Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 872 Animation production cannot stop!
Three days later, reporters from CCTV came.

Zhou Mo finished filming in the morning and went to have lunch with the reporters at noon.

After a conversation at the dinner table and a general understanding of what to ask and what to say, we immediately started preparing for the interview in the afternoon.

Soon, it was five o'clock in the afternoon.

Zhou Mo and the reporters were all ready, waiting for the signal from the filming side.

"Okay, let's begin."

The two men quickly straightened their bodies, and after the reporter finished his polite words, they brought the interview to the main topic in just a few words.

"I've seen a lot of people talking about the rise of Chinese animation recently. It just so happens that we have achieved quite good results in the animation market this year. Nezha 1 has directly ranked second in the domestic box office, and the animation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms has also received billions of views. How do you raise this issue?"

Zhou Mo thought about his words for a while, then slowly spoke:
"Chinese animation is a relatively complex industry, involving artists, investment, production, publicity, broadcasting and many other links. The release of only one or two successful works cannot be considered the rise of the industry."

"Then what aspects do you think need to be improved or enhanced if my country's animation industry wants to rise?"

"To be honest, if we want to rise, we do need to do a lot of things. There are not enough artists, no one to invest, the market is not enough, etc...."

The interviewer was stunned and couldn't help asking, "How can there be a shortage of market? Countries like Sakura and Kimchi have populations that are far less than one-tenth of ours, but they can still have very large markets. With a population of more than one billion, the market should only be larger."

Zhou Mo nodded slightly, acknowledging the correctness of the host's words, but that they were not comprehensive enough.

“We do have a large population, but very few people actually watch anime or comics.

The older generation doesn’t watch these works. Young people, such as those born after 00, are more likely to play games or watch short videos.

The main group of people who really go back to read comics are actually those born in the 80s and some born in the 90s, but these people are basically middle-aged now and have begun to challenge life tasks, so it is difficult for them to spare enough time to read comics. "

The host understood what Zhou Mo meant and inferred, "So, Director Zhou, you think the Chinese comics market may not be able to develop."

"It can't be said that it can't develop, but it can't develop to the level of Sakura and the United States in the short term." Zhou Mo explained his thoughts: "The comics industry is not a traditional industrial field. It doesn't mean that as long as society develops, this industry will definitely be born.

The comics industry and the birth of the animation field are more special products of a special era.

Take Sakura for example. Their comics industry experienced rapid development in the 80s and 90s. At that time, the economic crisis had just begun, the cultural and entertainment industry was on the rise, and various entertainment themes were rapidly established.

But at the same time, because the level of technology has not yet entered the digital age, truly high-end entertainment themes, such as film and television dramas, game consoles, etc. are not yet developed enough.

In this way, the comics industry was able to expand rapidly and eventually developed into a very large system.

In our country, the entertainment industry really began to develop in 05, or even 10 years later, when electronic digital technology had become popular and the era of handheld game consoles had arrived.

There was actually no soil for rapid development of comic-based entertainment in China at the time, and it was replaced by online literature, movies, and TV series.

Therefore, this is not a situation that can be changed by hard work, but rather a different entertainment model developed by society in different eras.

But this does not mean that Chinese comics cannot produce good works. In fact, "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf", "Nezha", "Boonie Bears", and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" can all be regarded as good products. "

Zhou Mo made it very clear that it is basically impossible to develop the domestic animation industry to the level of Sakura or the United States. The era has passed.

But there is absolutely no problem if you work hard and create more good works.

Even because the animation market is not developed enough, these good works can even receive higher evaluations and profits.

The host continued to ask: "What do you think of the idea of ​​reflecting more traditional Chinese cultural elements in animation works?"

“I think this sentence is a very natural and logical thing.

We are born under the influence of national culture and traditional culture, so when we do things, we naturally show the style corresponding to this traditional culture.

In cultural creation, many creators in our country will subconsciously use objects, images, characters, and creatures with traditional cultural symbols, such as dragons. This is definitely not common in the creation of the United States.

If I ask you to name a hero in a literary work, what is your first reaction? Sun Wukong, right? Other countries, such as Europe and the United States, definitely don't have that.

For example, if I ask you to imagine the image of an ancient palace, would you think of pavilions and towers, or a Gothic castle?
So I think that traditional cultural elements in artistic creation should be left to nature. When creators are creating, they will naturally go back to find relevant materials to fill their works…”

Half an hour later, the interview ended.

The host stood up with a smile on his face and shook hands with Zhou Mo.

The quality of today's interview exceeded his expectations.

Zhou Mo's answers were very rich. Basically, as long as it was a question he asked, he would more or less give some personal understanding, and it was not the kind of official jargon.

"Director Zhou, after listening to your interview today, I have a lot of new insights into the cultural creation industry. I discovered some good works that I didn't even know about before."

At the dinner table, the host took the lead in greeting Zhou Mo.

The host was born in the 1980s. When he was growing up, the popularity of martial arts novels declined, while Hong Kong comics began to rise.

He started reading Hong Kong comics. After Hong Kong comics declined, he started reading Sakura comics. He continued reading until the rise of personal computers in the 2000s. More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, I also followed Chinese cartoons, but only a few of them had outstanding plots, painting skills, or settings. Overall, they could not compare with Sakura cartoons.

Now that he is almost 40, he basically has no time to read comics, but he still hopes that there will be more good works in the Chinese comic industry.

His thoughts are actually a microcosm of people of his age.

Zhou Mo smiled and said, "In China, it's mainly a market issue. As for painters, there are still many very good teachers."

The host asked again: "Does Shanhe Company have any new plans after "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?"

Zhou Mo said "hmm" and nodded.

There are new plans, of course.

He hired a number of small animation production teams, and of course he would not be satisfied with just "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

He just spent a lot of time thinking about the subject matter and content of his new works.

For history, an animated version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is enough.

If we shoot other historical works, there won't be that many potential audiences, and they are not like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" which is based on famous works and is both exciting and exquisite.

If history isn’t your thing, you can only consider other classics.

"Water Margin" and "Dream of Red Mansions" are not considered.

Zhou Mo himself has no interest in these two works, not to mention that they are not as famous as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

After much thought, he finally set his target on the monkey.

Brother Monkey.

Monkey brother.

When you are undecided, you can always choose him.

"Then can I ask, what is the direction of Shanhe Company's next work?"

"Mythology series." "Journey to the West." The host blurted out these four words.

Zhou Mo nodded slightly.

The host was even happier when he confirmed that Zhou Mo was going to film Journey to the West.

The first domestic animation he remembers was "Journey to the West" produced in 99.

The two songs from the cartoon, "Monkey Brother, Monkey Brother, You Are Incredible" and "White Dragon Horse, Its Hooves Facing West", are still two of the most profound songs in his memory.

"That's great. There are many animations related to Journey to the West in China, but there are only one or two that have a complete beginning and an end. The rest of the main programs either only shoot a small part of the plot or are fan works of Journey to the West. A complete animation of Journey to the West is likely to be more popular than Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

"Then let me lend you some good words."

After the two clinked their glasses again, the host asked again, "Has Director Zhou ever thought about making a mythological work other than Journey to the West?"

Zhou Mo was stunned and didn't react.

"what?"

"It's Investiture of the Gods, a mythological system with a more grand worldview than Journey to the West." The host expressed his thoughts.

Investiture of the Gods?
Zhou Mo pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head.

"What can I say about Investiture of the Gods? As a mythological novel, its worldview is indeed quite grand, but the character descriptions and some of the so-called calculations in it are a bit too... uncool."

As a novel that appeared in the Ming Dynasty, many characters in "The Investiture of the Gods" have evolved over hundreds of years and have changed greatly in the eyes of modern people.

Take Tongtian Jiaozhu for example, what is the current impression of Tongtian Jiaozhu on the Internet?
He is upright, protective of his people, and would rather die with honor than live in disgrace. He is powerful in combat and dares to fight 1v many. All those below him are ants.

But in "The Investiture of the Gods", the image of this leader is more brainless and reckless, and he has failed in battles with many characters.

(Tongtian's status in the original novel is far less than that on the Internet now. He was beaten by Laozi with a walking stick, by Zhunti with a blessing pestle, by Randeng with a Dinghai Pearl, and by Yuanshi. In a one-on-one duel, Jieyin and Zhunti used magic weapons to defend against him, and he was not allowed to get close...)
The host actually seemed to agree with Zhou Mo's views on "Investiture of the Gods", but his original intention was not "Investiture of the Gods", but a re-creation based on "Investiture of the Gods".

"If the quality is not high enough, you can change the plot and the characters!

I don’t know if Director Zhou has heard of a genre of online novels nowadays, the Honghuang genre.

The content is to connect the classical myths such as "The Investiture of the Gods" and "Journey to the West" and retell these stories with more logical, character images and cool words. "

Zhou Mo raised his eyebrows and understood what the host meant.

"You mean the school founded by Shen Ji?"

"Yeah!"

Hearing the familiar name suddenly, the host became more excited: "I didn't expect that Director Zhou also reads online novels. I'm talking about Shen Ji's Honghuang style. His novel started a good start. Later, many people added bricks and tiles to the foundation of this school..."

Zhou Mo listened patiently to the host's introduction of the plot without interrupting.

Until he finished speaking, he asked a question:
"Teacher Li, since you know the Honghuang style, how many episodes do you think it would take to make this work into an animation?"

Suddenly, the host was stuck.

Zhou Mo's question was very incisive and stumped him immediately.

Even "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was produced with 100 episodes, so "Journey to the West" must be no less than 100 episodes, at least.

So how many episodes will it take to shoot "Hong Huang", which has a larger plot than "Journey to the West"?

"Director Zhou, how long did it take your company to produce Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

“If you don’t count the formation of the team, it took less than a year and a half.”

hiss.

One and a half years.

The host gasped.

“That takes much longer than making a movie.”

"Yes, and one and a half years is already the fastest speed. If we want to go faster, the cost will be out of control and the quality will also decline."

"It seems that the production of Honghuang style is indeed unlikely." The host said with a little regret.

But he changed his mind and thought that even without the ancient history, Journey to the West was enough to satisfy him.

"Even waiting for Journey to the West will take more than a year, which is really torture."

"That's not necessarily true."

Zhou Mo shook his head.

"Huh? What do you say?"

"In the production of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, our company's team has learned some lessons. When we produce Journey to the West, we should produce part of it and release part of it..."

Zhou Mo explained the situation to the host. This information and plan will be included in the interview in the future and become a promotional resource for "Journey to the West".

……

After the CCTV interview, the filming of "Three Kingdoms" was finally free of interruptions.

Time quickly came to early November.

The "Wei Kingdom" chapter of "The Three Kingdoms" has finally entered the final stage of filming.

After the Battle of Guandu, it took Cao Cao several more years to completely eliminate Yuan Shao's children.

This year, he was fifty-three years old.

Confucius said, "At thirty, one is established; at forty, one has no doubts; at fifty, one knows the will of Heaven."

He is already past the age of 50 and is a real old man. It is hard to say when his life will come to an end.

Therefore, he accelerated his pace to unify the world.

In the 207th year of Jian'an ( AD), Cao Cao defeated the Wuhuan, killed Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi and others, and completely pacified the north.

The following year, he led his army to attack Liu Biao in Jingzhou.

At that time, Liu Biao had died and his son Liu succeeded him.

Liu Cong believed that he could not withstand Cao Cao's attack, so he immediately led the people of Jingzhou to surrender to Cao Cao.

The recovery of Jingzhou was so smooth that Cao Cao gained great confidence in his pace of unifying the world.

So he waved his hand again and led his troops south.

He wants to succeed in one go!
(End of this chapter)