AI changes Chinese short film production, reduces costs but threatens actor jobs

From supporting a few stages, AI is increasingly involved, replacing the roles of actors and crew in the Chinese film industry.

China currently leads the market for microdrama, a series of vertical short films, often referred to as "television for the TikTok generation". This type has flourished in recent years thanks to the advantages of production speed, low cost and suitability for the habit of viewing content on phones. The episodes are usually short in duration, using details that can keep the audience engaged, revolving around stories of love, revenge, identity swapping or family conflicts.

According to market research firm DataEye, more than 220,000 short films created with AI appeared on the Douyin platform in the first half of this year, attracting about 500 billion views. This technology is used in many genres, including animation and recreations of real people. In the first quarter, Chinese filmmakers released about 128,000 short films, more than three times the total of the previous year. About 95% of these are created using artificial intelligence.

Technology helps shorten the production process, creating conditions for teams to create content at low cost. The microdrama model inherently emphasizes speed and the ability to produce large amounts of content. As more AI filmmaking tools develop, many people are taking advantage of it to further streamline the process. AI can participate from creating characters, backgrounds to moving images, helping the crew save time and increase output.

According to CNN, with new generation video creation tools, a project about 120 minutes long can be completed by a team of five people in about a week, at a cost of about 15,000 yuan (more than 58 million VND). This is less than one-tenth of the minimum budget for a live-action production in China.

Thanks to AI, many stages such as casting, set construction, filming, costumes and post-production can be shortened or replaced by digital processes. Thereby, manufacturers can carry out more projects with the same investment.

This trend appears clearly when new tools are put into use, typically ByteDance's Seedance 2.0. This application is capable of simultaneously receiving four types of input data including images, videos, audio and text. From a few lines of command or reference data, the model can create a 60-second video with many angles, movements consistent with the laws of physics, and synchronized light and sound.

AI makes filmmaking easy, but it also makes the race for film production fierce. According to DataEye, of the 221,900 new AI comic short films and movies on Douyin in the first half of the year, only 1,055 works exceeded 100 million views, equivalent to 0.48%. When hundreds of thousands of works compete for attention, the advantage no longer lies in speed or production costs but in the ability to create a story strong enough to attract an audience.

Falling production costs have caused some filmmakers to switch from filming real people to using technology, narrowing job opportunities for actors and crew. According to the Financial Times, in Hengdian, China's major film production center, many actors lost their jobs or had to switch to other careers when new generation video creation tools were put into use.

In addition, AI's deep involvement in the field of short films poses new requirements for content management, making this form subject to strict supervision in China. According to the China National Radio and Television Administration, platforms must proactively control potentially harmful content, and videos that do not meet the requirements can be forced to be removed.

Since April, China has strengthened its management of short film production and distribution, especially AI works. New regulations expected to take effect from September will continue to tighten censorship, requiring content and storylines to meet standards set by authorities.

On CNN, actor Quan Lam - working at Hengdian film studio - said that AI is difficult to replace humans because it is formulaic and cannot fully convey emotions. On the Hongguo movie viewing platform, movies with real actors still regularly appear in the top 10 most viewed content, along with AI and animation works. This shows that demand for live-action films persists in the face of technology reshaping the way content is produced and distributed.

However, Quan Lam said that young actors like her who do not have a solid position in the profession are the group most easily affected by this wave.

"AI definitely can't replace real people, but it can take my job away," she said.