Vigloo Releases First AI-Realized Vertical Micro Dramas

Creating short form content tailored to mobile viewing is now an $8 billion business, with such content being created and enjoyed worldwide. It caters to a demand for bite-size entertainment people can watch on their phones. One of the companies meeting that demand is Vigloo, a South Korean company that produces short form dramas in a mobile-first, vertical scrolling format. Launched in 2024 by SpoonLabs, the platform’s library includes over 300 dramas for the U.S., Korean, and Japanese markets, with scripts sourced from local creators. Although the idea of micro dramas may have originated in Asia, viewership in the U.S. is growing. Using AI technology to speed up the production process seemed a logical next step. So, this month Vigloo released Met a Savior in Hell and Seoul: 2053, its first vertical dramas generated entirely through AI-driven visual production.

The romance drama Met a Savior in Hell was produced in-house. It was completed in six weeks, cutting costs by 90% and halving production time. The story follows an aloof heir’s one-month, one-billion-won contract that gradually exposes hidden secrets. The sci fi drama Seoul: 2053 was created in collaboration with Korean production company Zanybros. The story is set in a post-climate-collapse Seoul, where humanity’s survival depends on confronting a humanoid adversary. In Seoul: 2053 AI tools created effects that would be impossible to capture in live action, such as raging sandstorms, dystopian cityscapes, and humanoid figures, pushing beyond the traditional limits of short-form content.

“With AI, you no longer need a Hollywood-sized budget to build a cinematic world,” said Vigloo CEO Neil Choi. “Before these tools evolved, a sci-fi or blockbuster-style microdrama in our format was out of reach. Now, we can produce one in weeks. So the benefit isn’t only about efficiency or speed, it’s about creative freedom. For example, screenwriters get alternative scene paths; smaller studio creators get pre-visualizations, storyboards, color and sound assist that unlock bigger ideas at smaller scale. More creative voices can be heard, more risks can be taken, and stories once impossible under the old model can be realized. AI doesn’t replace human creativity, but expands it.”

Replacing human jobs has been a major argument against the unbridled use of AI and that includes the option of replacing human actors with AI actors and replicating the images of human actors. Restrictions on some AI use were implemented as a result of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes that shut down U.S. film and TV production. Choi has been following the conversations happening in Hollywood around AI-generated actors.

‘As we expand our U.S. presence with our new LA office this year, we’re engaging directly with industry stakeholders,” said Choi. “For Vigloo, AI shouldn’t replace performers; it should empower them. We leverage commercially available AI visual tools to streamline workflows and explore new types of storytelling that were previously out of reach for small-format, lower-budget, fast-turnaround productions like microdramas. Our human creators remain at the center of every decision — ideation, direction, and final approvals. We’re not trying to replicate what already exists. We’re focused on creating what has never been made before.”

According to Choi, some Korean actors are experimenting with AI to expand what they can do on screen while maintaining ownership of their identity.

“Opinions vary,” he said. “But AI is inevitable; advantage goes to early adopters who use it to empower creators.”

According to Choi, AI can be implemented in ways that preserve jobs.

“The technology keeps advancing, but the creative concept isn’t new,” said Choi. “So this isn’t a sudden break from the past or a future where everything is synthetic. Entertainment has always embraced new tools, from CGI to motion capture to AI. This is simply the next chapter in that evolution.”

While AI changes the speed and scale at which ideas can become content, it also has the potential to lower barriers and invite more experimentation, especially with new formats like micro dramas.

“We’re moving forward by expanding what’s possible while preserving what audiences value most: human creativity and emotional connection,” said Choi. “The key is using AI responsibly and transparently, in ways that elevate creative work. That has always been Vigloo’s focus.”