In China, the popularity of online videos has made way for a new production industry. Micro dramas, as they're known, are low-budget series comprising dozens of short episodes. Hundreds of new micro dramas went online during the Spring Festival holiday, to the amusement of Chinese viewers. In this episode of InFocus, Chen Tong explores the genre's growing popularity.

On this film set, all the professional cameras are shooting in portrait mode. This is a costume drama of some 100 episodes.

It sounds crazy, right? But each episode is only one to two minutes long, and you can watch them on your phone. And hundreds of micro dramas are believed to have emerged online last year.

Twenty-severn-year-old leading lady Li Songci studied journalism in college but has been pursuing her acting dream for years. She landed her first role in a micro drama last year.

LI SONGCI Actress "It's not about whether I want to do it. It's because all the people in the film industry that I know are shooting vertical dramas."

Why are so many people producing micro dramas? Well, the answer is simple – they're profitable.

Currently, there are two models in which micro dramas make money – one provides free to watch content and relies on ad revenue, while most opt to charge a fee after ten free episodes.

Last year, the drama series "Wu Shuang," netted 100 million yuan, roughly 14 million U.S. dollars, after going online for only eight days.

LI XIAOYANG Producer "A big drama has a long production cycle. It takes a long time to wait and see whether you make profit or not. But vertical screen micro dramas take a short time to see the effects and you know whether you've succeeded or failed."

Unlike big productions that can cost millions or even billions of yuan to make, most micro dramas cost less than one million yuan, or some 140,000 U.S. dollars.

There are no famous stars or grand scenes. And one series usually takes only a week to shoot. The new business model has seen micro drama crews flocking to "Chinawood," in the eastern city of Hengdian.

CHEN TONG Hengdian, Zhejiang Province "In Hengdian, this filming base used to be low-key – very few film crews came here. But now with so many micro-dramas popping up, this has turned to be one of the hottest bases in Hengdian, welcoming sometimes hundreds of crews a month."

YUAN MAN General Manager of Chinese Culture Park Hengdian World Studios "Micro dramas don't require high-quality scenes because they shoot in a narrow view. So we grab these opportunities to set a variety of scenes. At peak times, we host 12 or 13 crews a day."

The research company iResearch puts their market value at around 38 billion yuan or over five billion U.S. dollars in 2023, triple-digit growth compared to the previous year.

It seems like a win-win situation – it's easier for film crews make money and studios welcome more crews. But there is a problem.

"They are not that interesting. They just pop up on my app and I take a look. They are a feel-good type of drama. But they are repetitive. I feel many dramas are the same."

"I've seen it, but I rarely watch."

"Why?"

"Because I've seen the plots before."

"The storylines are similar."

"Yes. I've seen them."

CHEN TONG CGTN Reporter "If you search the term 'micro dramas' on any of the short video apps, you'll find similar storylines and themes, like revenge in a relationship or the workplace. These draw in audiences, making it easy to get viewers to pay for the content. But the similarity between the many series in the micro-drama genre is also a factor that's hindering industry growth."

LIU HONGYANG Director "The homogeneity is a very serious issue. Though there are good and hot productions, they're almost all in the same genre. One day, audiences will be full and they will try new things."

China's National Radio and Television Administration has removed more than 20,000 micro dramas from the internet due to issues, including inappropriate content. It's obvious that the market players have noticed the problem.

SUN JIASHAN Associate Researcher Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration "As long as the scripts, filming techniques and all other aspects reach the average level of a theatrical film, I think this is the time where the industry can break out of the cycle and make people feel that it is not a niche."

But how? Experts believe the market needs to be professionalised.

SUN JIASHAN Associate Researcher Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration "You can't just shoot a short video using a small digital video camera. Professional teams need to enter the market, and they already are."

Major entertainment companies are starting to make micro dramas, and even renowned Chinese director Stephen Chow is set to launch his first series in May. Now, let's wait and see if it becomes the first micro drama masterpiece. Chen Tong, CGTN.