Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 504, Part 502: Tempering the Bones and Veins

The echoes of the Shanghai Stock Exchange's gong finally faded away with the ringing of the New Year's bells in 2004.

The media storm that erupted following Wang Sheng's rise to the top of the rich list and the massive financing of Shengying Media also subsided.

The box office performance of "Kung Fu Hustle" has become the most powerful response.

After the New Year and New Year's Day holidays, "Kung Fu Hustle," which had been in theaters for 28 days, had already grossed over 3.5 million yuan nationwide. Its final box office figure was expected to be between 4 million and 4.5 million yuan, securing the title of the 2003 box office champion without any doubt and leaving all its competitors far behind.

The overseas box office was also quite impressive.

In North America, the release of "Kung Fu Hustle" was delayed until March 2004 because New Line Cinema released "Spy Kids" during the year-end holiday season.

In terms of global distribution, the main focus was on several East Asian countries. "Kung Fu Hustle" achieved remarkable box office results in East Asian countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia.

The global box office has surpassed $70 million. The market's vote of confidence, cast with real money, is more convincing than any public relations rhetoric.

……

At the same time, several major official newspapers, which are considered bellwethers, published commentary articles in succession, affirming the achievements of cultural system reform and encouraging "market entities with core competitiveness" to be bold in exploration and contribute to the prosperity of the socialist cultural market.

Although no names were directly mentioned, it was clear to everyone that this was setting the tone for Sheng Ying and Wang Sheng.

The noises about "bubble theory" and "monopoly theory" have temporarily fallen silent in the face of the mainstream voice and solid box office results.

The pressure hasn't disappeared; it's just shifted from the clamor on stage to the undercurrents behind the scenes.

……

Standing at the beginning of 2004, Shengying Media, a giant ship that had just sailed into the deep sea of ​​capital, needed a clear and solid nautical chart.

I. Channel Expansion: 100 Cities, 100 Hospitals and Digital Pilot Projects

Cinema outlets, as a direct bridge connecting content and audiences, have always been a top priority in Wang Sheng's strategic plan.

In 2004, Shengying Media, relying on the "China Film Shengshi Cinema Circuit" platform, launched an ambitious "100 Cities, 100 Cinemas" expansion plan.

The plan has a clear objective: within one year, select one hundred prefecture-level cities or important county-level cities with strong consumption potential nationwide (including economically strong cities in the eastern coastal areas, provincial capitals and sub-centers in the central and western regions, and large cities with large populations) and invest in the construction or upgrading of one hundred high-standard, multi-screen modern cinemas.

Each cinema is strictly required to have at least six screening rooms, and the total number of new screens is expected to exceed 600.

This move aims to extend the high-quality cinema viewing experience to a wider market, completing the channel penetration from absolute dominance in first-tier cities to full coverage in first-, second-, and third-tier cities, and greatly expanding the capacity and boundaries of the Chinese film market.

In terms of technological approach, Wang Sheng demonstrated his consistent prudence and foresight. Although digital projection technology had begun to show its potential, its high cost (mainly relying on imported digital projectors from brands such as Barco in Belgium and Christie in the United States), imperfect technical standards, and limited film supply meant that it was still in the market cultivation stage at the beginning of 2004.

Therefore, the "100 Cities, 100 Cinemas" plan clearly focuses on film projection systems with mature technology and abundant film resources.

Meanwhile, in order to seize the commanding heights of future technology, Shengying chose to conduct small-scale digital cinema pilot projects in four of the most consumer-capable and receptive first-tier cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

These pilot screening rooms are not only used to test the stability of digital projection equipment and audience acceptance, but more importantly, they are used to cultivate the company's own digital cinema operation and maintenance team, accumulate experience, and wait for the window of opportunity when the cost of digital cinema technology decreases and the market explodes.

This pragmatic and forward-looking strategy ensured the efficiency and safety of Shengying's channel expansion, avoiding the huge risks that might have come from blindly investing during the immature technology period, and making sufficient talent and technology reserves for the future full transition to digital projection.

II. Industrial Foundation: The Grand Vision of Zhongbei Sheng Digital Cinema Base
Compared to the steady progress of cinema expansion, Wang Sheng has planned a more ambitious blueprint for the core production aspect of the film industry—to collaborate with China Film Group to build the "China Beijing Film Grand Digital Cinema Base" (hereinafter referred to as "China Beijing Grand Digital Cinema Base") in Huairou in phases.

The name itself is meaningful. The combination of "Zhong" (China Film Group), "Bei" (Beijing Film Studio), and "Sheng" (Shengying Media) symbolizes the deep integration and synergy of interests between state-owned capital and leading private enterprises in the construction of film industry infrastructure.

By this time, the Beijing Film Studio had transformed significantly. Since Wang Sheng's rise to prominence in 1996, with the continuous project support from the film studio alliance and the Sheng Ying Group, the Beijing Film Studio not only avoided being rapidly marginalized after the integration of China Film Group, as it had in the original Timeline, but also continuously attracted outstanding film technical talents from across the country. It upgraded its top-notch photography, sound recording, lighting, editing, and initial digital special effects equipment, becoming a comprehensive production base integrating pre-production shooting, post-production, sound processing, and special effects preview. It can be described as the "Whampoa Military Academy" and technology center of the Chinese film industry.

By early 2004, the overall hardware level of the Beijing Film Studio was among the best in Asia, especially in the process of traditional film production, which was comparable to that of top-tier film studios in Japan and South Korea.

However, compared with Hollywood super production bases such as Warner Bros. and Universal Studios, which have huge outdoor locations, cutting-edge digital studios and fully covered post-production pipelines, there is still a significant gap in scale, technological integration and specialized digital infrastructure.

The planning of the "Zhongbeisheng Digital Cinema Base" is precisely to bridge this gap, aiming for world-class standards and creating a brand-new industrial system oriented towards the future of digital cinema.

The base planning will be carried out in phases:

Phase 1 (2004-2006): Infrastructure development and core competency building.

The focus is on land leveling, infrastructure construction, and the construction of a core shooting area including two ultra-large digital sound stages (capable of accommodating complex sets and underwater shooting), four standard digital sound stages, one top-notch motion capture stage, and one virtual production stage.

At the same time, the existing post-production resources from Shengying Visual Effects Company and Beijing Film Studio were integrated and upgraded to establish a digital post-production center, covering key aspects such as high-precision film to digital conversion, digital intermediate (DI) color grading, immersive sound mixing studio, and special effects rendering farm.

The goal of this phase is to provide a digital, integrated solution for the entire process of large-scale commercial films, from shooting to post-production, so that the base can initially undertake the production of visual effects blockbusters of the level of "Night at the Museum".

Phase Two (2007-2009): Technological Upgrading and Industrial Chain Extension.

Building on the successful operation of Phase I, we will further expand specialized photography studios (such as frame-by-frame studios for shooting miniature models) and introduce more advanced virtual production real-time rendering engines and technologies.

At the same time, we will extend downstream to build dedicated dubbing studios, motion effects studios, and digital master production centers, and plan supporting R&D centers to cooperate with institutions such as Beijing Film Academy and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out cutting-edge film technology research.

The goal for this period is to develop the capability for technological iteration and to improve the entire industry chain services for film production.

Phase Three (after 2010): Ecosystem Improvement and Internationalization. Depending on market development, the plan includes location shooting sites, producer studios, and film and television supporting commercial services. The goal is to create a comprehensive film and television industrial park integrating shooting, production, research and development, tourism, and exhibitions, becoming the Hollywood of the East and attracting international co-production projects.

The construction of the "Zhongbeisheng" base is not only an expansion of physical space, but also a symbol of the comprehensive transformation of China's film industry from traditional craftsmanship to digitalization and modernization.

It embodies Wang Sheng's and even Chinese filmmakers' ultimate dream of establishing a high-standard film industry system that is independent and controllable, without relying on Hollywood.

III. Content is King: Practice Works and Diverse Exploration

On the content production side, after the resounding success of "Kung Fu Hustle", Shengying Group carefully planned its film slate for 2004, pursuing both continued commercial success and focusing on technological accumulation and genre exploration.

The major film scheduled for release during the 2004 Lunar New Year season ultimately fell to "Havoc in Heaven".

This fantasy epic, whose core concept was personally proposed by Wang Sheng and created in collaboration with Xu Ke, has been endowed with multiple strategic significances.

Firstly, this is a modern and cinematic reshaping of classic Chinese IPs, which aligns with the strategic requirements of cultural confidence and export.

Secondly, its grand mythological scenes and rich visual spectacles (such as the Heavenly Court, the Underworld, the Seventy-Two Transformations, and the Somersault Cloud) provided an excellent opportunity for the Sheng Ying visual effects team and the "Zhongbei Sheng" base, which is currently under planning, to "practice" and can be regarded as a technical rehearsal and team integration for the more massive fantasy film universe planned in the future.

The combination of Wang Sheng and Xu Ke, one grasping the macro framework and the lifeline of the market, and the other excelling in visual innovation and action design, is considered a golden duo that brings wildly imaginative ideas to life.

In addition to this highly anticipated "practice" film, Sheng Ying Group has also planned several other works in other release periods and genres.

Directors such as Huo Jianqi and Zhang Yang will continue to delve into art films and realist themes, striving for success in both awards and critical acclaim.

Emerging directors like Wu Yiyi from Shengying Film Academy (a directing vocational program in collaboration with Beijing Film Academy) will further expand their reach in low-to-medium budget commercial films, such as urban romance, suspense crime, and dark comedy. They are also encouraged to create such films, aiming to form a healthy content ecosystem characterized by "leading at the top, solid in the middle, and innovative at the bottom," to meet the viewing needs of audiences at different levels, and to continuously provide upward mobility channels for emerging directors and screenwriters.

The clamor of capital will eventually subside, and the competition in industries will ultimately depend on the depth of internal strength.

(End of this chapter)