Entertainment from Divorce

In April, the chill of winter completely faded from Beijing. The spring breeze, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, swept across the square in front of the Brilliant Entertainment headquarters building, causing the new green on the lawn to ripple in layers, like a soft green carpet being spread out.

In the top-floor office, the sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting bright spots of light on Tan Yue's ebony desk.

"Knock, knock, knock—" Three soft knocks sounded on the door, and Lin Qingye's slightly reserved voice came from outside: "President Tan, is it convenient for you to come in?"

"Come in." Tan Yue raised his hand to rub his temples and looked away from the computer screen.

Lin Qingye stood at the door, holding a thick, dark brown folder. The cuffs of his dark casual suit were stained with small pieces of paper, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly the marks left by staying up all night polishing the script. But his eyes shone with a passionate light for creation, like a small flame burning within them.

Since deciding to switch to film in his office in March, Lin Qingye has practically made the screenwriting room his home. The script for "Time Ticks" has been revised five times, each version being more refined than the last. But he always says, "It's still missing the last breath; I haven't tightened the 'inheritance' spirit to the fullest extent."

"President Tan, this is the latest revised sixth edition of the script." Lin Qingye gently placed the folder on the table, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the slightly worn cover.

The cover was made of kraft paper, which he specially chose. It was written in pen that it read "Time Ticks" Sixth Edition. The handwriting was neat but showed signs of haste, indicating that he had repeatedly read and revised it over this period of time.

"I printed out the previous versions yesterday to compare, but I still feel that the ending is a bit lacking. I would like to ask you to take a look and give me some inspiration."

Tan Yue picked up the folder and pulled out the script inside.

The edges of the paper were slightly curled, and each page was annotated with different colored pens: red for marking camera angles, blue for revising dialogue, and black for adding details.

He turned to page twenty-three and his gaze fell on the newly added "Old Tools" section.

While tidying up the shop's attic, old watchmaker Master Zhao discovered a mahogany toolbox left by his father. When he opened it, the brass tools inside gleamed with an old sheen. The two characters "Zhao Shi" engraved on the tool handles were specially bolded, and next to them was a small note: "Close-up: The wood grain and engraving on the tool handles. Light shines obliquely in from the attic skylight, and dust floats in the light, highlighting the sense of time."

Turning the page further, in the segment where young Lin Xiaoyu helps Master Zhao film a short video, there is an additional detailed description: "The phone camera slowly zooms out from the watch face, through the glass door of the watch shop, reflecting the shared bicycles and neon signs on the street. The wooden signboard of the old shop looks like a piece of warm, old jade in the modern street scene."

"This detail is well added." Tan Yue pointed to the section on "old tools," his tone full of appreciation. He lightly tapped the annotation on the paper, "Through the 'Zhao family' inscription on the tools, it subtly reveals the background of the three generations of the Zhao family's watch shop, and also foreshadows the conflict between Master Zhao and his father."

Hearing the affirmation, Lin Qingye's tense shoulders visibly relaxed a bit. He subconsciously pulled a crumpled notebook from his pocket, but didn't open it. He just held the edge of the notebook, his brow still furrowed: "But I always feel that the ending isn't powerful enough. The current ending is 'The old watch shop's online orders are slowly increasing, the boy comes to help on weekends, Master Zhao sits behind the counter repairing watches, and the sunlight falls on the two of them.' Although it's heartwarming, it's too 'flat,' and there's no 'hook' that the audience can remember after watching it."

“I tried three directions for modification: the first was to add a scene where Master Zhao receives an overseas order, but I felt that was too commercial; the second was to have the boy win a national watch repair competition, but that was too deliberate and sentimental; the third was to leave it as it is now, but I felt that it did not bring out the theme of ‘inheritance’.”

Tan Yue nodded, turned to the last few pages of the script, and tapped his fingers lightly on the paper, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound: "The reason you feel it's 'flat' is because the ending only explains the 'outcome of the event' but doesn't delve into the 'emotional impact.' Think about it, the core of this film is 'mutual inheritance.'"

He paused, looking at Lin Qingye's earnest expression as he leaned closer, and continued, "For example, we could add a 'cross-temporal echo' detail at the end. When Master Zhao was sorting through his father's old toolbox, he found a yellowed black-and-white photograph in a hidden compartment."

Tan Yue explained, “The photo shows the father and grandfather when they were young, standing in front of a watch shop. The grandfather is holding a newly repaired pocket watch, and the father's shoulder is against the grandfather's arm, smiling shyly. At the same time, the boy is sorting through his grandfather's belongings and finds a color photo in an old leather suitcase. The two photos are separated by decades, but both are taken in a watch shop and both contain the 'pocket watch' as ​​a keepsake. This not only echoes the theme of 'inheritance', but also makes the audience feel a pang of emotion, thinking of old objects and old photos in their own homes, creating an emotional resonance.”

Lin Qingye's eyes lit up instantly, as if a fog had been lifted from them. He quickly flipped open his crumpled notebook, took out a pen, and scribbled rapidly, the sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper exceptionally clear: "You're right! I've been focusing on the 'matter' all along, but I've forgotten about the 'emotion.' Using photos as a medium is both effortless and allows us to fully express the 'inheritance'."

"That's the idea." Tan Yue nodded with a smile, turning to the last page of the script. "A good ending isn't 'the story ends,' but 'the story continues,' leaving the audience with something to ponder and reflect on their own lives."

The two then discussed the script's pacing and cinematic language for nearly an hour.

From the length of the shot when Master Zhao is oiling the pocket watch to the sound design of the boy knocking over the toolbox when he repairs the watch for the first time, every detail has been carefully considered.

Lin Qingye's notebook was filled with dense annotations. Occasionally, he would stop and ask a question: "President Tan, do you think it's too straightforward to use 'repairing the old pocket watch left by his father' as the turning point in the scene where Master Zhao reconciles with his father?"

Tan Yue patiently explained: "It's not straightforward because the pocket watch is a 'token of affection,' and the process of repairing the watch is the process of him reconciling with his father. The audience can understand this subtlety."

As they talked, the confusion in Lin Qingye's eyes gradually faded, replaced by an increasingly determined light, and even his voice became more confident than when he arrived.

"Thank you, Mr. Tan! Now I have a clearer understanding of things and I can revise it as soon as I get back." Lin Qingye closed his notebook, carefully put it into his briefcase, and said with great enthusiasm, "I plan to work overtime this weekend to polish the details of the ending, and I'll show you the revised draft next Monday. If all goes well, we can have the final version of the script by early May, and then we can start casting."

"Okay, I'll wait for your revised draft." Tan Yue saw him to the office door, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't rush. Polishing the script is the key. The team can do the preliminary work on casting and location scouting first. You should focus your main energy on the script. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Zheng Tong."

Watching Lin Qingye's hurried departure.

He walked quickly, clutching his briefcase tightly, as if afraid of wasting even a second of time revising the script.

Tan Yue returned to his desk, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. The warm tea slid down his throat, the delicate fragrance of Longjing tea spreading in his mouth. He recalled the gleam in Lin Qingye's eyes earlier.

I had just put down my teacup when the knocking started again, this time more urgent than before.

The door was pushed open, and Wei Yu, the music department director, walked in.

He was wearing a well-fitting black suit, his tie was tied meticulously, and he was holding a thick blue report in his hands. However, his face lacked the ease he usually showed when giving reports. His brows were furrowed into a deep frown, and even his steps were heavier than usual.

"President Tan, this is the music department's first quarter report." Wei Yu gently placed the report on the table, his finger repeatedly sliding across the "revenue data" page, his tone somewhat heavy. "The overall situation isn't bad, but it's not good either—three singles were released in the first quarter. 'Evening Breeze Confession' and 'Letter from the Galaxy' both entered the top 20 on music platform charts, reaching as high as number 14, but none of them managed to stay in the top ten, let alone become a hit; the two new singers we signed, Su Xiao and Lin Chen, haven't received enough exposure."

Tan Yue picked up the report and carefully read through it.

In the data table, the red downward arrows are particularly eye-catching: the music department's revenue in the first quarter was flat year-on-year, but decreased by 12% quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to the lack of hit works to drive the sales of digital albums and peripheral products; the commercial performance fees of new singers are only 60% of the industry average, and although Su Xiao's single has exceeded 100 million plays, the paid conversion rate is only 8%, far below the industry average of 15%.

He already knew about these situations through the monthly departmental reports, but hearing Wei Yu report in person and seeing the anxiety in his eyes, he could better understand the predicament of the music department.

“I know the situation.” Tan Yue put down the report, leaned forward slightly, and spoke calmly but with a reassuring tone. “I have been keeping an eye on the music department’s activities and have also talked with the heads of several music platforms. The melodies and lyrics of the singles you have released are of good quality. For example, the guitar intro of ‘Evening Breeze Confession’ is very catchy, and the lyrics of ‘Letter from the Milky Way’ are very evocative. But the problem is that they lack differentiation.”

Wei Yu nodded, took out a pen from his pocket, circled a line on the report, and said with an expression of agreement, "You're right, we've also realized these problems. Some time ago, I led a team to South Korea to talk to a producer, hoping to collaborate on a dance music single, but their quote was too high. The production cost for a single was eight million, which exceeded our budget."

"Later, we wanted to collaborate with the program department to reserve guest seats for Su Xiao and Lin Chen in 'The New Generation Singers,' but we were worried that the program's resources would be too concentrated on the contestants, and their screen time would be short, which would not be effective. Now we are stuck in the middle. If we move forward, we are afraid of exceeding the budget, and if we retreat, we are afraid of being left behind by the market. We don't know which direction to break through."

"Don't rush, now is not the time to be anxious, we need to find a breakthrough." Tan Yue stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked at the endless stream of cars below.

"The music department is an important part of the company and cannot fall behind. Brilliant Entertainment aims to become a world-class entertainment company, and it cannot function without the music piece."

“I’m already thinking of solutions. On one hand, I will coordinate with the finance department to increase the production budget for the music department by 20% to support your collaboration with high-quality producers, but we don’t have to limit ourselves to overseas. There are many talented but undiscovered independent producers in China. On the other hand, I will communicate with Xu Nuo to enable the music department and the program department to work together more deeply, not just as simple ‘guest appearances’.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Wei Yu's eyes, and he unconsciously leaned forward: "Really? If we can increase the budget and work more closely with the program department, we can freely try new directions!"

“Of course it’s true.” Tan Yue turned around, his tone certain. “But you also need to adjust your strategy—focus on Su Xiao first, clarify her positioning as a ‘lyrical storyteller,’ concentrate resources on her, and wait for her to break out of the circle before bringing Lin Chen along; the creation of singles should break out of the framework of ‘lyrical + electronic’ and combine it with the company’s film and television projects.”

"Okay! We'll hold a department meeting when we get back and adjust our strategy." Wei Yu's tone finally relaxed, and his brows unfurrowed. He picked up the report and carefully put it into his briefcase.

"You're welcome. This is necessary for the company's overall development." Tan Yue saw him to the door and instructed him, "Add a 'user research' section to the plan—find out what kind of songs Su Xiao's existing fans like, and combine that with market trends. Don't work in isolation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Ziyu."

After Wei Yu left, the office returned to silence.

Tan Yue leaned back in his leather chair, picked up his teacup and sipped slowly. The warm tea relaxed his tense nerves a little, but his thoughts gradually drifted away.

Brilliant Entertainment cannot become a world-class entertainment company by relying solely on its film division.

Film, television series, television programs, music, artist management, and new media—these six departments are like the six fingers of a person. Only when they are clenched together can they form a fist and have the strength to compete with international entertainment companies.

The film department is currently supported by projects such as "Time Ticks" and "The Road to Heaven," the television drama department has just signed a well-known screenwriter and is preparing to create a period drama, and the program department's "New Generation Singers" has entered the contestant recruitment stage. Only the music department is facing a bottleneck, and the artist management department also has hidden problems that must be resolved as soon as possible.

He took out his phone, opened the WeChat chat with Chen Ziyu, and quickly typed: "Are you free this afternoon? I'd like to talk to you about the budget adjustment for the music department and cross-departmental collaboration, and also take a look at the new talent plan for the artist management department."

Less than a minute after the message was sent, Chen Ziyu replied: "I'm free. I'll come to your office at 3 p.m. The artist management department just sent my new talent plan to my email. It mentioned Zhang Man, whose contract is about to expire, as well as information on several potential new talents. We can talk about how to retain Zhang Man and how to promote the new talents."

Putting down his phone, Tan Yue took out the company's organizational chart from the drawer and circled the names of the music department and artist management department with a red marker.

He got up, walked to the bookshelf, took out a blue-covered "Global Entertainment Industry Development Report," and turned to the "Cross-departmental Collaboration" chapter.

The above is the development plan that Tan Yue made for the company.

The development of Brilliant Entertainment Company cannot stop for a moment. (End of this chapter)