As Hollywood continues to debate the future of theatrical windows and streaming economics, a quieter but rapidly accelerating shift is happening north of the border. Vancouver, long […]

As Hollywood continues to debate the future of theatrical windows and streaming economics, a quieter but rapidly accelerating shift is happening north of the border. Vancouver, long known as “Hollywood North,” is now positioning itself as one of the most important global hubs for vertical media and micro dramas, a format built for mobile audiences and short-form consumption.

At the center of that growth are production house Raven Crew Production and casting agency and creative house YY Media Co., led by Aron and Jackie, respectively. Together, the two have helped establish the infrastructure, talent pipeline and production standards that have allowed vertical media to scale quickly in Canada and increasingly compete on a global stage.

From Pandemic Slowdown to Vertical Acceleration

For Aron, the move into vertical media wasn’t a strategic pivot so much as a necessary response to an industry slowdown.

“I started in the industry when I was in university… I created my own company around 2017,” he says. “We were doing some documentaries and a lot of commercials. I think it was when the pandemic hit and the industry got really, really slow.”

That slowdown created space to explore a new format that was only just beginning to surface in North America.

“After that, that’s when I heard about vertical,” Aron says. “I think it was 2023 that’s when our first vertical started… It was interesting for us because we had a lot of crews and a lot of people I know who love doing narratives, but the industry was really slow.”

What stood out immediately was the speed. “There’s a new format coming out and the turnaround is really quick,” he explains. “After doing the first one, we really enjoyed it, even though it took some time to adapt to the format.”

Since then, Raven Crew has scaled aggressively. “Now here we are, we’re doing our 45th show or something,” Aron says, noting the company has since built a full in-house production and post-production team.

Building a Casting Pipeline From the Ground Up

Jackie’s entry point into vertical media came from a different angle casting and filling a gap that didn’t yet exist in Canada.

“My name is Jackie, and I am currently a full-time casting director, and I am the founder of YY Media Co., which is a casting agency and a creative house here, based in Vancouver,” he says.

As vertical productions increased, so did confusion among actors unfamiliar with the format. “Some people might get really uncomfortable in the beginning because they didn’t understand the process,” Jackie explains. “So that’s why I decided to have a team specialize in this and create a full new casting system.”

That system mirrors traditional film and TV pipelines but is optimized for speed and volume.

“From main cast to what we call speaking day players and background performers,” he says,

“to fully support productions as efficiently as possible, while also setting clear boundaries and protecting the best interests of the actors, including set regulations, contracts and safety.”

The partnership with Raven Crew Production emerged organically and early. “I’ve been working with Aron and Raven Crew Production since their very first project,” Jackie says. “It was also one of the very first vertical projects in Canada.”

A New Acting Muscle

Vertical media doesn’t just move faster it demands a different kind of performance.

“Instead of doing four pages a day, we’re doing like ten to fifteen pages a day,” Aron says. “We’re jumping between different scenes… sometimes the first episode and then we’re shooting the last episode.”

That pace requires serious adaptability. Jackie notes, “In terms of acting style, they’re acting everything out. There’s a lot of voice over lines in these scripts. Because it is very fast paced, they want the viewers to see exactly what the characters are thinking.”

Emotionally, the work is relentless. “Every end of an episode is like a cliffhanger,” he says. “When the character enters into an episode and comes out of it, it’s always a different emotion… … both the pace of the storytelling and the changes of emotions are quite fast.”

Still, both see that intensity as training, not compromise. “If you’re trained and working on verticals, finishing about 15 pages of dialogues a day, it would feel like a breeze… when you’re memorizing lines for a regular horizontal film project,” Jackie says.

Not a Trend, An Ecosystem 


Despite skepticism from some corners of the industry, both Aron and Jackie are clear: vertical media isn’t replacing film or TV, it’s expanding the ecosystem.

“Vertical format is a new format that challenge how we’ve worked for decades,” Jackie says. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t belong… It’s not replacing TV or film. They’re adding to the film ecosystem.”

Aron echoes that sentiment. “This is the third year we’ve been doing this and we’ve seen that it is here to stay,” he says. “It won’t be as trendy or as popular as right now, but it will be staying… it will definitely develop into a stable segment of the industry.”

Importantly, the work is already sustaining careers. “Vertical productions have become a real safety net for underemployed film workers,” Jackie says. “A lot of the actors that we’ve brought into this were able to quit their full-time job… because the vertical work volume is so high for them.”

Why Vancouver Leads the Charge

So why Vancouver?

“I think one huge advantage that Vancouver have is the weather,” Aron says. “We get way more filming days… Another thing is talent, not only actors, but also crews. We have a huge pool of great, talented people here.”

The city’s infrastructure matters, too. “We’re able to rent all kinds of crazy mansions, special locations, hospital sets, airplane sets, even army sets,” he adds.

Once competing with Australia and the U.K., Vancouver has surged ahead. “Now we’re basically the top tier,” Aron says.

Jackie sees something even bigger forming. “I really believe that Vancouver’s going to be one of the leading vertical factories in the world,” he says. “We’re working on the future.”

As vertical media continues its global expansion, Vancouver isn’t just participating, it’s defining how the format is produced, cast and scaled. And with companies like Raven Crew Production and YY Media Co. setting the standard, the city’s role as the capital of vertical media looks increasingly locked in.