SEPTEMBER, 21ST-23RD, 2026
MICRODRAMA LAB’S 48-HOUR CREATIVE BOOTCAMP @ SHAKER SQUARE (2-Day Writer’s Workshop + 1-Day Shoot)

48 Hour Creative Bootcamp

Location: GCUFF Office, Shaker Square

September 21 through September 23, 2026

2 Day Writer’s Workshop + 1 Day Shoot

Day 9, 10, and 11 Festival Programming

Doors Open: TBD

Capacity: 30 participantsVIP and General Admission allotment TBD

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Program Highlights

Host: TBD

Keynote Speaker: TBD

Innovate Cleveland: Vertical Storytelling is Reshaping How We Watch

Moderator: TBD

Adiclere Evans, Founder of BEECCarolyn Pitt, Founder and CEO of Productions.comChris Buck, Executive Producer+1 additional panelist

Innovate Cleveland: Casting to Bring More Color to the Content

Moderator: TBDMonika Dalman and Alicia Read, Co Founders of Type Eh Media+2 panelists

About Microdrama Lab

Vertical storytelling is reshaping how audiences consume content, and the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival and F3F Inclusive Tech Summit are placing creators of color at the center of that evolution.

PaintBox Labs and Project54Tour are launching an innovative vertical micro-series bootcamp in Cleveland called Microdrama Lab. This high energy writer’s workshop is designed to educate and prepare working creative and production professionals who want to participate in one of the fastest growing content formats in the industry.

Over two intensive workshop days, writers, directors, and producers will receive immersive instruction on how to write and produce vertical content built for major distribution platforms such as ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort, and MicroCo.

Participants must submit a treatment for their micro-drama concept including:

• A full synopsis

• A script for the first episode

Submissions will be evaluated on originality, writing skill, and storytelling ability. Thirty treatments will be selected.

Selected participants will receive hands-on training to develop the first ten episodes of their vertical series concept, approximately 25 pages of scripted content.

Vertical storytelling is not simply widescreen turned sideways. It demands a distinct visual grammar, pacing, and emotional rhythm. Close-ups carry more weight. Silence resonates more deeply. Authenticity is essential.

By the end of the bootcamp, each participant will leave with a fully developed treatment and package ready for submission to leading vertical platforms.