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

Chapter 47 Everyone’s thoughts

On the tenth day after its launch, the number of views of "Soul Ferry" exceeded 8.5 million, and it was rated by people on Douban.

On the twelfth day, the number of views exceeded 4 million, and it surpassed "Love Apartment " on the Qiandu search hot list of movies and TV shows, ranking first.

On the fourteenth day, the number of views officially exceeded 100 million, becoming the third online drama with a single episode viewing volume exceeding 100 million after Youku's "Never Expected" and Sohu's "Diaosi Man".

In less than half a month, it has reached 100 million views, becoming a hit at the beginning of the year!
This web drama, which cost only three million yuan and was broadcast on a pure video platform, dropped a bombshell on the entire film and television industry at the beginning of 2014.

Many industry practitioners and film and television companies have begun to ask each other whether the new track of "web drama" will become the next hot spot in the film and television industry.

Among them, several video platforms are particularly important.
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North Beijing, the headquarters building of Qiyi TV.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gong, this is my mistake." In the president's office, the manager of Qiyi TV's film and television department apologized to CEO Gong Yu: "If I had been bolder at the time, I would have kept this project."

As competitors in the same industry, these video websites may not be fully aware of the movements of their “friendly competitors”, but they are definitely paying close attention to them.

Although Leshi.com has developed rapidly in recent years, most of its developments are scattered in various fields. Apart from "LeTV Sports", the platform content is basically not popular.

But I didn't expect that they would quietly and directly give everyone a big one!

This stimulated other websites, and they all used their own channels to start understanding the details of Leshi.com.

With the information channels of these large companies, Meng Bai's identity and his past experience were quickly discovered by these websites.

An outstanding graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, a new screenwriter who was put on the gray list by the traditional film and television circles in northern Beijing. He raised 3 million yuan in investment with a script, and then led his own "piecemeal" team to shoot a high-scoring boutique web drama with over 100 million views.

If I had told anyone about this experience a month ago, no one would have believed it, but now it is right in front of everyone.

I don’t know what the heads of other companies think, but the manager of the film and television department of Qiyi TV is very regretful.

You know, the first person Meng Bai approached was Qiyi TV. He also read the script and thought it was really good.

But when it came to the issue of investment, he hesitated for a long time and then chose to give up.

If Meng Bai's drama was just an ordinary one after it was broadcast, no, even if it was a slightly better work, then he would at most feel a little sorry and would not take it too seriously.

But unfortunately, this "Soul Ferry" is a "masterpiece" that could be expected to be a hit throughout the year from the beginning of the year, and he released it himself after careful consideration.

It's like this: the most frustrating thing for stock traders is not losing money as soon as they buy, but not daring to buy a stock after studying it for a long time at a low price, and by the time they see it again next time, the price has increased several times.

This kind of mood highlights a sense of sourness.

Compared to his manager's regret, Gong Yu did not take it too seriously. Instead, he comforted him, "You can't be blamed for this. Under such circumstances, no one would trust a new screenwriter with no experience and no team. Even if it was Leshi.com, wasn't it half based on personal relationships that made the decision?"

After a few words of comfort, Gong Yu regained his composure and said, "One Meng Bai or a hit movie has limited impact on the video platform. We need to look beyond the surface to observe the information and trends hidden behind a hit movie."

"Are you referring to the new film and television genre of 'web drama'?" The manager is also a senior executive of the platform, so he naturally understands what his boss means.

"That's right. I've seen a lot of people talking about 'online dramas' recently. In fact, there is no need to discuss it because it is already happening," said Gong Yu.

As the founder of Qiyi TV, Gong Yu is very sensitive to the changes in the online entertainment ecosystem. As early as last year when Youku's online short drama "Never Expected" became popular, he had already thought about whether this would be a new direction for video websites in the future.

However, "Never Expected" is only a short drama of a few minutes, which is very different from traditional TV dramas. But the popularity of "Soul Ferry" has completely confirmed his guess.

Looking at the crew of "Pendulum", the director, screenwriter, leading actors and production mode are still based on the traditional film and television dramas of the past. The only difference is that it has a brand new film and television logic, a brand new story style, and a brand new communication channel.

All these represent that the "online drama era" with video platforms as the main body is really the future development direction.

With such a vast "blue ocean" right in front of us, why bother about whether there are more or fewer high-quality works?

But then again, you don’t have to care about hit works, but the people who create hit works are still very important. After all, no matter how vast the market is, you have to have something to show for yourself in order to compete.

He heard that Penguin Video also has a web drama produced to film and television standards that will be released after the new year.

Gong Yu thought about it and said to the manager, "Find out what the cooperation model between Meng Bai and Leshi.com is like. Whether it is bound or not, go and get in touch with them."

Youku has "Never Expected", Leshi.com has "Soul Ferry", and Penguin has a work to be broadcast. Even Sohu, at least has its own "Diaosi Man".

In comparison, Qiyi TV has already lost the lead. Next, it needs to find a way to catch up.
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Penguin Video’s Beijing headquarters.

"How's the promotion of "The Darker Side" going?" asked Xi Dan, president of Penguin Video, in the office.

"The promotional video and promotional materials have been sent out, and some cooperating media have also been contacted. They will do publicity and promotion according to our needs." The person in charge replied.

"Okay, just proceed according to the original plan." Xi Dan nodded, then smiled and said, "I thought we were at the forefront, but I didn't expect that there were people who started ahead of us."

The person in charge complained angrily, "I heard that the producer of the Leshi drama inquired about our broadcast plan and deliberately started broadcasting it before us."

Xi Dan glanced at the person in charge and frowned, "You found out about your opponent's plans before they even started filming, but you only found out about their plans when the show was about to be released. How dare you say that!"

"Sorry, Mr. Xi." The person in charge apologized with a little embarrassment.

"I'm not blaming you, but don't force the responsibility to be on your opponent's plan just because of your own mistakes." Xi Dan slowed down his tone.

"Yes, I understand." The person in charge thought for a moment and then carefully suggested, "Then Mr. Xi, do you think we should also contact this Meng Bai and sign a script with him in advance?"

Xi Dan heard this, thought for a moment, nodded, and then shook his head: "It is right to contact him, but compared to the script, I value this young man's ability as a 'producer' more."

Although the company's "Darker" is not a big investment project, it is at least a project planned by a professional team. But even so, it has been nearly a year since the project was launched.

In contrast, Soul Ferry took only half a year from attracting investment, to project establishment, to preparing the crew, and to filming and broadcasting. Although there are differences in subject matter, content, and scenes, it is enough to show that the creator of this drama is a very potential "project producer".

It is also said that this young man named Meng Bai, apart from the funding, assembled his own team for the entire filming and production, which is even more enviable.

As a company, what they fear is not that your project requires a lot of funds, but that they give you the funds and then fail halfway due to various reasons.

Meng Bai is a good producer who can solve the rest by himself as long as he is paid, and he is undoubtedly a perfect match for the wealthy Penguin Video.

Thinking of this, Xi Dan said to his supervisor, "Find an opportunity to contact them and see if there are any new script projects. Remember, as long as the quality of the script is excellent, don't be afraid to spend money!"

(End of this chapter)