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

Chapter 19: Wu Bai...isn’t he a singer?
"Don't worry, Sister Weiwei, I value this drama much more than you do, and I will definitely not cut corners."

Since he dared to say it, Meng Bai would not speak nonsense: "The scenes of this drama are simple, and not many actors are needed. In addition, the script is ready, so the preparation will be quick. It is estimated that it will take more than a month. There are still two months of shooting time. It should not be a problem to finish shooting before the end of the year."

Gan Wei thought about it and realized that, indeed, according to the script, most of the stories in the first season of "Pendulum" took place in a convenience store, and the main plot basically took place between the "three main characters" plus one or two "unit characters", so the size of the crew required was very small.

As we all know, the more people participate in a project, the more difficult it will be to coordinate them, and the same is true in reverse.

The crew is small in size and has few people, so there are fewer mistakes and the efficiency is naturally higher.

Of course, the most crucial advantage is that Meng Bai has a ready-made script.

You know, among most film and television projects with extremely long preparation periods, eight out of ten are waiting for the screenwriter to write the script.

Gan Wei thought to himself, thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem so incredible that the filming can be completed before the end of the year.

Just as I thought of this, I heard Meng Bai add: "Of course, this is just an ideal plan at the moment. When we actually shoot, we will definitely have to decide based on the specific progress."

These words made Gan Wei feel relieved. Fortunately, this kid knew how to compromise.

"Okay, as long as you know what's going on." Gan Wei responded, and then thought of another question: "Regarding the director of this drama, do you have a choice now?"

Meng Bai thought about why Gan Wei would ask this question, and he said that he actually already had a few candidates in mind, but he had not contacted them before because the project had not been confirmed.

Now that the project has been confirmed, Meng Bai can ask each one one by one to see who is interested, and then choose the one with the best cost-effectiveness and who is most compatible with him.

Meng Bai briefly explained the situation to Gan Wei, and then said that if Leshi.com thought there was a suitable candidate, they could introduce him to him.

Gan Wei said that she didn't have any suitable candidates at the moment, but she would keep an eye out. She also hoped that Meng Bai would talk to Leshi.com before deciding on the director, implying that she also wanted to take a closer look at the other party's level.

Meng Bai naturally had no objection and agreed without any hesitation.

……

Producer, director, and screenwriter are the "three horses" of a film or television project.

The screenwriter writes the script, the director turns the words of the script into pictures, and the producer is responsible for preparing the crew. If a play wants to achieve good results, it needs the cooperation of all three.

In the project of "Soul Ferry", Meng Bai himself is the chief screenwriter; and because of the existence of the "shell company" Arclight Pictures, he also serves as the producer.

This is actually not a big problem. In the past two years that he has been in the Beijing film and television industry, he has not always been able to do work such as "part-time screenwriter" or "episode screenwriter". In most cases, he can only get work such as advertising films and promotional films for small companies.

In these teams, which range from one or two people to six or seven people at most, in order to save costs, each person is often required to take on multiple roles.

Sometimes he's unlucky and encounters the "explosive combination" of a non-professional company and a new intern, and he, as the copywriter, has to be the person in charge and coordinate the work.

So although he doesn't have much experience, Meng Bai is not completely unfamiliar with the work of a producer.

However, this would put higher demands on the director. According to Meng Bai's idea, it would be best to find an experienced and mature director to be in charge of the filming.

However, these directors are usually big names and are unlikely to take on a web series. Moreover, the salary of these directors will be very high, and their "poor" budget may not be able to afford it.

You know, the screenwriter fee and producer salary Meng Bai paid himself only 120,000 yuan in total.

The highest salary Meng Bai could accept for the entire project was Li Qin's "50,000 per episode". According to the commonly used "lens time converted to episodes" calculation method used by actors, Qin's total salary was about 400,000.

This price is more than enough to find some new directors, but it is far from enough to find experienced directors.

Therefore, Meng Bai’s idea is to find some “substitutes”.

For example, an advertising director, a micro-film director, or a "deputy director" who has never directed independently.

In contrast, the last type is what Meng Bai wants most - someone with ability, experience, connections, and the possibility of choosing small projects for the opportunity to direct independently.

Coincidentally, Meng Bai does have connections in this area.

"Hello, Senior Brother, this is Meng Bai." Meng Bai said in a familiar tone after the phone was connected. "Xiao Meng? You haven't heard from me for a while." A man's voice came from the phone: "You suddenly remembered to call me, you don't want to borrow money, do you? Let me make it clear, I'm poor recently, if you borrow more than four digits, I will hang up automatically."

"No, senior brother, this is the image I have in you. Can't we just simply keep in touch?" Meng Bai said helplessly.

"No, I'm not used to having emotional contact with men." The man said in a "disdainful" tone.

The man who was talking to Meng Bai was named Zhou You. He was also from the Central Academy of Drama, but he studied directing.

Like Meng Bai, his hometown is Dongshan Province. After graduation, he did not stay in Beijing, but returned to his hometown and went to Shanying. He started as an assistant director and is now a live director.

Meng Bai and Zhou You met on the set of Shanying's "All Quiet in Peking" last year. They were classmates at the Central Academy of Drama, and they were also from the same hometown and worked in the same industry, so they became close immediately.

"Oh, by the way, I just happened to hear you call. I have something to tell you." Zhou You said, "I showed our CEO Hou the spy-themed script you gave me last time. He's quite interested in it, and asked me to ask you when it's convenient for you to come over and have a chat."

"Uh, who is your 'Mr. Hou'?" Meng Bai asked puzzledly.

"Hou Hongliang. He used to be a producer at Shanying, and now he is the chairman of our Noon Sunshine."

"Wow, big boss!" Meng Bai sighed, and then quickly said: "No problem, my time is easy to arrange, just look at Mr. Hou's time."

"Okay, I'll keep this in mind for you and tell you when the time is right." After that, Zhou You asked again, "I've finished what I want to say. What did you call me about?"

"It's like this, Senior Brother, I recently discussed a web drama project."

Meng Bai briefly introduced the situation: "The crew is currently in need of an experienced director, so I wanted to ask you for help. Can you contact Brother Zhang or Director Sun to see if they are interested? Or, if you are willing to come, you can come as well."

"Brother Zhang", Zhang Kaizhou, the photography director of Shanying;
"Director Sun", Sun Molong, is the deputy director of Shanying.

Meng Bai had come into contact with these two people before when they were in the crew, and they had always been following Shanying's "ace director" Kong Sheng.

Although he has no experience in independent directing so far, his ability and experience are not inferior to ordinary directors.

"Wow, you want me too, aren't you too desperate?" Zhou You joked, then returned to his serious tone and said, "It's not that I won't help you, Junior Brother, but if you want to start the project within half a year, I'm afraid there's no hope."

"How to say?"

"We are currently preparing a large-scale costume drama directed by Kong Sheng, and everyone is busy with this project now."

Zhou You explained to Meng Bai that Director Kong Sheng had previously separated from Shanying with a group of people and established a film and television production company called "Noon Sunshine". Although it still cooperates with Shanying, it has also been seeking independent development.

Recently, Noon Sunshine launched a costume drama, adapted from the online novel Nirvana in Fire. This is the first project that Noon Sunshine has taken the lead in since becoming independent, and also the first costume drama in many years.

In order to ensure the quality of the project, Noon Sunshine has brought out almost all of its strongest lineup.

Under such circumstances, their people naturally have no time to take on other projects.

"It's okay, senior brother, I'll look for other suitable candidates." Meng Bai was not disappointed, as he had been prepared for this result.

What's more, this is not completely a waste of time. At least there is another good opportunity on the script side.

Zhou You was silent for a while, then asked, "What's the theme of your play?"

"Supernatural suspense, ghost legends, that's about it."

"Ah... I do know a director who might be able to meet your requirements, but I don't know if he's interested. Well, I'll give you his contact information, and you can contact him and ask."

"Okay." Meng Bai was not picky: "What's his name?"

"Oh, his name is easy to remember, Wubai."

"…Are you sure the person you recommended to me is a director, not a singer?"

(End of this chapter)