Talent and Technology

Chen Xiao
Vice President
iQIYI
 

“iQIYI has announced the detailed rules and regulations for the Dolphin Project. The submission objective is not limited to popular topics or super IPs; projects with wonderful stories and outstanding characters are more favourable,” Chen Xiao explained.

“In terms of content control, iQIYI will also conduct comprehensive evaluation based on themes, scripts, actors, partners, etc., to find more good stories, good actors, and good content creators for the market.

At present, the script development cycle of the first batch of the Dolphin Project has already experienced a year of development, where the selection of partners – iQIYI filmmakers, traditional TV drama producers and young creators – have been selected.”

In the daunting world of creative competition, iNSiGHTS magazine asked if such selections are only for veterans.

“It is not only for veterans,” Chen Xiao noted. “The main criteria for judging are based on the projects. Of course, you need to compete with the creativity and projects of many seniors in the film and television industry to stand out.”

Future Eyeballs with a Voice

iQIYI developed IVG and IVP to help content creators develop high-quality interactive entertainment experiences more conveniently and efficiently, from concept development to plot-setting. The IVG is designed to help creators develop interactive video by providing a set of guidelines from the development of the interactive video concept, the production and release process, to instructions for the use of interactive video platforms. It will deliver branching plots, role switching and hidden content viewing of the script structure and provide corresponding interactive components to help creators develop rich storylines.

Meanwhile, the IVP aims to build an ecosystem involving upstream IP creators, content production companies and broadcast platforms. To date, IVP has been applied to iQIYI's interactive video creation and will be gradually rolled out to the broader creator community. In the future, interactive videos produced under the IVG could be played on the iQIYI app.

Recent technological upgrades and changes in user behavior have advanced the era of personalized and customized entertainment consumption, which requires a more intelligent, interactive and experiential process of content creation. The customizable features of interactive video require extremely high real-time performance and the arrival of 5G has made possible the delivery of tailor-made content without lag or delay.

Chen Xiao believes that "interactive video is a double innovation in the technical capabilities and content form of online video and film.

“In the era of mobile Internet, the relationship between film and television drama content and users is further innovated,” he declared.

Will scriptwriters then need to change their approach to cater to the new world of interactive or does technology do the job for them, while traditional style of scriptwriting continues?

“The screenwriter needs to understand the importance of interactivity/technology as to better create storylines that facilitate such interaction between the story and the audience. Secondly, such perception also paves the way beyond the interactive link. The combination of technology and art can create better interactive works,” Chen Xiao expanded.

iQIYI’s Content Upgrade
In iQIYI’s content theme upgrade plans, it hopes to seek deeper cultural works, IP wise.

“iQIYI will also upgrade in terms of content, based on the two major themes of youth and suspense,” Chen Xiao noted. “The platform will focus on realism and historical humanities in the future. Such content cover many categories, such as the adaptation of contemporary masterpieces, the secrets of historical cities, the topic of contemporary cities, and the inheritance of non-legacy cultures.”

It seems like iQIYI’s leap into the future will demand great things from the creative community. As a judge in the second ATF Chinese Pitch, Chen Xiao hopes to encounter works with imagination that also harbours great international perspective, allowing it the potential to travel extensively.