Welcome to The Vertical Bloom, a weekly dive into the fast-growing world of microseries and vertical storytelling. Here, we unpack the platforms, creators, and deals shaping the format that’s redefining what it means to make and watch scripted content in the mobile age.
This week, L’Oréal puts entertainment first in its latest ReelShort collaboration, Canada’s CBC opens the door to microdramas, and a Florida resort casts itself as the star of its own vertical series.
But first, Scott Brown on the language of our screens, the changing context of storytelling, and the worlds we carry in our pockets.
It’s Hip to Be Square. Maybe It’s Hip to Be Vertical, Too.
I really enjoyed Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim‘s documentary, You Can See Everything.
The moment I walked into the theater, I was struck not just by the shared laughter in the room or the quality of the storytelling on screen, but by the shape of the screen itself.
The choice to shoot in a 4:3 (basically square) aspect ratio, what it did for the feel of the piece, and most strikingly, its ability to express the close-up in a way that wasn’t necessarily new, but in the context of that theater, felt different.
Something Stacy Howard and our team talk about a lot is the language of exhibition. The ways in which the things we watch tell us what we’re watching, even before the story begins.
We walk into a theater. The lights go down. Everyone gets quiet. The trailers begin to play. It tells us we’re watching a movie.
We sit down on our couches, browse thumbnails on our television screens, and, at least until recently, look for something on Netflix. Now, more and more, it’s YouTube. But there’s still a language that tells us we’re watching TV, even if that word means so many different things now.
What’s interesting is that the phone goes with us everywhere. It travels with us. And when we pull it out of our pockets, there’s so much that it says.
When we stare at that vertical aspect ratio, it might deliver news of the mundane or the extraordinary. Heart-wrenching messages of love and departure. Silly cat memes and news of a life-changing election. Another Tuesday passes us by.
Every time I pull my phone out of my pocket, I don’t think I’m watching my phone. I don’t think I’m watching vertical.
Perhaps the point is that I don’t see it as an event. It’s been so ubiquitously woven into the fabric of my life. Wherever I go, it delivers to me the sum of human experience.
But innovations in hardware and the user experience of mobile platforms have started to give me pause more and more.
I’m beginning to think that this screen’s context is given by the life we’re living, whatever that may be in the moment we pull it out of our pocket.
I’m being entertained in bed. I’m being entertained in the bathroom. I’m being entertained on a car ride. I’m being entertained in line.
I’m being entertained while I’m being entertained.
But I think the really important thing is that the screen we carry with us everywhere isn’t an experience within which we contextualize storytelling.
Rather, if we do it right, and if we’re thoughtful enough not to do it too much, storytelling on that screen can enrich the moments between the moments of our lives.
There’s a song I really like, with a line that goes something like this:
“The world that’s in your pocket is not the world. The world is the one that lies before your feet.”
And that’s so true.
However, I’m thrilled to share the worlds our teams create from their imaginations, their hearts, and the living material of existence.
To fill the world with another world.
An ever-present world of storytelling, enriching the moments of this ever-changing life.
All right, let’s get into it.
L’Oréal Puts Entertainment First With ReelShort
L’Oréal is doubling down on branded microdramas, this time partnering directly with ReelShort for Urban Decay’s six-episode series Ghost Hunter Hotline. Launched October 24, the Halloween-themed romantic comedy generated 3.8 million views in its first five days, according to figures shared by the brand. The series was developed and produced in just four weeks, with L’Oréal leaning on ReelShort’s understanding of the format rather than relying on a traditional advertising agency.
The bigger story is a shift in philosophy. L’Oréal USA’s chief digital and marketing officer Han Wen says the company is prioritizing audience and entertainment over conventional product messaging. It’s another sign that branded entertainment is moving beyond product placement and toward genuinely platform-native storytelling.
Read the full story — Marketing Dive
Canada’s CBC Opens the Door to Microdramas
Canadian public broadcaster CBC has appointed Ariel Yang as its new head of digital originals, tasked with developing short-form scripted content for CBC Gem. While the initial focus is on series under 15 minutes, the network has confirmed that it is open to considering vertical microdramas if the right projects come along.
Yang brings relevant experience, having previously worked on Rent A Plus-One, a 57-episode Canadian microdrama for iQIYI International. As traditional broadcasters compete for audiences increasingly accustomed to mobile-first entertainment, vertical storytelling continues to find its way into conversations at legacy institutions.
Read the full story — The Hollywood Reporter
A Florida Resort Makes Itself the Star of a Microdrama
SkyBeach Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida, has taken an unconventional approach to destination marketing with A Weekend to Remember, an eight-episode vertical microdrama featuring local creators playing versions of themselves. Rather than finding locations to serve a script, creative director Cris Molina built the story around the resort itself, making the property the central character.
That decision created an interesting challenge for the filmmakers: balancing the intimate close-ups that vertical storytelling favors with the wider compositions needed to showcase the destination. The production ultimately found a middle ground, illustrating how brands are adapting the visual language of microdramas to serve different creative and commercial goals.
Read the full story — Net Influencer
That’s it for this week’s Vertical Bloom.
We’re excited to keep building this into a weekly home for the ideas, experiments, and creative voices shaping vertical storytelling in real time.
We’ll be back next Thursday with more headlines, more analysis, and another look at where this medium is headed.
See you then.
Editor: Scott Brown
Writer: Franziska Harms