Verticals: Love 'em or Hate 'em - They’re a $1 Billion Business - Sponsored by Cine-Fi

These micro-short dramas originated in Asia and if you're on any social media platform, you’ve probably seen plenty. Filled with addictive romance and melodrama, verticals are serialized into 1-3 minute segments, and meant to watch on your phone. The business model quickly hooks viewers with a few free episodes before turning them into paid subscribers on platforms like ReelShort, DramaBox, CandyJar, and ShortTV if they want to finish watching that story and find more. With indie film level budgets, tight production schedules, and fast post turnarounds, this Billion dollar business is expanding into the mainstream as Hollywood looks to capitalize on the fastest growing segment of the industry, which for now, is unregulated. Above and below the line panelists explore what to expect when working on verticals, as well as the pros and the cons, how this medium is keeping actors and crew working, and what recommendations they’d make as this new storytelling device moves into the future, because it’s not going away anytime soon.