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

Chapter 13 The Last Fragment of the Web Drama Era

The coffee shop is located inside the Leshi Building, and most of the people who come here are employees of Leshi.com.

Perhaps because the proprietress is here, although there are always people coming and going in the store, most of them just buy their coffee and leave.

The few who stayed in the store also sat far away, leaving a blank space between them and Meng Bai's table. From time to time, someone would point in the direction of the two of them, and then whisper a few words to each other.

Meng Bai and Gan Wei naturally had no energy to pay attention to the little actions of others. Meng Bai described the history of the development of TV series in a fluent manner, and Gan Wei naturally understood his subtext.

"What you mean is that today's TV dramas are the movies of that time, and today's online dramas are the TV dramas of that time, so online dramas will inevitably gradually replace the status of TV dramas?" Gan Wei concluded.

"It's not a replacement, but a competition." Meng Bai corrected the details in Gan Wei's words and continued: "In other words, it is to differentiate their respective audience groups. But I think that online dramas will still surpass TV dramas. After all, it is 'more convenient and cheaper'..."

"Wait." Gan Wei interrupted Meng Bai and asked in confusion: "I can understand 'more convenient', but how did you come up with 'cheaper'?"

Meng Bai explained: "Time costs are also costs. The development of the Internet has made it inevitable that everyone's 'timely feedback' on needs will become higher and higher. Compared with TV dramas that can only be watched at a fixed time and at a fixed speed, online dramas that can be watched at any time, paused at any time, and the progress bar can be dragged at will can undoubtedly save a lot of time costs."

Gan Wei nodded, obviously agreeing with Meng Bai's statement.

Although Gan Wei was just a third-tier actress studying acting before she met Boss Jia, she has been in the management of LeTV for such a long time that she has seen and heard more about the future development of the video platform than ordinary people.

In recent years, Leshi.com has developed a lot of business in the film and television entertainment field, and Gan Wei is mainly responsible for it. Of course, she hopes to expand her voice in Leshi.com, but she is also optimistic about the development of online platforms in the film and television industry.

It can be said that what Meng Bai said today is what she has been thinking about in recent years.

Although she agreed with Meng Bai's point of view, Gan Wei did not get carried away. She calmly asked Meng Bai, "It's still my original question. Leshi.com has tried online dramas before, but the results were mediocre. Do you think your drama will be different from previous projects?"

"Of course it's different, and very different." Meng Bai smiled confidently again.

"Oh, what's the difference? You're not going to tell me that because this play was written by you..."

Gan Wei asked with amusement, and was about to say something else, but suddenly stopped, and looked behind Meng Bai, as if he saw some unexpected scene.

"Ha, Sister Weiwei, you must be joking. I'm not that confident."

Meng Bai didn't notice Gan Wei's abnormality. He continued, "The difference I'm talking about comes from the change in external conditions. It can even be said that this is not only an opportunity for online video platforms, but also a transformation of the entire mobile Internet in the next ten years."

At this point, Meng Bai deliberately stopped talking. Sure enough, Gan Wei's eyes moved back to Meng Bai's face, and subconsciously asked: "Changes in the external environment? What changes?"

Meng Bai smiled, took a sip of coffee, and was about to answer when he heard a man's voice from the side: "It's the 4G network, right?"

Meng Bai shook the coffee cup in his hand and turned to look at the source of the sound. He saw a middle-aged man with a refined appearance and a bright look standing beside him, looking at him with a smile.

"Aren't you busy upstairs? Why did you come here without telling me?" Gan Wei looked at the man and asked. The man walked over to Gan Wei and sat down, and at the same time signaled Meng Bai, who was getting up, not to be polite, and then jokingly said, "Ten thousand people in the company sent me messages saying that they saw the boss's wife chatting with a very handsome young man, so I had to come down to check the situation."

"Hate~" Gan Wei rolled her eyes in anger and patted the man. Then she regained her composure and introduced, "Let me introduce you to Meng Bai, a friend introduced by Sister Qin Lan, a very talented independent screenwriter. This time, he wants to talk about a film and television project."

After that, he turned to Meng Bai and pointed at the man next to him and introduced him: "Meng Bai, this is my wife, the big boss of our Leshi, Jia Yueting."

Meng Bai had guessed it about 80% right just now, and as he expected, this was the Boss Jia who was widely rumored in the world.

"Boss Jia, I've heard a lot about you." Meng Bai nodded in greeting.

Boss Jia waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about me. Our CEO Gan has the final say in the film and television business. I'm just here to watch. You guys continue."

After saying that, he really stopped interrupting and picked up the script in front of Gan Wei and started reading.

In this case, Meng Bai no longer kept the secret, slightly adjusted his attitude and tone, and continued: "What Boss Jia said just now is right. The promotion and popularization of 4G networks is of great significance to video platforms."

"Higher bandwidth, faster internet speed, lower fees, and more stable signals will give video platforms a moat to compete with traditional TV stations for audiences. Coupled with the development of smartphones, the future of the film and television entertainment industry will inevitably be the era of mobile terminals."

"Video platforms are the TV stations of the mobile era. They all face the same audiences and provide similar content and services. At this time, whoever takes this step first is more likely to stand out."

After talking about those high-sounding parts, Meng Bai brought the topic back to his own script: "I dare not say that this script is the best, but if it needs a pathfinder, then it is definitely the most suitable in terms of subject matter and form."

At this point, Meng Bai had basically finished what he could say, and the rest depended on what Gan Wei thought. If he still couldn't impress her, then Meng Bai had no other choice but to prepare to try his luck on other platforms.

Gan Wei frowned and thought for a long time before she raised her head. She seemed to have made a decision. However, she did not rush to say anything. Instead, she touched Boss Jia who was reading the script beside her and asked, "What do you think?"

"I told you, you decide on the film and television." Boss Jia patted the script in his hand and said, "Don't mention it, the story of this script is really interesting, and it's really different from the current TV series. And from what I saw in your scenes, it seems that most of the plot is set in a convenience store, so the budget should not be high."

Meng Bai nodded: "Indeed, most of the plots are indoor scenes. I estimated the budget based on my own experience, and it would take about three million."

"Three million?" Boss Jia looked at Gan Wei and said, "From what I remember, this budget for a 20-episode drama isn't that much."

"It's really not much. You can even say it's a little." Gan Wei asked Meng Bai, "Are you sure three million is enough? There should be a lot of special effects in the post-production of a supernatural suspense drama."

Meng Bai smiled and said, "In my opinion, this drama doesn't need too many special effects. The essence of Chinese horror lies in the rendering of atmosphere. Using real scenes is better than special effects, and it is also cheaper."

After that, Meng Bai smiled and said, "Of course, if Mr. Gan wants the work to be perfect and is willing to increase the budget, that would be even better."

Gan Wei said: "Haha, I'd love to add more, but I'm afraid the board of directors won't approve it."

(End of this chapter)