Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 497 Screening
Meanwhile, after signing the contract with Cao Yang for "A Bite of China", CCTV began a large-scale publicity campaign.

The selection of the specific release date and slot was discussed by several directors and executives of the channel.

To maximize profits and showcase the value of the documentary, the seven-episode series "A Bite of China" would definitely not premiere during the daytime.

However, the prime-time drama slot is currently airing "My Brother is Shunliu," which has quite high ratings, so it's impossible to simply stop airing this drama to make way for "A Bite of China."

After the prime-time drama slot, there is currently a program called "A Grand View of the World," which starts airing at 21:43.

However, this program is only 8 minutes long, followed by the evening news, which is unlikely to be canceled.

After the evening news, at 22:36, there is a program called "Today's Storytelling". Although this program is not long, it can extend the time and postpone the subsequent evening drama.

It seems like this show could be paused and replaced with "A Bite of China".

However, it's already 10:30 pm, and a seven-episode documentary that cost 36 million yuan to buy is not much better than being shown during the day.

Therefore, weighing all the options, placing it in the prime-time theater is the best choice.

Since it was decided to place it in the prime-time drama slot, the directors of the general channel began to discuss the feasibility of replacing "My Brother is Shunliu".

According to the original plan, after "My Brother is Shunliu" finished airing on July 7, the TV series that would take over the time slot on July 8 was a new rural-themed series called "Golden Farmhouse".

How about airing "A Bite of China" after "My Brother is Shunliu" and before "Golden Farmhouse"?
Some people have also raised the question: Isn't July 8th a bit too rushed? It's only been a few days of promotion. A documentary costing 36 million yuan, if it's only shown for four days at most, doesn't really demonstrate its value.

So, according to the original plan, how about we first broadcast "Golden Farmhouse" and then, after "Golden Farmhouse" finishes airing, temporarily suspend the broadcast of "In That Faraway Place" and instead broadcast "A Bite of China"?
Some people objected, saying that "Golden Farmhouse" had already finished airing on July 26th, and that the documentary would be screened at the Beijing Film Academy on July 3rd as an outstanding graduation project, which would definitely cause a sensation in the industry.

With Cao Yang's film "Like Father, Like Son" currently showing in theaters, shouldn't we capitalize on this natural popularity?

If we wait until July 26th to air the show, the attention garnered by the outstanding graduation project exhibition will have diminished, and "Like Father, Like Son" will have already finished its run. Are we going to miss such a great opportunity?

Seeing everyone arguing endlessly, Zhu Tong, director of CCTV's main channel and director of the program acquisition center, finally proposed a solution.

That means that when there are only a few episodes left of "My Brother is Shunliu", instead of airing two episodes every day, only one episode will be aired, and the time left to air the other episode will be used to air an episode of "A Bite of China".

This way, we can both capitalize on the popularity generated by director Cao Yang and the buzz surrounding the final episodes of "My Brother is Shunliu".

After "My Brother is Shunliu" finished airing, "A Bite of China" was moved up to 19:58 for one episode, and the next drama, "Golden Farmhouse," was scheduled to start at 20:49.

In this way, "Golden Farmhouse" can continue as originally planned and also catch up with some of the popularity brought by "A Bite of China", achieving two goals at once.

"Viewers were waiting for the two episodes of 'My Brother is Shunliu' to end, but only one episode was shown. What should we do if they boycott 'A Bite of China' due to their rebellious mentality?"
In other words, if "A Bite of China" fails to capitalize on the momentum, wouldn't that backfire? It's important to remember that "A Bite of China" is a documentary, not a television series.

Furthermore, this is the first time a documentary with a narrative style like "A Bite of China" has appeared; whether the audience will accept it is another matter entirely.

One of the deputy directors raised objections.

Zhu Tong paused for a moment, then said, "A Bite of China is a new form of documentary filmmaking. Regardless of its success or failure, it is destined to be remembered by history. Innovation is always invaluable."

Director Fan valued innovation, which is why he decided to pay three million more than Beijing TV to acquire the first broadcast rights for "A Bite of China".

I think that even if the audience can't accept the new narrative style of "A Bite of China", they won't be too resistant to it.

"My Brother is Shunliu" is very popular now. The last few episodes were reduced to one episode per day, and the remaining time was given to "A Bite of China". It is indeed easy for "A Bite of China" to be criticized, but as long as it can stand the test of time, it will be a success.

We should have faith in Director Cao's influence.

Some of the directors and supervisors present nodded, while others frowned.

What do you mean by talking about "innovation," "history," and even bringing up Director Fan and Director Cao?
If I object again, does that mean I'm opposing Director Fan and not optimistic about Director Cao?

So, no one spoke.

That's settled.

Even after the meeting ended, some leaders from the general channel were still grumbling that it was no wonder they were being criticized for airing a documentary like "A Bite of China" instead of another episode of "My Brother is Shunliu".

There might be some laughable moments then.

On July 3, the screening of outstanding graduation works from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy began.

"A Bite of China" was not screened together with other excellent short films from the Directing Department, but was shown as a standalone film for the entire day, with all seven episodes playing in rotation.

Although "A Bite of China" received "special" treatment, as students of the Beijing Film Academy, even if their own work was selected as an outstanding graduation project, they had no objections.

Cao Yang has long been considered a "god" at the Beijing Film Academy.

The students whose graduation projects were selected were even more eager to watch Cao Yang's "A Bite of China" than the other students.

Jing Tian was originally filming "The Great Biography of Sun Tzu" in Hebei Province.

In order to come to the school to see the screening of outstanding graduation works from the directing department—well, that's what she told everyone else on the surface—she worked overtime to rush filming, so the director filmed a lot of her scenes.

Actually, she didn't need to work so hard to catch up on filming; she could have just taken a few days off.

After all, this is a major production by Starlight Brilliant Films, and she can even be considered Starlight Brilliant's only actress.

Many people in the industry can see why this project, "The Great Biography of Sun Tzu," was approved.

To put it simply, you could even say that this plate of dumplings was specially made just for this dish of vinegar.

However, Jing Tian was still very dedicated and insisted on finishing the scene she was supposed to take leave from.

In fact, the directing department took many measures to prevent "A Bite of China" from affecting other graduation projects screened on the same day.

For example, other graduation projects are screened from 2 pm to 10:30 pm, while Cao Yang's "A Bite of China" starts at 8 am and only runs until 8 pm.

Jing Tian returned to school a day early. She didn't tell Cao Yang that she was coming. Firstly, she wanted to surprise Cao Yang, and secondly, she wanted to go to the screening with her classmates and was trying to integrate into the class.

Jing Tian woke up at six o'clock on the morning of July 3rd.

After washing up, she went outside and bought breakfast for several people, then woke up her roommates Kan Qingzi and Shuangzi.

"Ladies, get up quickly. The directing department area will be full soon. Let's hurry over and get some seats."

"Stop it, Sweetie, let me sleep a little longer."

"What do you mean by taking up seats? It's not a classroom, there aren't that many people."

"Didn't you say you wanted to see Director Cao's graduation project? When I was buying breakfast just now, I saw quite a few people heading to the directing department's screening room. Don't blame me if there aren't any seats left."

If you don't get up soon, I'm not waiting for you anymore.

"Oh, people are already lining up this early? That's crazy."

Kan Qingzi reluctantly sat up, stretched, and muttered something.

She had a slender waist, fair skin, and a prominent bust... though not particularly prominent, but her youthful and radiant figure made her stand out. Her buttocks were also quite perky, especially accentuated by her slender waist.

"Shuangzi, get up!" Kan Qingzi got off the bed and slapped Shuangzi's bottom with a crisp sound.

This may be directly related to patting the underwear and the exposed buttocks.

Kan Qingzi and Shuangzi have a good relationship.

Currently, although neither of them has achieved considerable fame like Jing Tian, ​​they have both started their careers.

Zheng Shuang's new drama "Meteor Shower" is scheduled to premiere on August 8th. She's getting off to a great start, landing the lead role right away.

Kan Qingzi has also starred in the period drama "Niang Qi" (娘妻), which has been completed and may be broadcast this year.

Compared to her classmates and in comparison with her peers, Jing Tian's dormitory is already considered a star dormitory.

"Ah, disgusting."

Shuangzi seemed about to yawn, but at the moment Kan Qingzi relaxed, Shuangzi used a "Dragon Claw Hand" move to successfully grab Kan Qingzi's small protrusion.

So the two of them started laughing and joking around.

In an instant, the already limited amount of fabric was lifted up from time to time, revealing a magnificent view.

"Stop, stop, stop! You two, go wash up! I've already bought breakfast. If you don't stop, I'll go by myself. Don't blame me for being disloyal."

Jing Tian quickly stopped the two of them.

She won the Best Newcomer Award at the Berlin Film Festival for her role in "Love in a Seaside City," directed by Cao Yang, and her classmates, including Shuangzi and Kan Qingzi, were very envious of her.

Furthermore, as everyone knows, director Cao Yang prefers to work with actors he has collaborated with before, so who knows when Jing Tian might be able to work with Cao Yang again, and who knows, he might win an international award and become a superstar next time.

Because, whether it's her classmates or Sawako and Kan Qingzi, even if they're jealous, they'll still maintain a very good relationship with Jing Tian, ​​at least on the surface.

"Alright, alright, for the sake of breakfast."

"Yep."

Half an hour passed by in the time it took to wash up and eat breakfast.

It was only because Jing Tian kept urging that it was done so quickly; otherwise, just doing makeup would take more than half an hour.

When the three arrived at the screening room, it was just past seven o'clock, almost an hour before the scheduled start time.

Even so, long queues had already formed in front of the screening room.

"See? I told you to hurry up, and you called me an old woman. If we had been any later, there might not have been any seats left."

Jing Tian said to the two of them.

Kan Qingzi chuckled and said, "It doesn't concern us. Who knew so many people would come to see Director Cao's documentary? It's not a movie. I don't know why these people are so enthusiastic."

"What?"

Jing Tian's eyes widened as he looked around and whispered, "You guys don't know that Director Cao Yang... is coming too, right? Today is his film screening, he's definitely coming."

"What? Director Cao is really..."

Shuangzi's voice was a bit loud, attracting the attention of many people who turned around. She quickly covered her mouth and whispered:

"Is Director Cao coming? I haven't heard anything. Why didn't you say so earlier? If you had, we would have lined up at dawn and been the first in line. Maybe we could have interacted with Director Cao and made him remember us."

"Yes, yes, you've known Director Cao for a long time. You have no idea how much these students at our school would do to make Director Cao remember them."

Kan Qingzi chimed in.

As the group was discussing, it was 7:50 before they realized it.

The documentary "A Bite of China" started playing at 8:00, and the school opened the gates to let students in at 7:50.

When Jing Tian and the other two followed the group in, there weren't many seats left to choose from, so they found a spot at the back, side by side.

Not long after we sat down, the lights in the screening room gradually dimmed. There were no extra words or introductions, because there was no need to introduce the director; "A Bite of China" was about to start.

This place not only has students, but also many teachers from Beijing Film Academy and other schools, as well as many directors in the industry.

With the airing of "A Bite of China," exclamations of surprise were frequently heard. Students sometimes did indeed make a big fuss and did not suppress their emotions.

Of course, even when people are amazed or discussing, they still pay attention to their voices and usually try to keep them down.

If you listen carefully, you will hear it from time to time:

"Documentaries can be made like this?!"

"Was this shot on film? The visual quality is amazing."

"Is this aerial photography? Only Director Cao could pull off something like this, making it possible for a documentary in China to use an airplane for aerial filming."

"What kind of lens is this? A regular lens can't magnify this much, right? Is it a true magnification or just symbolic?"

"What kind of shot is this? How can you compress a second of time so much and still make it so clear and smooth? How many frames would it take to achieve this?"

……

As students at the Beijing Film Academy, when watching "A Bite of China," there wasn't much discussion about the food itself; rather, most people were amazed by the filming methods, techniques, and narrative style.

Of course, as performing arts students, Jing Tian and his two friends knew a little bit about filming techniques, but not much at all.

So, the three of them were amazed and discussed the delicious food and beautiful scenery.

As for the most important narrative of "A Bite of China"... well, they didn't see it.

"Director Cao is really amazing. He can make food documentaries so realistic, beautiful, and poetic."

Shuangzi widened her eyes and whispered.

Kan Qingzi nodded and chimed in, "Director Cao is really amazing. I used to never be able to get into documentaries, but now I'm watching them with great interest, and I wish I could taste all these delicacies."

Jing Tian couldn't help but smirk.

sharp?

Ah!
Where is this?

Cao Yang is incredibly capable... no, he's incredibly capable in many ways, you just haven't experienced it yet.

(End of this chapter)