During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant share of the content production across Asia went vertical. Studios across the continent, particularly in China, began conforming existing content to vertical phone screens, birthing a new format that became known as “micro drama.”
It wasn’t long before the rest of the world caught on, and vertical micro dramas quickly became one of the fastest-growing formats in all of entertainment—now projected to reach $10 billion outside of China by 2027.
But as much of this content was produced quickly, writing was often not a main focus, footage was often cropped to fit vertical screens, and episodes were cut at arbitrary points.
With over 30 years in media and entertainment and 15 years teaching screenwriting, Chris Odom recognized that bringing better writing and purpose-made vertical visuals to micro dramas could elevate the format. So he set out to build CineVerge, an AI vertical studio that produces vertical-native micro dramas with higher production values.
