‘One Cut of the Dead’ Director Ueda Shinichiro on Turning a Microdrama Into Tokyo Feature ‘Earthlings in Love’
Ueda Shinichiro’s feature film “Earthlings in Love” expands a story first released as a vertical social media microdrama, exploring how memory differs from what is recorded. The project reflects Ueda’s interest in filmmaking and its effects, while using the vertical frame to shape what viewers can see and infer.
The story follows Shinpei, a director diagnosed with young-onset dementia who tries to complete a film he began with friends as a teenager. Its 30 online episodes had a combined runtime of 76 minutes; Ueda re-edited them into a 111-minute feature after a positive online response. He added previously omitted scenes and new footage, while removing cliffhangers designed to bring viewers back to the series.
In short
- Ueda adapted a 30-part vertical microdrama into a feature film.
- The feature runs 111 minutes, compared with 76 minutes for the online episodes.
- Its story connects memory, dementia and filmmaking.
Explained simply
Vertical microdramas are short, phone-shaped video episodes made for social media. Their narrow frame can limit what viewers see, while episodic endings are often designed to encourage them to watch the next instalment.
“Earthlings in Love” follows Shinpei, a film director diagnosed with young-onset dementia, as he tries to finish a film he started with friends when he was a teenager. The story explores the difference between memories and recordings, and how making films can shape what people remember.
Ueda Shinichiro, the director of “One Cut of the Dead”, first released the story in 30 online episodes. He later reshaped that material as a feature film, adding scenes and removing the episode-ending cliffhangers, so the work could be experienced as one continuous story.