Director Di-Han Xu uses AI micro-series to satirise the advertising production process

The rapid rise of micro-series across East Asia has opened up a new storytelling format – short, fast-paced episodes typically running under a minute and designed to capture the attention of Gen Alpha audiences.

Advertising film director Di-Han Xu has been at the forefront of the trend, directing several micro-series that have collectively generated tens of millions of views. During the recent Chinese New Year break, Xu decided to turn the format back on the industry where he began his career – advertising.

The result is “Ad Absentiam Hominis”, a short AI-driven micro-series that playfully satirises the production house pitching and filmmaking process.

“The low production budgets of micro-series means they were early adopters of A.I.,” says Xu. “The quality of AI-generated video keeps improving by leaps and bounds. And with the launch of ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0, I wanted to showcase A.I. production capabilities to marketers, agencies and production houses in a humorous manner.”

Inspired by the famous Japanese “Lotto 7” campaign, the series takes an irreverent look at how artificial intelligence could reshape traditional production workflows – turning familiar industry dynamics on their head.

“One of my heroes Wim Wenders has this to say about low-brow pop culture, do not avert your eyes as it is coming for you,” Xu explains. “Similarly, I think we should not avoid, but rather embrace A.I. as a new tool in our box, perhaps the final tool.”

To avoid copyright complications, Xu photographed the faces of several well-known figures from the Shanghai production community – many of them close friends – and cast them as characters in the series.

When asked what he might charge a client for a production of similar quality, Xu simply smiled: “Depends on the client.”