real time every day.
Sweet pet, sadomasochism, rebirth, god of war, overlord, miracle doctor...... On average, 15 plays are edited a month, and all kinds of micro-short drama characters are mass-produced in their hands.
Inverting the construction period, group editing, color grading, and special effects, in Ding Weikang's view, "This is the norm, and doing short dramas is to seize the timeliness." ”
More than 60% of paying users are over 35 years old
According to iiMedia Consulting data, the size of China's micro-short drama market will reach 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 267.65% year-on-year. In 2023, the total box office of Chinese films will be 54.915 billion yuan, and the market size of short dramas will be close to 70% of the size of the film market.
The industry predicts that the scale of micro-short dramas is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan in 2024 and 100 billion yuan in 2027, which is the largest outlet in recent years.
As short as 1 minute or as long as 15 minutes, the cool and dense micro-short dramas have become the "electronic mustard" for many people.
According to the "Research Report on the Development of China's Micro Short Drama Market", the paid penetration rate of micro short drama users has reached 41%. Among the paying population, young and middle-aged people between the ages of 25 and 44 account for a relatively high proportion, and men are more likely to pay for dramas than women.
"If you look at the backstage, you will find that 60%-70% of the paying users over the age of 35 are over. Due to the long rolling cycle of short drama projects, it is not difficult for popular short dramas to exceed 100 million, Ding Weikang said, "Generally, short dramas can get tens of millions of (paid) results in a week or a month after they are launched." The profit is not that high, the gross profit is about 10%. ”
Can't afford a short drama with a monthly salary of 10,000?
Some people spend 1,000 yuan on a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan to chase short dramas, and some people complain that the monthly membership fee of the short video platform is only 20 yuan, but a short drama is as little as dozens of yuan, and as much as one or two hundred yuan.
Because of the cost of chasing dramas, some netizens posted payment records of recharging more than 10,000 yuan for chasing dramas, jokingly saying that a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan can't afford to chase micro-short dramas. Why are low-cost, short-cycle micro-short dramas so expensive?
"It's not us who decides, it's the market. The high cost of advertising on the platform side leads to the high cost of each customer acquisition. Ding Weikang's company is only responsible for the production of this part, "However, now the platform already has free short dramas, which is a trend." ”
The popularity of micro-short dramas has driven the investment market.
DataEye, which focuses on the research of micro-short dramas, predicts that in 2024, the scale of short dramas for men will be about 19.7 billion, and the number of female dramas will be about 22.3 billion.
According to the "2024 Micro Short Drama Buying and Streaming Data Report", the current popular Mini Program short dramas only stream a single short drama, and users can watch and go, with the cost of streaming exceeding 80% and the ROI reaching 120% on the first day before it can be profitable, and most Mini Program platforms are in a state of loss.
The lowest logic of the explosion of the short drama
According to the short drama heat value list on April 16, "The Love of the Heart and the Heart" from the production of Fenghua Zhengmao ranked first with a heat value of 3.72 million, which is a rare boxing and family theme in short dramas.
What kind of micro-short drama can explode, and what is the underlying logic of its out-of-the-circle appearance?
Ding Weikang said bluntly that in the final analysis, it is the content.
"Every genre has the potential to explode. But it must be a good book plus a good production, plus a good casting, this project can explode. Ding Weikang revealed that more than 100 micro-short dramas broadcast more than a year ago have been popular in 20 or 30 hits.
In the last second, the plot was cliché and made people "embarrassed to pick their feet", and the next second, someone "went crazy" to pay for it. Why can a short drama "kill" a piece of the sky?
The filming scene of a short drama in Zhengzhou, Henan
In the opinion of director Li Wanqi, whether the short drama can explode mainly depends on whether it hits people's psychology, "The bottom logic is that everyone likes to watch some stories of pretending to be pigs and eating tigers and hugging beauties whenever they want." As long as the shooting is good, it will continue to be popular. ”
Say goodbye to wild growth
Nowadays, micro-short dramas are saying goodbye to savage growth. Its cost has skyrocketed from 30,000 yuan more than a year ago to 500,000 yuan or more.
"Before, it may have been shoddy, and everyone was squeezing into it, but slowly it will be eliminated. Ding Weikang said that the production of micro-short dramas is becoming sophisticated, "This year is a stage of transformation, from last year's ups and downs to now relatively calm, everyone is creating high-quality products." ”
Recently, the micro-short drama "Reliving a Life, I Take My Father to the Peak of Life" produced by Henan Radio and Television Elephant News was launched in Zhengzhou, which also marked the entry of Henan Radio and Television into the micro-short drama track into a substantive stage. And well-known producers, directors, and film and television actors have also come to Zheng to enter the micro-short drama.
There is no doubt that they will be the operators of the next outlet of the micro-short drama.
Some industry insiders said that with the cultural heritage and scene resources of "International Zheng", and the blessing of the relatively mature actor, production and streaming markets, Zhengzhou's micro-short drama market is attracting more companies to cooperate and improve the industrial chain.
Zhang Tengzhi, Secretary-General of the Micro Video Short Film Committee of the China Canton Federation, said in an interview with Elephant News that in order to capture the hearts of netizens for a long time, it is necessary to continue to launch high-quality short dramas with stable quality.
He suggested that it is necessary to integrate the main body of the short drama market in Zhengzhou, take the opportunity of radio and television institutions to enter the micro-short drama track, lead the trend of short drama creation, and work together to form a good short drama ecology. At the same time, we will focus on exploring technological innovation and production models, exploring the integration of AI and short dramas, so that short dramas can empower the economy and let culture cultivate short dramas.