Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 12 The people are the ones who decide the direction of history

"So, can rhino horn incense really bring spiritual enlightenment?"

"what?"

Meng Bai originally thought that after reading the script, Gan Wei would ask about things like budget, production or casting. He had already made sufficient preparations for these aspects and had a good draft in mind.

Unexpectedly, the first question she asked was about the setting of her own script?
Come on, sister, if you think about the fancy little sequins on your manicure, you will know that I must have made this thing up!

However, Meng Bai has been through a lot in the past few years and has seen all kinds of outrageous investors. He sorted out his thoughts and said carefully: "I don't know whether it can communicate with spirits. The effect of this 'rhinoceros horn incense' is based on a collection of miscellaneous works called "Yi Yuan" compiled by Liu Jingshu in the Southern Song Dynasty. However, the original book is a strange story novel, which is roughly similar to "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" and can't be taken seriously."

"But the saying that 'rhinoceros horns can communicate with spirits' does exist in ancient times. The Biography of Wen Qiao in the Book of Jin records that when Wen Qiao, a famous general in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, arrived at Niuzhu Reef, he saw that the water was unfathomable. People said there were many monsters under the water, so he lit a rhinoceros horn to illuminate it. As expected, he saw all kinds of strange aquatic monsters. This is the origin of the idiom 'rhinoceros horns illuminate Niuzhu Reef'."

"In addition, Chinese medicine records that rhino horn can calm the mind and calm the heart, and grinding it into powder and mixing it into incense can cure the disease of soul separation. In addition, there have always been legends such as "soul-returning incense" in ancient mythology. Later generations may have combined the two and derived the saying that "rhino horn incense can communicate with spirits."

Although he had ready-made fragments of inspiration in his mind, Meng Bai still rigorously checked relevant information for many details when writing, so he could talk freely at this time without any hindrance.

"It seems that Xiao Meng, you are indeed well prepared." Gan Wei also praised.

"It's my duty. I do this for a living." Meng Bai brought the topic back on track: "Sister Weiwei, what do you think of this script?"

Gan Wei didn't rush to answer. She turned to the last few pages of the script and read for a while before asking, "From where you wrote the last part, it seems like the main storyline hasn't been finished yet. Are you planning on having a second season?"

Meng Bai nodded: "Indeed, this subject matter and format is very suitable for being made into a series. There are many similar successful precedents in American and Japanese TV series. Of course, whether to continue filming will definitely depend on the results."

Gan Wei nodded, thought for a few seconds and then said: "When Sister Qin Lan introduced you to me, she said that she treated you as a brother or a friend. I am the same as her. I will tell you directly if I have anything to say."

"Although I haven't finished reading the script, based on the parts I have read so far, I can say that it is a very exciting story, very interesting and very good. Personally, I am very interested in filming such a story."

Gan Wei showed great appreciation for Meng Bai's script, but Meng Bai was not very happy. Instead, he became more cautious.

Because usually after such words, there is often a "but".

"But..." Gan Wei put the script on the table and looked at Meng Bai and said, "The key issue now is not the script, but the fact that as an investor and producer, we don't have a good expectation of the risk and return ratio of such a web series that is independently invested, produced and broadcasted by a video platform."

"In fact, Leshi.com has tried to produce its own web series before. We have also selected and filmed various film and television projects in the past two years, but the benefits or the market effects of these self-made web series have not been very optimistic."

“So, even if your script is really good, given the current situation of the online drama market, it is difficult to say what effect it will achieve.”

Just as Gan Wei had said before, she did speak the truth without any hesitation.

Meng Bai's eyelids drooped slightly. He had previously learned about the detailed information of Leshi.com, so he knew that Gan Wei's words were not perfunctory.

As one of the earliest video websites in the mainland, Leshi.com is one of the ones that has gone the furthest in expanding online content. In recent years, Leshi.com has produced its own online dramas, online variety shows, online movies, etc. For example, the online drama "Good Man in the Tang Dynasty", which is adapted from a novel written by Qidian, the online drama "X-Girl", which is a remake of a mystery essay competition, and the online talent show "I'm Crazy for the School Beauty"...

It can be said that Leshi.com has made quite a lot of attempts in its own platform projects, which is why Meng Bai told Li Qin that Leshi had the greatest opportunity.

However, the actual benefits brought by these attempts are very average, whether it is direct user growth, member conversion, or indirect brand value and company stock price, none of them brought much growth effect.

In fact, this is easy to understand. Although the number of Internet users in China has reached 600 million so far, the mainstream public has not yet formed the habit of watching TV series online.

After all, watching videos on mobile phones is expensive and laggy, watching on pads is too costly and WiFi is not available everywhere, and as for computers - you can't carry them with you anyway, so what's the difference between that and watching TV directly.

In addition to the audience's viewing habits, TV stations have also been adopting a "soft suppression" attitude towards online platforms.

For example, most TV drama producers are required by TV stations to put their TV dramas on video platforms only after the first round of broadcasting. For TV dramas broadcasted by both TV stations and the Internet, the Internet platforms will generally update one to two days later than TV stations to avoid affecting the TV station's ratings.

Vested interest groups will always try their best to suppress new capital. This has been the case since ancient times.

However, these disputes are far from a minor character like Meng Bai, and he cannot get involved in these disputes for the time being. Therefore, if he wants to convince Gan Wei, he still has to start from the audience and the market.

Meng Bai prepared a speech in his mind, then raised his head and looked at Gan Wei with a confident smile, "Sister Weiwei, you are a practitioner in the film and television entertainment industry. I wonder if you have learned about the history of when TV dramas were first popularized?"

"The history of TV dramas?" Gan Wei thought about it doubtfully, then shook his head and said, "The teacher seemed to have mentioned it in my university professional course, but it has little to do with our acting department, so I didn't learn much about it."

"Then I can tell you briefly about it." Meng Bai sat up straight and described it in a steady pace.

"In the 1950s and 1960s, TV series began to be known to the public as television became more popular. At the beginning, the film industry looked down on TV series, thinking they were just some small-time 'vaudeville'."

"However, compared to movies that require buying tickets to watch in cinemas, TV series that can be watched for free without leaving home are undoubtedly more advantageous for most people."

"So within a decade, the audience for TV series had overwhelmingly surpassed that for movies. Take the United States, for example. In the 800s, the average number of moviegoers per week was 1971 million; by 100, that number had dropped to million."

"Over the past 40 years, the audience has declined instead of increased. Of course, there are many social and economic factors, but the audience of TV series in the same period was as high as hundreds of millions, which is enough to show the changes and impacts that TV series have had on the entire film and television entertainment industry."

"During this period, the giants in the film industry have also tried many ways to suppress the development of TV dramas, such as restricting the funds and talents of TV drama companies and devaluing the status of TV actors - this still remains until now - but the audience will vote with their feet, so the methods of those movie giants can be said to be useless."

"The masses are the ones who determine the direction of history, and the way the masses pursue entertainment will always tend to be simpler and more efficient."

"This is the most fundamental human nature, and it cannot be changed by external forces."

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(End of this chapter)