A few weeks ago, we talked about the curious phenomenon of ultra-short dramas. While in the West it still seems absurd to watch a series in which chapters last three to five minutes, in China the format continues to gain popularity. Of course, the stories told in these productions are usually simple, melodramatic and very predictable.. But this is the key to her success.
The magic of the format is that, unlike watching a 90-minute film, it’s easier to break this story down into smaller pieces. The first chapters are free until the viewer becomes interested and is forced to pay to access the rest of the story.. This is quite convenient for people who do not have an hour of free time a day. Thus, in between work, they can watch a few episodes of their favorite series.
Due to its enormous success, producers of this content have begun to automate most of the processes required to create an ultra-short drama. This format is ideal for creative experiments with artificial intelligence, since ultra-short dramas are not attractive for their technical or artistic quality. No one will complain if the special effects do not look realistic enough or if the plot is too exaggerated. In these aspects the audience is not demanding, the most interesting thing is the spectacle and convenience.That’s why these digital series are now essentially making themselves.
Artificial Intelligence Creating Success
“Mirror of Mountains and Seas: Breaking Waves” (original title: “山海奇镜之劈波斩浪”, available on YouTube with English subtitles) is a new ultra-short drama that is dominating the Chinese market. It has five episodes of three minutes each. Within a month of its release, the series has already garnered over 52 million views on the Chinese short video app Kuaishou. Every element that makes up this drama was developed using advanced artificial intelligence tools.From script and storyboard to special effects and soundtrack.
According to director and producer Chen Kun, “When it came to the big battle scenes that required a lot of editing and special effects, The AI we used saved us 75% in production time and overall costs.. What used to take six months, we achieved in two.” Anyone who wants to get into film production has to be an expert in cutting costs. So it’s only natural that if artificial intelligence can save so much time and money, it will become an irresistible alternative.
However, it is important to emphasize that these artificial intelligences are still just tools that humans can use. They create images, but under the guidance of an author who is guided by his own artistic criteria.. Technology alone is completely powerless and incapable of structuring a story so attractively that it goes viral. Even in the case of ultra-short dramas, where the quality of the plot is not a significant factor, many note that these productions are difficult to take seriously, since the harshness of the actors’ expressions, the sequence of events, even the most spectacular fight scenes convey a coldness
The nature of the artistic process is completely different when working with artificial intelligence. It all comes down to entering the desired input, evaluating the result, repeating the process over and over again, modifying the original input to produce better images.. In many cases, the final product is unsatisfactory for both the creators and the viewers. There is also a problem of originality, as these models recycle content. Unlike an artist, who is inspired and transformed by this and creates something new, artificial intelligence does not yet have this ability.
How to Supply China’s Giant Market
In 2023 The ultra-short drama market has reached forty billion yuan (five and a half billion dollars), equivalent to 70% of China’s traditional film market.. It is expected to reach one hundred billion in the next five years. Something like this would have a global impact, as the market is indispensable to Hollywood, to the point that many American studios are changing their products to please Chinese audiences. If a significant percentage of Chinese people stop going to the cinema and prefer to watch ultra-short dramas, the international film market would have to change completely.
In China, super-short video apps already have half a billion users. Kuaishou alone has ninety-four million users who watch more than ten episodes daily.According to Chen Yiyi, entertainment manager of Kuaishou, supply is far from meeting demand. For this reason, using AI to produce ultra-short series is not only logical, but necessary if your goal is to maximize profits. The production criteria becomes something industrial, a mass-produced commodity based on form, something that sounds like the opposite of art as we know it.
We should be concerned about the possibility that greed will drive us to abandon art in favor of mass-produced entertainment. Last year, Hollywood actors and writers went on strike for months in the United States, fighting for their right not to be replaced by machines. It is impossible for something similar to happen in China, a country where human rights are violated on a daily basis. It would be terrible for the world if such a trend were to spread, as mediocrity would take precedence over the unpredictable authenticity that makes us love art..
Source: Hiper Textual
