As the third season of the "On Air! Situation Comedy" series IP, "On Air! Short Drama Season", jointly created by Shanghai Dragon TV and others, focuses on the short drama industry, based on six classic film and television IP repertoires, and brings together 26 actors to compete. They "re-create" short dramas based on classic IPs, use variety shows to select and recommend actors, build a stage for the creation of high-quality short dramas, and open a new track for short drama competitions.

As the first innovative reality show in China that combines short plays and variety shows, the creative ideas and value of "On Air! Short Plays Season" are worth discussing. Recently, a seminar on "On Air! Short Plays Season" was held in Beijing.

Panoramic view of the venue

Show the whole process of short play incubation and the new gameplay of "short play + variety show"

"On Air! Short Drama Season" breaks through the traditional short drama output model and integrates the creative process with variety show elements. The program brings together industry mentors, senior teams and powerful actors to create a new direction for high-quality short dramas from small screens to large screens by reinterpreting six classic IPs.

Teng Yong, deputy director of the Radio and Television Planning Institute of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, believes that the program has successfully captured the hot spots of the entertainment market and the emotions of the audience. Its success lies not only in its innovative "short play + variety show" program model, but also in its significance and value in exploring the potential of short plays, focusing on actors, and promoting talent training. You Haiyang, a second-level inspector of the Shanghai Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, believes that the program reflects the reform and innovation of the radio, television and online audio-visual industries, and emphasizes the need to use "policy + service + funding" as a driving force to carefully forge short plays, and hopes to promote the creation of high-quality short plays through multi-party cooperation, enrich content diversity, and innovate narrative techniques.

In "On Air! Short Drama Season", the innovative plot of the classic IP subverts the existing impression and breaks the conventional short drama themes and plot stories. For the audience, it goes from passive viewing to in-depth understanding of the creation, enhancing interaction and stickiness.

"On air! Short drama season" poster

Stimulate the industry's innovation potential

What direction should short dramas take in the future? The uniqueness of "On Air! Short Drama Season" lies in that it not only provides a new paradigm for the development of the short drama industry, but also plays an important role in promoting the quality of short dramas and stimulating the industry's innovative potential.

Ma Wenhan, the program's chief director, pointed out that despite facing doubts, practice has proved that short dramas can be presented on the big screen, and that quality is the key to the success of short dramas. As a "stepping stone" for the industry, the program has attracted more production companies and actors to join the market, promoting the development of the market.

The program's producers Zhang Meng and Su Ke emphasized the program's innovation in form, such as the linkage between drama and variety shows, and the linkage between large and small screens, etc. They expect short dramas to carry more profound themes in the future, take the route of high-quality production and achieve internationalization. At the same time, they believe that the program has also made useful attempts in exploring the high-quality and standardized aspects of short dramas, including how to perform professionally and how to more attentively shape the image of characters.

Actors Liu Qing and Qiao Jingwen shared their experience of participating in short plays. They believe that short play actors should not only show explosiveness and quick response, but also create excellent scripts and positive stories based on the content. As the host of the dialogue session with the main creative representatives, actor representative Chen Youwei believes that the program not only opened up a new track for the actors, but also triggered endless thinking about short plays.

Regarding exploring the mode, trend and potential of short dramas to empower industry innovation through this program, Wang Wenbin, dean of the School of Journalism and New Media at Xi'an Jiaotong University, believes that short dramas have moved from "wild ways" to "new futures", and have gradually become refined and professional under the joint efforts of mainstream media and the market. It is not only short and flexible, but also represents the expression trend of the digital age. When we empower "short content" with mainstream values, we can create a new literary and artistic form with more depth and tell Chinese stories in a more exciting way with a light and online sense.

Talk with the creators

What is a skit?

During the discussion, Wei Lu, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and vice president (in charge of work) of Zhejiang Media College, said that short plays have six basic characteristics: short, simple, fast, refreshing, accurate and new. These characteristics make them widely welcomed and develop rapidly. They can be integrated with thousands of industries to achieve two-way empowerment and promote the development of various industries. The key to solving the problem of short plays with single themes and similar content is to create high-quality short plays with good stories and high-quality content.

Gao Ming, deputy director and researcher of the Agricultural Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, emphasized the cross-border nature of the program. He believed that the combination of variety shows and short dramas is innovative. Short dramas can empower rural revitalization by combining with agriculture and other fields. He hoped that more creations would focus on themes related to agriculture, drive rural tourism, and increase farmers' income and employment.

Bian Yunlu, editor-in-chief of "Film and Television Tongue", believes that "On Air! Short Drama Season" uses variety show grammar to deconstruct the behind-the-scenes of short drama production, and also uses the combination of fiction and non-fiction to let the audience see the dedication and persistence of the actors and the team. This sincere revelation of the industry provides a possibility for short dramas to break away from the stereotype of "sense of excitement", allowing more high-quality content to have the opportunity to be seen. Niu Mengdi, editor-in-chief of the Literature and Art Department of Guangming Daily, said that only by allowing these short and smart contents to truly integrate into the lives of the public can we find new opportunities in audio-visual innovation and industrial transformation, tap into more valuable cultural cores, and inject sustainable power into the transformation of the industry.

Lu Xiangao, vice president of the China News and Culture Promotion Association and former deputy editor-in-chief of Guangming Daily, believes that short plays need to be closely integrated with local cultural tourism construction, have recognition, and appropriately use AI technology to avoid distortion. Only by entering the substantial industrial chain of large-scale cultural tourism construction and achieving deep industrial integration can we truly contribute to the development of local cultural tourism industry.

He Tianping, associate professor at the School of Journalism at Renmin University of China, said that a high-quality short drama may instantly make a place popular, but to achieve sustained popularity, it is necessary to deeply explore the local characteristics and cultural heritage, so that the audience can feel curious and yearn for the local humanities while watching the drama, and truly turn "cultural and tourism check-in" into a resonance of emotion and culture.

Li Yuanyuan, deputy secretary-general of the China Television Art Committee, believes that the drama industry in 2024 will show a trend of change such as "big dramas becoming smaller, long dramas becoming shorter, and short dramas becoming more beautiful". She expects that micro-short dramas will achieve high-quality development in 2025 and promote the prosperity of the radio, television and audio-visual industries.

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