1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

When it's time to be greedy, one should be a little greedy; this is commonly known as daring to win.

If they were discussing a small-budget production like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Huo Sheng probably wouldn't have made this request.

But since he has already given away "The Great Era," he has to be a little greedy. He is not prepared to give away such a masterpiece that can be remembered for generations to come as a wedding dress for someone else.

Once he has such a successful work, he will officially enter the semi-closed television industry, and it will be much easier for him to work as a screenwriter at TVB or find another mentor in the future.

His reputation is now his only asset that can support him and even lead him to success. He must have it all, so much so that no one can say anything or question it.

Lau Ching-wan, who had been quietly playing the background role, was slightly surprised.

Although he had always known that Huo Sheng was an unconventional young man, in his eight years in the industry, he had never seen a newcomer make such demands right from the start.

Before he could even offer a word of reminder, Wai Ka-fai had already hesitantly spoken:

"Mr. Huo, you may not be familiar with the production process of TV series. It's unlikely that a production team can only have one lead writer. After all, the story is quite long. Can you write it all by yourself?"

After he finished questioning, fearing that Huo Sheng might misunderstand his sincerity, he quickly added, "Of course, you will definitely be the chief creative writer after the team is formed, but if there are no other creative writers writing together..."

Hong Kong television dramas have a long history of production, and it's long past the days when a three-line script was enough to start filming. Back then, television dramas were crudely made, filmed like sketches, and relied entirely on improvisation.

After so many years of development, TVB's film and television production division of labor has become very clear. For screenwriting alone, there are script editors, chief creative officers, main storyline creators, episode creators, dialogue writers, script assistants...

For example, in a 20-episode drama, the script editor is responsible for setting the overall structure and pacing; the chief creator is responsible for writing the outline, setting the tone for the first two episodes, ensuring that the plot of the tenth and eleventh episodes doesn't go astray, and ensuring that the entire story expresses the intended meaning in the twentieth and thirtieth episodes; and then the remaining episodes are the responsibility of the episode creators.

For those who want to be even more meticulous, there are dedicated scriptwriters who meticulously craft each line of dialogue, adding the finishing touches to each line.

Wai Ka-fai has been in the industry for ten years. He started as a screenwriter's assistant and worked his way up to a regular screenwriter, a key creative, and now a producer. I've never seen anyone want to take on all the creation of a TV series by themselves.

It's important to know that nowadays, no TVB production team has fewer than three main creative and writing staff members.

"Mr. Huo," Wei Jiahui sat forward, his tone still gentle, "being the sole chief screenwriter means that you will be responsible for independently breaking down the outline into thirty or even forty episodes of scene scripts, and each episode must have its own independent structure, while also serving the overall theme."

You need to design a complete character development arc for each main character, ensuring that their transformations are reasonable and powerful over dozens of episodes... Can you do all that?

Wai Ka-fai doesn't care whether parachuting in as a lead actor breaks the rules; if Huo Sheng wants, he can even give him the position of assistant producer.

Now, his biggest concern is whether this arrangement will affect the filming of "The Greed of Man," which is the most important thing.

Huo Sheng understood his concerns, but insisted: "Producer Wei, this is my only request."

He didn't care about rank or salary. Once he was on set, even if he didn't want to eat, Wai Ka-fai would make sure he was well-fed.

What he cares about is the future—he needs this opportunity to make a name for himself, to write his own scripts and create ratings buzz.

Especially in a place like TVB where you are unfamiliar with the place and the factions are complicated, what if the other main creators and screenwriters are veterans and they compete with you for the results?

Maybe not, but given the chance of things going smoothly, it's always better to be cautious.

As for the workload, Huo Sheng wasn't too worried. The entire TV series was already filmed and in his mind, so putting it into practice on paper wouldn't be difficult.

Could it be that you can copy the answers to a thesis proposal exam all the way to Siberia?

He was quite confident, and his words were forceful: "I already have a complete vision for the filming effect of this story from beginning to end. My role in ensuring that the soul of the entire film runs through the whole process is the best way to prevent the work from deviating from its core during the long production process."

"..."

He insisted on this point, and Wai Ka-fai was somewhat at a loss for words.

He felt that Huo Sheng was talented and insightful, and that "The Great Era" was very much to his liking, much better than the science fiction theme he had originally prepared—which he was not very optimistic about and planned to polish while looking for other works.

Huo Sheng certainly has potential, but his request is quite perplexing. He was trying to come up with a solution, but he kept the script firmly in his grasp.

"Okay," Wai Ka-fai finally spoke after a long pause, "I can agree to that. But in the initial stages of the project, I will arrange for a very experienced senior editor to partner with you. You will lead the initial character biographies, episode outlines, and theme positioning, with him assisting."

"no problem."

"but……"

Wai Ka-fai lowered his eyelids and hesitated, saying, "What if you fall short in your role as the lead screenwriter..."

Doing the work of four or five people is just too exaggerated. Writing a script isn't about simply making things up based on what you already know; just imagining the plot takes up a lot of brain cells...

"I have no objection to finding another lead writer and screenwriter." Huo Sheng wasn't an unreasonable person; he was sure he could write it anyway.

"good!"

Wei Jiahui felt this method was very prudent, as it both gave Huo Sheng a promise and provided an insurance policy for the project.

A smile returned to his face as he stood up and extended his hand: "It would be a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Huo."

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Huo Sheng grasped his hand.

"I will immediately begin preparing the plan for filming 'The Greed of Man' and strive to set up the crew as soon as possible." With the collaboration already finalized, Wai Ka-fai immediately entered workaholic mode and couldn't wait to participate in the competition for the anniversary month.

No one wanted to see the final product more than him.

He couldn't help but look at Huo Sheng, wondering if there was anything else he wanted to say. If there was nothing else, he wanted to get to work immediately.

Huo Sheng immediately understood. Not wanting to stay and disturb his train of thought, he stood up to say goodbye, "Then that's all for now, I won't take up any more of your time."

Wei Jiahui nodded, then turned and asked, "Qingyun, could you please take Huo Sheng to the personnel department downstairs? I'll call them."

"OK."

Lau Ching-wan smiled, turned around, bowed slightly, and gestured for them to proceed.

"Ah Sheng, let's go, I'll take you to sign the contract."