The United Kingdom, the new stronghold of English-language “vertical” series
The format for these miniseries, designed to be viewed on a mobile phone, was invented in China. It's a hit in the United States. But it's in the United Kingdom that the English-language versions are often filmed. The Guardian newspaper explains why.
“If you're a beginner actor, this allows you to put together a demo reel. It's a great opportunity for young people coming out of drama school,” says Tim Barber. This British actor landed a role in a series with a particular format, imported from China: a soap whose ultra-short episodes, less than a minute each, were shot vertically to be viewed on a mobile phone.
Like Tim Barber, many British television professionals (directors of photography, hair stylists, makeup artists, etc.) interviewed by The Guardian expressed their satisfaction , even relief, at having found work on such low-budget productions. According to the newspaper, these are increasing as the United Kingdom becomes a preferred filming location for platforms like ReelShort and FlexTV, which are headquartered in North America but whose shareholders are Chinese.
“Demand for vertical content continues to grow, particularly in the United States,” the Guardian notes. According to the newspaper, downloads of this type of application are expected to jump 460% worldwide by 2024. The British Isles are proving to be a wise choice for any platform targeting the American market. Their advantages: English-speaking and already “popular” actors, tailor-made settings for “series featuring royalty or the aristocracy,” and, above all, “lower filming costs compared to the United States.”
These job opportunities come at a welcome opportunity for British professionals still reeling from the aftermath of Covid-19, strikes in Hollywood, and the disruption of traditional production methods by streaming platforms. According to the Guardian, “nearly a fifth of freelance employees in the sector” are currently unemployed.
Of course, they have to adapt to a different shooting schedule. Dan Löwenstein, a British film and television director, says he shot sixteen “vertical series” (including an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice ) in the past year. While he was used to shooting three pages of script a day on traditional productions, he increased the frequency to twenty-five.
Quality and working conditions are inevitably affected. But many of the stakeholders interviewed by the Guardian argue that vertical content, while still relatively new, can only improve and become more sophisticated over time.
Courrier International
