How to Make a Vertical AI Microdrama With a Consistent Cast
Build a vertical microdrama in VdoBloom: 3 to 10 episodes, 1 to 4 characters, 1 to 3 locations, last-frame continuity, a free binge cut and a 9:16 export.
A vertical microdrama is a short-form series built for a phone: 9:16, 3 to 10 episodes, a locked cast of 1 to 4 characters and 1 to 3 locations. In VdoBloom the series bible and the season plan are free to create, each episode renders from the previous episode’s last frame, and the finished episodes are stitched into a binge cut at no extra charge. Episodes run 10, 15 or 30 seconds, and a 10-second 720p Seedance 2 Fast episode is 100 credits; the tool’s own quote is the authority on each episode’s price.
Updated October 2026.
The hard part is not any single episode. It is keeping the same two faces and the same room across ten of them. The tool is built around that problem, so the setup below is mostly about giving it a cast and a plan it can hold.
What a microdrama is and why vertical series work
A microdrama is a story told in episodes short enough to finish in one sitting and sized for a phone held vertically. The format borrows the serial hook from television and the pacing of a social video: something happens in the first few seconds, the episode ends before the situation is resolved, and the next episode picks up exactly there.
Vertical framing is not a crop of a landscape scene. A 9:16 frame favours faces, hands and single objects, and it punishes wide group shots. Write for two people in a doorway, not six people in a room.
Series also solve a discovery problem that single clips have. One video is a sample; a run of episodes is a reason to come back, and a returning viewer is what makes a channel rather than a feed. The same continuity thinking applies to comedy, covered in recurring characters in an AI comedy series.
Set up the series: premise, genre, cast photos or a Character Sheet, locations
The tool starts with a series bible. It is free to create, and it is the document every later step reads.
- Premise. One sentence with a person, a pressure and a question. “A night-shift nurse keeps meeting the same stranger in the hospital car park, and neither will say why.” A premise that needs three sentences is not ready.
- Genre and style. Pick the genre the tool offers and keep it fixed. Changing genre mid-season changes the light, the pacing and the performance.
- Cast. The tool supports 1 to 4 characters. Give each one a name, a face description and an outfit, or upload a photo. If you have no photo, a character sheet gives the model front, side and back views to work from.
- Locations. The tool supports 1 to 3 locations. Fewer is better. A single room used three ways reads as a world; three rooms used once each read as a set tour.
Upload photos only of people who have agreed to appear. For a real person, that means a signed or written consent that covers synthetic video, not just a verbal yes. If the cast is invented, say so in the series description and keep the faces clearly fictional. The reference-set method behind a consistent cast is covered in the character sheet guide and AI video character consistency.
Write the season plan with a hook and a cliffhanger per episode
Writing the season is free in the tool, and it is worth doing before a single frame is rendered. The plan gives every episode a title, a summary, a cast list, a location and a cliffhanger, and those choices become the prompts.
Two rules make a plan filmable. First, every episode needs a hook in its opening seconds: a line, a look or an object that raises a question. Second, every episode except the last needs a cliffhanger that is a visible situation, not a thought. “She finds the key” can be filmed. “She realises something” cannot.
Keep dialogue short. The planner holds a line to a small word count for a reason: a spoken line in a 5-to-10-second episode has room for one idea. If a beat needs an argument, it needs two episodes.
Read the plan as a whole before you approve it. A season where episode four repeats episode two is cheaper to fix in text than in credits.
Generate episodes in order and why last-frame continuity matters
Episodes are made in order, and each one continues from the previous episode’s last frame. That is the continuity mechanism: the model is not asked to remember a description, it is shown the exact image the previous episode ended on.
This has two consequences. First, do not skip ahead. An episode built without its predecessor has no last frame to start from, and the tool will not let you film out of order. Second, treat the final frame of each episode as a composition decision. If episode two ends on a wide shot of an empty street, episode three starts there. End on the face you want to return to.
If an episode comes back wrong, the current take is kept until a new one is filmed, and re-filming is charged. Fix the plan or prompt before re-filming; the same input is a second bill.
Pick the model, length and resolution, and read the quote before you render
The series tool uses the Seedance family.
| Model | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Seedance 2 (default) | Best faces and lip-sync |
| Seedance 2 Fast | Quick and affordable episodes |
| Seedance 2 Mini | Cheapest drafts |
| Seedance 2.5 | Episodes up to 30 seconds |
Seedance 2 is the right default for a dialogue-led drama. Fast and Mini are the cheap drafting tiers.
Resolution and duration are set once for the series and applied to each episode. Two plans are sensible. A short episode at 720p on Seedance 2 Fast is the cheap path: a 10-second 720p Fast episode is 100 credits, and a 10-second 720p Seedance 2.5 episode is 252. A longer episode on 2.5 costs more per second but may replace two episodes, so compare the quote for both before committing the season.
Every price comes from the tool’s own quote, which is shown before you render. Read the whole quote, not just the per-episode line: generating the missing character sheets and location images has its own price, and those references are what keep the cast consistent. Plans and packs are on the pricing page, and the 2.5 model page is here.
The binge cut, captions and where to publish
The binge cut stitches the finished episodes into one continuous watch, and it is free. That gives you two deliverables from one season: the episodic run for a feed, and the full cut for a channel page, a landing page or a paid release.
Captions and title cards are options in the series settings, and they should be decided before the first render rather than added later, because they are part of the frame. A 9:16 video with burned-in captions is the format the major vertical feeds expect, and it survives being watched with the sound off.
Publish the episodic run where the vertical feeds are, and keep the binge cut for the place where a viewer arrives cold. For a second platform, a dedicated horizontal render is cleaner than a crop; see the aspect ratio guide.
Common mistakes
- Too many characters. Four is the limit and two is usually better. Every extra face is another identity to hold.
- A cliffhanger that cannot be seen. End on a situation, not a realisation.
- Skipping the bible. The free setup step is the cheapest part of the project and the one that decides whether the season holds together.
- Re-filming before rewriting. A failed episode is usually a plan or prompt problem, not a luck problem.
- Uploading a photo without consent. A real person’s face needs permission that covers synthetic video.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes can a series have?
From 3 to 10 episodes, with 1 to 4 characters and 1 to 3 locations. The season plan and series bible are free to create.
Do the episodes continue from each other?
Yes. Each episode is made in order and continues from the previous episode’s last frame, which is how the cast and setting stay consistent.
How much does an episode cost?
The tool’s quote is the authority, shown before you render. For reference, a 10-second 720p Seedance 2 Fast episode is 100 credits and a 10-second 720p Seedance 2.5 episode is 252. Episodes can be 10, 15 or 30 seconds long.
Is the binge cut extra?
No. Stitching the finished episodes into a binge cut is free.
Can I use photos of real people?
Only with their consent, and the consent must cover synthetic video. For an invented cast, keep the faces clearly fictional.
Open the Drama Series tool and build the bible first: premise, genre, cast and locations. New accounts start with 10 free credits and no card, and one-time packs never expire, so the free planning stage can be finished before you decide how many episodes to render.
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