BBC随身英语|短剧如何重塑我们的观影习惯?
英音听力|BBC & 经济学人等
How micro-dramas could revolutionise our viewing habits
Streaming video platforms have given filmmakers massive budgets and allowed them to make creative and artistic films and series free of the restrictions of cinema or broadcast time slots. But, maybe, just maybe, not everyone wants a three-hour long work of creative genius. Minute-long micro-dramas are taking the entertainment market by storm.
Perhaps most people are looking for something that they can squeeze into their everyday life. Micro-dramas cater perfectly for this need. It's not just that you can watch them on your phone, they're made for it. They're shot in vertical format, so you don't even have to turn your phone round to start watching. Series are split into as many as a hundred short episodes, so they can fit into any spare downtime that you have.
For this to work, it needs a new kind of programme. US tech company Quibi tried to use traditional Hollywood stars, and collapsed in less than a year, taking $1.75 billion dollars' worth of investment with it. Chinese start-up companies took a different approach, focusing on low-cost production and using analytics data and AI analysis to identify exactly what gets the audience to start watching, and then how to make the next episode feel unmissable.
Billionaires, breakups and bust-ups: those are the key themes that get the audience watching. There isn't much room for nuance or slow-build character development in a micro-drama, but what is needed is drama.
Rather than a subscription model, monetisation in the world of micro-dramas is often based on a freemium model. You can see enough episodes to get you hooked for free. But you need to buy credits to find out how the story ends. This means that dramatic cliffhangers are a commercial tool.
These dramas are increasing in popularity around the world. There is also great potential to make money from advertising as audiences are highly engaged. After China, the US has become the biggest micro-drama market. Could it be that soon most of the drama we watch is on our phones in those minutes we find between our other daily tasks?
词汇表
revolutionise [ˌrevəˈluːʃənaɪz] vt. 使革命化,彻底改变
streaming [ˈstriːmɪŋ] n. 流媒体播放,在线播放
filmmaker [ˈfɪlmˌmeɪkə] n. 电影制作人,电影导演
massive budget [ˈmæsɪv ˈbʌdʒɪt] 巨额预算
broadcast time slots [slɒts] 播出时段,播送时间档
micro-dramas [ˈmaɪkrəʊ ˈdrɑːməz] n. 短剧,微短剧(单集时长极短、竖屏观看的剧集)
take…by storm 席卷,风靡,大获成功
squeeze into [skwiːz] 融入,挤进,塞进(时间或空间)
cater for [ˈkeɪtə] 迎合,满足(需求)
vertical format [ˈvɜːtɪkəl ˈfɔːmæt] n. 竖屏格式,纵向形式
split into [splɪt] 分成,分割为,拆分为
downtime [ˈdaʊntaɪm] n. 空闲时间,休息时间
collapse [kəˈlæps] vi. (人或企业)崩溃,垮掉,倒闭
start-up [ˈstɑːt ʌp] adj. 初创的,启动阶段的
(data) analytics [ˌænəˈlɪtɪks] 数据分析,分析技术
unmissable [ʌnˈmɪsəbəl] adj. 不容错过的,非看不可的
breakup [ˈbreɪkʌp] n. 分手,关系破裂
bust-up [ˈbʌst ʌp] n. 激烈争吵,决裂
nuance [ˈnjuːɑːns] n. (感情等的)细微差别,微妙之处
slow-build [sləʊ bɪld] adj. 缓慢铺垫的,逐步发展的
subscription [səbˈskrɪpʃən] n. 订阅,订购
monetisation [ˌmʌnɪtaɪˈzeɪʃən] n. 变现,盈利化
freemium [ˈfriːmiəm] n. 免费增值模式(基本服务免费,高级功能收费)
get someone hooked [hʊkt] 让某人上瘾,吸引住某人,使某人入迷
credit [ˈkredɪt] n. 积分,点数,代币
cliffhanger [ˈklɪfˌhæŋə] n. 悬念,扣人心弦的结尾
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