Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 328 Douyin's Short Drama

Inside the office of Datang Pictures.

Peng Yuchang, Wang Baoqiang, Bai Lu, Xiao Yang and other important actors of "Detective Chinatown 2", as well as director Chen Sicheng, were all staring at the content displayed on the screen by Chen Xiu.

Seeing their silence, Chen Xiu said, "As you can see, other films released during the Spring Festival are also using their methods for promotion."

"In other words, the promotional effect we planned for Douyin in the early stage may be greatly reduced."

"Mr. Chen."

Chen Sicheng raised his hand, requesting to speak.

Chen Xiu glanced at him and nodded slightly.

"What I'm trying to say is that the audience for 'Detective Chinatown' is different from those of other movies. Even if their promotion is flashy, it won't affect us, right?"

"You're right."

Chen Xiu first agreed, then disagreed.

"However, the specific group of movie fans is actually a minority. What we compete with through promotion is often that group of users who watch movies unconsciously. They don't particularly like that movie. Their criteria for choosing a movie are often determined by factors such as promotion, word of mouth, and box office. What we need to do is to do a good job of promotion."

"Understood. So what should we do? Today is the 1st, and the movie will be released on the 16th, so there are only two weeks left."

Chen Sicheng's words made Zhang Zili, who was standing to the side, look troubled. He also felt helpless because the movie's release date was too close.

Faced with this question that had appeared twice, Chen Xiu did not answer immediately, but instead began to explain her thoughts.

"Besides 'Detective Chinatown 2,' the films released during the Spring Festival season also include 'Monster Hunt 2,' 'Operation Red Sea,' 'The Monkey King 3,' and 'The Nineteen Ancestors.' All of them chose to broadcast live today, but their performances are still quite different."

As she spoke, Chen Xiu pulled up five screenshots on her computer.

"Due to actor issues, the live stream for 'Monster Hunt 2' had a negative effect and can be disregarded. The remaining three films had different promotional methods, and based on the highest number of viewers in the live stream, they were 'Operation Red Sea' with 140,000, 'The Monkey King 3' with 130,000, and 'The Nineteen Ancestors' with 110,000."

"We're still the best."

"Yes, but we can also learn from their live streaming methods. For example, the promotion of the crosstalk performance of 'The Nineteen Generations of Ancestors' used content to retain netizens and then monetized it through movie tickets."

"..."*N
Everyone fell silent, realizing that the content regarding Douyin still needed to be explained by a professional like Chen Xiu.

Having laid the groundwork, Chen Xiu then shared her thoughts with the crowd.

"If we continue with the original promotional approach, the results will definitely not meet expectations. Therefore, it is best to add more exciting content to the existing content to attract netizens."

"Director Chen, when you and Director Xiao were preparing to write the script, did you discard seven or eight versions of the story?"

Chen Sicheng paused for a moment, then nodded quickly.

"Yes! There were seven or eight rejected drafts."

"I need you two to sift through these seven or eight drafts and turn them into short stories. The total length should not exceed 15 minutes. Then, break them down into seven short films and post them as spin-offs or prequels on the official account of 'Detective Chinatown 2' to promote the movie."

"Short film?"

"Strictly speaking, it's a short drama, the kind with a plot."

Chen Sicheng's expression was complicated for a moment, then he and Xiao Yang exchanged a glance, both of them showing a hint of unease on their faces.

After some hesitation, Chen Sicheng still raised the difficulties.

"Mr. Chen, shooting a 15-minute short drama isn't difficult, but the approval process, shooting schedule, and location allocation..."

"Don't think of it as so professional."

Seeing Chen Sicheng lost in his misconceptions, Chen Xiu asked, "Have you ever watched any short videos on Douyin?"

"Seen."

"That's exactly what I need. Tell the story well within 2 minutes, leave a hook, and keep the audience watching. The shooting standards don't need to be too high, just somewhere between a high-quality short video and a TV series. As for the review process, we're making short videos, not TV series or movies. Once the content is uploaded, the platform can review it itself."

"What about filming?"

Chen Xiu pursed her lips and glanced to both sides.

"The main actors are all here, the costumes and props are in the warehouse, the extras are paid 100 yuan a day, and the location is in Beijing. Can we shoot the short film I want within a week?"

At this point, Chen Xiu noticed out of the corner of her eye that Bai Lu's expression suddenly changed, but he quickly returned to normal.

Upon hearing Chen Xiu's request, Chen Sicheng considered it in his mind.

"It's not a big problem."

"Okay, after filming, around February 10th, we'll hold another live stream as planned, and take the opportunity to upload this short film to generate one last wave of traffic for netizens before the film's release, while also preventing other movies from imitating it."

After expressing her thoughts, Chen Xiu turned to look at Zhang Zili, the director in charge of publicity, and asked him to add his thoughts.

"Ahem, that's really good. Then we can invite a popular celebrity or internet celebrity to do a live stream to help boost the viewership..."

"What do you think of this celebrity/internet influencer?"

After some operations on the computer, Chen Xiu found an account.

Everyone craned their necks to take a closer look, and their expressions were all strange.

Because the account displayed on the screen is not someone else's, but Chen Xiu's own, with 5000 million followers and number one on Douyin!

Zhang Zili pursed his lips and said, "Boss, if you don't mind live streaming, that would be great."

"OK, that's settled then!"

Chen Xiu nodded, confirming the matter, and then glanced at Chen Sicheng.

"Director Chen, you need to think carefully about the content of the short film and see if it can further expand the Detective Chinatown universe. It would be best to extend it into web series content."

"Understood, I will take care of it."

As Chen Sicheng agreed, he couldn't help but glance at Xiao Yang, thinking to himself: Humph! You were the one I used to keep in check. Now that I'm obedient, there's no need for you to keep me in check anymore.

Having been able to independently manage the "Sheep Without a Shepherd" project, and with the investment share in "Detective Chinatown 3" promised by Chen Xiu, Chen Sicheng was now incredibly obedient. Just as things were settled and everyone was preparing to leave the office...

Chen Xiu suddenly spoke up: "Bai Lu, could you stay here for a moment?"

"Huh? Oh oh."

Bai Lu nodded, looking bewildered, while the others silently left.

Once the office door was closed, Chen Xiu stood up and looked at Bai Lu, who was both puzzled and expectant, and said, "Don't stand there, go over to the sofa."

"Oh, good."

To coincide with today's live stream, Bai Lu specially styled her hair in the twin ponytails that Kiko wore in the movie.

Because of the large amplitude of her nodding, the two ponytails swayed so much that they almost jumped up.

Chen Xiu sat down on the sofa and looked at Bai Lu, who had also sat down, and said directly, "When we were talking about filming the short film earlier, you seemed a little hesitant. Was it because of scheduling conflicts?"

"..."

Bai Lu stared blankly at Chen Xiu, thinking: The boss actually noticed me... Oh dear! What am I thinking...

"Yeah, that's right! Boss, the drama I recently filmed is about to wrap up, and I took the day off to come back and promote it. It's the last week, so there might be some scheduling conflicts."

"so."

Chen Xiu hadn't considered the scheduling aspect.

The main reason is that when a movie is released, most actors will make time to cooperate with the promotion. Bai Lu's role is that of the female lead, so he naturally assumes that she will have time.

Seeing that Chen Xiu was in a difficult situation, Bai Lu said urgently, "Boss, I'll adjust the time. It won't affect the movie promotion."

How do you plan to adjust it?

"Hmm~, apply to the production crew, and then travel between the two locations?"

"Heh, your film crew shouldn't be near Beijing, right?"

"In Hengdian..."

Chen Xiu nodded silently, having already rejected Bai Lu's idea.

After a moment, he suddenly asked, "What's the name of your film crew? Which production company is it? Let me see if I recognize them."

"Hmm~~, Yuheng Pictures and Xihe Pictures are both small companies. The drama is called 'Zhao Yao'."

"Congratulations."

Chen Xiu murmured softly, then got up to get her phone under Bai Lu's questioning gaze.

After doing all that, he came back and said, "I don't know either of the two production companies you mentioned. But I've spoken to Yang Ming, and he'll talk to the production team and try to free up three days of your time. That should be enough for the short film shoot."

"thank you boss."

"...In this situation, you don't need to thank me."

"No need?"

Bai Lu asked cautiously.

Chen Xiu nodded firmly: "Don't think too much about it, just focus on acting well! Once you're more popular, you can go on variety shows too."

"thank you boss."

"I already said, there's no need to thank me. You can go back to your work now."

"oh oh."

Bai Lu slowly got up and looked back at Chen Xiu when he reached the door, but Chen Xiu had already turned his back to the door and walked towards the desk.

……

February 10th, Bona Film Group.

As a long-established film and television company, if Bona had not gone public in the US but instead stayed in China to prepare for its IPO, it might not have become the first listed film and television company in China.

After making this crucial mistake, Yu Xiaodong, as the boss, began to reflect deeply and carefully plan every step of the company's development.

In 16, the success of "Operation Mekong" led him to set his sights on military and mainstream themes, and then immediately launched "Operation Red Sea".

The success of "Wolf Warrior 2" last year has made him even more certain that "Operation Red Sea" can bring a big boost to the company!
To maximize the film's box office revenue, Bona Film Group has put a lot of effort into promotion, spending 4000 million yuan on Dou+ alone.

Watching the actors enthusiastically promoting the movie in the live stream, and the 20 people watching online in real time, Yu Xiaodong couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

Just as everything was going in a positive direction, the stage manager suddenly walked over looking flustered.

"Mr. Yu, the live broadcast of 'Detective Chinatown 2' next door has resumed."

"Oh, really! How's it going?"

Yu Xiaodong seemed somewhat nonchalant. At the beginning of the month, he had specifically instructed the company's film marketing department to keep an eye on the promotional activities of "Detective Chinatown 2".

Unexpectedly, after the live broadcast on the 1st, there were no major developments regarding "Detective Chinatown 2".

Yu Xiaodong was disappointed, but also felt that he had overestimated his opponent.

However, the next thing the stage manager said made his expression change.

"Mr. Yu, this live broadcast features Mr. Chen appearing on camera with the cast and crew of 'Detective Chinatown 2'."

"Chen Xiu?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen is very popular on Douyin. The number of viewers reached 20 as soon as the live stream started, and it will probably exceed 30..."

"Hiss~~~, no, how can they cheat?"

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(End of this chapter)