Hoorae Media, the production company founded by actress and screenwriter Issa Rae, is trying to find a way to bring work back to the film industry through short vertical series for TikTok. Its executives, Jax Clark and Dzifa Yador, spoke about it at IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking Summit.
The first such project, Screen Time, premiered this year. It is a thriller about a double date that turns into a nightmare when an intruder hacks the television in the living room and demands that those gathered reveal their secrets under threat of exposure. The series consists of minute-long episodes and by October had drawn nearly 580 million views on TikTok and on the dedicated PineDrama app.
My favorite comment: "Who put Netflix on my TikTok?" It confirmed that we have not abandoned the principles of making a quality product.
— Dzifa Yador, head of Hoorae Media
The central question for the company is whether this format can provide steady work for directors, actors and film crews. According to Jax Clark, Hoorae Media is looking for ways to build a "sustainable pipeline" that would bring new talent and new perspectives into the industry, at a time when getting in is becoming harder and budgets are shrinking.
For Issa Rae, this is partly a return to her roots: before her HBO series Insecure she became known through her YouTube web series. The new format involves working with digital platforms and partnering with brands. Hoorae Media, according to Yador, spent two years studying vertical video before starting production. The company is not trying to reinvent storytelling; rather, it is "repackaging" it for a modern audience that spends much of its time on phones.
Clark warns that microseries are not a way to place a feature-film script that nobody bought. The story has to be created specifically for this format. A viewer can start watching from any episode, so every minute-long installment must be gripping and hold attention. To that end, the company has assembled a team that includes both traditional filmmakers and vertical video specialists.
Unlike many similar projects that earn money through paid subscriptions or pay-per-episode fees, Hoorae Media's series are free and supported by advertising. Yador said the company tries to integrate brands organically into the narrative rather than simply placing their logos. According to Clark, this model allows closer work with advertisers than in big-screen cinema.
Importantly, Screen Time is an official SAG-AFTRA production. This means that workers receive minimum pay, overtime, and contributions to pension and health funds. So far, such projects make up only a small part of the market. Following the first success, Hoorae Media has released two more microseries and plans to shoot ten next year. "It's a numbers game," says Yador.
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