China’s ultrashort-drama boom built a sprawling live-action industry of actors, directors, crews, and filming bases. Now, as AI drives down production costs, shoots are disappearing and companies are cutting staff. In Zhengzhou, filmmakers reckon with the slowdown; in Wuxi, former film and animation workers are building AI production systems that can turn scripts into finished videos with only a handful of people. Sixth Tone follows both sides of the shift to see how AI is changing not just how short dramas are made, but what filmmaking work itself is becoming.

Additional reporting: He Qitong; story editors: Apurva and Qi Ya; video editor: Lü Xiao