Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 84, Section 83: Building a Nationwide Distribution Network

Faced with the difficult question posed by Wang Sheng.

Han Sanping lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache.

Wang Sheng is absolutely right.

The wedding movie craze, with its novel concept and the professional expertise of film studios, has indeed created a wealth whirlwind in a short period of time. It has solved the factory's urgent cash flow problems and employee employment issues, and even made Han Sanping stand tall in front of the ministry and other factories.

But how long will this wind blow?

China’s wealthy class is growing, but the capacity of each region is ultimately limited.

How many people in one place are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of yuan to document their wedding, like Mr. Chen from Lucheng?

Once the "leeks" that need to be "harvested" have been harvested once, the market's enthusiasm will inevitably decline.

This doesn't seem like selling fast-moving consumer goods, where repeat purchases are possible.

For most people, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Although Beijing Film Studio monopolized more than 80% of the market share by uniting with more than a dozen film studios, once the novelty wore off, could this business still maintain such high profits and such rapid growth?
Han Sanping's brows furrowed. He was thinking about a deeper issue.

What is the core mission of Beijing Film Studio?
It's about making movies, producing works, responding to national propaganda needs, and cultivating film talent.

Making money through the wedding business is certainly a good thing, but if one becomes obsessed with this "shortcut" and neglects the main business, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Moreover, this business heavily relies on Wang Sheng's personal market acumen and the operation of Shengying Media, and in essence, it has not truly revitalized the core creative and production capabilities of Beijing Film Studio.

If Wang Sheng... or if the market changes, wouldn't Beijing Film Studio be reduced to its original state again?
A strong sense of crisis gripped Han Sanping.

The current booming scene may just be a flash in the pan.

We must find a more sustainable development path for Beijing Film Studio that can better leverage its fundamental advantages.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a soft hiss, then turned to Wang Sheng, his gaze sharp: "Shengzi, you see things very clearly. Making this money is easy, but it doesn't feel right. Tell me your thoughts, what do you think the next step should be?"

Wang Sheng seemed to have anticipated Han Sanping's question, and said in a calm tone, "Director, the key to breaking the deadlock lies in returning to our old profession—content production. The film industry is too long and too risky, and large-scale investment is not realistic at this stage, but television dramas are a very good breakthrough."

"A TV series?" Han Sanping pondered. "'Harmony Brings Prosperity' was just an experiment. You mean, you want to treat it as a regular business?"

“Yes.” Wang nodded affirmatively. “And we can’t wait until ‘Harmony Brings Prosperity’ airs to see the results before we start. We need to start preparing now. TV dramas have relatively short production cycles and stable market demand, especially for good dramas, which are highly sought after by TV stations at all levels. As long as we can produce high-quality content, we won’t have to worry about sales.”

"How exactly will it be carried out?" Han Sanping became interested: "The factory has filmed TV dramas before, but the results were mediocre."

Wang Sheng held up two fingers: "We need to walk on two legs. First, we'll use the factory's old method: soliciting scripts. But this time, we need to expand the scope. We can't just focus on Beijing. We'll solicit scripts nationwide. There are no restrictions on the subject matter. Family dramas, period dramas, historical dramas, and modern urban dramas are all acceptable. The key is that the scripts must be good, meet the aesthetic standards of the general public, and have the potential to attract viewers."

"A generous reward will surely attract brave men; with a high bonus, we're not worried about a lack of good proposals coming our way."

Han Sanping nodded slightly: "That's a good idea; it can attract talented people. But what about the second leg?"

"The second leg is for me or someone else to come up with ideas, or to provide the core of the story, character settings and general framework, and then a professional screenwriting team is needed to turn it into a complete script."

Wang Sheng paused, then looked at Han Sanping: "There are two options for the composition of this team. One is to use the existing screenwriters in the factory, who are experienced and familiar with policy red lines; the other is for Shengying Media to recruit a group of young screenwriters and, according to my requirements, carry out... assembly line production."

"A script for assembly line production?"

Han Sanping found the term somewhat novel, yet also somewhat doubtful: "Can this guarantee quality? Artistic creation isn't like tightening screws in a factory."

Wang Sheng smiled and said, "Factory director, I'm not saying we should stifle creativity. I'm referring to an industrialized way of working. For example, I could define a genre like a heartwarming family comedy, clearly defining the core conflict, character relationships, dramatic tasks for each episode, and the distribution of jokes."

The screenwriting team works within this framework, with each member taking on a different role: some are responsible for the main plot, some for the subplots, and some specialize in dialogue and humor. Finally, the core editor finalizes and polishes the script.

This approach is efficient, maintains a consistent style, and avoids potential deviations that might occur when one person works in isolation.

Many commercial TV series in Hollywood and Hong Kong/Taiwan do it this way. The key is finding the right people and establishing an effective process.

Han Sanping seemed to be deep in thought.

Wang Sheng's model does indeed sound more efficient and better suited to the needs of large-scale production.

Moreover, having someone with Wang Sheng's keen market sense to control the "ideas" and direction might increase the success rate.

After weighing the options, he made a decision: "Taking a two-pronged approach is the safest way. I'll hand over the script solicitation to the factory's arts office. We need to spread the word as soon as possible, targeting the whole country, and set a higher prize."

As for the screenwriting team... any screenwriters currently employed at the factory who you find suitable can be drawn upon to form a temporary project team, under your command and coordination.

If you feel it's not enough, or if you want to use someone more suitable, you can hire them yourself.

In short, you are fully responsible for this; get the scripts in the pipeline as quickly as possible.

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that from you, factory manager."

Wang Sheng agreed: "Once I finish filming 'Family Harmony Brings Prosperity' and the post-production is on track, I will immediately take over this matter."

"Hmm." Han Sanping nodded, then thought of a crucial question: "We have the script, but how do we make a profit after filming? How many films do you predict we can produce in a year?"

Wang Sheng thought for a moment and said, "The profit model mainly comes down to those two tricks. First, sell to TV stations. There are so many TV stations across the country, especially provincial, municipal, and county-level stations. Many of them don't have the ability to produce their own dramas, but they have a huge demand for TV dramas. That's our market."

He specifically emphasized: "In this regard, our alliance with those 18 local film studios can play a significant role."

They are deeply rooted in the local community and have intricate relationships with relevant local organizations and television stations.

We can authorize them to sell the broadcasting rights of the series to television stations in their respective provinces and cities. We can give them half of the profits, or even more if we want.

Since they don't need to invest in production costs, they only need to use their own network of connections. No matter how much they sell, it's all pure profit, so they're definitely motivated.

In this way, we've essentially established a ready-made nationwide television drama distribution network, which is far more efficient than negotiating with each production company individually.

It turned out that I was just waiting here.

Han Sanping believes that Wang Sheng had this in mind when he advocated for the Alliance of Film Studios.

Even if each film studio sells a TV series and only gives Beijing Film Studio 50,000 yuan, that's still a full 900,000 yuan, enough to cover the production of a regular TV series.

Furthermore, binding sister factories together through shared interests and leveraging their geographical advantages to expand sales channels not only allows for rapid capital recovery but also strengthens the cohesion of the alliance centered around Beijing Film Studio. After all, whoever can bring tangible benefits holds the power.

Miao Miao Miao!
Han Sanping's brows relaxed as he looked over: "The second trick is product placement?"

"Yes."

Wang Sheng: "Director, we'll need your help in building a TV series distribution network. This is the cornerstone for us to command film studios across the country and unite more local film studios. If possible in the future, we might also be able to distribute other TV series, making use of our distribution department and some of the idle staff in other departments."

Han Sanping nodded solemnly and said, "I will definitely handle this seriously."

(End of this chapter)