1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,280 I'm sick. If only somebody could help me. 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:06,960 Ohh. I certainly can't help you. 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,680 Ohh yes, get it. Ohhh, yeah. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,440 Oh, oh, OK. Stop, stop right there. 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,200 Can we, can we cut for a second? Is anyone concerned with 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,720 anything we're doing here? Hey, guys, it's up to emergency. 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,040 Welcome. Welcome back to my channel. 8 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,480 And if the words vertical short don't mean anything to you, then 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:25,960 you definitely have been living under a rock. 10 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:28,560 And if you think that you haven't seen a vertical, yes, 11 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,480 you have. And no, I'm not just talking 12 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,800 about whatever just played in front of you right now because 13 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,160 you most definitely have seen one either with or against your 14 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:38,360 will when you're scrolling on TikTok and get your government 15 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,560 mandated ad every, I don't know, four to five scrolls. 16 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,800 You know those little random dramas that lead you to get an 17 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,920 app like drama box to see, I don't know, the big brother's 18 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,280 bad boy best friend doctor will kiss the nerdy girl. 19 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,120 That, my friends, is a vertical. You're holding back your whole 20 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,280 life. Let me show you what it feels 21 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,680 like to finally my girl. Is this what you want? 22 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:00,960 Kim? And Verticals, also called micro 23 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,920 dramas, are a serialized series shot and made to be watched on 24 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:05,680 your phone. You know, vertically. 25 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,400 They usually span about 20 to 100 episodes, with each episode 26 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,720 being about as long as a TikTok or around 1 to 3 minutes each. 27 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,880 And in every single episode, and yes, I mean every single one, 28 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,880 they end with a cliffhanger or something phrased to be a 29 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,600 cliffhanger to get you on to the next 60 to 90 seconds of the 30 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,560 series. And it kind of just feels like 31 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,920 this cataclysmic multiverse combination of like telenovela 32 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,360 writing, the structural modeling of like mobile games and the 33 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,720 editing and production quality of someone using iMovie for the 34 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,760 first time. And like didn't know how to 35 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,640 remove the fade to white transition all mixed into one 36 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,520 reel. Because let me be clear, these 37 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:43,800 things are not known for their cinematic qualities. 38 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,680 Like no one's going to verticals for their Oscar winning acting. 39 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,160 And actually they're going to them for the opposite with these 40 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,880 verticals becoming popular for their bad acting, cheesy writing 41 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:53,600 and low budget set and decoration. 42 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,960 And all these things are just par for the course and what 43 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:57,440 these dramas are kind of known for. 44 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,960 Another way that I like to think about it is like these verticals 45 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,760 are just the video form of like those CBS romance books with 46 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:04,720 Fabio on the cover. Just optimize and film for 47 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,600 TikTok and that's all fine and dandy. 48 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,759 But the reason why we're talking about verticals and vertical 49 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:11,720 shorts is, for one, because the content in these vertical shorts 50 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,440 can be extremely salacious and honestly can be considered a 51 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,840 form of softcore with plot points also being very 52 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,520 suggestive, like falling in love with my stepbrother or like a 53 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,520 secret between sisters. Like all the titles are. 54 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,440 Some of the most popular verticals are kind of strange 55 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,640 and the fact that these things are being advertised so brazenly 56 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,920 on platforms, TikTok, Facebook, and the likes is kind of 57 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:33,640 concerning, but even more so concerning. 58 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,000 On the back end, behind the scenes, the verticals industry 59 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 can be very exploitative to its actual actors and pretty much 60 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:41,800 everyone involved. And we need to talk about that 61 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,960 because again, if you haven't heard or seen verticals now, you 62 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,800 will in the very near future because it seems like the future 63 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,280 of entertainment, for better or for worse, is vertical content. 64 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,320 And you may be asking yourself, where did this vertical stuff 65 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,480 come from? Well, this vertical style of 66 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,360 entertainment content originated in China in the 20 tens and 67 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,240 began gaining traction in the US in 2023 with an uptick in 2025, 68 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,680 which is essentially when we began seeing big entertainment 69 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,440 companies start to take an interest in them and investing 70 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:14,080 heavily in them. Because unfortunately, these 71 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,000 verticals are not just a fad, or at least they don't seem to be. 72 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,880 And much like Ozempic, it seems like it is here to stay in 73 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,320 Hollywood because Hollywood, as the rumblings have been for a 74 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,560 while now, has been on the downturn as an industry. 75 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,360 And it seems that companies are jumping on the boom that are 76 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,400 verticals. And let me be clear, despite 77 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,760 what we're going to get into later in the video, not all 78 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,360 verticals are nefarious and creepy. 79 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,640 It just so happens that some of the most viral ones are. 80 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,640 But we'll start with some of the less creepy and nefarious ones. 81 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,520 But as a company that I am interested in seeing what they 82 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,560 do after announcing that they're joining verticals bandwagon is 83 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,080 Hooray Media, you know, Issa Rae's production company. 84 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,600 Like, yes, Issa's always on the cutting edge, but Hooray Media 85 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,240 just cut a deal with TikTok and Tik Tok's vertical drama app, 86 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,520 Pine Drama. And in a way, I am excited to 87 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,720 see what her company creates because it is the 2026 version 88 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,520 of her start on YouTube in 2011 with her web series, The 89 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:02,920 Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl. 90 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,480 And based on how initial reactions have been to that 91 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,280 vertical series, it's been very popular. 92 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,000 And I'm not necessarily shocked because Issa Rae would be the 93 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:11,960 only person I would want to see verticals from. 94 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,680 But I haven't even given it a full we'll watch yet. 95 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,640 But again, from what I've heard and what I've seen, it looks 96 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,959 like it's got a narrative and a storyline and people really like 97 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:19,720 it. So we shall see, I guess. 98 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,880 I mean, I don't expect it to be extremely smut filled and like 99 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,800 trope dependent like some of the other dramas that we're going to 100 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,280 get into, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 101 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,880 And ES Race Company isn't the only company hopping into the 102 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,080 verticals business. Fox recently invested in 103 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,800 undisclosed amount to Holy Water, which is an AI first 104 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,160 company that has already produced vertical dramas using 105 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,960 Gen. AI, which I mean, of course 106 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,080 they're doing. And if this page doesn't 107 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,360 completely flatten your hopes for the entertainment industry, 108 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,120 I don't really know what will. Like, it just baffles me that 109 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,280 the careers that people dream so big and work so hard to attain 110 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,280 are all being passed on to slop tech companies to give us 111 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,040 essentially AI vertical slop. Like, you know, we just love 112 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:55,320 this timeline that we're living in. 113 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,640 I'm sorry, I needed a second to compose myself. 114 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,040 Moving on, some things that you can look forward to from this 115 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,720 company that Fox Entertainment Studios is producing include 116 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,680 things like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by 117 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:08,520 Obsession. And like, don't worry because 118 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,360 it's part of their deal. They're set to create like, I 119 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,760 don't know, like 200 vertical video titles. 120 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:14,600 And they also said that they would have development deals 121 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,680 with top Hollywood talent soon. So like, can you all imagine 122 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,520 Sedea being in like an AI slot vertical? 123 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,600 I think if you can and if we do, the end times are definitely 124 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:23,960 near. But that is neither here nor 125 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:24,960 there. And like, I don't want to be 126 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,240 dense here. Like, I know that it's fully 127 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,240 possible that vertical dramas are the next frontier, but there 128 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,880 is something about the way that these founders and execs talk 129 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,640 about it that kind of give me the vibes of like, when tech 130 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,520 Bros are trying to convince people about, I don't know, 131 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,720 like, crypto when like NFT's or like what else they be doing the 132 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,440 metaverse. Like, I just have to kind of see 133 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,680 it to believe it. And nothing that I'm seeing 134 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,560 makes you want to believe, at least not yet. 135 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,840 And it's also interesting and, like, not advising you to 136 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,040 actually do it. Like, if you scroll through Holy 137 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,240 Waters page, a lot of these vertical houses that 138 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,760 entertainment companies are investing in aren't even calling 139 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,280 themselves entertainment companies or production houses 140 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,280 or studios. They call themselves tech 141 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:03,720 companies. Like, they're not even going as 142 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,280 far to try and hide it. Like all they're really caring 143 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,280 about is money and data. And like, yeah, like, just look 144 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,720 at how this vertical actor and producer Eric so Mighty talks 145 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,040 about. It viewers that will say like 146 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,000 that they don't like watching the, you know, sexual assault 147 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,600 scene or the child scene or whatever. 148 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,760 If you don't watch it, if you actually don't watch it, the 149 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,760 apps, again, these aren't necessarily filmmaking apps. 150 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:27,880 They're tech companies that are putting stuff out. 151 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:32,360 They are data-driven. So if they see that you skipped 152 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,800 that part of the film, maybe we can inflict some change there. 153 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:37,680 And actually they'll be like, oh, maybe we don't need to have 154 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,160 900, you know, ridiculously overdramatized scenes. 155 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,680 So that's part of it as well. But also like it also comes down 156 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,800 to money. All, all of these apps are very 157 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,120 money focused. And if they have to, that's why, 158 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,680 if you've noticed, the subtitles never match what it comes out of 159 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,240 our mouth because they would have to put more money into 160 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,960 actually making sure the subtitles properly fit us. 161 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,040 So like it will cost money to actually have a content rating 162 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,480 on stuff. It, it, it's hard to inflict 163 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:05,360 that change. It would be great in in theory, 164 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,240 I think it'd be very helpful. But I, I, it's, it's, it's hard 165 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,440 to get these apps to do anything that that cost money. 166 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:12,360 They definitely know what they are. 167 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:14,920 And what's interesting about this is that it feels like art 168 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,600 or entertainment, whatever you want to call it, is increasingly 169 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:19,160 becoming made by the people that fund it. 170 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,720 And while I won't get into a whole art history lesson here, 171 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,560 it seems like the creatives, the artists, the writers, you know, 172 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,360 like the people that used to be funded and paid and commissioned 173 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,880 are being nixed and cut out of the process and are just being 174 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,360 seen as superfluous expenses. Because like, why would you pay 175 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,120 for someone that actually embodies the craft, has a love 176 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,240 for the game, and actually has the God-given talent to do it? 177 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,040 If people just watch something generated by AI, we end with 178 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:41,480 virtually no money out of pocket. 179 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:43,200 I don't know, it's kind of like the art, it's actually matter 180 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,440 and this is some people's livelihood and you shouldn't 181 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:46,640 just extract it for all that it's worth. 182 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,840 But again, I digress. I'll get off my homework for the 183 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,360 rest of this video. I just needed to get that off my 184 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,160 chest. And actually Speaking of chest, 185 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,000 crazy segue, I know. Well, let's actually get into 186 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:56,600 what you're actually here for. I know you're Bob. 187 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:58,600 I know y'all be freaked out and y'all seen the verticals and 188 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,080 been like, what is this or being like, oh, what is this? 189 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,120 But nonetheless, I know you gagged and let's address the 190 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:09,080 elephant in the room right now. What is this weird soft core 191 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,120 nature that is kind of entrenched in all of these 192 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:19,240 vertical shorts? Now let's be fair here, are all 193 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:20,880 verticals created equally freaky? 194 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:23,240 Now there are some that don't even talk in that tone at all, 195 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,400 such as Lisa Ray's screen time. But those non romantic and dare 196 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,560 I say erotic verticals do feel like the exception, not the 197 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:30,880 majority. Because the majority of 198 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,880 verticals that are popular and that are promoted online are 199 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,320 romance and even like smut censored plots, often times 200 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,000 having something to do with like a secret billionaire or like my 201 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:44,120 brother's best friend or like workplace sort of school themed 202 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,800 scenarios incessantly playing into those tropes that we've 203 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,400 seen time and time again on Grey's, Wattpad, AO3, and 204 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:51,680 whatever sites you end your nights on. 205 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:54,240 And the thing that'd be gagging me is that like they can get 206 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,800 pretty bad. Like even in making this video, 207 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,160 I'm like kind of scared because it kind of feels like I 208 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,120 shouldn't be able to play this on YouTube, but we're going to 209 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:03,520 try. So let's take a look at a few of 210 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,640 these ads. And of course, I hate to feel 211 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,120 like I need to say this, but just to be clear, I'm not 212 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,320 sponsored by any of these companies. 213 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,240 And this is not an ad. This is purely for entertainment 214 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,440 or reactionary purposes. And the theme here for a lot of 215 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,560 these is that like it's very like BL, like boys love coded, 216 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:20,600 at least the ones that have come up on my preview page and other, 217 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,000 there's a lot that are not that, but a lot of them have been 218 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,200 trying to RIP off of heated rapper's nachos because this 219 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,840 one's about a relationship between I think a hockey player 220 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,800 and his medical examiner. It's very odd. 221 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,240 Like let's just like just take a second to look how this starts. 222 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,320 He just. He's a fever. 223 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,840 And is. Is delirious right now. 224 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,680 I'm just going to take him to his door, OK, We could stop it 225 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,680 right there. Because what is going on? 226 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,120 What is actually going on? I think a part of the list that 227 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,240 really just drives like the vertical aspect of it is that so 228 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,080 much of it is crotch because it is like in a vertical format 229 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,680 that it just kind of elicits itself to be suggestive when it 230 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:00,640 probably isn't. Because there's no way that it 231 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,840 looks like they're having the time of their lives in front of 232 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:06,720 those other people and they're just cool with it. 233 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,440 Like it's meant and filmed to be suggestive and to pique people's 234 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:10,640 interests. Especially if you're just 235 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,040 scrolling along and see that pop up on your purview page. 236 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,040 Like you're going to be like, what am I watching? 237 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,120 And then what am I watching? And then if we really want to 238 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,160 talk about biting off heated rivalries, nachos, there is 239 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:22,800 literally a one called hockey rival. 240 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:27,240 You want me gentle or rough? I don't want you at all. 241 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:30,000 Hello, too bad. OK, not enough. 242 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,800 I did not know this before, but this one is just AI slop. 243 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,920 Like this one is just AI. And mind you, I've seen ads like 244 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,240 this from different scenes in this vertical that start just 245 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:40,760 like that. You're hearing Tremont TikTok 246 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,320 like coconut water. Scroll up and see some stuff 247 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,960 like this. Like this is strange, this is 248 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:51,040 strange, this is slop and this is the future of entertainment. 249 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,600 There's also another one called Breaking the Ice which I'm sure 250 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,320 is real. And like, what's with all of 251 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,800 these being hockey themed? Like Heated Revelry and Tate 252 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,800 Mccree's impact? Easton has a. 253 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,960 Full ride hockey scholarship and I will not let you ruin his 254 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:12,120 life. Oh my God, I love you Carolyn 255 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:14,760 Mills. You are going to break up with 256 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:19,160 him and you are going to get rid of that baby or else the acting 257 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,000 of this is just so bad. And the fact that it has like 258 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,560 that typical like AI slop speed up version of like a popular 259 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:26,960 song. Like why is Alicia Keys here? 260 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,840 Like why is this girl on fire? There's another one called How 261 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,560 to Tame a Silver Fox and it's looking like this one room into 262 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:37,480 my closet. When I wasn't here, I was doing 263 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,120 you a favor and helping you move out because you shouldn't be 264 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:41,760 here. Why is she handcuffed? 265 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,560 Why is he shirtless? And why is the ebook for this 266 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:48,640 also available on Amazon Kindle? Like there's so much going on, I 267 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,000 hate to see it. And there's this really 268 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:51,920 interesting Guardian article that has a whole list of them 269 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:53,560 that you can go check out. I'm going to try and link it 270 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,720 down in the description below. But this is all just so wild to 271 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,280 me because like, these are the ads that play on our public 272 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,560 TikTok forum. Like a lot of times the ads for 273 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,360 these will be the spiciest or raunchiest parts of the video. 274 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,400 And then just add fade to black and link you to whatever paywall 275 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,360 all drama app the micro drama is behind. 276 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,760 Like it's almost like commercialize edging. 277 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,680 Like I was saying, using those inescapable close frames to be 278 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:19,280 suggestive, like they're getting real creative out here. 279 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:21,240 And I don't like it. And like all forms of content, 280 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,720 like there is an audience for this because it's like this and 281 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,280 edited like this for a reason. My question for this is like, 282 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,360 who is this actually for? So there's a billion dollar 283 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,560 industry in entertainment who's watching the slop? 284 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,320 And I think it's so easy to be like, oh, this is dumb. 285 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:34,960 This is slop. Like no one's actually watching 286 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:36,400 this. Who's the real audience here? 287 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,360 As if big Youtubers haven't been making a pretty Adsense penny 288 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,280 from their eyewash flag vertical drama. 289 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,240 So you don't have to like, didn't I just do that? 290 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,720 Oops. And it's OK, it's OK. 291 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,360 You could say that you are intrigued by the seemingly 292 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,320 addictive, fast-paced, overly dramatic entertainment. 293 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,440 Like they're spending money making these for a reason. 294 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,400 And I don't know how steadfast these demographics are. 295 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,680 But seriously, when in doubt, cater to the untapped markets. 296 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,440 And that same Guardian article, vertical drama consultant Jen 297 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:06,240 Cooper states that the reason it's gone. 298 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,240 So big is that it's serving a massively underserved audience, 299 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,160 which is women who read romance novels. 300 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,280 You might watch them and think this is not the Godfather. 301 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,360 This is so bizarre. But then you look at romance 302 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,120 novels and you're like, ah, right, OK. 303 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,520 It's serving all that audience that couldn't find anything 304 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,240 anywhere else. And it meets people where they 305 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,720 are, which is on their phone. People pay more attention to 306 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,000 verticals because they're not also on WhatsApp at the time. 307 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,240 And also the call out to WhatsApp is crazy because that 308 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:31,800 definitely is setting an age for the certain demographic. 309 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,560 And like the specific data is all over the place. 310 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:37,320 But from what was gathered, the audience here is generally women 311 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,280 from 18 to 40 years old. I know a wide range, and I think 312 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,400 I get it. Hallmark has been making movies 313 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,040 for so long because it does have an audience, even when the 314 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,800 content itself isn't really amazing. 315 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,160 So when thinking about that demographic, it kind of does 316 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,720 sort of make sense. I also feel like it does hook 317 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,400 people in the way that like Coco Melon hooks babies on like a 318 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,520 psychological level. Like from the fast cuts, the 319 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,360 narrative, the high drama, the overacting, the high pitched 320 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:01,560 speed up music in the background. 321 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,200 Like sometimes you just can't look or swipe away. 322 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,720 But enough geeking in about the ridiculousness of these 323 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,800 verticals. We need to talk about the actual 324 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,240 real impact and why these things entering the industry are so 325 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:13,760 troubling. And I think this TikTok comment 326 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:15,880 really does set the tone stating that verticals are terrible 327 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,560 because it's top producers. They don't need to pay a union 328 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,600 wage, be union or higher writers and can just do AI. 329 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,120 They have set us backwards. So much for what unions fought 330 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:25,120 for. And I agree with that. 331 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,720 I feel like this is the start of something that is not beneficial 332 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,840 for anyone but the people actually making these shorts. 333 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,640 You know So what that a lot of companies are throwing massive 334 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:36,560 amounts of money at this form of entertainment. 335 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,040 Well, So what is right? This means that a lot of 336 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,400 entertainment resources and jobs are going to this and a lot of 337 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,320 the actors in these are kind of pigeonholing themselves to these 338 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:51,840 overacted and corny roles. I'm a * and this is really no 339 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,520 shade to anybody that does verticals or is interested in 340 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,600 getting into verticals because as an actor, you need to get 341 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:57,800 your experience. You need to get your back. 342 00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,760 And I'm never going to knock anyone for that, nor am I going 343 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:00,960 to use that to speak to anyone's talent. 344 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,560 Like I'm sure you can be a great actor, but micro dramas and 345 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:05,920 verticals don't necessarily demand that kind of greatness 346 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,040 from its actors in the same way that previous forms of acting 347 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,320 and media have. Instead it over relies on things 348 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,760 like TikTok acting or like over face acting and snippy comments 349 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,840 and essentially looks casting. And the casting director says we 350 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,520 don't want a female lead over 25. 351 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,760 I use that kind of example as a comparison of you would never 352 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,280 say that about a male lead. Not only are actresses physical 353 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,760 appearances really put under the microscope, but they get asked 354 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,640 their weight why no one is putting them on a scale during 355 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:34,920 filming. They're two irrelevant stats 356 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:39,040 that casting directors are using to justify casting decisions 357 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,400 because they've kind of put those arbitrary numbers and 358 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,600 targets there. Whereas for the male lead it's 359 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,320 more just can you send me a photo with your shirt off? 360 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,200 Though comparatively I think the actresses are put under a lot 361 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:49,880 more. Pressure, like if you've ever 362 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,360 seen them, notice how they're actually never any people of 363 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,560 color in them, right? And not trying to put my DI in 364 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,880 verticals, but if this is where Hollywood is going, doesn't it 365 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,400 just feel like we're trying to find a loophole to revert to old 366 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,240 Hollywood without the glitz, the glam or the talent? 367 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,600 Like with verticals already. We got no unions and no black 368 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,720 and brown people. We're off to a great start here. 369 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,000 They were saying company loves Caucasian blue eyed people. 370 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,640 Have you noticed that? For sure, the blue eyes aren't a 371 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,720 necessity, but you definitely see that a lot. 372 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,200 And I think that's one of the main issues with verticals. 373 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,520 I'd love to see diversity, but you know, it has to do with most 374 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,480 of the clients that make these are from other countries where 375 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:29,360 this Western standard of beauty to them is white, blue eyes, and 376 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,240 that's what they want to see. But getting more into it, as 377 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,800 mentioned, a lot of these jobs, if not all, are non union roles 378 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:37,520 from both on and off screen roles. 379 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,120 You know what a big company just loves? 380 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,000 UN unionized and exploitative cheap labor. 381 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,360 Especially when it's really using all that work to teach AI 382 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,720 models to generate this type of content, putting less money into 383 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,560 production, offering fewer resources, and reclassifying 384 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,840 things that should be considered the norm a luxury like things 385 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:55,440 like accredited intimacy coordinators. 386 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:57,800 Because of the low budgets and because of the low budgets and 387 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,360 insanely fast turn around times, shooting schedules are often 388 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,520 maybe a week long to get all that content. 389 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,440 So as you may assume, these things are crazy hours for not 390 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,040 always great pay. Typical day on a vertical set. 391 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:12,200 My wardrobe doesn't fit. They have crew guys as extra 392 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,079 background. They're having me do stunts 393 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:16,680 despite never mentioning that before the booking. 394 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,359 Now the first two things I think you know it's going to happen on 395 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,040 a micro budget set. Crew is background, yeah, 396 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,680 wardrobe, probably no time for fittings. 397 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,720 But it was the third thing that I was particularly off put by. 398 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,240 I left a comment saying even on a micro budget movie with no 399 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,640 money, there is 0 excuse for anything that is unsafe. 400 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:39,320 And having actors do stunts when they did not agree to that, I 401 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,800 would say it's very unsafe. And again, I have to reiterate, 402 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,160 this is no tea, no shade to the people that are taking up this 403 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:45,680 kind of work. I completely understand the 404 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,200 state of the entertainment industry, the state of the 405 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:48,480 economy, and the state of the world right now. 406 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,000 But it just feels like this weird balance of like either be 407 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,840 OK with low pay and at best mediocre labor practices and at 408 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,080 worse exploitative work scenarios, or hey, they can get 409 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:01,520 generative AI to do it faster and cheaper and arguably worse. 410 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,600 And that's why unions are important, my friends. 411 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,160 Like, unions were created to avoid people being exploited. 412 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,400 But this all feels like some kind of freaky loophole to get 413 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,440 around all this. According to the Guardian, when 414 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,480 consulting Jen Cooper for actors in America, 90% of jobs on 415 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,440 actors access are verticals. It's what's being cast nowadays. 416 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:18,480 So really it's sink or swim for actors. 417 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,320 This gets extra tricky when you see the commentary of like real 418 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,120 casting agents don't like when you have verticals in your reel 419 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,680 or it's actually harder to get Hollywood roles coming from 420 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,560 verticals. There is a real stigma 421 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,120 associated with being a verticals actor, which as we did 422 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,800 mention, it's not exactly HBO level acting. 423 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,120 But if those are the roles that are out there, people got to pay 424 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:38,120 their bills. And I think this whole thing and 425 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,680 the rise of verticals is such an interesting conversation about 426 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,160 how industries are trying to keep up with the times and the 427 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:44,880 economy. Because no matter how you slice 428 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,920 it, we're witnessing the in slopification of yet another 429 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,640 entertainment media platform. And while in some cases people 430 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,040 are claiming this to be like some sort of innovation and 431 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,280 keeping up with the times, this ultimately is just a giant 432 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,200 response to the times that we're currently living in. 433 00:18:57,240 --> 00:18:59,240 Because if the powers that be actually cared in the industry 434 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,080 actually cared, they would just put more money into things that 435 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,680 people actually care about and things that actually have value 436 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:06,640 as opposed to just trying to make a quick buck and try to 437 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,400 make as much money as possible without any form of actual love 438 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,760 and care for the game. And I'm not going to deny that 439 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,840 some of the vertical content can actually be really high quality 440 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,360 and can be entertaining. But as of right now, most of the 441 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:20,960 time this is all just some overly freaked out slot.