After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 378 Be careful not to get dragged into this
The domestic television industry is very immature.

The most typical problem is that it lacks professionalism.

For example, in the American television industry, interviewers are solely responsible for conducting interviews; directors only do the work of directing; and editors are solely responsible for editing.

It doesn't work domestically.

They are all all-around warriors.

A director must be able to select topics, plan, conduct interviews, direct, produce, write scripts, edit in post-production, and even act as a mentor to guests, and be ready to step on stage as a host at any time.

Directors like Hu Xiaochen and Zhang Ming all started learning in college.

Therefore, they are proficient.

Zhou Haoran is a self-taught individual, which puts him in a very difficult position.

The ratings for the first two episodes he produced were below average, and a major reason for this was his poor editing skills.

So this time he doesn't plan to get involved himself.

Please ask Sister Zhang Ming for help.

Editing one episode takes about 2 hours.

There's no requirement for directors to be in the office regularly. Senior directors like Sister Zhang Ming often don't come to work in the morning. She just makes an effort to come in once in the morning, and that's it.

Zhou Haoran gave her a gold bracelet.

It wasn't given away for free.

Zhang Mingjie clearly had this awareness as well, and treated herself as his little assistant.

"Haoran!"

The female director, Zhang Ming, was very enthusiastic about him.

Holding several tapes of footage and a script of notes, she found Zhou Haoran.

"Haoran, how about we just skip this episode?"

Zhang Ming lowered her voice, afraid of embarrassing him.

Zhou Haoran was preparing his plan to "abandon the baby girl" when he heard this. He put down his marker, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Zhang Ming said with difficulty, "I just looked at the footage again, and it's not good. The two of them started arguing as soon as they met, and almost every sentence contained swear words, so it's impossible to edit."

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Don't worry about the swear words, just 'beep' them off."

"Huh?" Zhang Ming was slightly taken aback, she had never heard of this term before, "What 'beep' out?"

Zhou Haoran said, "There are some swear words that are not suitable for broadcast on TV. But the guests have already said them fluently, so we can't cut them out. We just add a 'beep' sound to the swear words to cover them up."

Zhang Mingjie's eyes widened. "Will this work?"

"Innovation is key! When making a show, we can't just stick to the old ways." Zhou Haoran was very experienced in this regard, as most television programs in later years followed this formula: "The stories are mostly about everyday life, and many of the guests come from the lower rungs of society. They may not have received a good education. It's inevitable that they'll say some outrageous things. Often, these outrageous remarks are the most exciting part of an episode, and it would be a shame to cut them all out."

This statement made the female director Zhang Ming a little distracted.

I pondered his statement, "The exciting part is when you say something outrageous," and it made a lot of sense.

In the past, when making TV shows, any swear words had to be cut out.

However, when guests swear, it is often when their emotions are erupting.

If it's cut, the program's effect will be greatly diminished.

Using a "beep" sound to cover up the profanity is indeed a very good solution!

"Haoran, I think your suggestion is excellent. However, we need to consult with Editor-in-Chief Lin to see if she agrees."

Zhang Ming doesn't believe that a junior editor has the authority to make such a big decision.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Okay, Sister Zhang Ming, you can leave the tapes and the script supervisor's notes here. I'll take a look at them in a bit, and when Team Leader Hu and Editor-in-Chief Lin are available, I'll discuss it with them."

Zhang Ming had no choice but to do as instructed.

the next morning.

Zhang Ming figured he had no interviews scheduled for today, so he decided to go to work in the afternoon. But around 8 a.m., he received a call from Zhou Haoran.

"Sister Zhang Ming, I've finished the script for the footage. Could you come over when you have time? Could you help me edit the program? I'm still a bit rusty in this area."

"Huh? Now?"

"Yes, it's already scheduled, and it will be broadcast the night after tomorrow."

"I'll be there right away!"

Zhang Ming had originally planned to sleep in, but he didn't expect it to be so urgent, and he was wide awake.

They take money and do things.

It's only natural!

She just didn't have much confidence in this episode. She really didn't know what magic Zhou Haoran had used to win over Editor-in-Chief Lin.

I went to work.

I happened to see Zhao Qiaoqiao, the female host of the program.

"Sister Zhang Ming!" Zhao Qiaoqiao greeted her warmly, "So early today?"

Zhang Ming smiled and said, "Yes, come over and edit the video."

"Oh..." Zhao Qiaoqiao drawled, then whispered, "Sister Zhang Ming, I heard you're helping Zhou Haoran with a film?"

Zhang Ming smiled and said, "He's a newcomer."

Zhao Qiaoqiao exclaimed, "Oh dear! Sister Zhang Ming, aren't you afraid of being dragged down by him? The ratings for the first two episodes of his shows were only 3 points, not even passing. If you help him, it will affect your performance!"

"They're all colleagues."

Zhang Ming forced a smile, though he also harbored the same concern.

However, they accepted all the gold bracelets.

You can't just accept gifts and not do anything in return.

Zhao Qiaoqiao said worriedly, "Sister Zhang Ming, you're helping out of good intentions, but he might not appreciate it. If his show's ratings are low, he might blame you. I heard his topic yesterday was about couples arguing? How can anyone watch such a cliché program?"

Zhang Ming forced a smile and said, "Haoran is quite capable." Zhao Qiaoqiao sighed, "Sister Zhang Ming, you're just too kind. If you ask me... if you ask me, let's work together. The last episode we worked on had a 7.6% rating, which was the highest-rated episode this month."

The ratings they were referring to were not national ratings, but rather local ratings in the harbor.

This characteristic is found throughout the country.

Locals prefer to watch local channels.

Crown TV has the highest overall viewership nationwide, but it's difficult for it to surpass local channels in a specific region.

Harbour dwellers are proud and look down on outsiders, so they prefer local TV stations.

Average viewership rankings for the harbor area.

First, Red Star TV, with an average viewership rating of 14.7%.

Second, the average viewership rating for the Red Star TV Comprehensive Channel was 9.4%.

Third, the Red Star TV Urban Channel had an average viewership rating of 6.5%.

Fourth, Channel 1, Crown TV, had an average viewership rating of 4.2%.

Fifth, the Red Star TV Lifestyle Channel had an average viewership rating of 4.0%.

Therefore, the programs on the lifestyle channel all have a general standard.

Programs with a viewership rating below 4% are considered substandard.

For substandard programs, channel subsidies and program allowances will be halved.

Programs with high viewership ratings will see an increase in subsidies and allowances.

Therefore, when producing programs, various programs prefer to combine the best of both worlds. Excellent people collaborate with excellent people, ensuring that no one holds anyone back, and if the program is successful, everyone shares the prize money.

The ratings for Zhou Haoran's first two episodes were both below par.

In reality, no one is willing to work with him anymore.

Knowing that Zhao Qiaoqiao's ratings were higher than Qiao Suiqing's recently, Zhang Ming naturally preferred to work with her. He smiled and said, "Sure, once I'm done with this busy period, I'll ask Editor-in-Chief Lin to let us work together on a few episodes."

"Busy for a while?" Zhao Qiaoqiao was surprised. "You really want to keep helping Zhou Haoran? He's just a good-for-nothing, you should just give up!"

"I will try again."

Zhang Ming touched the gold bracelet on his wrist.

Zhao Qiaoqiao sighed and pouted, "Just you wait and see, after Zhou Haoran's episode airs, he'll make a fool of himself again. He's the one who drags our program down. I really don't know why Editor-in-Chief Lin promoted him so much."

Zhang Ming thought of the suggestion yesterday to replace swear words with "beep" sounds, and sincerely said: "Haoran is quite talented, but program production may not be his forte."

Zhao Qiaoqiao smiled broadly.

His expression was disdainful.

What a load of nonsense talent!

Yesterday, during the recording of the show, she secretly went to the studio and witnessed the chaotic scene of arguing. As a director, her ability to control the situation was so poor that two guests almost came to blows on set… Does someone with this level of skill deserve to direct an episode?
I wonder what kind of spell he cast on Editor-in-Chief Lin!

However, it would be good to let him do a few more episodes.

Only when the show's ratings drop can Qiao Suiqing be dragged down.

Only then will she have a chance to become the top female host of "Family Matters"!
Zhang Ming went to find Zhou Haoran, feeling a bit overwhelmed: "Haoran, is it confirmed? It'll air the day after tomorrow?"

"Correct."

Zhou Haoran handed over the script in his hand.

"The day after tomorrow is Friday, is it really that day?"

Zhang Ming was skeptical.

Fridays are special; viewership ratings on Fridays are often higher than on other weekdays. Therefore, only exceptionally good programs are usually scheduled for Fridays.

If all programs air their best shows on Fridays, it will create internal competition.

This will lead to severe polarization.

Excellent programs generate explosive ratings; poor programs suffer a sharp drop in ratings.

Zhou Haoran didn't care at all. "Yeah, everything's arranged. Sister Zhang Ming, can you help me write up the program? We'll discuss it together this afternoon."

Fearing that he was a newcomer and wouldn't understand, Zhang Ming whispered, "There are more viewers on Fridays, so all the channels and programs will put their best content on that day. The competition is fierce. A regular program might get a 4% rating on a weekday, but on a Friday, it might only get 3%.

"I know, it's okay!"

Zhou Haoran is very confident in his show.

Although he wasn't a media professional, he had seen too many programs from later generations and had a lot of experience.

For example, there is a long-running and popular program on CCTV called "Approaching Science".

There is actually no science at all.

They rely entirely on dramatic tension to grab attention and boost ratings.

For example, if a piece of ice falls from the sky, the villagers will all think it's a magical ice that can cure all diseases. The program will just talk nonsense, creating suspense by digressing from one thing to another, and finally reveal the truth: it was just a piece of ice that fell from the toilet on an airplane, and it was full of excrement and urine.

This stuff has absolutely no nutritional value.

It has no media value whatsoever.

But it just looks good.

It means it has viewership ratings.

Zhang Ming had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the script back to edit the program. He watched it over and over again, editing and re-editing. He Jing's frantic cursing and Xu Jiayuan's irritating demeanor were truly annoying.

What should have been a two-hour edit took her four hours to finish.

I'm so disappointed with this episode.

It's terrible!
For a show of this quality to expect a passing rating is a joke.
Is it really worth getting dragged down by him for a gold bracelet?

Zhang Ming was momentarily dazed.

I don't know if my decision is right.

(End of this chapter)