I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Therefore, some film companies have learned to explore the stories of supporting characters and create sequels for popular supporting characters. This allows them to capitalize on the popularity of the original work without wasting the characters too quickly. Sometimes, the spin-offs are even more popular than the main series, and the supporting characters become the main characters.

Later on, many production companies simply produced individual films for each member of the main cast, or even released individual films first, followed by films featuring the entire cast, which led to the concept of a cinematic universe.

The advantage is that different roles cater to different audiences, and the addition of a solo film also helps in character development. Compared to adding more screen time to a hodgepodge of characters, a full solo film is obviously more appropriate.

"But even though I acted in all my videos and movies myself, the supporting actors all died, and the ones I can't find are nowhere to be found..."

Lu Ban pondered.

Moreover, the ruins, wastelands, and the Kingdom of Night all have different appearances and customs, so it would be a stretch to say they belong to the same world.

Moreover, it seems that the number of followers did not include Lu Ban's own account, meaning that he needs to create a new account?

Lu Ban glanced at it; the mission's deadline was three months.

That is, by February next year, after the Chinese New Year, Lu Ban's new account will reach ten million followers.

"That's a bit difficult."

He thought about it and decided to search for relevant information online first.

Chapter 196 Monster Encyclopedia

Lu Ban first searched for things related to IP, ecosystem, and worldview.

He saw this description on the well-known Q&A website, "Dongleme".

"Creating an IP closed loop and cinematic universe can form a huge information cocoon in the later stages, keeping the audience completely from paying attention to other similar products. With a sunk cost mentality, they try out products within the closed loop one by one, ultimately retaining users..."

Lu Ban didn't quite understand it, but he could grasp the general idea that if these things were made, everyone would be immersed in a series of movies that created a world, and wouldn't have time to watch anything else.

"It seems pretty impressive."

He then searched for how to build such a powerful system.

I saw that several video websites were doing it.

For example, the Aishouyi video website created a world view called the Homeland Project, inviting several famous writers to jointly create an ancient-style fantasy world. However, Lu Ban looked at the update time of this thing, and the last time it was updated was two years ago, so it seems to have died out.

There are other cultural and creative industries that are also doing similar things, but very few have succeeded.

Lu Ban immediately realized that it was very difficult.

"However, the task only requires attention, so I can just keep making empty promises to attract attention and get the attention going."

Lu Ban looked at the comments in "Do you understand?" and thought to himself.

He saw a crowdfunding game that claimed to have extremely high freedom and could create a realistic virtual world. It also had a well-known producer backing it up and raised hundreds of millions of yuan at the beginning. It had been able to raise money every year for the past few years. However, it seemed that the game itself had no intention of being released. Seeing the turmoil in the related investment share transactions, Lu Ban thought it was a Ponzi scheme.

Therefore, sometimes whether you can make money or raise funds has little to do with the actual business; as long as the pie is big enough, that's enough.

Lu Ban could even get halfway through making movies to start making cars, and he probably would get some investment.

Many students might think that these investors are stupid for spending money on projects with no return whatsoever.

In reality, the money invested by these investors is only a small part of their assets. If only one or two of the dozens of projects they invest in are profitable, they can recoup their entire investment. This is why people with capital tend to become richer and richer.

"I can't be so heartless."

Lu Ban has his own principles. His love for movies even led him to refuse to boost his own box office and clicks. How could he possibly use movies to cheat people out of money?

However, Lu Ban was somewhat troubled about how to take the first step.

He started searching for inspiration on his own again.

"...The Cry is a film that is well worth seeing in a movie theater. You can hardly experience the shock and fear brought by the big screen when you are on your own small screen, especially the suffocating feeling of sitting in the dark environment of a movie theater with hundreds of strangers. More importantly, for your safety, I also suggest that you watch it in a crowded place, so that you won't be too scared to get out of bed..."

"...The pre-sale box office for 'The Cry' has already exceeded 20 million yuan. As a film that won the gold medal at the Yannan University Student Film Festival, this movie is highly anticipated. Some believe that the unique atmosphere of the Yannan University Student Film Festival is what made the film so popular among university students. Once it enters the public eye, the film may face setbacks. For this reason, our reporter contacted..."

"...Lu Ban, as a director specializing in thriller and horror films, undoubtedly possesses considerable talent. However, his films also suffer from shortcomings such as a lack of depth, an overemphasis on thrills at the expense of humanistic values, and a flawed value orientation. Although I haven't seen 'The Cry' yet, I believe that an excellent director must combine content with emotion, unify thought with form, and create films that are inspiring and valuable..."

There are countless reviews about him and his films, and with the upcoming nationwide release, the discussions are becoming increasingly heated.

Lu Ban casually glanced at the comments, some praising him and others criticizing him, and suddenly noticed one.

[Summary of monsters that have appeared so far in the Lu Ban movie]

Clicking on it reveals screenshots of various videos featuring Lu Ban.

"...The doll lives under the bed, appears and disappears unpredictably, seems to be able to teleport, and its attitude towards humans is unknown..."

"...A pianist, appearing in the abandoned Jiangcheng Grand Theater, his entire body burned, playing frenzied music, and able to control mannequins to do things for him..."

"...Flying fish appeared in the grass of the ruins. They looked like ordinary fish, but were huge and could fly in mid-air..."

"...Rat-men appear in the grass of the ruins. They are humanoid with rat-like heads, possess a certain level of intelligence, and have a symbiotic relationship with flying fish..."

This post features a detailed illustration of all the monsters Lu Ban has encountered up to the point of "Hyakunin Isshu" (One Hundred Poets), along with the poster's speculations and descriptions of these monsters.

Looking back at these monsters, Lu Ban has to admit that some of them are actually quite cute.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I could actually use Quiet Place as a prototype to create a cinematic universe of these otherworldly realms?"

Lu Ban realized this too late.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban immediately began to sort out the things he had encountered, organizing and revising the details, and combining them with information obtained from the descriptions of some products in the [Silent Department Store], he quickly listed out the world background, monster information, and other details of the ruined capital.

"Many IP derivatives and cinematic universes are created for the sake of creating a worldview. They set a very large worldview from the beginning, which is similar to how superhero team movies suddenly introduce many unfamiliar heroes. To create a good cinematic universe, you have to carefully polish each work and increase the audience's sense of immersion through each work to achieve an immersive experience."

Lu Ban summarized himself.

He directly messaged Song Yunyan's secretary, Li Zijian, asking him to introduce him to a web design team. He then gave the team the information he had compiled and asked them to create an official website for him. Once the website was ready, Lu Ban could upload information about monsters and alien worlds to create an encyclopedia.

Subsequently, Lu Ban registered new accounts on Weibo and video websites, naming them "The Silent Project".

He plans to build a cinematic universe based on A Quiet Place, using it to complete his career development mission.

After doing all that, Lu Ban turned his gaze to the file named "Nameless City" in his computer folder.

Since we're going to do these things, we can't just make empty promises; we have to come up with something concrete.

Lu Ban plans to turn "The Nameless City" into a short film to promote his project.

Chapter 197 Premiere

From Lu Ban's perspective, although this trip was relatively long, there wasn't enough time to show the audience.

For example, the part where he talks about magic with Sia is quite important for Lu Ban to understand the Silent Land and the Night Kingdom, but when placed in the film, the audience will only feel that it is somewhat incoherent, and there are too many proper nouns, making it easy for him to be seen as a riddle teller.

The key point is the entire process of exploring the ruins.

If this were a pirate movie, Lu Ban thought it would definitely start with a scene of exploring other ruins and obtaining treasures, followed by a scene depicting each character's personality and lifestyle. Then, the villain would invite the protagonist to explore a certain ruin, and after the protagonist resolutely refuses, the villain would go there himself or kidnap someone close to the protagonist and force him. Once in the ruin, there would be another half hour showing the ecology of various strange monsters and the adventures of the exploration team. Finally, after entering the ruin and going through a series of actions, the protagonist would obtain the treasure, save his friends, and escape.

Unfortunately, Lu Ban's adventures weren't filled with many twists and turns; true happiness lies in the ordinary and uneventful.

He looked at the materials he had obtained.

The materials obtained from 80% mission exploration are naturally a bit rougher than those from a perfect rating, but Lu Ban felt it was enough.

At least the most terrifying parts have been preserved.

He estimated that the footage could be made into a short film of about twenty minutes, starting from when they got the map in the wasteland and prepared to explore the ruins, and ending with only Xia and Lu Ban surviving and leaving the ruins.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban stopped looking at the materials.

He opened a video file.

That picture shows the scene of him and Xia leaving.

However, even after the two left, the video progress bar was still more than halfway through.

He felt somewhat confused.

Dragging the progress bar, Lu Ban saw the starry sky fade away and dawn arrive.

Then, the sand on the ground suddenly rippled, and a black worm with a swollen abdomen crawled out of the sand, dragging its heavy body toward the ruins, leaving irregular tracks on the silver gravel.

"...He's still alive?"

Lu Ban was somewhat surprised.

He didn't know if this was the queen's true form, or if some of the insects, through constant infighting, had broken free of control and evolved into a new queen.

Now that the remains of the saint have disappeared, the new queen insect may not be able to reach the previous strength, but this strange vitality still makes Lu Ban feel somewhat horrified.

Moreover, who knows if this little bug has already remembered him, and if he goes to the wasteland again next time, this bug will chase after Lu Ban like a resentful woman.

"hiss--"

Thinking of this, Lu Ban gasped as the air suddenly turned very cold.

"Fortunately, I probably won't choose to go to the wasteland next, so I can escape this disaster for the time being."

He decided to use this segment as the end credits, leaving the audience in suspense.

In December, the weather in Wuhan turned very cold.

Making this short film is child's play for Lu Ban. He has independently produced theatrical films before. Would he really mess up with such a short film?

impossible.

His phone vibrated and a message popped up—it was the premiere schedule from the Film Association.

"The Crying" will be released in theaters nationwide at midnight tonight, December 25th, which is in line with the year-end release schedule. Theaters in Jiangcheng want to invite Lu Ban to a premiere.

Lu Ban did not refuse, after all, he still had to give face to the theaters. Moreover, he also planned to announce his new plan at the premiere to generate the most buzz.

The website is complete, and information from several foreign websites has been uploaded. It's just waiting to go live on time.

Lu Ban replied to the message, stood up, and went to the bathroom. Lu Ban in the mirror seemed a little cold and was shivering. Lu Ban washed his face with cold water to make himself feel more refreshed.

Back in the room, he glanced at the two wisps of steam on the bed, smiled, and didn't disturb their sleep.

With nothing else to do, Lu Ban briefly checked his [Last Words] speech bomb equipment.

Because of the evolution of the ability, the original five-round magazine is no longer up to par with the version, so Lu Ban has optimized it.

The ramblings of the great being are naturally preserved.

"Good Luck" will definitely be kept, but Lu Ban modified and upgraded it, and personally completed the recording.

This speech bomb can make the person hit by it dance an extremely embarrassing dance while singing "Good Luck," which shows its strong control ability.

The ultrasonic waves used for reconnaissance remained stationary, but the infrasound and stun grenades had been neutralized by Lu Ban.