When he was growing up, Galim Gaisin wanted to be an actor — a dream he has today realized not on large cinema screens, but in short serial dramas played out on smartphones.
After featuring in a commercial for earphones four years ago, the career of the 27-year-old Canadian, who lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has taken off.
Most of his success can be attributed to the China-birthed cultural phenomenon of micro-dramas, the short 1- to 2-minute films made for vertical viewing on social media devices.
Of Canadian-Russian heritage, Gaisin studied cinematography at a top university in Moscow, but failed to get a foothold in the industry there.
In 2018, he first came to China as an exchange student and decided to move to China the next year. The earphone commercial and a number of roles in movies and TV shows helped him reconnect with the film industry.
However, it was Gaisin's involvement over the past two years in micro-dramas — some of which have reached beyond the Chinese market — that has solidified his career.
In early October, at O.M Studio's production base in Shanghai, Gaisin filmed a new micro-drama aimed at the North American market. The male lead in that production, Gaisin estimated the total number of micro-dramas he has done so far is around 30 — including Chinese and English ones.
"The Chinese micro-drama market is developing so rapidly and growing so big, and the whole production process is much more developed. It is quite an experience to film short dramas in China. It is much more like a real movie set, where there is a huge crew and everybody knows what they are doing," said Gaisin, describing the Shanghai film crew as a precise and efficient "machine".
He said he enjoys the freedom of filming micro-dramas, which is different from movies and TV series. There is less pressure on the actors who have more leeway to be creative. "It is much more loose in a good way," Gaisin said.
"Directors of short dramas are more open to new ideas. They give actors the space to bring some personal characteristics to the role, which I think is important for actors to improve themselves.
"Sometimes I feel short dramas embrace your inner child, as you can forget it's work and feel it's more like a game," he added with a smile.
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Gaisin is not the only overseas performer starring in micro-dramas. Ashlynn Judy, 25, flew from Los Angeles, California, to Shanghai for the filming, marking her first trip to China.
Although she has a degree in film studies, back home she was not able to get enough opportunities in the industry and had to work as a waitress.
She got her first role in short dramas in April, and more roles followed. About three months ago, she quit her waitressing job and started doing short dramas full-time.
"I never thought I'd get to come to Shanghai and it's amazing. Getting to act and work on set full-time has been so wonderful and what I've wanted to do for so long. It's definitely a plus to get to visit a new city and experience new cultures and meet the people," she said excitedly.
"It's been a life-changing experience for me — busy, fun and really great," she added.
Global phenomenon
Originating in China, vertical short and micro-dramas are taking the world by storm. According to a recent report released by London-based technology research and advisory firm Omdia, micro-dramas — short, serialized stories typically running around two to three minutes per episode — are projected to generate $11 billion in global revenue by 2025.
The Chinese market constitutes a major part of worldwide revenue, but big expansion is expected in the United States, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil and Thailand.
In the first half of this year, the US has led international markets outside China in revenue generation and downloads of micro-drama apps, according to a global market report released by advertising intelligence platform SocialPeta.
The growth is being driven by a strong consumer willingness to pay, a high business value, a mature entertainment consumption environment and high-income levels.
After the US, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and other regions in Southeast Asia and Latin America have led micro-drama app downloads in the first half of this year.
The increased downloads are mainly due to the high availability of the internet and large groups of young people demanding relaxing micro-dramas that cater to a fragmented, fast-paced life, the report said.
The rapid growth of app downloads also indicates the massive opportunities in a number of sectors associated with the booming trend.
Gaisin and Judy are booking jobs nationwide and around the world, and experience a surge of pride when their relatives or friends randomly recognize their performances on mobile phones and TVs.
Karen Teo, Google's vice-president of platforms and devices partnerships in the Asia Pacific, said at this year's Google I/O Connect China event in Shanghai: "In terms of data (on our platforms such as Google Play), the exciting thing from last year is that we can unlock the new category for drama shorts, which originated from China and we have seen really trending upward globally. It is not just a China experience, but also a shared trend in other markets. It has really created a global phenomenon for us."
Going overseas
Many of the leading global micro-drama apps such as ReelShort, DramaBox, ShortMax, FlickReels and StardustTV, were developed by Chinese companies.
In addition to the apps, Chinese players are behind almost every aspect of the industry, from script creation studios, production companies, filming bases, marketing channels, IP distributors and advertisers to platforms.
While adaptations of Chinese micro-drama IPs, such as translated and dubbed ones, are gaining traction in international markets, experts and industry leaders point out that overseas audiences are showing increasing demand for more localized and homegrown content.
This will require greater global collaboration as well as productions featuring different cultural identities in targeted markets.
Google is actively working on joining Chinese developers with overseas partners, aiming to help drive global content creation and boost growth.
Snapchat, with nearly 1 billion active monthly users, is hoping to help Chinese micro-dramas further expand, especially in the US and Saudi Arabia.
"We estimate that currently there are about 300 Chinese micro-drama apps in international markets, mostly in the stage of capturing users," said Other Zhang, general manager of SanShengWanWu Media, one of the leading micro-drama production companies in China that produced the overseas hits Heartbeat Alert and Contract Marriage Before Election.
"The cost of overseas production can be very high, while China has a mature ecosystem and still remains a home base for overseas micro drama making," he said.
Yang Zhidong, founder and CEO of O.M Studio, said his company is constantly expanding its international team with actors, scriptwriters, directors and operators from diverse backgrounds. "When we are talking about Chinese micro-dramas going overseas, we are not referring to one certain product, but to the whole industry chain," Yang said.
Similar appeal
Over the past three years, overseas micro-drama markets have been replicating the early stages of China's developmental trajectory, said Wang Jiacheng, founder of Jiuzhou Culture, which owns ShortMax.
Launched in 2023, the popular app has a presence in over 200 countries and regions worldwide, with its monthly active users peaking at over 30 million. Its hits include: Forbidden Desires — Alpha's Love; Chasing My Frozen Wife; Too Late to Regret, Ex-Hubby; Return of Invincible Commander; and Awesome Dad.
"If we quantify the development stage of the overseas micro-drama market on a scale of one to 10, it currently stands at approximately stage four to five, while China's domestic market has advanced to the mature stage of seven to nine," said Wang.
Although the Chinese and overseas markets are obviously at different stages of development, the popularity and growth paths of micro-dramas share many similarities.
"Despite different nationalities and people of various cultural backgrounds, we see them share the same essential emotions," said Zhang from SanShengWanWu Media.
The global appeal of micro-dramas exists in the emotions of joy and sorrow, and the feelings of love, hatred and desire, he said.
Female audiences remain the main force driving viewership across the world. Even though subject matter may differ from region to region, popular genres include sweet romances, reversal of fortune tales, age-gap stories and period dramas.
Lu Enwen, CEO of Lafeng TV, said that although the distribution of micro-dramas in international markets is currently diverse, it is expected to develop into a model similar to the Chinese one.
Domestic distribution of micro-dramas follows a CPS (cost per sale) model with Douyin as the core platform. However, overseas distribution of micro-dramas follows a different model and can involve other parties such as commercial television operators and diverse social media platforms.
"For overseas micro-dramas, YouTube is currently the major platform to rake in revenue. The algorithm and commercial modes are still different, but we see the Chinese model is emerging and we believe it will probably be the future direction for overseas micro-dramas as well," said Lu.
High-quality productions
The growing popularity of short and micro-dramas is not only writing new chapters in overseas markets, but is also seeing ongoing transformation in the mature Chinese market.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence is already making a difference in the production of micro-dramas. Cutting costs and improving efficiency, it has greatly facilitated the production process, fostering a new boom in animated micro-dramas.
Heard Island, one of China's top micro drama labels owned by Shiyue Media, has produced a number of highly acclaimed hits in the past two years, such as the recent My Sweet Home.
Garnering billions of views, the 79-episode micro-drama uses the Sichuan dialect to tell the heartwarming story of ordinary family life, exploring the intricacies of relationship dynamics and the human experience.
Viewers have praised the series for delivering high-quality storytelling, rich in detail and depth, with exceptional performances, and well-crafted narratives.
Its success demonstrates the label's insights on the future direction of China's micro-dramas, which includes high-quality production, real-life experiences and IP series.
"In terms of high-quality micro-dramas, we are looking at three aspects: sentiment, innovation and aesthetics. Sentiment means the themes or messages to convey to the audience, innovation means new genres and categories, and aesthetics means impressive visual effects and presentation," said Zhao Youxiu, chief producer of Heard Island.
Yang, from O.M Studio, said the rapid development of micro-dramas in China is expected to empower many other industries, through integration with cultural tourism, intangible cultural heritage, e-commerce, branding, education, popularization, public welfare, rural vitalization and others.
According to a report released by the China Internet Network Information Center, China's short and micro-drama users continued to grow and reached 626 million by June. The iMedia Research forecasts that China's short and micro-drama market will increase 34.4 percent year-on-year to 67.79 billion yuan ($9.54 billion) in 2025, and is expected to surpass 150 billion yuan by 2030.
