Hi there! My name is Janko Roettgers, and this is Lowpass. This week: AI is coming for microdramas.
For better or worse, AI microdramas are here
Have you ever watched a microdrama, perhaps while scrolling through your TikTok feed, and thought: This all looks kind of fake?
Turns out you might be onto something – and it’s not just the constant cliffhangers, the overly dramatic expressions and the barely believable plot twists. Microdrama producers and publishers are increasingly looking to AI to create shows at scale for less, and AI companies are starting to discover microdramas as the next frontier for synthetic entertainment.
This summer has been awash with AI-related microdrama announcements: Earlier this month, Israel-based microdrama app Shortical raised $100 million, thanks in part to an AI-generated show that features a shirtless price, an evil queen, and a bunch of dragons. In June, Beijing-based Storeel launched an AI production platform for microdrama creators.
Next week, Berlin-based Inkitt is scheduled to unveil Ironblood, a dedicated platform for AI-generated Sci-Fi and action microdrama “movies.” And today, Character.ai is adding a first slate of microdramas to its mobile app, with plans to merge traditional short-form storytelling with interactive AI chat.
Cheaper, faster … better?
When Hollywood executives talk about AI, they often stress that they don’t intend to replace human actors or storytellers. The goal of using AI tools is not to make stories cheaper or faster, but better, or so the mantra goes for fear of backlash from audiences and creatives alike.
Microdrama creators generally don’t have the same kind of qualms. Their shows are already produced for cheap, often feature little-known talent, and for the most part exist outside of the reach of Hollywood’s unions. Consequently, the companies that are looking to use AI are open about the potential cost savings that motivate them.
StoReel told Business Insider this spring that it can make an hourlong microdrama for as little as $20,000 with AI, while making the same show with human actors could cost up to ten times as much. TrueShort, a yet-to-launch AI microdrama app, told the same outlet in May that it could produce a 30-minute AI movie for as little as $3000.
The only question: What do you actually get for these kinds of budgets? Early examples suggest the results can be a bit of a mess. Take Shortical’s Bound By Fire AI microdrama, for instance. Prince Chris, the handsome slash gruff male warrior lead of the show, appears to wear a completely different wardrobe after walking from one room to another.
Kids, they grow up so fast! And then shrink again! And grow some more! All screenshots from Shortical’s Bound by Fire AI microdrama.
His secret 8-year-old child is almost as tall as her mother in one shot, only to be a whole head shorter in the next. There’s also a plate of food that appears out of nowhere, a ponytail that magically switches from one shoulder to the other between shots, a dress that keeps changing its pattern, and a freestanding castle tower that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. But at least the dragons look just like those of a popular TV franchise …