Online mini drama: "small size" pursues "big pattern"

The online mini drama with a single episode duration of no more than 10 minutes is a new audio-visual art form, which is currently in a new period from the extensive development of high-yield stage to the pursuit of high-quality development. Due to novel content, fast pace, low cost and other characteristics, video platforms have entered the market, constantly adding code to the creation of online mini dramas. The research report shows that the number of key network mini dramas will be 58 in 2021 and 172 in 2022. To fully understand and scientifically grasp its inherent creative characteristics is an important link to promote the in-depth development of online mini dramas.

The network mini drama combines the typical attributes of the network short video and the network drama, which not only needs to meet the audience's requirements for small size narrative, but also needs to present an attractive story. A good online mini play needs to dig out the psychological needs of online users when watching the play, and has both aesthetic and emotional satisfaction.

The development of short video relies on the change of the audience's lifestyle, which catalyzes a new media technology. The development of online mini dramas is a progressive process from short videos to high levels, which not only meets the needs of the public to fill up the fragmented time, but also solves the problems of vulgarization of some short videos, slow pace and other problems with the help of film and television, a popular form, to meet the new audio-visual needs of online users. At the same time, network users expect to obtain an "alternative satisfaction" from the network miniseries. Online mini dramas often show the distinctive characteristics of drama conflict concentration and direct emotional output. Most of the plots have large fluctuations and strong amplitude, while the plot gap is small, with many reversals, and the action is closely connected. Internet users have stepped out of the narrative way of traditional film and television series, and quickly gained emotional recognition in the fast start, straightforward plot, continuous climax, and straightforward lines.

The creation of online mini dramas carries forward the advantages of short narration and follows the needs of online users for "blank" space. On the basis of ensuring the logic clarity of the narrative backbone, leave appropriate imagination space for network users, which not only conforms to the typical style of fast rhythm and simplified narration of network mini dramas, but also meets the psychological needs of network users when watching works in a participatory and immersive manner. Internet users can interact with the plot, put their own feelings and cognition into it, complete the second creation of art, and achieve self solution when they are in the theater.

The high plot intensity of online mini drama determines its fast-paced narrative mode, thus producing a narrative perspective matching it. At the beginning of the story, the audience will be brought into an omniscient perspective, so that they can enter the story more quickly and immerse themselves in the perspective of the characters in the play, enhance their sense of substitution in the repeated switching of different roles, and feel the tension of the plot in the changeable plot and high-frequency reversal. A good online miniseries will further test the professional ability of photographers and editors. The fidelity and comprehensiveness of shooting perspectives, as well as the rational use of cross, contrast and flash back montage, are the key to improving the narrative ability of online miniseries.

Linear narrative is the traditional narrative mode of film and television dramas, which mainly relies on the time of things' development and the process from beginning to end to promote the plot. Such a narrative way often creates works with relatively gentle rhythm. However, online mini dramas often use the combination of positive narration and flashback to break the linear rules and enrich the narrative structure. In the online mini dramas, the main function of the prologue part is to promote the main plot, which is the base of the story. When the narrative enters the key plot, it will cut into flashback, lay suspense, arouse curiosity, and supplement the necessary background relationship of the characters in the plot. The combination of positive narration and flashback enhances the atmosphere of "story telling" in online mini dramas, which is also the main way to enrich the depth of stories.

As one of the new forms of online literature and art, online mini drama is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of online literature and art. At the same time, it is also necessary to recognize that the current online mini dramas have prominent problems in varying degrees, such as weak cultural connotation, grandiose plot, novelty hunting, disjunction with real life, homogenization of content, lack of professionalism in audio-visual language and so on. It is urgent for online mini dramas to continue to work on the quality of creation in order to win more space for development. Compared with traditional TV dramas and online dramas, online mini dramas compress the duration of content, but they still need to highlight "big theme" and pursue "big pattern" in "small size" to provide deep thinking to meet the spiritual experience of the audience. The main ways to realize the healthy and orderly development of online miniseries are to continue to strengthen value guidance, broaden the range of topics, enhance narrative strategies, and deeply tap the needs of online users.

(Authors: Zhang Zhihua and Cao Xindan, professors and master students of the School of Arts and Media, Beijing Normal University respectively)

key word: plot network Narrative mode network user plot