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.
流媒体视频平台为电影制作人提供了巨额预算，使他们能够创作不受影院或广播时段限制的创意和艺术性电影和系列剧。
But, maybe, just maybe, not everyone wants a three-hour long work of creative genius.
但是，也许，只是也许，并不是每个人都想要一部三小时长的创意杰作。
Minute-long micro-dramas are taking the entertainment market by storm.
时长几分钟的微短剧正在席卷娱乐市场。
Perhaps most people are looking for something that they can squeeze into their everyday life.
也许大多数人正在寻找一些能够融入他们日常生活的东西。
Micro-dramas cater perfectly for this need.
微短剧完美地满足了这一需求。
It's not just that you can watch them on your phone, they're made for it.
不仅仅是你能在手机上观看它们，它们就是为此而设计的。
They're shot in vertical format, so you don't even have to turn your phone round to start watching.
它们以垂直格式拍摄，所以你甚至不需要转动手机就可以开始观看。
Series are split into as many as a hundred short episodes, so they can fit into any spare downtime that you have.
系列剧被分成多达一百集短剧，这样它们就可以适应你任何空闲的碎片时间。
For this to work, it needs a new kind of programme.
为了实现这一点，需要一种新的节目类型。
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.
美国科技公司Quibi尝试使用传统的好莱坞明星，但在不到一年的时间里就倒闭了，带走了价值17.5亿美元的投资。
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.
中国初创公司采取了不同的方法，专注于低成本制作，并使用分析数据和人工智能分析来确定到底是什么让观众开始观看，以及如何让下一集感觉不容错过。
Billionaires, breakups and bust-ups: those are the key themes that get the audience watching.
亿万富翁、分手和争吵：这些是吸引观众观看的关键主题。
There isn't much room for nuance or slow-build character development in a micro-drama, but what is needed is drama.
在微短剧中，没有太多空间用于细微差别或缓慢构建的角色发展，但需要的是戏剧性。
Rather than a subscription model, monetisation in the world of micro-dramas is often based on a freemium model.
微短剧世界的盈利模式通常基于免费增值模式，而不是订阅模式。
You can see enough episodes to get you hooked for free.
你可以免费观看足够多的剧集来让你上瘾。
But you need to buy credits to find out how the story ends.
但你需要购买积分才能知道故事的结局。
This means that dramatic cliffhangers are a commercial tool.
这意味着戏剧性的悬念是一种商业工具。
These dramas are increasing in popularity around the world.
这些短剧在全球范围内越来越受欢迎。
There is also great potential to make money from advertising as audiences are highly engaged.
由于观众参与度很高，广告赚钱也有很大的潜力。
After China, the US has become the biggest micro-drama market.
继中国之后，美国已成为最大的微短剧市场。
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?
会不会很快我们观看的大部分戏剧都是在手机上，利用我们其他日常任务之间的那些分钟呢？
