- il y a 1 semaine
Screenwriter and Author Isabelle Drean discusses her journey from award-winning web series creator and romance filmmaker to one of the leading voices in vertical drama writing. Drawing on her experience adapting international scripts and training new writers, she explains why vertical storytelling requires creators to “unlearn” traditional screenwriting rules and aim directly for the emotional core of a story. Isabelle explores the power of archetypes, cliffhangers, shock value, and emotional authenticity while also advocating for stronger female characters, greater diversity, and more meaningful storytelling. She believes vertical dramas are not a passing trend but a lasting entertainment format with the potential to evolve from romance-driven content into prestige storytelling across genres such as thriller, horror, and drama. INTERVIEW BY WENWEN HAN
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00:00Hi, I'm Isabelle Drian and I'm a screenwriter in vertical shorts or this vertical dramas.
00:06How do you get involved in short dramas?
00:09In March of this year, I had, so I'm a professional screenwriter. I write romance and holiday movies.
00:18And so I had five of my movies produced a couple of years ago.
00:22So a friend of mine, this company in Canada, were looking to, I guess, improve the quality of what they
00:32were doing, making it more female empowered.
00:35And so a friend of mine who directs for them introduced me and that's how I got in.
00:43I had never really, I wasn't really aware of them before that moment.
00:49And so one thing about me in 2010, so I used to live in Laos.
00:56I lived in Laos for 10 years.
00:59And when I came back to the West wanting to make movies and stuff in 2010, I started doing web
01:08series and I created a platform.
01:11I was curating short form content and I had a very, like one of the most popular platform in Canada,
01:20actually one of the first platform in Canada for short form in 2010.
01:25And so really became, you know, a leading person into the web series, even when we sold our show to
01:37Warner Brothers and we won awards all over the world.
01:41And we were like, because I developed over 30, 50 series at the time.
01:46So obviously when the vert, when I, and we ended up, I left the company because there was no business
01:54model in the web series.
01:56So of course, when this happened, when I saw the verticals, you know, it was like, that's, has a business
02:04model, it's short form.
02:06So very excited.
02:08And, and then just, you know, delve right in and, you know, obviously try to find out everything I could
02:16about, you know, vertical dramas.
02:19About the first one, what was the story about and how did you improve that?
02:24Basically, it was a 300 page Chinese script that I had to convert into a 90 page English, I guess.
02:32And also the female, making it more female empowered and a little bit more ready for North American audience.
02:42How would you define short drama?
02:45I would say like a little shot of espresso, you know, if features are like a long, you know, slow
02:52brewing coffee.
02:53Short dramas are like espresso, like it's fast, it's intense.
02:58And it's, yeah, it's just like, you know, very high emotions, high stakes, everything high.
03:07And very exciting.
03:10I mean, it's a very exciting genre.
03:12Maybe TV television is more like a latte and, you know, like this is like, you know, shot, you enjoy
03:21it.
03:22It's a very instant satisfaction.
03:26And so that's how I would describe them as an espresso shot.
03:31What's the essence of short drama?
03:33Well, the essence is, is high stakes, you know, high stakes, high emotions.
03:40It's like a roller coaster, two minutes at a time or one, you know, one to two minutes at a
03:46time.
03:47What do you see the main difference between verticals and web series and films?
03:52Well, it's really, there's no slow burn.
03:54There's no setups.
03:55So it's really in, it's almost like you have to go at the epicenter of the drama.
04:02If you have a television series or a feature, you know, you have time to get to that point.
04:10With web series, I would say it's a little bit closer to the epicenter.
04:14But I think for vertical, it's, it's like the bullseye.
04:19You have to hit the bullseye every single time and you have to stay there, which is, you know, very
04:26intense.
04:27And I think this is why I see a lot of writers struggle because we're so used to being told,
04:34you know, you have to set up.
04:36Everything is about setups in, in television or feature.
04:40And here is not, it's like, right.
04:44And, and how to make people understand the story by hitting that bullseye, you know, but we've been trained as
04:53writers to really, you have to set it up to hit that bullseye, but now you go right in.
04:59So it's very exciting as a writer to find ways to hit that bullseye without having to do exposition and
05:07having any setup.
05:09And that was the most mind blowing thing for me when I saw them the first time is like, you
05:15can hit the bullseye and you actually understand what's going on, which is, you know, as writers, this is the
05:24opposite of everything we've ever been told.
05:27You train writers, right, to write short dramas.
05:30What are their backgrounds?
05:31In China, actually, we found out the people who write web novels are easier to write short dramas than with
05:40a film and TV background.
05:42What do you think?
05:42Well, most of my, my, my, the participants and my incubators are novelists and screenwriters, either aspiring, trying to break
05:56in the industry or professionals.
05:58I mean, it goes from a big range and it's very interesting.
06:03The novelist seems to be doing, understand better because like I was saying, like you kind of have to unlearn
06:13what you've learned.
06:14And I would say maybe 35, 40% really get it.
06:20Another 30% really get there.
06:23And there's another part that unfortunately it's not for them.
06:28You know, it's just the speed and a way to tackle story that is not for everyone.
06:34For me, I really thrive in box.
06:37Like if you draw me a sandbox and you say you have to play here, I find it very exciting
06:43to make that sandbox as exciting as possible.
06:47Like the more rules, like, you know, it enhances my creativity.
06:54And, but some people love to just write freely and in verticals, there are a lot of rules.
07:01I want to dive more about the topic selection and creation.
07:05So when you write original vertical scripts, how do you choose your topic and where do you get the inspiration
07:12from?
07:12The ones that I've done were provided by the, you know, the producers.
07:16Often that is the case in vertical, especially in America.
07:20Often they give you the idea and you have, you know, very beginning of an idea.
07:25I have my show, The Blind Bride of the Scarred Mafia Boss on Vigaloo right now is, was the beginning
07:37of the idea was provided by the client.
07:40So they said, mafia, two families, blind bride, who's not blind, and make something with that.
07:48But my, when I pitch shows, I often find inspirations in movies and see like, oh, what would that movie
07:56look like if it was a vertical?
07:59And, and of course it changes everything, but that's often how I start.
08:04Or like, what would this story be like if it was a vertical?
08:08So always trying to see any stories, how it would look like if it was done in a, you know,
08:15fast, you know, high stake format.
08:20So what kind of movies do you think it's suitable for short drama adaption?
08:24I'm a professional in, and I sold a lot of romance holiday, but I started as a thriller, horror writer.
08:33And I, right now I'm pitching horror, vertical series, because I think horror is the perfect, I think it's even
08:43maybe better in terms of, of, because you've got with thriller, with horror, you have the adrenaline, you don't need
08:51a lot of, you know, character development.
08:54You don't have, you know, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a ride and it's emotions.
08:59So I do think that horror is, would be the perfect genre for this format.
09:05And I haven't seen any yet, but I'm very excited to, to create horror films.
09:12Well, her horror vertical series.
09:14Why do you think people get scared?
09:16So get the dopamine when watching a very small screen.
09:19I haven't seen any yet, but I do think that, I mean, verticals is a very private, you're almost in
09:26your bubble when you're watching them.
09:28It's not a social event like features or move going to the theater.
09:33Imagine you're, most people watch it in their bed, you know, in their bed at night and you're alone and
09:40you're watching on your phone.
09:42Like alone at home with headphones, you're completely immersed into this universe.
09:47So if the writer does his job and like really keep you in that tense situation, I mean, you know,
09:58I can't even imagine like how scary that would be.
10:02And I've realized, I've just watched weapons, you know, horror movies are not that scary.
10:07You know, I find true crime documentaries more scary sometimes, you know?
10:12So I'm excited.
10:13I definitely want to explore the horror space in the vertical.
10:16How do you design your characters?
10:18Yes.
10:19So most characters in verticals are archetypes.
10:23So very, you know, stories that through the history of drama from the Greeks to theater to movies, we have,
10:33you know, inherently humans have archetypes of stories.
10:38And when you hit archetypes, it often resonates with something that's even bigger than us.
10:46Like Star Wars use all the archetypes, you know, the hero's journey hits archetypes.
10:53And when you hit archetypes, humans tend to resonate more with stories.
10:58So for me, I think verticals hit the archetypes because we don't have time to do setups.
11:04So usually they represent the hero, the villain, you know, you have all the mentor that, you know, like all
11:13these, these archetypes.
11:14So we are as human trained to recognize archetypes.
11:19So I usually build my cast of characters as archetypes, the little ingenue, you know, and when I wrote The
11:30Blind Bride, I was inspired by Romeo and Juliet.
11:34There was two families to, you know, a forced marriage.
11:38So I was very inspired by Shakespeare because Shakespeare is the king of archetypes and, you know, the father figure
11:49and rivalries in families.
11:51We've seen those stories.
11:53So it's a lot easier to connect with an audience when you use those.
11:59So that's how I build my characters to archetypes.
12:02When you write verticals, how do you capture audience attention in just five to 10 seconds?
12:09Well, it's usually right in the middle of something, you know, like if you watch The Blind Bride, for example,
12:17the first scene, the first second, you have two families across the table and they're mafia families.
12:25And in two seconds, they all take their bodies and in two seconds, they all take their guns out, like
12:29something instant.
12:31And movement, movement is, it creates, you know, a reaction, something to create.
12:38So usually you would set up the meeting and, but with this is like that, that moment where, you know,
12:46right into the jump scare or the moment of like, you know, that it is a slap, that it is
12:54something, you know, somebody screaming, somebody doing something.
12:59Action really creates a reaction, and so that's usually how, you know, even sometimes I tell my writers, like write
13:08the scene and find the moment where you have that spark and cut your scene and start it there.
13:18You know, because, you know, like we are used to write, so I was like, just write it and then
13:22cut it, you know, so that way you get to that moment and you can build it up and then
13:29cut it and get rid of the fat and then do the same thing for the ending of the scene.
13:34When you have a question or something, just cut there and eliminate the top and the ending of your scenes.
13:41That's the way you say unlearned for this.
13:45Yes, exactly, and when I give notes, I often go like, no, all of this, get rid of it.
13:50A writer just shared with me two episodes, and I cut, and I was like, actually, you only have half
13:57of an episode.
13:58You have the end and this, but, you know, and he had like four pages.
14:03I was like, you have a page here.
14:05This is all we keep.
14:07How do you design hooks, and what makes a good hook?
14:10Hooks and cliffhangers.
14:11This is why I love to write verticals so much, because in the thriller world, which I write thrillers, is
14:19all about twists.
14:21So cliffhangers are, you know, a question that is unanswered, and maybe it will be answered in the next one,
14:29but maybe not.
14:30So, you know, a question that will make you go like, oh, what's the answer to that question?
14:36An emotion that will open a door to another, you know, another world, or a curveball, meaning like you're throwing
14:47something that will take the story, that could take the story in a, like, completely different direction.
14:56So that's usually how I, you know, if the hook, if the hook is either one of those or all
15:03three, then it's, you know, a great hook.
15:06What do you mean by emotion?
15:07I didn't get that part.
15:09Well, an emotion is like, you'll have something, and you'll have a reaction, and it'll be like, you know, like,
15:15if you can add dum-dum-dum after your, you know, that reaction, then that's usually a really good space
15:24to, you know, like a look.
15:27Like, something will happen, and you'll have the reaction or the emotion, the reaction on that moment also is, you
15:38know, a lingering emotion is also a really good hook, you know, a look, you know, a gasp, you know,
15:48something like that.
15:50You can stay on that character, a close-up, where you'll be like, you know.
15:55How do you create emotional resonance with the audience?
15:59Well, by creating things that are based on authenticity, you know, like, you know, I know that those stories are
16:08bigger, but if you base your things on true human emotions, on authenticity, on creating the layer underneath, people will
16:19resonate.
16:20And I find that often, I mean, the verticals is opening a world of excitement that probably people don't have
16:28in their own lives, you know, for the romance, the steamy, the, you know, things that people would, you know,
16:36it just, you know, create an emotional reaction.
16:40And I find that basing it on connection and truth, basing it on truth is usually how I personally make
16:52the audience react.
16:54And a lot of art or a lot of conflicts.
16:58Conflicts is key in these, so that's usually how you get people to feel.
17:04So conflicts and heart.
17:06I'm not sure you take shock value into the consideration when you write scripts.
17:12Shocking value is, you know, the cherry on top of, you know, like, the more shocking, the better.
17:19And how far can you go, you know?
17:22And it's always like, if you can get the audience to go, you know, that's the thing, right?
17:28So for the blind bride, you know, it's like, is she, is she not blind?
17:34And it's surprising the audience and giving them, you know, being, you know, like the audience now are very smart.
17:41So they have an idea where things are going.
17:45My fun is always to make them think that we're going in one direction and then suddenly like spin it,
17:53surprise them.
17:54And, and when, if you manage to surprise the audience, then that's where you, you know, like, then it's because
18:01they don't get surprise often.
18:03A lot of times it's just the same thing over, you know, they're used to having the same thing.
18:08But if you can surprise them, then you really get the shock value.
18:13And also you hook them for, you know, for the whole show.
18:16Absolutely.
18:17In Ad Buying Logic, they were added out some creative ads from the short drama.
18:23How do you balance shock value and the creativity?
18:27I'm not, I'm not especially fond of the slaps.
18:31I know that they, the clients often love the slap, you know, and I try to make them in a,
18:41you know, feel organic.
18:44You know, for me, as a writer, I try to write the most compelling, intense stories that I can.
18:52And then of course, what part are they going to use for ads and stuff?
18:57That's the client's job.
18:59If I, you know, if I do my job right, there will be a lot of these moments, you know,
19:04and they usually have.
19:05But I don't think about, I don't think about advertising.
19:09I think about, you know, telling the most compelling story that will grab the audience.
19:15And, you know, and that's why I have been so successful is that I'm, I'm always able to add a
19:21lot of heart.
19:22And people feel when they read my writing, like if I write a horror, people feel scared or tense and,
19:30and keeping people on alert.
19:32That's, that's what I do.
19:33That's, that's my strength.
19:35And so that's all I do.
19:37I care.
19:37I, if I'm in the story and I connect with the character, you know, my mind just comes up with
19:44these things and I don't have to think about ads.
19:47I know that they will have plenty of these moments to use.
19:51As a woman, do you feel you have certain advantages in short-term industry?
19:55If so, what are they?
19:56Well, I mean, the audience has mostly women.
19:59So women should have an advantage to understand what women want to see.
20:04Um, you know, I think it's like, also, I realize often in the romance space, men kind of sometimes look
20:14a little bit down on it.
20:16And women embrace it, like, you know, novels, Arlequin.
20:20I mean, there's a lot of industry that are, you know, even Christmas movies.
20:25Um, I don't know why the romance and the holiday space are kind of looked down upon when, you know,
20:35and the audience love them.
20:37You know, they're very popular and, uh, action movies are not looked down.
20:42It's like, I don't, you know, like, so we can take advantage of this and just focus on, you know,
20:49sometimes it's like finding these little spots of the industry that men look, maybe look down upon and don't want
20:57to get into.
20:58And that leaves the space for us, you know, and I think, um, you know, good for us to, to
21:04be able to take advantage of that.
21:06Have you encountered any difficulties when you get into a short drama industry?
21:11Uh, well, the negotiating of the contract, there's a lot of predatorial behavior in terms of producers.
21:18Uh, very low pay, too many rounds of notes, like, you know, acting like you're paying a million dollars and
21:27doing four or five rounds of notes when you're paying very little.
21:30Uh, so the, and all, too many, uh, too many pay, um, like the pay schedule to be broken down
21:40in pieces of like $700, $700.
21:43And then also taking an original idea and, um, you know, having the option after giving $1,000 to the
21:54writer, then to stop working with that writer, but owning the IP.
22:00That to me is, uh, you know, I I've walked out of deals because of it.
22:05It's not okay, you know, writer should be paid, you know, and if you're not going to pay a lot,
22:11then you can't request X number of rewrites.
22:15You have to, you know, respect that, understand the, um, you know, understand that you're not paying a lot.
22:23So you're getting what you're paying for, you know, you're going to get the work, but like, yeah, contracts are
22:29very, uh, problematic.
22:31But I'm seeing a huge improvement, even in the last six months, salaries are going up conditions or because they
22:41want quality.
22:41It's like, you want a great script, but you don't want to pay and you keep changing your mind on
22:47the story.
22:48And there's a lot of really good producers out there now.
22:50So, and with these good producers, with dealing, respecting creatives, well, these other predatorial behaviors will, you know, will eventually
23:03crumble because they're not going to get access to talented writers with these conditions.
23:09It's not possible.
23:10As a woman, do you have counting into early challenges?
23:13Well, I mean, some of the storylines, uh, a lot of misogyny is, uh, sometimes asked, uh, you know, like
23:21the rape culture, the drug, uh, rape things.
23:27Sometimes I see a lot, uh, the weak characters, you know, all the women, I'm so frail.
23:33Um, this is, uh, to me something that, you know, we're not going to change in one day, but I
23:40would like to see an improvement in those storylines.
23:43Because some of it is very problematic, you know, so that's, that's definitely something as a woman that I stand
23:52for that I, you know, as a writer, I really, I try to move that needle and also in meetings
24:00to speak out and say, you know, like maybe selling virginity and stuff like this is not okay.
24:07And I know that maybe some things are acceptable in China, but they're not acceptable in North America, you know,
24:15and I, it's not acceptable in China as well.
24:17Yeah, but they're doing it and they've been doing it.
24:20And that's, you know, like some of the, those are like, really, I'm, I'm hoping that things get better also
24:26in China, but some of these storylines are definitely problematic.
24:32As a woman, sometimes it's really frustrating.
24:37Yeah, because I think those, some of those scripts are very bad written because they don't know how to combine
24:42those male lead and female lead together.
24:44So they kind of use this cheap method, like they, like the drag, he drag her.
24:51That's how the method, they bind them together.
24:54It's not a good writing method.
24:56Yeah, that's the way you describe female leads are portrayed in short drama, have some issues.
25:02Is there any other areas could improve for those female leads?
25:06Making them stronger.
25:07We are not all weak women and, you know, falling in love with somebody that's just drug draped you and
25:16you end up pregnant and suddenly he's the romantic lead.
25:19You know, I think the choice of, you know, I think the choice of, of who women pick and, and,
25:25you know, I don't know why it resonates with, with the audience that women have to be weak.
25:33But I would like to see, you know, and, and if they do male version, then let's let the men
25:40be weak and the woman be strong, you know, role reversal, fetishism, misogyny, all of those things, less pregnant culture,
25:53you know, like almost in every one of them, the woman gets pregnant.
25:58We're more than just baby machines.
26:01So, yeah, I want to see better, better storylines.
26:06It's not because the format is short.
26:08Right now, I think that people are associated with short format with the telenovela genre.
26:16And television maybe started with a lot with the telenovelas, but we've evolved.
26:22Prestige television exists.
26:24And I, I believe that we will see a prestige, uh, vertical series.
26:30Uh, and I don't think it's going to take, uh, you know, a decade.
26:35I think it's going to come very soon when you have players like Netflix and, and Disney and Fox.
26:42I think we're going to end up having prestige series and we're going to have a whole new audience because
26:47right now this audience is very segmented.
26:49It's one type of audience, but everybody has a phone.
26:53To me, everybody's a potential audience.
26:56If you were create a female character for a short drama, what kind of women should she be?
27:02Well, definitely strong, you know, flawed, you know, of course, this is the base of every interesting character.
27:09Flawed, but strong.
27:12And, uh, as long as there's a huge arc, you know, like they, they, they end up somewhere they didn't
27:19expect.
27:20Uh, but I definitely want to see, uh, yes, women kicking ass.
27:26But women kicking ass, how do you fit into a romance story?
27:30Well, I mean, it doesn't have to be romance, right?
27:33And also even in a romance, like I have, I have romance that the woman is, you know, quite strong
27:40headed, uh, career professionals and, and, uh, have their, their life together and maybe not have met the guy.
27:50Weak, dependent, uh, women are very old stereotypes and I think verticals can change views and have an impact on
28:02how women see themselves.
28:04I'm hoping that I can move the needle in creating women that, uh, people want to see and recognize themselves.
28:14Uh, you know, also diversity, right?
28:17I mean, there are a lot of Asian, you know, series, but in Asian series, everybody's Asian and in the
28:25North American ones, most of everyone is white.
28:29I think we live in a world with more diversity and I, I would love to see more diversity in,
28:36in, so I would love to have a, maybe a diverse, uh, lead.
28:40Do you think, think shot drama have created more opportunities for female creators?
28:45Oh, absolutely.
28:46Because again, when the salaries are not as high, uh, you know, sometimes, you know, men don't want to put
28:55the effort.
28:56And so these positions usually attract women and it, you know, once you get produced, you know, that's the key,
29:03right?
29:03As a writer is to get produced, it changes everything if you're produced.
29:07So verticals happen, uh, you know, the production cycle is very short, like for example, romance and holiday movies get,
29:17the cycle is one year from the green light to the release, which is very fast in this industry.
29:24And verticals have now taken in that one year cycle to three month cycle.
29:29So you can actually get produced in three months, which is an incredible opportunity for, for women to break in.
29:39And of course the audience is women.
29:41Romance tend to attract women writers.
29:44Um, so yes, absolutely more opportunities for women.
29:49Most of my incubator is out of 12 writers, 11 women, one guy usually.
29:56Uh, so definitely the same with holiday movies, romance, uh, movies is the same as, uh, you know, 90%
30:06women, 10% men.
30:08If a writer wants to write short dramas, what's your best suggestion?
30:12And to take my incubator to learn, because a lot of people don't think they know, they understand, but they,
30:18when you actually read the samples, they don't.
30:21But, um, yeah, I mean, watch them, study them, uh, you know, write the first 10 episodes and have other
30:30writers look at, you know, maybe people that are in this world, uh, the vertical space, give you feedback.
30:37Uh, I also have a, um, networking group on WhatsApp for verticals.
30:43So we are almost 200 people in there now.
30:47And some people have joined like between directors and writers and created, uh, you know, proof of concept.
30:53I think if you're a writer and you want to get into it, Matt, you know, uh, match with the
31:00director and shoot, you know, the first 10 and show you what you, you can do.
31:05I have one of the, my writers who did that and she's working right now.
31:09What do you see the future short drama is?
31:12Uh, the vertical space is a format that will stay the way that, you know, we had radio plays, right.
31:20And then we had television and then we had, you know, and of course features, then a few years back,
31:27the podcast narrative podcast is not going anywhere.
31:30It's a new format.
31:31It's not one or the other people think that vertical, you know, some people are verticals.
31:37It's going to take away from movies.
31:39I don't think so.
31:41I think it's just a different thing.
31:43Um, and it's just an opportunity for writers and directors and producers to, to create in a different space and
31:51maybe have right now, there's more productions about vertical in LA than anything else.
31:57Um, and it's allowing people to pay their bills.
32:00So I do think that we are going to have the same as television, telenovelas all the way to prestige.
32:07I think, uh, there's going to be new business models.
32:11I think there's going to be thousands of apps then, and hundreds and hundreds will fail and maybe we'll end
32:19up with 10 big ones.
32:21Um, and, uh, you'll have people that are, will become big names in this space.
32:28There's already stars, actors in, you know, famous, you know, actors that are becoming famous in this space that nobody's
32:36ever heard of.
32:37And it will be the same for showrunners, for writers, for directors.
32:42Um, and it will be a segmented part of our industry, but it's a great space and it's for people
32:50to be able to get their stuff made because the budgets are much lower.
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