LayarHijau – China’s entertainment industry has been actively discussing the impact of artificial intelligence following the limited release of Seedance 2.0 on February 7. Seedance is a platform owned by ByteDance, a major Chinese tech company that also runs TikTok. The platform enables the creation of videos, films, and dramas with the help of AI, or artificial intelligence—a computer technology that can assist in creating scenes and stories just like humans do.
Many now realize that AI could influence or even replace parts of the creative process in the entertainment industry faster than previously imagined. Previously, filmmakers and drama producers still questioned whether AI-generated results were realistic enough, whether it could replace actors, or whether the quality was sufficient. With the latest technology, many companies have already started preparing strategies to incorporate AI into their productions.
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Some industry insiders note that AI’s impact is most noticeable on feature films and long-form dramas, particularly in reducing costs. Scenes that previously required physical sets can now be digitally generated, making production much more efficient.
However, the most dramatic changes are happening in short films and mini-dramas. A longstanding issue with AI video production was consistency and continuity: whether characters and elements from previous scenes would remain the same in subsequent scenes, and whether the story flowed smoothly without glitches. These problems have now largely been resolved, allowing high-quality short films and dramas to be produced using AI.
A major question in the industry is whether it still makes sense to produce films or dramas with a budget under 500,000 CNY (about $72,400 USD).
Currently, premium productions generally require more than 1,000,000 CNY (about $144,800 USD) per title. Films or dramas under 500,000 CNY often have lower quality, from scriptwriting to set design. With AI, similar productions can now be fully replaced at much lower costs, sometimes reduced to under 50,000 CNY (about $7,240 USD) for an entire series. Some animated shorts last year were even produced at around 500 CNY (about $72 USD) per episode.
Looking ahead, the film and drama market is likely to split into two categories: first, live-action productions with well-known actors, using AI as a supporting tool to enhance quality, with higher budgets; second, productions entirely made with AI, replacing medium-budget projects that previously required tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Even though live-action productions will continue to dominate the market, AI will target many small companies and teams at risk of falling behind. Some university teams are already able to produce high-quality short films and dramas with just a few people using AI tools.
One director noted, “The next six months will be a turning point: mid-sized and small production companies must quickly adapt to AI, or they will shut down.”
Indeed, Seedance 2.0 is still in early development and cannot fully replace humans. However, AI’s development points toward a future where one person could create a film or drama entirely on their own, with personal ideas and aesthetics supported by AI to produce high-quality work, without requiring large teams or high budgets.
Large companies still hold advantages: creativity, planning, polished scripts, and high aesthetic standards will remain key competitive factors. What remains unchanged is the audience: they will only pay for quality content. Amid this massive technological shift, content quality remains the ultimate benchmark.
