Latest / Beyond The Hook / Why You Can't Stop Watching Vertical Dramas | Tieren Hawkins, Blink49 Studios

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Why You Can't Stop Watching Vertical Dramas | Tieren Hawkins, Blink49 Studios · Beyond The Hook

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm someone who really enjoyed, you know, uh the billionaire CEO is my my secret husband type stuff, and I think I still do.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's how um I it's it is the camp.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Beyond the Hook in the Plot Twist Lounge.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am here with the vice president of vertical content at Blake49 Studios.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Join me in welcoming Tyrion Hawkins.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's very nice to be here.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: No, we're really happy uh you could make it and you had time to sit down with us to talk with us today, and just to have you guys here at the festival is fantastic.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for you know making the trip over, making time to be here with us today.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been an incredible festival, genuinely, and like getting the chance to kind of come across Canada and see everything that everyone's doing and and building here on the island.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's very reminiscent of home.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you know, vertical is really built for these small film communities and and really has the opportunity that that vertical can expand.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's just been really nice to be here today and to see everybody, and uh uh it's been really kind of eye-opening, I guess.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a lot of similarities.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So even across Canada, I think we're kind of all all creating the same thing, and especially in vertical, there's a lot of opportunity to uh, you know, for that creation right now.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're seeing constant evolution in the space and uh constant opportunities opening, and and you know, Victoria is a place that uh I think has a lot of potential for for those opportunities in future.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, totally agree.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: No, that makes sense, and it's interesting to see um, I guess, you know, just from being here today and watching them all, we can see how passionate people are about them.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: It it kind of seems like, you know, if there was some resistance beforehand, or I feel like that's falling away, it seems like there's a lot of like a swelling of support and embracement of these this format of storytelling.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, like things have definitely shifted.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like we like I was very fortunate to be kind of at the beginning of vertical.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I came into the industry in 2024, which was kind of as things were first coming over, like more and from Asia into North America, and these North American streaming services, the the real short, the short racks, drama wave, they were popping up for the first time doing you know domestic co-production for North American audiences or service production, I should say, but co-production as well over time.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, at first I think we we met a lot of resistance, both because of the type of content, what they were, a lot of them with their mature themes, and at the same time, just the fact that they were new and they were unfamiliar.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, I think to say, like, you know, like 10-15 years ago, if you were you know working for Netflix at the emergence of streaming, you would have faced similar resistance.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I heard just you know recently from friends who were very successful in the MOW space, it's you know, dude, don't worry about it, because 20 years ago we were facing the same thing.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I just I I think that's really heartening to know that like okay, all new forms of media go through the same evolution.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we finally, as vertical creators, are starting to, you know, it's it's fading by the wayside.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And now it's really how can we elevate narrative content?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: How can we can we make the stuff we're making better?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: How can we get away from just romance, you know, and and go into more, you know, the action, the thriller, which stuff we're already seeing, and now into horror and and other genres.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Not every vertical is a micro drama, every microdrama is vertical.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that says something about the fact that, like, you know, micro drama is just one specific lane of what it is we're doing in vertical, and now, you know, we're gonna get into things and beyond scripted, into unscripted, into reality.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, yeah, there's just so many opportunities as filmmakers for those who are ready to jump on board.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's a great answer.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: That makes perfect sense.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, after watching this evolution in the industry in real time, is there something or what maybe has surprised you the most about making stories in this format?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the thing that surprises me most every day, really, genuinely, is what we're able to pull off within the confines of what we're handed to make these types of stories.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think we we've definitely seen budgets grow and we're able to take care of our people really well.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're able to build great crews, but we are constantly pushing the limitations of the genre.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's part of it, part of exploring outward, moving into those different formats, that in doing so, we need to prove to the to the streamers, to the broadcasters, to our partners that we're capable of hitting these new heights.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the thing that I'm always impressed with most as a producer, especially, you know, working on a limited budget, is working with talented crews who are able to be multifaceted, to go out and to kind of just just be able to push to make these projects happen on such a crazy scale, you know, shooting 10 plus pages a day in a way that ultimately we try to make it fun and not strenuous.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we do a really good job.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think the best vertical producers do, and uh, you know, it's it's always the crew that holds it together for us.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I I feel very fortunate to have a team of that makes perfect sense to me.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: The people who uh are part of your productions and support you, and the people, you know, uh surround yourself with in your life are so key to you know finding your path, right?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that's such a a unique thing in vertical, is that like everyone has a multifaceted role, but one that they want to be in and one that they've grown in that benefits them, I feel.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: At least a lot of the crews that I interact with who are able to push the limitations of the format and to be the crews that are finding repeatable success.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it's interesting watching people that they have this kind of wider birth of control.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I do feel for a lot of really talented creatives who for a long time, because of the kind of contraction of the industry, haven't been able to find as much of a as a creative creative outlet at a at a professional level.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think for the first time it really is.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's a growth place, but it's a place where you can grow, you know, not just just in one avenue, but but it multifacetely at the same time.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I I do feel like it's given a lot of people, myself included, who weren't getting opportunities, you know, in the in the mainline system, but were ready for them, an opportunity to to push into ultimately what's what's small scale narrative content at a at a series level.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And and it's something that you can make that that is is I think for a lot of people, it's it's filling out our our reels, it's filling out our resumes, it's it's giving us a background of work, really solid work with excellent credits and an amazing distribution that we wouldn't have otherwise.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, absolutely.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Great answer.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, in your opinion, do you believe that Canada is currently in a strong position to have an impact in the vertical story, in vertical storytelling?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: And if so, can you tell us why?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Canada has an incredible place in vertical right now, and uh I I think we're really just at the forefront of it.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I think a big part of it, admittedly, is that we're we're dealing with a lot of contracts that are coming up from America.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and we're just able to compete, you know, with the dollar value at its most basic.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that we've been able to unlock tax credits through certain uh vertical streamers.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So RealShort is the first vertical platform that is on the Kavco approved list of online services, which as long as uh platforms are able to secure distribution means you're able to secure, you know, federal and provincial tax credits in most markets.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, with the dollar value, with that in mind, and I think it's just convincing other streamers that, well, Real Short has seen success and they're at the top of it.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's it's now that they've opened that opportunity, and I have to, I have to genuinely like say like it was them who who came and and and Carrie Lee Kroger, who's their Canadian project manager, I think it's huge because it gives us a competitive advantage over other countries, and and really it's a reason that we can say work work should come here.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And beyond that we have the experience, that we have the crews, and that we have the passion.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I do also think that's the truth, is just Canadian crews, these these micro budget crews, we just have the passion, we want to do it, and and we see how cool these productions can be when you lean into you know the surrealism of it all in some sense, and you lean into kind of like how how elevated it can be and just how silly it can be at times, too, but how how amazing.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I think like you know, um it's a really uh really interesting place for Canadians right now.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, great answer.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense for sure.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the platforms, admittedly, like I think they know these things, and as we are able to push further into working with more linear broadcasters, because everyone right now is at a point where they're saying, Well, I want to be in vertical.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's heard the$14 million valuation that gets thrown around.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And any company on earth is gonna just, you know, open their eyes at that and say, okay, we have to get involved.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we've seen all these kind of large, like whether they're Canadian-based, whether they're American-based, international, they all want in, but no one really knows yet how they're gonna enter the space, where that content's gonna live organically with their their kind of system, whether or not they have to start a new, you know, avenue of their business, which these things take time.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we're really at the forefront of it.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think especially as North American-based, um, you know, like sorry, especially as linear streamers and broadcasters come more in and know more of what they want, they're going to be looking to go out to Canadian partners.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And at that point, we're gonna see the same thing we saw two years ago when the the Eastern world streamers were coming over and needing to fill their libraries.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was a massive boom and an explosion, and there were so many new opportunities for for service companies to get in.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I think to some degree this will also be an opportunity for service companies, but I think the North American presence behind the the the big five streamers, things like that, who exist already in the in the traditional market, who are going to be coming in.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think once they enter, it'll give uh a lot more opportunity for broader content, for co-productions from a lot of Canadian companies right now who are kind of like tiptoeing around the space, but might not be, you know, ready to jump full tilt into romance or what have you.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I just I see a lot more outward potential.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we're really just, you know, we we might have scratched 10% of it.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: We might be on the surface, but I really I really don't feel like we're in deep water yet.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's so much more depth that we're gonna have to hit, you know, before we really feel the uh kind of the edge of that bubble uh ready to burst.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like I really do feel like these are still still the early days.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: So there's so much room, more room for growth that you see, which is exciting to think about, right?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's cool to, you know, to be able to watch and see how it's all gonna unfold over the next decade or so, right?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I the next decade's actually a wild thing to think about.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess when I think of it from the perspective of like, well, where was you know, where was Netflix 15 years ago?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: What was their position in the market?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, we're on uh year three of real short now or of most of these streaming platforms.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it I it will be an interesting evolution.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And really, I I think like we've only really predicted as far as that like five-year market cap.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: So everything that comes after it, I think, is is almost speculative right now.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really exciting as a creative to know that even with everything that's going on, with all the amalgamation, with the contraction, like there's this entire new avenue where new services are popping up, where new opportunities exist.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they're not opportunities that are behind, you know, a five, ten, twenty million dollar paywall.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: These are microdramas that are being made, you know, transparently at a quarter million dollar budget uh or less.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a great place for emerging Canadian creatives who don't have opportunities in linear.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I'm very fortunate that I did a lot of production with five TV1 throughout the beginning of my early career.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I find right now as a Canadian creative, if you want to make independent content as a writer, producer, director, you know, and you want to do something in the network space and get your feet wet there, those are your only options.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: The the TELUS funds, the the Bell Fibes, you know, those kind of like small programs that are great, but that only have limited resources and admittedly are taking from CRTC funds to to fund community programming.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: So again, contraction.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and you know, I have a lot of great friends in that avenue, and and again, like I could not be where I am without the support that they rendered me, but I do think this presents a wonderful next step to commercial filmmaking that otherwise doesn't really exist in our industry anymore in 2026.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of uh Blink 49, can you tell us a bit about Blink49's decision to position themselves into the vertical space?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh Blink is uh one of the fastest growing independent studios on Earth, definitely the fastest in North America.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um Blink is a company that is in everything, it comes from the foundation of E1.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the or sorry, the people who had founded E1, John Morenus and his team.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so he then founded Blink49 a few years ago now, the name referencing uh the 49th parallel between Canada and America.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: You blink.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize that.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a lot of people think we're big what Blink 182 fans, but that is actually the first thing I thought of when I read it.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh, so he built it out of E1, brought over a lot of experienced people who kind of put that team together.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you know their presence in Canada, they were responsible for a lot of huge content for different multinational networks, a lot of stuff on CBC and uh uh Bell Media, those kind of relationships.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, so to say a few years ago started Blink 49.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: They're a wonderful company.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: As of late, they've been expanding into different divisions.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: They brought me in for vertical.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have a gentleman named Adam Pachulski, he's the head of our brand studio, and at the same time, we brought in a gentleman named Mickey Mayer, who's the head of our creator content team, so to say that uh they brought in all kinds of different synergies, and I guess really trying to be at the front of all new media evolutions that are facing uh independent production right now.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it's how we can leverage all those different, you know, lovely kind of new titles that didn't exist anywhere five years ago.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, all of us to kind of bring uh a new perspective, I guess, into the way that content's being created, marketed, sold, along with their lovely, you know, traditional teams and the wonderful folks that have been pushing that kind of infrastructure for so long.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, they're they're a massive company, they do a lot of different things, you know, uh uh wildcards be one of them, uh uh services on uh on Beast Games.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, things to say, like you just a lot of presence in the space.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it is interesting to me, kind of like coming in, and I think it's been a blessing to be um, you know, some like now as an independent, I don't think I would have ever had the opportunity to kind of push the things that I'm pushing now at the network level and be able to connect to people in the same kind of way.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I now feel like there's a blessing, and I do feel truly like working with Blink has given me personally an opportunity to be at the forefront of kind of um structuring what it is that we as independent filmmakers are hoping to see from um you know from the vertical space as it continues to grow and as it continues to have different avenues and uh how we can evolve those lanes so that they're they're beneficial for the the companies we're servicing, uh, but that in the same way as as all the other contents being created, how it can be you know rewarding for the creatives and how we can make sure that everybody involved is able to secure a living and and you know uh actually reap the benefit of the things it is they're creating because the massive virality that of these, you know, like um in the same way that new media agreements had to evolve, it's it's okay, it's how can we all you know play together to make this work for everybody?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a fantastic answer.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: Our next question is Um, you joked that you're one of the 25% of men who actually loves the drama.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: So can you tell us what you think it is that makes a vertical drama so impossible to stop watching?
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I mean that that statistic I think comes from the fact that 75% of vertical drama audiences are female and 25% as of the last poll that was released are male, which is really interesting in that it's an entirely new kind of uh uh margin for our space where that's typically been much more heavily skewed female.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're seeing for the first time, you know, WWE just announced a partnership with Real Short, things like that to create more male-centric content.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we're seeing more action tropes kind of come up.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's been quite interesting to see that evolution.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I guess like I I'm someone who really enjoyed, you know, uh the billionaire CEO is my my secret husband type stuff, and I think I still do.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's how it's it is the camp.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: It is the camp.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's how how unapologetic they are about how in your face the tone is, and the fact that it's like, hey, you know, like it's it's it's just grabbing you.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think I come from a background of professional wrestling, which is very interesting because in a lot of the same way as as verticals, it's a very uh parasocial relationship we attempt to create with our audience, and it's a very direct relationship and one that relies very heavily on core emotional instinct and leaning into the to the simple emotional responses and instincts that you know I think a lot of the time we have that are are subliminal that we might not even realize.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's kind of the psychology that that we tend to play with our verticals, but also that the best verticals always play on.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think they're just very gripping, you know.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: It puts you in a situation where, you know, um you see yourself in some element as the main character, and you go back to this place in your life where, oh, I I'm at a crossroad.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And for this main character, you know, they're at the worst day of their life, and then they're on the best day of their life because of one-chance interaction.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, to a sense, that's what we all want.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's where the love of verticals come from.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, it's it's it's being able to take a character and follow them down a path that is so insane and twisted and has the highest highs.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: But no one ever talks about the highest highs, how she ends up as a billionaire.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone wants to talk about the lowest lows when it's raining and she's in a ditch, you know?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's that's part of it, is that without without the the negative, we can't see the hero succeed.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think when you understand that, hey, they're always gonna win in the end.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think that basic psychological understanding, and and wrestling, you know, benefits from the same thing, you know.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of it, the the Hulk Hogan character always has his belt, or at the end of it, you know, the macho man character always gets the belt back and gets to celebrate.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, she always gets married, she always ends up with the husband, she always has the kid and the billion-dollar job.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I I just love that because then when I close my phone and I go back to life, that's hard, even though I'm making verticals, life's still hard.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, I just I just got to escape that for an hour.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's cool.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it means a lot to me as a filmmaker that I get to do that for a million people, for 10 million people.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if even just for 60 seconds of their day, I held their suspension of disbelief and I put them in a position where they had an emotional response to a piece of content that caused them to scroll on to the next episode, that means the world to me.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: 20 million people got to see this thing, and it meant something, at least to half of them.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: That will never stop being cool to me.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I and rightly so.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: I totally can appreciate that for sure.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: You're right.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like to think about reaching that many people is amazing, and I love the parallels between wrestling and the I could definitely see what you're saying of like, you know, cheering for the face and booing the heel, and that's great, man.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a very basic, man, and in everything it is, and I think that's the simplicity of it.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's actually when verticals get lost, is when we lose the basics and people try to get too heavily, you know, away from the formula, away from what it is, and it's like, no, you just need you just need a character you can fall in love with, and you need people to hate them, and you need people to love them, and we need to see that play out at its extremes.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so cool that when that happens, when you get actors who believe in it, when you get crew who are, you know, what's gonna happen next, like it just brings the whole thing to life in this entirely like almost vaudevillian way that I just I really I think I just enjoy it so much because I think it's the core of filmmaking.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you went back to to even like 1920s filmmaking, you know, and the turn of like of film, I think like that's where it was at.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're going in a sense, we're not going backwards, but it's that same like basic emotional response um that we're trying to cultivate.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I don't know, it's so cool, it's so cool to think about, and that every day is a new thing that no one's ever done before.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, not every day, some days are just straight up, you know, going to set and changing the garbages, and that's what it is because you're a producer and you're a PA.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: I don't ask anything of my people, I wouldn't do myself.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but yeah, like it's every day is cool.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, man.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome, and that's great leadership.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this one is actually for the creators out there, the storytellers and the creatives, dreamers.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: When you're developing or looking for a new vertical series, what is the very first thing that you're looking for in a story?
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: So the very first thing I'm looking for, I think, is just a basic understanding of the genre and the concept, and understanding that even if you want to push every boundary, every established plot line, if you want to go all on about your own strategy, you still have to honor the core concepts that are vertical.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's everything I talked about.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's those basic emotional responses, it's it's the way um um things are structured between the main character, between the the love interest, it's it's those right antagonists being there.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's it's just a basic sense of core storytelling, and then from that we can work with just about any script and any any kind of concept to mold it into what we need as long as the emotions are there, you know.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think some people get too caught up on what the I'll say what the skin is of the of the thing, but ultimately if you have the right heart underneath, which is what we're looking for, you could put any skin on it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it could be uh a racing drama, it could be uh uh about people uh you know at sea working on a cruise ship, it could be uh about an Uber Eats driver, you know, it could be truly anything, or just a normal, everyday 18-year-old freshman who who shows up to university and her professor is the billionaire.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's just that simple that it doesn't uh to a sense, it now I won't say it doesn't matter, because everything matters, and everything in vertical is so intentional, but it is the basic emotional responses.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: If your audience cares, they will obviously follow the character, otherwise they won't be have that interest.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we're just looking like we are looking for people all the time too, like looking for new writers, new talent, people to connect with.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that vertical is so new, there genuinely isn't enough people in the writing positions who know what they're doing, who who are in those kind of like senior creative roles that we're still trying to find new voices, I think, like probably at at a rate that I don't think any other part of film is.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I see constant calls for talented writers, especially who are willing to learn the genre and who want to want to try it.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's a great place, especially for those who are in the MOW world and those who want to get into it or get their feet wet for the first time with uh with a uh broadcast level script.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like it is uh it is a great position.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's that's a really hot bed right now for people who want to get into vertical, who want to get into creative positions, and uh who who just don't know how to get their foot in the door.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's great advice.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we are very familiar familiar with MOWs here in Victoria.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, I got one last little thing here for you.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a finish the sentence uh prompt.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: So finish the sentence for me.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Vertical dramas make me vertical dramas make me.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Vertical dramas make me passionate, genuinely, I think, is the answer I'd want to go with.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel this immense passion for what it is we're doing, and I think that there's a lot of people who who don't share that passion, but there's way more people who do.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think those who who are are following that are getting to experience entirely new things.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think life is very experiential in nature, and we're meant to go out, we're meant to try new things, we're meant to push our boundaries, push ourselves.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think vertical drama has let me, my family, we've been able to do that on a different level.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: I say family, I mean crew, I mean cast, I mean those that we work with in our communities in the film industry, not just you know at home in PEI, but all across Canada.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's interesting to think this is all work that wouldn't exist without this format kind of coming to be over the last two years.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when I think of what it is, it's it's passion.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because as long as I keep putting passion in, we will keep reaping the benefit.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it's true of everyone in this industry who's putting putting passion into their work.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: It goes beyond making a 90-minute vertical drama, it's making something you care about truly, you know.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's whether it's a billionaire CEO or whether it's it's you know uh uh beneath crimson tides, you know.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's those are movies that are made with a shit ton of passion.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that makes sense because that is something that you should be proud about, you know.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: When you do something that you're passionate about and you do it to your utmost ability, more often than not, you are left with something that you can step back and be proud of, right?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: So you should be proud of that for everything you guys are creating at Bling 49.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: That makes perfect sense.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, uh, we are out of time, it goes by very fast in these segments, but thank you so much for being able to join us and you know making the time to be here with us today, Tierran.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: We are really happy that you were able to come and uh you know represent Bling 49.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you so much for just you know sitting down and chatting with us.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Really appreciate having you here today.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.