Honing the art of adaptation

Nearly 2,200 online movies have been produced since such films tailored to video-streaming services hit the market on a large scale in 2015-usually lasting only 60 minutes, or half the length of a theater-release feature.

Online distribution, which previously accounted for, at most, 10 percent of a movie's entire revenue, has now risen to almost 30 percent, says Liu Kailuo, vice-president of Alibaba-owned video streaming site Youku.

Predicting that the online movies' box office will break the milestone 3 billion yuan ($466 million) this year, Liu says Youku has introduced some experimental ways to improve the appeal for online audiences.

These include shooting movies tailored for vertical screen orientation, the normal way that people look at their smartphones, as well as adding interactive content, such as including a director's explanation with the movie.

Also, the video giant will produce a range of new mini-series, running for a maximum of five episodes with each lasting no longer than 90 minutes. Future Disease, adapted from sci-fi novelist Chen Qiufan's collection of the same name about a series of weird incidents in a futuristic world, will be just such a mini-series and is expected to start filming next year.

Youku's forthcoming lineup also includes Lost in Time, a psychological suspense tale set in an underground train, and Hero Song, a coming-of-age movie about a traditional musical art from Guangdong province.

"Each year, only around 10 percent of the 700 or so feature-length movies will earn a profit. With a smaller budget and unlimited release span, online titles will offer young creators more freedom to focus on exploring the diversity of cinema," says veteran scriptwriter Shu Huan.