From Reading to Viewing: Transmedia Narrative Transformations in the Micro-Drama Adaptation of Online Literature IP

Abstract

The rapid growth of online micro-dramas has brought Chinese online literature intellectual property (IP) into a new phase of transmedia transformation and generated modes of content production that differ from conventional screen adaptation. Whereas long-form adaptations generally allow narrative expansion and fuller character development, micro-drama adaptations are designed for mobile distribution and must reorganize stories, translate verbal narration into audiovisual expression, and reconstruct characters within severe temporal limits. Using transmedia storytelling as its theoretical perspective and combining case analysis with textual analysis, this study examines the transition from textual reading to audiovisual viewing. It finds that micro-dramas adapt long-form narratives through plot compression, temporal-spatial folding, and anticipatory suspense; convert psychological description, setting, and affect into sensory configurations of shots, sound, performance, and space; and reorganize character relations into visually distinctive and readily communicable personas. These strategies increase narrative density and emotional accessibility, but may also produce structural convergence, concentrated affect, and functionalized characters. Micro-drama adaptation is therefore not simple abridgement, but a reconfiguration of narrative logic under the conditions of mobile media.