This director lacks vision.

Chapter 162 This mecha is so cool!

Since the conversation had turned to video websites, Zhang Chaoyang asked, "When will Dark Glory Season 2 premiere?"

Jiang Yifeng said, "It will be simultaneously launched on Sohu Video and YouTube on October 28th."

At that time, television stations in 16 countries and regions, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, will also broadcast the drama around the same time.

Therefore, Dark Glory 2 will no longer be a weekly drama, but will air four days a week, and will be completed in about three weeks.

Zhang Chaoyang nodded and said, "Then Dark Glory 2 and Sister Who Makes Waves should end around the same time, within a few days."

I suggest that Fengxing Media conduct its second round of financing after the Sisters Who Make Waves competition ends.

This valuation may not reach its highest point, but it is very stable.

Your insistence on waiting until "Back to 20" is released before raising funds is actually a gamble.

The box office performance of a movie is highly uncertain. If the movie fails to meet expectations, it will affect the company's valuation.

Furthermore, the financing in December will facilitate the share swap with Sohu Video.

Sohu Video's first round of financing after its spin-off was to bring in capital and help some people with connections to make money, so the valuation wasn't too high.

My initial plan is for us to exchange 10% of our shares, and for me to personally invest in purchasing another 5% of Fengxing Media's shares.

With both parties holding 15% of the shares across the board, coupled with the voting rights structure, both have a certain degree of influence, making the foundation for cooperation more solid.

Jiang Yifeng thought about it and realized that Zhang Chaoyang's words made sense.

Fengxing Media launched two seasons of Dark Glory this year, as well as two variety shows, Produce 101 and Sisters Who Make Waves. Its content creation capabilities are unparalleled among internet platforms.

In addition, the company's MCN matrix and other businesses have resulted in a very good overall revenue performance.

With the show "Sisters Who Make Waves" now a huge success, it would be more prudent to use the successful conclusion of this hit variety show as the starting point for a new round of financing.

Moreover, after Jiang Yifeng established his animation company, he also set his sights on comic websites like U17.com, and with the funds, he could quickly invest and expand.

As for the box office performance of "Back to 20", Jiang Yifeng himself is not particularly confident.

After all, most of this film is original, and the competition during the Lunar New Year season is extremely fierce.

Whether it will be a huge hit or not, we'll just have to do our best and leave the rest to fate.

"OK, I'll talk to Wen Lingfeng. Or, boss, why don't you organize a get-together and we can get together sometime to discuss this in detail?"

“Sure, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Yishui Lake, we can go fishing there,” Zhang Chaoyang said with a smile. “I heard you’re planning to film a mecha-themed web series? And you even made some really cool mecha models?”

Jiang Yifeng took a sip of tea and said, "The mecha looks really cool. Would you like to go see it?"

I'm going to the photography studio this afternoon. If you're free, we can hang out together.

With the show "Sisters Who Make Waves" on track and the sales and broadcast of the second season of "Dark Glory" finalized, and the release of "Back to 20" still some time away, Jiang Yifeng's next focus is the web series "Pacific Rim".

After more than two months of design and modeling, the alien monsters and ichthyosaur mech models from Pacific Rim have undergone many iterations and several styles have been finalized.

Currently, more than a dozen models, each one or two meters tall, and six large models, each six or seven meters tall, have been built in the studio.

Zhang Chaoyang was naturally very interested in what Jiang Yifeng said.

After lunch, he followed Jiang Yifeng to the alien beast photography studio in Tongzhou District.

This studio is huge; it cost over 5000 million yuan to build a mobile 3D special effects system.

The Beast Studio belongs to Beast Special Effects Company, a newly established company by Jiang Yifeng that specializes in film and television special effects.

The total investment in the web series Pacific Rim was 1.2 million yuan, 70% of which went to the special effects company for the alien creatures.

This was Jiang Yifeng's initial idea.

The large investments in film and television productions are used to support the upstream and downstream industrial chains.

He runs a company within the industry chain to earn some extra profits.

"Holy crap!! This mecha is so cool!" Zhang Chaoyang walked into the studio and was greeted by a red and black mecha.

This mecha is 7 meters tall, with clearly defined mechanical parts assembled into a large "muscular" body, exuding a strong sense of power.

On the left and right shoulders of the mecha are two dragon head shoulder guards, their heads looking down arrogantly and exuding a strong sense of oppression.

This mecha, which combines elements of traditional mecha and Eastern mythical beasts, is refreshing and looks stunning.

Hearing Zhang Chaoyang's praise, Jiang Yifeng introduced, "This is our latest version of the Fish-Dragon Transformation Mech."

In the script, the Fish-Dragon Transformation is a generation of mecha created by Chinese scientists using the corpses of the Yingyu fish.

Even after a beast dies, its corpse can remain "active," able to replenish energy and grow unconsciously under certain conditions.

Therefore, the first stage of the Fish-Dragon Transformation Mecha is a simple mechanical mecha.

However, after a period of training, once the mech resonates sufficiently with the pilot and absorbs enough energy, it will enter its mature stage.

In its mature stage, the fish-dragon transformation mech will sprout two dragon heads from its shoulders. At this point, the mech's material properties will be significantly enhanced, increasing not only its defensive capabilities but also the ability to carry more weapons.

Standing beneath the Fish-Dragon Transformation (mature stage) mecha, Zhang Chaoyang grew to like it more and more.

Jiang Yifeng continued, "Currently, we have a total of 6 models of the first-generation mechs, which are manufactured by China, Japan, the United States, Europe, and Russia respectively."

China manufactured two of the mechs, two models of the Fish-Dragon Transformation.

Let me show you around first.

Jiang Yifeng's film, Pacific Rim, features characters with alien abilities.

Jing Tian plays the female lead, Si Teng, who is an experimental subject.

She was infused with the bloodline of a strange beast by an evil force that fanatically worshipped it, making her extremely powerful.

However, during the mutation process, Sito lost her memory, ran away from the laboratory, and was picked up by the male protagonist.

This kind of setting is very common and there is no problem accepting it.

Mechas paired with mutants is a common trope in Western comics.

Because of this setting, the Jaegers created in Pacific Rim are not the conventional Jaegers, but rather those with alien beast characteristics.

This kind of script setting actually increases the difficulty of creation.

On the one hand, the mecha needs to have the characteristics of mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It requires combining machinery and mythical beasts to form a completely new mecha, which is not easy.

If not controlled properly, it's easy to lose the sense of solidity and weight of the mecha.

On the other hand, associating mechs with alien beasts also restricts creative freedom.

All mechs must conform to the characteristics of mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Its advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, and various unique abilities are also related to mythical beasts.

Directors and screenwriters must follow this principle when creating their works; they cannot act arbitrarily. Although this rule increases the difficulty of creation, once successful, it will unleash tremendous vitality.

Not only will it offer brand-new and cool mechs, enriching the variety of mechs, but it will also facilitate future fan works and make it easier to gain a good reputation and a large number of loyal fans who accept the setting.

This is similar to the DND rules.

After looking at the six large mecha models, Zhang Chaoyang went to the exhibition area and looked at all the dozen or so mecha models that were one or two meters tall, praising them as he looked.

"Awesome, really awesome!"
As a physics student, I know these mechs are impossible to realize, but seeing these models still gets my blood pumping.

"I wish these things existed in real life!"

Upon hearing Zhang Chaoyang's praise, Sun Shiqian, Li Shaoming, and others all showed expressions of pride.

These mecha models are the result of their hard work over the past two months.

Jiang Yifeng then led Zhang Chaoyang to visit the mythical beast models.

Compared to mecha, Zhang Chaoyang wasn't too interested in the alien beast models.

"Mythical beasts are a bit far removed from our lives; mechs are much more interesting."

"When you finish filming this TV series, remember to send me a mecha model set."

Jiang Yifeng laughed heartily; these were exactly the words he had been waiting for.

"You can't take the large mecha models with you, but these models that are over a meter tall, you can keep at home or in your office, boss."

This stuff isn't expensive, I can sell it to you now, why wait until I finish filming the movie/TV series?"

Zhang Chaoyang asked, "How much?"

Jiang Yifeng said, "I'll give you a rock-bottom price, 388 million!"

Zhang Chaoyang countered, "How much does one of your models cost on the market?"

"We're not selling them yet. Once Pacific Rim becomes a hit, we'll start selling models that are over a meter tall. The price is expected to be between 99 and 188 million."

There are also smaller miniature models, which are cheaper, but the workmanship is also rougher.

Zhang Chaoyang: "..."

"Are you trying to fleece me?"

"You can take it or not."

"Alright, I want this red and black Fish-Dragon Transformation."

Zhang Chaoyang also knows his stuff.

The models sold by the special effects company for the monsters in the future will definitely be different from the models used for filming now.

Moreover, the current model was produced before filming even began.

If the Pacific Rim becomes a major hotspot in the future, the price of this model will naturally be incomparable to that of ordinary models.

When it comes to collecting, what you often want is a story and scarcity.

Moreover, Zhang Chaoyang is not short of money.

He said, "38 doesn't sound good, how about 688 million? I'm the first buyer of the Pacific Rim Jaeger model in the world, so I'll put number 001 on this model."

"No problem!" Jiang Yifeng said with a smile, "The boss is truly generous!"

After finalizing the deal, he turned to Sun Shiqian and the others and said, "See? There's definitely a market for mecha models. Everyone, work hard, and you'll make a fortune in the future!"
I will distribute the money that Mr. Zhang used to buy the mecha as a bonus to everyone as a thank you for your hard work recently.

Let us thank Mr. Zhang!

Jiang Yifeng deliberately sold a mecha model to Zhang Chaoyang to boost the team's morale.

The Pacific Rim project has been underway for over two months, and everyone is getting a bit tired of the tedious preparations.

We need to give them some appropriate stimulation to boost their enthusiasm for work.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang!"

Hearing the project team's resounding and powerful words of thanks, Jiang Yifeng knew that the stimulus was still quite effective.

Zhang Chaoyang was also very satisfied. He looked at the red and black fish-dragon mecha and became more and more fascinated.

A man's happiness is sometimes so primal and simple.

Some men can watch excavators work for an entire afternoon.

At this moment, in Zhang Chaoyang's eyes, these cool mechs were a lot of fun, much more interesting than beautiful women.

He stayed in the studio all afternoon and didn't leave.

Jiang Yifeng ignored him.

Jiang Yifeng came to the studio in the afternoon to work. In addition to discussing model details with the team, he also needed to familiarize himself with the studio's mobile special effects system.

Then, based on the models of the mechs and alien beasts, as well as the characteristics of the special effects system, we draw up storyboards and formulate shooting plans.

This was Jiang Yifeng's first time filming a special effects movie like Pacific Rim, and he was figuring things out as he went along.

Not only him, but the entire filming team also lacked experience.

So Jiang Yifeng wasn't in a hurry and took his time to try.

His plan was to first film a short clip of mechs battling monsters.

This footage serves as a chance to familiarize ourselves with special effects shooting, get the shooting team working together, identify shortcomings, and improve shooting methods.

Once you've filmed the mech battles against monsters well, the rest will be easy.

Over the next few days, Jiang Yifeng would come to the alien beast photography studio to complete his work according to plan.

He has a strong memory, strong hands-on skills, and a talent for composition, and he learns very quickly.

By the evening of October 14th, Jiang Yifeng had mastered many techniques, and the footage he was shooting was already quite good.

However, he was unable to continue trying.

On the morning of October 15th, Jiang Yifeng took Shu Chang by plane to Shanghai, and then transferred to Jiangyin City.

The 30th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films will be held in Jiangyin this year.

"Lost in Thailand" received multiple nominations.

At Han Sanpin's invitation, Jiang Yifeng came to the film festival to show his support and, incidentally, to promote the film "Back to 20".

(End of this chapter)