Director of AI Short Drama 'Huo Qubing' Clarifies: Key Figures Were Grossly Exaggerated

A 'Miracle' That Set the Internet Ablaze

In February this year, an AI-generated short drama titled Huo Qubing rapidly went viral on social media, accompanied by a jaw-dropping set of data points — "¥3,000 in costs, 48 hours of production, a 3-person team, 80 episodes, and 500 million views." These strikingly impressive figures quickly ignited public discourse and were hailed as a landmark moment signaling AI's disruption of the film and television industry, leaving countless creators both excited and anxious.

However, this "low-cost, high-output" miracle was soon questioned by industry professionals, many of whom pointed out that such narratives were seriously distorting market expectations. According to a special report published by CCTV News on April 21, Yang Hanhan, the project's director, personally came forward to set the record straight, dismantling the truth behind each oversimplified figure.

Deconstructing the 'Feel-Good Template' With Missing Context

In the interview, Yang Hanhan candidly admitted that the widely circulated data set was essentially a "feel-good template" stripped of crucial context and prerequisites.

¥3,000: Computing Costs Only

The so-called ¥3,000 cost referred solely to the cloud computing fees consumed during AI video generation and did not include the team's labor costs. For any content creation project, labor is typically the largest expense. Representing total costs with computing fees alone is clearly highly misleading.

48 Hours: Excluding Meals and Rest

The 48 hours referred to pure working hours and did not account for rest, meals, or other daily activities. According to Yang Hanhan, the team actually began production at the end of January 2024, working approximately 12 hours per day over a span of four days to complete the project. The actual calendar time far exceeded 48 hours.

80 Episodes and 500 Million Views: Grossly Exaggerated

These two figures contained the most significant inflation. Yang Hanhan stated clearly that Huo Qubing actually had only two versions — a music video version running just over four minutes and a main feature version of six minutes. There were no so-called "80 episodes" whatsoever. The "500 million views" claim originated from unverified data and could not be substantiated.

The Only Accurate Claim: A 3-Person Team

Among all the widely circulated figures, only the "3 people" claim was true. Yang Hanhan served as the project director, handling scriptwriting and storyboard supervision. The second member was an AI animator responsible for AI image generation (commonly known as "card pulling") and video editing. The third was an AI music creator in charge of scoring and sound effects.

'Self-Contradiction' in the Dissemination Chain

Notably, the Bilibili account "杨涵涵AIGC" (Yang Hanhan AIGC), as the original publisher of the video, also used attention-grabbing promotional tactics during its initial release, contributing to the spread of the inflated figures. This self-contradictory element in the dissemination chain highlights how even original creators can become complicit in the hype cycle surrounding AI-generated content.