AI Transforms Micro-Dramas as Production Shifts from Traditional Hollywood
- tech360.tv
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Hollywood studios often express concern that artificial intelligence (AI) could threaten prestige films and award-season scripts. However, the initial significant shift is emerging in the fastest-growing category of filmed entertainment: the one-minute vertical soap opera, also known as micro-drama.
Viewers engage with these stories without prior intention or commitment, similar to how they interact with social feeds. They often consume 10 or more episodes in a single viewing, with average session lengths on leading applications exceeding 20 minutes.
This content is designed for moments of idleness and is built to be forgettable. Such a structure makes it an early candidate for full automation, as viewers often cannot distinguish between AI-generated and traditional content.
South Korea’s Vigloo is a micro-drama streaming application supported by USD 86 million from Krafton Inc., the gaming company behind PUBG: Battlegrounds. Vigloo is operated by Spoon Labs, an organisation that originally developed an audio livestreaming service.
Vigloo has already released two full-length vertical dramas created almost entirely with AI video models. Chief Executive Officer Neil Choi stated that the company prioritises speed and consistency in its production.
Choi said, “We do not care whether it is live action or AI. We use whatever delivers the story the fastest.” The AI-produced titles, I Met a Savior in Hell and Seoul 2053, were developed by four-person teams.
These teams utilise widely available AI video production tools, including Google Imagen and Bytedance’s SeedDream. Automated dubbing and lip-sync technologies are also employed for localisation purposes. Choi indicated the company's plan to release one such series per month.
Inside Vigloo, the production methodology is dynamic. Yeonsoo Choi, who leads the company’s AI efforts, noted that the approach evolves every few weeks as new models become available and older steps are superseded.
This iterative process resembles software development more closely than traditional filmmaking. Vigloo launched with 40 titles and now hosts more than 350. The platform has also introduced English-language originals for the United States market.
Los Angeles-based producer Mier Liu is the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Swzz Media Productions, an organisation that produces series for micro-streaming applications such as ReelShorts. Liu explained that a typical 60-minute micro-drama costs between USD 200,000 and USD 250,000 to produce.
These series are typically shot in seven or eight days. Liu said, “Our lead actors get USD 1,500 to USD 2,400 per day.” The combined costs for crews, locations, wardrobe, and postproduction amount to approximately USD 3,000 per finished minute.
Liu anticipates integrating AI to further reduce production expenses. Liu said, “We plan to apply it to bring down the cost even more.” She drew a comparison between the micro-drama format and early reality television, noting, “People laughed at it. Everyone watched.”
Ukraine-based Holywater demonstrates a similar trend, albeit on a different scale. Founder Bogdan Nesvit stated that the company produces two- to three-minute episodes for well under USD 20,000 per 60-minute series.
Holywater achieves this by employing a combination of generative tools, including Runway, LTX Studio, and ElevenLabs. Fox Entertainment has acquired a strategic stake in Holywater to co-produce 200 titles for Western markets.
Nesvit characterised the operation as a testing environment rather than a conventional studio. Nesvit told me, “We are a content laboratory.”
These companies share a common production approach that diverges from traditional Hollywood studios. Spoon Labs, Vigloo’s parent company, originated from audio livestreaming. Holywater’s engineering team previously developed automated advertising and game systems. Liu’s company operates as an outsourced production vendor for multiple micro-drama applications.
These entities are structured as software-driven businesses, optimising for output and responsiveness, rather than resembling conventional film studios.
AI is primarily impacting micro-dramas, a fast-growing category of short, vertical entertainment.
South Korean application Vigloo has released two full-length AI-generated vertical dramas, with plans for monthly releases.
Production costs for micro-dramas range from USD 200,000 to USD 250,000 for a 60-minute series, with AI expected to reduce these further.
Source: FORBES