MIDPOINT Smash Cut 2023

The episodic length of web series has tended to grown in recent years. Still, most web episodes fall between 5 and 20+ minutes. Their core audience watches them mostly on phone and computer screens, sometimes on the go.

For those reasons, web series need to catch the attention of the audience quickly – there are always millions more YouTube video waiting to be seen. Web series must deliver as much emotions, drama, comedy and thrills than TV episodes two or three times longer. They require an intense narrative efficiency : the shorter the set-up, the longer the engaging pay-off can be!

From a very early stage on, short form series were the sandbox for creative talent and platform for topics that dared to be different. Following and understanding the logic of engagement and attention far before streamers and broadcasters entered the digital fray, short form series harnessed the democratizing power of the internet and its communities. What was 15 years ago called “web series” evolved into a wide field where short form storytelling, social media, experimental sensibilities, marginalized voices and big budget investments intersect to from an exciting melting pot of formats, ideas and forms of expression.

The keynote will spotlight the evolvement of short form series and which factors are currently molding the medium before diving in some of the current questions: What did big streamers and broadcasters learn from web series and how did they integrate it into their strategies? How does the market for short form content look like globally? What big trends will form the future of short form content? And how can clever writers, film-makers and producers profit from anticipating these trends?

After his comedy web series Sexfluencing successfully traveled across the festival orbit, Matus Krajnak (Slovakia, UK) will reveal the process behind its creation. In his case study, he will focus on both, the joyful and the not-so-joyful aspects of low-budget independent series-making.

The panel will be followed by a discussion with other two up-and-coming series creators from the CEE region - Vivian Sade (Kalamaja Blues / EST, FN) and Sara Zeithammerova (TBH, Five Years / CZ) who will join the stage to share their series-making experience. 

YLE has been successful in creating short form dramas for teens and young adults. Two case studies will depict how Yle Drama is engaging young adults on Instagram, starting with the script all the way to the release of the series and beyond. Executive producer Hyppe Salmi is opening the strategy of an Instagram account @areena.stories as a tool to research, pilot and find new talents.