Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

On July 20th, Jiang Bai arrived in Shanghai.

At this point, there was only one day left before "A Love So Beautiful" premiered.

At Huace's headquarters in Shanghai, Jiang Bai met Tian Xiwei, who had been waiting for him.

She was wearing a crisp white T-shirt and light-colored jeans, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, and was sitting on the sofa, swinging her legs listlessly.

"You've finally arrived!" Tian Xiwei's eyes lit up when she saw Jiang Bai. She quickly stood up and walked over, her tone filled with excitement.

Jiang Bai smiled and nodded, his tone gentle: "Sorry, sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way, I made you wait."

"Today we're just shooting a few short videos. We'll figure it out slowly; it's not difficult."

"Mm." Tian Xiwei nodded.

Actors are the least afraid of the camera. Even Xiao Tian, ​​who has only acted in one film, is no exception. It's impossible for him to be nervous.

Today's main task is to shoot three short promotional videos featuring the entire cast.

The first one was the transition template that Jiang Bai specially chose, which later became a huge hit: #WhattimeIsItOverThere?#

The youthful energy and vibrancy of this viral video perfectly match the sweet and romantic campus romance style of "A Love So Beautiful".

The internal photographer from Huace, who was specially called in to assist with the filming, is ready.

Soon, the two of them began filming their first video.

Jiang Bai had watched countless transition videos like this in his past life, and he understood the principle behind them.

But this was his first time actually filming it himself.

However, the reason why these short videos became popular in later generations is largely due to their simplicity.

Unlike the technically-driven videos on TikTok, these transition videos have a very low barrier to entry; you just need to find a suitable scene to shoot them.

Tian Xiwei is also very smart; she understands things very quickly.

The difficult part of this video wasn't before the scene transition, but after the transition, where we had to film a duet dance.

The staff had already found a beautiful park lawn in Shanghai.

After a few seconds of video footage indoors before the transition, the two drove to the park, changed into another outfit, and filmed their duet dance under the bright sunshine.

Shake hands, spread apart, draw circles with your legs, raise your hand and spin around, bend down and kiss the back of your hand.

The entire duet dance is very simple, but it looks very sweet when filmed.

In the video, Jiang Bai is wearing a clean white shirt, while Tian Xiwei has her hair tied in a high ponytail and is also wearing a white shirt and a short pleated skirt.

The moment their eyes met, their gazes were filled with youthful ambiguity, and their gesture of raising their hands to clasp each other was natural and fluid, like a princess and a knight.

"What time is it where you are?"

"Can you smell my scent around me?"

"Or have you found a new perfume scent?"

To the accompaniment of a languid melody, Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei, bathed in sunlight, with blue skies, white clouds, and green grass, wearing white shirts and blue pleated skirts, exuded an irresistible summer and youthful vibe.

Even the wind blowing past the lens seemed much gentler.

Sweet and soothing.

It perfectly matches the style of the drama "A Love So Beautiful".

After seeing the finished product with background music added, both Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei were extremely satisfied.

"That's amazing! How did you come up with the idea of ​​making a video like this to promote the show?" Tian Xiwei's eyes were practically sparkling as she looked at Jiang Bai with adoration.

Perhaps in ten years, these transition videos will be commonplace and ubiquitous.

But in 2017, this was definitely a very novel idea.

Before the explosion of short videos on TikTok, this kind of transition scene only appeared in movies and was a very sophisticated art form of cinematic language.

No one ever thought of using it as a technique for everyday video shooting.

Therefore, Tian Xiwei greatly admired Jiang Bai's ingenuity in coming up with such a novel way to promote the drama.

Isn't this much more sophisticated than celebrities announcing their live streams on Weibo by asking friends and family to share the posts?

And it's also very useful.

Although it hasn't been posted on Douyin yet, Tian Xiwei is certain that this video will quickly go viral and spread like wildfire online.

Because the photos are so beautiful and healing, she herself never gets tired of looking at them.

"Okay, the results are pretty good, but we still have two more short videos to shoot, let's continue."

Jiang Bai was very satisfied with the final product. In fact, because both of them were very good-looking, he thought it was even better than the similar videos he had seen in his later life.

This gave him greater confidence in his drama promotion strategy.

Immediately afterwards, the two filmed two more short videos.

One of them is a video created to boost viewership during the middle of the series, featuring "reproduction of famous scenes from the show + encouragement to watch more episodes".

These are two solo transition videos, filmed separately by Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei.

Before the change of scenery, the two of them were wearing cotton pajamas, black-rimmed glasses, and their hair was messy, looking like a shut-in otaku.

Then the camera shifts, and one of them transforms into a sporty, handsome guy, holding a skateboard and smiling brightly in the sunlight.

The other one transforms into a tennis player, dressed in a tennis outfit, holding a racket in one hand, with an equally sweet and bright smile.

This is a classic transition video with a youthful feel that will be popular in the future, but it looks very novel now.

The last one is a video used to express gratitude at the end.

This Jiang Bai took a shortcut and directly copied the subway run video of Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan at the end of "Hard to Coax".

Although the drama "Hard to Coax" wasn't a huge hit, this short promotional video for the finale of the series went viral, ranking among the top in likes for celebrity drama promotional videos.

Speaking of which, if Xiaotian's style wasn't unsuitable, Jiang Bai would have liked to recreate Bai Mengyan and Ao Ruipeng's "That Girl Said to Me" video.

This is the highest-rated promotional video for a Chinese drama series, with tens of millions of likes.

But there's no rush. The era of big-budget short video promotions in the Chinese entertainment industry hasn't even started yet, and Jiang Bai's three posts are already quite impressive.

The best work can be saved for later.

Jiang Bai plans to consider filming with Ju Jingyi or Li Yitong for the next drama promotion.

The era of short video drama promotion will be ushered in by Jiang Bai himself.

He absolutely must earn the title of "God of Drama Promotion"!

At 2:30 p.m., all three short videos were finally filmed.

Tian Xiwei looked at herself in the finished video with a happy expression, her eyes full of surprise: "We filmed it so well! It went much more smoothly than I imagined!"

Tian Xiwei looks stunning in all three transition videos, radiating youthful energy that will undoubtedly attract a huge female fanbase.

You could say that the way she looks in her videos is the image of youth that girls dream of.

Jiang Bai smiled and nodded: "Next, we'll see how it goes on Douyin."

......

Time flew by and it was already five o'clock in the evening.

Jiang Bai's newly registered Douyin account, "Actor Jiang Bai," promptly released its first promotional video for the drama.

Video script: "Let's cross mountains and seas to keep a promise of our youth~"

Then they added the hashtag #A Love So Beautiful# and the release date.

Meanwhile, the video was also shared on Weibo, and Jiang Bai, Tian Xiwei, and the official Weibo account of "A Love So Beautiful" all posted it.

In 2017, Weibo had not yet banned or demoted the reposting of Douyin videos; in fact, it even encouraged it.

After Jiang Baifa posted the video, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed in front of the phone with Tian Xiwei, Dai Lu, and their respective staff, watching for feedback on the video.

The feedback from short video promotion is very rapid, almost instantaneous. Whether your video is effective or not, and whether it can penetrate the traffic pool, can be seen within half an hour.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating the video and constantly refreshing the comment section.

In 2017, Douyin did not yet have the traffic pool classification algorithm that it later developed; its core logic was simple and direct.

If a video achieves a good number of likes and completion rates in the initial traffic pool, it will be continuously pushed into a larger traffic pool.

In the end, almost all Douyin users were able to see this video.

This was also the key to Douyin's early ability to mass-produce viral hits, and it was also the reason why Jiang Bai dared to bet on the video going viral.

In the first few minutes, the number of likes on the video only increased slowly.

Most of them are Jiang Bai's core fans. After seeing the news on Weibo, they rushed over to pay attention, like, and comment immediately.

"White Rice Report! Jiang Baige's new video is amazing!"

"The transition was so smooth! And the interaction between him and Xiaoxi was so sweet."

"A Love So Beautiful premieres tomorrow, a must-watch!"

But just ten minutes later, the video's popularity began to soar.

The users in the initial traffic pool were mostly young people from first- and second-tier cities, who were also the core audience of "A Love So Beautiful". They had never seen such exquisite and smooth transition videos before.

It's important to know that in 2017, Douyin was still in its early stages.

Most of the short videos people shoot are simple hand gesture dances, lip-syncing jokes, or crude special effects face-changing videos.

Even the more complex ones are at most simple camera transitions.

Such well-designed and atmospheric editing transition videos, almost on par with the standards of film and television dramas, are truly unprecedented and novel.

"Holy crap! This transition is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!"

"Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei have such great chemistry! Their eyes are full of youthful energy!"

"What drama is this? 'A Love So Beautiful'? It premieres tomorrow? I'll bookmark it for now."

"Help, I want to play this transition on repeat! It's so soothing!"

"Jiang Bai's looks are still amazing; that white shirt is killer!"

"Ladies, this video is so sweet, it's so sweet I need to inject insulin to survive!"

The number of comments in the comment section is increasing, and the number of likes is also exploding, soaring by thousands every minute.

In a short time, related topics such as #WhatTimeIsItThereNow# transition and #JiangBaiTianXiWei transition began to quietly gain traction on Douyin.

In less than half an hour, the video received over 10 likes and had a completion rate of over 90%, far exceeding the average level of the initial traffic pool.

The traffic pool was successfully breached.

Douyin officials immediately noticed this video that was gaining popularity and marked it as a "highlighted video," pushing it into a larger traffic pool.

During this period when Douyin is making a full-fledged promotional push, any viral video that emerges will inevitably receive a significant amount of resources.

This means that whether you're a fan following Jiang Bai or just a random person browsing Douyin, you'll come across this promotional video for the drama.

Early TikTok influencers were all promoted in this way.

Once a viral video appears, it receives massive amounts of traffic, with the intention of getting every user to watch it at least three to five times a day.

Even if you don't want to pay attention, you'll still recognize the people in the videos.

This publicity effect is far more effective than paying Weibo and begging them to help you get on the trending topics list.

It can only be said that during the development period of any platform, the benefits are maximized.

With the full support and promotion of Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version).

In less than two hours, the short video went viral.

The number of likes soared from 10 to 30, then to 50, and in just two hours it surpassed 100 million.

The comment section was flooded with positive feedback, filled with countless praises.

Some praised the exquisite transitions, while others praised the two for their great chemistry, good looks, and youthful vibe.

Some people are looking forward to the premiere of "A Love So Beautiful," while others are curious about Jiang Bai's new account and have clicked to follow it.

"Let's watch it when it premieres tomorrow! Just for that transition scene, I'm going to binge-watch the whole series!"

"Is this Jiang Bai? I was following him a few months ago, and he has a new drama coming out?"

"Does anyone else loop the transitions like me? They're so smooth!"

"Compared to the hand gesture dances on TikTok now, this transition is simply a game-changer."

Moreover, keywords such as Jiang Bai, transition, Little Beauty, and Jiang Bai Tian Xiwei began to climb rapidly on Douyin's trending search list.

In just an hour and a half, the hashtags #JiangBaiTransitionToFengShen# and #ALittleBeautyPresentsTomorrow premiered, and both entered the top ten trending topics on Douyin.

Jiang Bai's Douyin account saw its follower count skyrocket from 0 to over 50, and it continues to grow.

The comments section was full of messages like "Newcomer reporting in" and "Followed, followed".

At the same time, a large number of Weibo users also forwarded the video from Douyin to Weibo, indirectly spreading its popularity.

Many people even saved the video and sent it to friends or posted it on their social media.

Looking at the rapidly rising data on her phone, Dai Lu's face was full of surprise. She couldn't help but pat Jiang Bai on the shoulder: "Jiang Bai, you're famous! You're really famous! This video has gone viral, much better than we expected!"

"Your idea is amazing, how is your brain made?"

Even Dai Lu, an expert in internet marketing, never thought of using short videos for marketing and promotion before.

The main point is that even if we go back just a few months, Douyin wasn't used by many people back then; it was just a newly launched small app.

July was the month when Douyin (TikTok) began its viral explosion, with short videos from Douyin being shared and spread all over the internet.

People who go online can hear the phrase "TikTok, record the beautiful life" eight times a day.

Jiang Bai seized all the advantages of timing, location, and people.

Looking at the number of likes, comments, and followers on the screen, Jiang Bai couldn't help but smile.

He knew he was on the right track.

"Now, it all depends on tomorrow's broadcast," Jiang Bai said confidently. "Have you prepared all the arrangements for the live stream?"

That's right, Jiang Bai's promotional methods for "A Love So Beautiful" are not limited to Douyin.

Weibo, a social media platform with a massive user base, is certainly not to be overlooked!

Relying solely on forwarding short videos to Weibo for dissemination is too slow.

Jiang Bai is going to do something big!

Weibo drama promotion live stream!

This year is also the time when Weibo is making a big push for its live streaming channel.

Since the beginning of the year, Weibo has been leveraging its connections to find celebrities to host live streams on its platform.

From veteran male stars like Huang Xiaoming to rising stars and even unknown actors, everyone is doing live streams on Weibo.

Like Brother Nailiang, who was invited by Weibo to hold regular live broadcasts on Weibo every week to attract users to use the Weibo live broadcast platform.

That's why Nai Liang left behind the famous "getting a haircut" meme...

Using Weibo for live streaming promotion of TV dramas also gradually became popular after that.

Jiang Bai decided to take the first bite of the benefits himself!

Tomorrow night at 10 PM, two hours after the official launch of "A Love So Beautiful," he and Tian Xiwei will interact with fans via a live stream on Weibo.

In 2017, this was the most down-to-earth and effective way for celebrities to connect with their fans.

Jiang Bai racked his brains to make sure that "A Love So Beautiful" would be a hit from the very beginning, even more so than in the original timeline.

Success or failure hinges on this!