Bai Lu got scammed, but I became a superstar through e-commerce.

The co-creation meetings continued for several days in a row, and Yu Zheng pushed the projector remote control to the side.

"President Qing, let's first take stock of the market to get a general idea before deciding on our own."

He had his assistant project a page of market data onto the screen.

"In 2013, the total investment in the entire micro-film and web series market was approximately 30 billion yuan."

Yu Zheng tapped the screen with the remote control.

"It seems like a lot, but that's for the entire industry. When it comes to a single film, the production cost of a micro-film ranges from a few hundred yuan to thirty or fifty thousand yuan. Students can shoot one with a DV camera for five hundred yuan. Professional teams can produce brand-customized dramas for fifty to two hundred thousand yuan. The largest single investment in the industry was the Blooming Project, a joint project between Shaanxi TV and UMG Media, which cost 3000 million yuan. Each micro-film was worth about 300 million yuan, but that's already the ceiling."

He turned to a page of data.

"In terms of returns, Guan Xiaojie's 'Public Enemy of Women' garnered over 5 million views in 25 days after its release, with a net profit of nearly 300 million yuan per film, but that's extremely rare. Most micro-films on the market still rely on brand placement to survive, and the pay-per-view model is still being explored, with very few netizens willing to pay to watch."

"The threshold for online movies is getting higher now." Yu Zheng put down the remote control and glanced at both sides of the long table.

"When iQiyi launched its online cinema in 2013, the highest revenue share for its first online film was only around 10 yuan. But what does this show? It shows that the market was just starting out, and whoever secured a position first would become the benchmark."

At this point, Yu Zheng started to put on airs: "Such a small market doesn't really hold much appeal for us. So, President Qing, this online movie is just to accompany you on your tour."

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Yu. I will always remember it."

Qingxiao smiled and nodded.

He knew better than anyone else what the course would lead to.

In a few years, there will be more and more online movies with revenue sharing of over one million or ten million yuan, and it will not be uncommon for projects with investments of over ten million yuan to be produced. In fact, the returns will be much higher than those of many theatrical films.

But he couldn't say these things aloud; he just sat quietly among the investors and listened.

"Alright, everyone understands the market situation." Yu Zheng turned off the projector, sat back in the main seat, and opened the budget sheet in front of him. "Let's finalize the deal."

Mr. Zhou from Huaxia Vision rolled up his shirt sleeves halfway: "I've read the script that Mr. Qing brought in, and I trust the project organized by Teacher Yu. 2 million is enough to shoot an online movie in 2013. Most micro-movies on the market only cost 30,000 to 50,000, so 2 million is already a mid-to-high standard."

He put down his teacup and leaned back in his chair.

"It's all small change; we don't need just enough. If we're going to set a benchmark, we should set it the highest possible."

After he finished speaking, he pointed a finger at the table.

"I'll invest 200 million. It's just a small online film, something to have fun and have some fun."

Sun, the director of Mango TV, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and chuckled: "Mango's sub-platform just tested the short video ecosystem last month. I'm also thinking about how to integrate dynamic visual content with the main site's traffic. I'll contribute 100 million."

Brother Chen was the last to speak. He put down his strong teacup, pressed his thumb on the rim, and paused for a moment: "In 2013, a total investment of over 400 million yuan for an online film was considered one of the largest investments in the industry. Today, there are three investors sitting at this table, plus President Qing and Teacher Yu, bringing the total to 600 million yuan, which is the ceiling in the online film industry."

He looked at Qing Xiao, then changed the subject: "President Qing, your script is the core, and Chen Yu's directing style is also on point. But with so much money, we can't just focus on special effects. How to choose the scenes and how to control the post-production—I've worked in this area at Asia Pacific for most of my life. I'll put in 100 million and send in an executive director to oversee the action and emotions, helping Director Chen with the post-production pace."

Qingxiao silently did the math in his head: 200 million for President Zhou, 100 million for President Sun, 100 million for Brother Chen, and 200 million for himself, totaling 600 million. In 2013, a 600 million investment in an online film was already one of the largest single investments in this sector.

With that in mind, Qingxiao said, "I'll provide the script, I'll act in the male lead role, and I'll provide 200 million yuan in funding. The return on investment for online films is indeed small, but I value its future prospects."

Yu Zheng shouted "OK," and then continued, "President Zhou, 200 million; President Sun, 100 million; Brother Chen, 100 million; President Qing, 200 million—total 600 million. Meanwhile, Tianmen Films will provide the script copyright and the male lead's performance contribution, which, according to industry practice, will be converted into creative equity. The online script copyright is valued at approximately 15, and the performance contribution is valued at approximately 30."

Yu Zheng opened the investment rights allocation plan in front of him, unscrewed the pen cap, and wrote a few strokes on the paper.

"After comprehensive accounting, Tianmen Film & Television accounts for 32%, Huanyu Film & Television for 28%, Huaxia Audiovisual for 18%, Mango TV and Asia Pacific Pictures each for 6%, and the remainder is retained. Does anyone have any objections?"

Qingxiao listened to the number without any extra expression. 32% was not low in the investment circle in 2013. But he didn't say anything.

"It's all just a couple million, so the percentage doesn't matter. Let it be."

Several investors completely ignored the fact that compared to their multi-million dollar investments in their star-studded TV dramas, one or two million dollars was indeed insignificant.

After the investment structure was finalized, Yu Zheng handed the projector remote control to Chen Yu.

Chen Yu stood up and pulled out the scene he had drawn for the short film.

A comparison image popped up on the screen: the scene in the short film version of 2012 where Qingxiao was pushed into the water was filmed on the banks of a small river near the University Town of Xiasha in Hangzhou. The banks were made of cement embankment, and you could see the air conditioner units hanging on the residential buildings in the background. You could also see that the sun was too strong on the day of filming and the water level was very low. When Qingxiao was pushed in, his pants were covered with mud from the bottom of the river.

"We went through three rounds of color grading and image cropping in post-production to make the scene less jarring."

He switched to the next photo, a set of photos taken for location scouting for a new online movie: the Republican-era mansions on Yihe Road in Nanjing, with plane tree leaves carpeting the entire street; the tree-lined tunnel on Wukang Road, with sunlight filtering through the leaves; and Qin Lake in the West Zhejiang Grand Canyon, its water a deep blue, its banks lined with primeval forests, the autumn maple leaves a vibrant red.

"The scene where they push someone into the water was moved from the concrete dam to here. This scene alone was used as the teaser trailer. No special effects or color grading were needed. The first shot that viewers see when they open the video will tell them that this is not a budget-friendly film."

Chen Yu turned the photo to the next page, and a set of landscape photos of abandoned railway tracks popped up on the screen: the tracks were covered with knee-high weeds, the signal lights were rusted to an iron red, and the sleepers had weathered and cracked.

"The place where Lin Xiao and Gu Nian had their last date, a place that no train ever passes through again."

Yu Zheng leaned back in his chair and asked, "How do you usually handle scenes in low-budget films?"

"A low-budget online movie can shoot a single campus scene from the first act to the last, using three interior sets—classroom, cafeteria, and dormitory—back and forth, while the exterior set is just the street in front of the school. Viewers can tell from the first few tens of minutes that it wasn't made on a budget."

The scene shows Chen Yu returning to Qin Lake.

"Our 600 million film is different. For the exterior shots, we used recognizable landmarks: the Republican-era feel of the Nanjing mansions, the pristine deep blue of Qin Lake, the desolate atmosphere of the abandoned railway tracks—every frame carries its own story. For the interior shots, we rented and renovated an old-style family compound, with paulownia trees outside the windows and calendars hanging on the kitchen walls—the environment where Lin Xiao grew up. Every frame helps the audience enter the story. What distinguishes us from big-budget online films?"

"Viewers aren't stupid. When they open iQiyi, they can tell whether the production team has put effort into the sets. Word-of-mouth and solid quality are more effective than any promotional materials."