Tag: crisp

The future couldn’t look more vertical than from the 76th floor of the Lotte Tower, the sixth tallest building in the world, where microdrama key stakeholders attended the conference Future Is Vertical: The Global Rise of Short Form Media. The intentional choice from organizer Crisp, a short-form scripted video content company, underscored ambitions to shape an industry racing toward $26 billion in global revenues by 2030.

The summit, held at Seoul’s Signiel Hotel, brought together platforms, content creators and technology providers from the Americas, Europe and Asia to discuss an industry transforming from its origins in gaming and web novels to mainstream entertainment.

The event opened with a keynote by Adrian Cheng, chair of Crisp and the newly formed Almad Group. He emphasized that microdramas represent not a fad but a global phenomenon emerging from Seoul to Sao Paulo where “every frame is intentional, every moment carries intention.” In Lagos, he noted, comedians thrive in two- to three-minute vertical short-scripted videos.

Chen Bo, chief executive of Neorigin, traced the format’s evolution from gaming methodologies during a panel on how games and web novels shaped short-form drama. “Our microdrama team at NeoOrigin is actually a spin-off from the game publishing team,” Chen explained. “We use the same methodologies, business models and publishing tools, like Meta or Google.”

Production timeline and budget emerged as key differentiators. While game development typically requires hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years, microdramas can be produced in one to two months for under $100,000, according to Chen. Zou Jianfeng, chair of MoboReels, emphasized that cost remains the main barrier when adapting complex stories to short-form formats.

Market intelligence firm Media Partners Asia presented data showing the sector grew from virtually zero five years ago to $5 billion in 2023, with projections reaching $12 billion by year-end. China currently drives nearly 80% of global revenue, though growth is accelerating in the U.S., Japan, Southeast Asia and Korea.

Cassandra Yang, chief executive of RisingJoy, highlighted emerging territories during the Short Form Going Global panel. “India has seen huge growth this year,” Yang noted. “It went from zero to the biggest growth market of independent microdrama apps since September 2024. Thailand and Indonesia have emerged, with Indonesia becoming the second-largest download market after India.”

Martin Moszkowicz, veteran German producer and former Constantin Film chair, emphasized budget discipline while suggesting intellectual property development would determine success. “There are going to be hundreds of series that are going to flop in the market,” he said. “Who gets the genius creators is what’s going to be important.”

Yang reinforced the content quality imperative. “Companies I work with run microdrama apps with a game-industry methodology for user acquisition,” she said. “But I tell them that if you don’t have good content, your retention rate will drop in seven days.”

Ronan Wong, CEO of AR Asia Productions, identified untapped creative territory including unscripted content, horror and formats targeting Gen Z audiences. The animation segment drew particular interest, with Emily Yang and Maciej Kuciara, Emmy-awarded co-founders of Shibuya studio, presenting their vertical animated microdrama “White Rabbit.”

“Within traditional Hollywood structure, there’s a lot of politics and bureaucracy,” Yang observed during The Future is Empowering Creators with Short Form Animation panel. “I’m very optimistic that the short-form drama market will be a more vertical place for artists to express themselves.”

Kuciara emphasized format advantages. “Going vertical means going much shorter,” he said. “By telling mini-stories, it’s much easier and allows creators to be more creative with the medium and cut the cost.”

The “White Rabbit” production incorporates audience participation through episode greenlight voting. The series follows Mirai, a character unaware of her artificial intelligence nature, a theme that resonated throughout conference discussions.

Minhong Lee, co-founder of Carpenstreet, projected cautious optimism about AI applications. “I think we can reduce the microdrama production budget with AI,” Lee said. “But it’s like with airplanes. There are very high-tech models now, but the pilot is still essential.”

Yang framed AI as a creative tool rather than replacement. “You give two directors the same camera; one can tell an amazing story, and another will tell a very lazy one,” she said. “The story matters, not the technology.”

TikTok presented its microdrama distribution strategy during a keynote titled Unlocking Global Traffic Codes, with representatives Ben Yang and Liya Li outlining metrics for early hit identification. The platform’s data showed multilingual dubbing increases ad consumption by 102% compared to single-language content, while multi-country deployment increases consumption by 258 percent.

Media Partners Asia analyst Myat Pan Phyu detailed market dynamics in her presentation on the microdrama economy, noting that standalone apps like ReelShort and DramaBox currently dominate app store entertainment charts globally. The sector targets predominantly female audiences aged 25 to 45, though demographic patterns vary by market.

Investment activity signals industry maturation. Recent deals include Krafton’s $86 million investment in Spoon Labs, parent company of Vigloo, and Fox’s backing of Holywater for vertical video production. DramaBox’s participation in the Disney Accelerator program indicates major studio interest.

The conference highlighted infrastructure advantages in embedded ecosystems, particularly WeChat mini-programs in China, which integrate discovery, payment and distribution within existing super-app frameworks.

Profitability remains elusive for most players despite revenue growth. Among major platforms, DramaBox reported $12 million profit on $323 million revenue, while ReelShort projects $800 million in revenue but continues operating at a loss due to premium production costs and paid traffic acquisition.