Everyone in Hollywood is Talking About 'Verticals'...But What Are They?

In the wake of our article about the sorry state of the industry earlier this week, we received an email from a Hollywood creator reminding us of one type of production still thriving in Los Angeles—the "vertical."

This storytelling format has been reshaping Hollywood's job market, especially over the past year.

What is a Vertical?

Verticals (or micro-dramas) are a format that originated in Asia, where a narrative is broken into very short episodes. They're called verticals because they're shot to be watched on a phone held vertically, just like your typical social media content. These serialized one- to three-minute dramas are basically movies chopped into tiny bits.

What Kind of Content is Typically Featured in Verticals?

The content itself leans heavily toward romance and melodrama. They are low-budget, campy, sometimes spicy, and sometimes don't make sense to the point that some believe AI is involved. Common themes include rich people, werewolves, vampires, and pregnancies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Recent trending titles include The Alpha King and His Virgin Bride and Mafia Daddy's Surprise Sextuplets. Media analyst Robert Steiner describes them as "basically soap operas for the TikTok era," LAist reports.

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The Vertical Business Model

The business model on the user end is straightforward. Typically, the first few episodes are free, and then the following episodes require an in-app purchase.

In the United States, a large producer is Crazy Maple Studio, a company that owns the platform ReelShort, with over 55 million monthly active users.

Other major apps include DramaBox, NetShort, and Goodshort.

The U.S. is one of the largest markets for micro-dramas, with revenues reaching $819 million in 2024 and projected to rise to $3.8 billion by 2030, per Deadline.

What's Production Like on Verticals?

These projects are cheap and easy to make. ReelShort CEO Joey Jia said his tend to fall below $300,000 per project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The production style can move at a breakneck pace. Many, including the person who emailed us, report that 12-hour days are standard. A feature-length script might take just a week to shoot, and actors might get as few as three to five takes per setup, per The Hollywood Reporter.

For Hollywood workers, verticals provide an opportunity, although a complicated one. In a town where work is so sparse, many see these productions as the only option to beef up their resumes and reels.

In addition, the working conditions can be rough, according to reports from employees.

What Do You Get Paid to Work on Verticals?

Screenwriter John August asked writers to share their experience on these types of productions. One writer said they were paid $22 an hour with frequent unpaid gaps between assignments, and the CEO would criticize the writers in company-wide messages while giving credit for successes to the editors.

Another writer reported a better experience at $40 per hour with benefits, but added, "It's kind of like doing a fill-in-the-blanks puzzle."

What About Unions?

The question of unionization is a bit murky. The unions can enforce rules on their members, but they can't force producers to become signatories.

While the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement features terms for short-form and low-budget programming that accommodate this kind of format, many vertical productions remain non-union.

"To clarify, verticals already do have WGA coverage. WGA writers shouldn't be writing on them, just as they shouldn't be writing any film and television that's produced without a Guild contract," August wrote on his site.

IATSE members can work both union and non-union jobs.

As IATSE Local 80 business manager DeJon Ellis told The Hollywood Reporter, "[Verticals are] under the radar as far as unions go because we’re usually going for $800,000 to $1 million budgets."

On the acting side, you might hear verticals referred to as "fi-core" work.

Fi-core is a legal status that allows a union actor to resign from full union membership but still work on union jobs and pay union dues. If you're fi-core, you can take both union and non-union gigs—like non-union verticals. It's a somewhat controversial status within the union.

That said, SAG members would obviously be covered on union vertical productions.

"Vertical content products are most assuredly SAG-AFTRA covered work that should always be covered by an appropriate SAG-AFTRA agreement," according to a spokesperson (via Deadline). "Any producer of vertical content wishing to engage SAG-AFTRA members is encouraged to contact the union for assistance in getting their project covered."