Going Vertical @ UCLA: Panel Lifts the Hood on the Business of Vertical Micro Dramas

We unpack how vertical micro-dramas get financed, produced, launched, and measured: practical takeaways for creators, producers, and platforms.

Vertical Micro Drama Weekly: MIP Cancun puts it on the main stage; Forbes spotlights Vigloo's AI "long verticals" + UCLA Event

MIP Cancun puts vertical micro dramas on the main stage, Forbes spotlights Vigloo’s AI “long-verticals,” and field notes from our UCLA forum. Catch the signals.

Vertical Drama Review: How to Tame a Sliver Fox

ReelShort’s 71-episode taboo romance turns rescue fantasy, tight close-ups, and cliffhanger cadence into 356M watches, showing how vertical dramas convert.

The Hit List: Today’s Highest-Converting Vertical-Drama Tropes (2/2)

Part 2 of our vertical-drama field guide: social-friction plots, plug-and-play “nuke” characters, repeatable arenas, ASMR cues, and cadence that converts.

EVNT. ｜GOING VERTICAL @ UCLA: RSVP now open

Two panels. One playbook. On Nov 14 (1–3 PM) at UCLA, creators, producers, and platforms unpack how vertical micro-dramas are made, financed, and distributed.

Vertical Micro Drama Weekly: Disney puts DramaBox on the lot; Holywater signs 70-show pack; Digiday's chart-pack lands; ISDA hands out awards in Hollywood

Disney puts DramaBox on the Burbank lot, Holywater inks a 70-show pact, Fox’s 200+ title plan stays live, Digiday’s $11B charts land, and ISDA hands out awards in Hollywood.

The Micro-Drama Moment: How Hollywood’s Post-Strike Slowdown Opened a Door, and Who’s Walking Through It

Post-strike Hollywood slowed; phone-first vertical dramas surged. Inside the $1.3B U.S. market: budgets, funnels, ARPU, and a producer’s playbook to win.

The Hit List: Today’s Highest-Converting Vertical Drama Tropes (1/2)

Creator guide to 1–2 minute micro-dramas: identity flips, contract marriages, enemies-to-lovers, and workplace fame plays—hooks & set pieces that drive paid unlocks.

EVNT. ｜GOING VERTICAL: The Vertical Short Revolution Forum

Creators, producers, and platform folks, we’re bringing the 9:16 conversation into the room. Real Reel™, in collaboration with UCLA Center for Chinese Studies ↗ and the International Short Drama Association ↗, will host a two-panel forum putting both the craft and the business of vertical shorts on the table. Seats

YouTube-first for Vertical Mini Series: what it actually buys you (vs. TikTok and Vimeo)

This week there isn’t a flood of headline deals, so let’s use the quiet to zoom in on distribution. We’ve been hyper-focused on vertical-drama apps, but there’s a parallel signal: more mini-series producers are releasing directly on YouTube. Today, let’s study that path, and stack

Cut on Consequence: Tail Hooks That Drive the Next Tap

Tail Hooks That Drive the Next Tap: Trade playbook for vertical drama: cut on action, leak fallout under black, answer in 10s, pivot by :45, objects carry cost, faces carry payoff.

The Missing Master Chef: when short-form drama turns Chinese cookery into myth

Creator-first note: this is a craft-and-market read you can borrow from. A year after its October 2024 launch, The Missing Master Chef is still hovering on the hot charts for vertical dramas: an unlikely long tail for a dubbed import built around Chinese cuisine. The buy map skews unmistakably European;