Lumix Vertical Drama Pilot Workshop
LUMIX // VERTICAL DRAMA PILOT WORKSHOP
2 days. One finished vertical pilot. Made by you.
There's a new media gold rush happening right now, and it's the vertical microdrama — the most-watched drama format on Earth. Platforms are buying it as fast as people can make it. Lumix is a 2-day workshop where you stop talking about it and walk out with a finished pilot episode in your hands.
You'll write it, shoot it, cut it, and pitch it — real script, real camera, real sound, real people. No experience required. Just one shootable scene idea and the will to finish.
One rule: AI helps you plan — breaking story, tightening the script on Day 1. The moment the camera rolls, it's out. No generated faces, no synthetic performances. Every frame on screen is a real human doing the one thing no machine can: making someone feel something.
📈 The grassroots are winning. Here's the proof.
The biggest stories in film right now aren't coming from the studio tower — or a render farm. They're coming from people who made the work themselves, fast and cheap, with whatever they had.
China — Dear You. A family drama in Teochew dialect, cast of unknowns, lead played by a 20-year-old finance student who'd never acted. Opened on 3.6% of screens, climbed on word-of-mouth to top the box office for 20+ days straight, crossed US$200M.
US — Obsession. YouTube creator Curry Barker built his own audience scene by scene, then turned it into this summer's first horror hit for Focus Features. No studio found him — he made the work, and the work found the studio.
US — Backrooms. Kane Parsons started posting found-footage shorts at 16. At 20 he became A24's youngest director — Backrooms opened to roughly US$118M worldwide on a ~US$10M budget.
None of them waited to be picked. They shipped, and the audience picked them.
The window for vertical drama is open right now — and it won't stay open. The people who move first own the format. Everyone else makes content for them later.
🎯 What you walk away with
A finished vertical pilot — 60–90 seconds: hook, conflict, emotional punch. One episode that proves the story can keep going.
Showreel ammunition built for 9:16 — the frame platforms and casting directors are actually watching.
A real crew — pro camera, pro sound, sponsored lighting.
A live pitch — screen it, defend it, make the case for episode two in front of the room.
The method — small crews, fast cycles, quick prototyping. The "make my next one tomorrow" muscle you keep for good.
🎭 Who this is for
Anyone with a story and zero patience: actors, writers, directors, editors, creators, first-timers. If you can bring one strong scene idea and pull your weight on set, you're in.
Best fit: people who work fast · anyone with one killer dramatic scene · those happy to act and crew · anyone who needs a vertical showreel yesterday.
Not the fit: action-heavy concepts · stunts or specialist props · large-cast epics · people waiting to be discovered by magic.
🎬 Bring one scene idea. Keep it shootable.
Show your range, not your ability to blow the budget by lunchtime.
1 location — simple space, strong conflict
3-4 people per team — enough tension, not a crowd
Drama only — confession, betrayal, ultimatum, a lie, a secret
No action — no fights or stunts. The only thing that explodes here is the performance.
🗓️ The two days
Day 1 — Idea to plan (AI in the room)
Intro: vertical story basics, concepts and tools
Form teams, split roles
Gear walkthrough: camera, sound, lighting
Turn scene ideas into microdrama engines
Write a tight, shootable 60–90 sec episode
Pitch the plan before shoot day
Day 2 — Make it (AI out of the room)
Team shoots: performance, coverage, sound
Fast edits: assemble, tighten, export vertical cuts
Final screenings: show it, pitch it, own it
⚔️ The rules
Make, don't talk — Two days, one finished episode. Ship it. Everyone works — Everyone performs, everyone crews. No passengers. Drama or bust — Performance, story, proof. No spectacle. Human on screen — AI helps you plan. It never appears in your frame. Egos at the door — Thirty years of credits or zero, the episode is the only ego that matters.
⚠️ Before you apply
Quick application required. Seats capped at 12–15 so teams can actually shoot.
Apply with: your background (any — acting, writing, directing, editing, or none) and one drama scene idea.
Selected for: readiness, collaboration and fit for vertical drama.
Bring: energy, adaptability and a willingness to finish.
New to film sets? A sharp scene idea and speed count more than a CV.
Applications close 24 July. Decisions within 48 hours.
🗣️ Hosted by Gavin Lim (AI Film Lab 2030) TV producer, director and filmmaker with nearly thirty years in the trade, and founder of AI Film Lab 2030, a Future of Work community exploring AI and visual storytelling — including the first AI filmmaking hackathon at the Philippines' inaugural AI Festival (2025). His thesis, on screen: AI sharpens the plan — humans carry the frame.
🤝 Sponsor Support Thank you to Lumix Singapore for providing camera support and Singapore Polytechnic for Venue Support.
📍 Dates & Location 31st July (Friday) & 1st August (Saturday) 2026 · 9am–6pm Venue Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore
Contact Gavin Lim ·
🎬 Apply now — 12–15 seats. Hit Register and answer two questions: your background and your one drama scene idea. That's the application. Applications close 24 July — you'll hear back within 48 hours.
31 July & 1 Aug. One episode. Made by you. Stop waiting to be discovered — make the thing that discovers you.
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