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Producing AI-First Vertical Series: Launch Templates for Mobile-First Storytelling

ccompose

2026-02-10

9 min read

Blueprints to produce AI-first vertical series: IP discovery, AI scripting, mobile-first launch templates, and conversion funnels for creators.

Hook: Ship vertical series faster — without losing creative control

If your team is stuck cycling between endless notes, manual story edits, and bespoke landing pages for every episode, you're not alone. Creators and publishers in 2026 face a new pressure: produce bingeable vertical video series at scale while turning viewers into subscribers or customers. This guide gives you blueprints — from IP discovery to AI scripting, to mobile-first launch templates and conversion funnels — so you can crank out episodic content that performs.

The landscape in 2026: Why now matters

Late 2025 and early 2026 saw two trends collide: rapid investment in vertical streaming platforms and the maturation of multimodal AI for storytelling. Industry moves — like Fox-backed Holywater raising $22M to scale AI-powered vertical streaming and transmedia studios signing with major agencies — show the formula works at scale. Creators can now leverage the same data-driven IP discovery and AI-assisted scripting methods used by startups and studios, but with leaner teams and launch templates optimized for mobile-first consumption.

What this means for creators

Mobile-first matters: Attention windows and UI constraints demand bite-sized, vertical-first design.
AI is a force-multiplier: From idea triage to shot-level scripts and automated captioning.
Data-driven IP discovery: You can find resonant concepts before investing in production.
Templates accelerate launches: Reusable episode, edit, and landing page templates reduce friction.

Blueprint overview: The AI-first vertical series funnel

Think of your vertical series as a compact funnel: IP discovery → Pilot scripting → Batch production → Publish → Convert. Each stage has repeatable assets and templates that keep brand and UX consistent while letting AI speed up iteration.

High-level KPI stack

Top-of-funnel: Impressions, CTR, watch starts
Engagement: 3s/6s view, average watch time, completion rate
Retention: next-episode retention, series binge rate
Conversion: landing page CTR, email capture, paid conversion

Step 1 — Data-driven IP discovery: find ideas that hook

Holywater and similar platforms use large-scale signals (engagement heatmaps, cross-platform trends, and superfans’ behavior) to surface concepts that scale. You don't need proprietary datasets to mimic the approach — use publicly available signals and tools to validate IP before scripting.

Practical IP discovery playbook

Seed list: Start with 30 raw concepts from community polls, comment mining, and competitor gaps.
Social listening: Use tools (Brandwatch, CrowdTangle, TikTok Creator Portal) to measure velocity and sentiment for each seed.
Audience fit: Map each concept to a target persona — age, platform, pain points, and time-of-day consumption.
Engagement lift test: Run 10 low-cost clips (15–30s) as dark posts or Reels to gauge CTR & watch time.
Score and select: Rank concepts by predicted retention and conversion potential. Pick 2–3 for pilot scripting.

Sample IP discovery query

Use this search string in social listening tools to find fast-rising story hooks: "lost inheritance" OR "city mystery" OR "relationship twist" AND ("#shortstory" OR "#minidrama" OR "#episodic"). This catches microdramas and serialized hooks with proven vertical performance.

Step 2 — AI-assisted scripting: fast, scene-level outputs

AI-assisted scripting in 2026 isn't just for first drafts; it's for shot-level, time-coded micro-scripts tailored to vertical pacing. Your goal: give directors and editors a deterministic blueprint so batch production scales.

Episode micro-script template (30–90s)

Each episode should include: a 5–8 second cold open hook, 2–3 escalating beats, a reveal or cliff, and a CTA beat (3–5s) that drives the funnel. Use this prompt in your AI workspace (LLM or multimodal model) to generate a shot-by-shot plan.

// Prompt example for an LLM/multimodal model
"Write a 60-second vertical microdrama episode. Genre: mystery. Tone: urgent, intimate. Format: shot-by-shot. Include timecodes, camera moves, on-screen captions, suggested sound cue, and a 3-second CTA overlay directing viewers to the series landing page. Output as JSON with keys: episode_title, beats[], cta_text, metadata(tags[])."

Expected AI JSON output (trimmed):

{
  "episode_title": "Apartment Key",
  "beats": [
    {"time": "00:00-00:05", "shot": "close-up on key", "caption": "He shouldn't have been here", "sound": "door creak"},
    {"time": "00:05-00:25", "shot": "tracking up hallway", "action": "he follows noise", "sound": "heartbeat underlay"},
    {"time": "00:25-00:50", "shot": "reveal in doorway", "action": "empty room, note on table", "caption": "Who left this?"},
    {"time": "00:50-00:60", "shot": "close-up on note", "cta": "Watch next episode on "}
  ],
  "cta_text": "Tap to follow the series",
  "metadata": {"tags": ["mystery","microdrama","vertical"]}
}

Tips for AI scripting at scale

Enforce constraints: Always specify vertical format, exact runtime, and beat lengths.
Maintain voice: Use a 3-line style guide appended to prompts to lock brand tone and character voice.
Iterate quickly: Batch generate 10 episodes and run them through a simple editor for human polish.
Store outputs: Save scripts as JSON manifests that feed your edit suite and CMS.

Step 3 — Production templates: shoot and edit for vertical speed

Production should be optimized for vertical framing, low setup change, and repurposing. Use reusable shot lists and editing presets to scale across episodes.

Vertical shoot checklist

Camera: native vertical capture (phone on gimbal or vertical rig) to avoid pillarboxing.
Framing: headroom and negative space for captions and overlay CTAs.
Lighting: compact two-light setups for consistent skin tones across scenes.
Sound: lavs with wireless packs for dialog clarity in short takes.
Tempo: plan 3–5 shots per scene to keep edit options minimal.

Editing template essentials

Premiere/DaVinci/CapCut project with episode sequence presets (9:16 timeline, 1080x1920) and LUTs for brand grading.
Caption templates: pre-built SRTs generated by AI, stylized for on-screen readability.
CTA overlays: 3-second animated card with UTM’d short link and follow button placement.
Music stems: keep music loops under 60 seconds for easy reuse and quick rights clearance via library subscriptions.

Step 4 — Launch template: mobile-first landing pages that convert

A landing page is the conversion funnel’s hinge. For vertical series, your page must load quickly on phones, host the hero vertical player, surface episode metadata, and offer a low-friction conversion (follow, email, or subscription).

Mobile-first landing page checklist

Hero: autoplay muted vertical trailer with captions and a prominent follow/CTA button.
Metadata: episode list with watch times and one-line loglines to encourage binge behavior.
Conversion: single-field capture (email or phone), social follow buttons, and an option for push notifications.
Trust: badges (publisher, press), short testimonials, and clear rights disclosure.
Tracking: UTM params on every CTA, event hooks for watch and partial completion events.

Sample lightweight landing page snippet (mobile-first)

<div id="hero" style="max-width:420px;margin:0 auto;">
  <video playsinline muted autoplay loop width="360" height="640" poster="/hero.jpg">
    <source src="/trailer-vertical.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
  </video>
  <button id="subscribeBtn" data-utm="source=ig&campaign=series1">Follow the Series</button>
</div>
<script>
  document.getElementById('subscribeBtn').addEventListener('click',async()=>{
    // open minimal capture modal
  });
</script>

Make the page server-rendered or use lightweight frameworks (Astro, SvelteKit) to ensure first contentful paint is under 1s on 4G.

Step 5 — Distribution & measurement: optimize for retention and conversions

Publish episodes natively on platforms (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels) and host canonical episodes on your landing page or brand platform. Use platform features (series metadata, episode playlists) where available to increase next-episode plays.

Instrumentation and event schema

Track these events to link creative performance to conversions:

video_impression
video_start
video_percent_{25,50,75,100}
cta_click (platform & landing page)
email_capture
paywall_conversion

Sample GA4 event for landing page video completion

gtag('event','video_complete',{ 'series':'Apartment Key', 'episode':'S1E1', 'platform':'web', 'utm_source':'ig' });

Experimentation ideas

Thumbnail tests for the hero clip: still vs. animated preview.
CTA wording: "Follow" vs "Tap to see next" vs "Get episode first".
Episode length: A/B test 45s vs 90s for completion rates and conversion.

Mini-launch timeline: 6-week blueprint

Week 0: IP discovery and scoring. Pick pilot concept.
Week 1: AI-script 6 pilot episodes; finalize style guide.
Week 2: Production block: shoot all ep content and hero trailer.
Week 3: Edit batch, generate captions, prepare distribution assets.
Week 4: Landing page build, tracking hooks, ad creative prep.
Week 5: Soft launch: dark posts, influencer seeding, and email warm-up.
Week 6: Public launch and 2-week optimization sprint.

Roles and headcount (lean team)

1 Showrunner/Creator
1 AI Script Editor
1 Director/DP (phone rig)
1 Editor/Motion Designer
1 Growth/Analytics (handles landing page & tracking)

Template library (what to standardize)

IP discovery spreadsheet (scoring columns: engagement, sentiment, conversion potential)
AI scripting prompt pack (style guide, sample prompts)
Shot list and vertical storyboard template
Editing preset packages (9:16 LUTs, caption styles)
Landing page starter with tracking & short-link generator
Measurement dashboard (looker studio/GD for series-level KPIs)

Legal, IP and monetization considerations

When you scale episodic vertical content, lock down rights early. If your IP is derived from community prompts or fan ideas, get written releases. For AI-assisted scripts, document human-in-the-loop decisions to clarify ownership. Also, ensure music and footage licenses cover vertical distribution and in-platform use.

Real-world references and validation

Holywater's recent funding and growth strategy show investors bet on vertical-first episodic models that pair data-driven concept selection with rapid production cycles (Forbes, Jan 2026). Likewise, transmedia studios like The Orangery signing with major agencies reflect a market pulling IP across formats — from graphic novels to short-form series (Variety, Jan 2026). These moves validate the creator playbook: find sticky IP, iterate fast with AI, and funnel audiences into owned channels that convert.

Advanced strategies & 2026 predictions

Expect three forces to shape the next 12–24 months:

Hyper-personalization: On-device multimodal models will create personalized episode cuts and CTA variants in real time, improving retention.
Cross-format IP monetization: IP discovered via vertical microdramas will be licensed into graphic novels, podcasts, and long-form — creating multi-revenue funnels.
AI-native production stacks: Automated editing and captioning pipelines will be standard in CMS integrations, closing the gap between creative and growth teams.

Actionable takeaways — what to implement this week

Run a 48-hour IP sprint: collect 30 ideas and validate 10 with micro-post tests.
Draft one AI script prompt and push it through to a 30–60s micro-script; save as JSON for edit import.
Build a single mobile-first landing page with a hero vertical video and one conversion CTA (email or follow).
Instrument three events (video_start, video_50, cta_click) and monitor for two weeks.

“The teams that win in 2026 will be the ones who connect data-informed IP with automated creative pipelines and mobile-first conversion — fast.”

Final checklist before launch

IP validated with social tests
AI scripts exported as shot-level JSON
Editing templates and caption SRTs ready
Landing page optimized for mobile and instrumented
Measurement dashboard shows baseline KPIs

Call to action

If you want ready-to-use launch templates, JSON script packs, and a landing page starter kit tailored for vertical episodic content, download our Mobile-First Series Launch Pack and run your first pilot in 6 weeks. Click the link on this page or email our templates team to get a hands-on walkthrough and a 30-minute strategy session.

compose

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.