Huayu: When the director changed his major

Chapter 23: Wan Wan (Wan Wan) Wraps Up

Hearing what his junior fellow apprentice said, Lu Fanxi thought for a moment and replied:

"This film is very captivating, with twists and turns every few minutes. The format is very novel, and while it may appear farce-like, it has its own core. However, the overall production is rather crude, and the beginning may put some people off."

After hearing Lu Fanxi's fairly fair evaluation, Cheng Xi and the other two felt that there was hope.

"Junior brother, can you let me see your budget sheet?" Lu Fanxi continued.

"Okay, brother, our budget is 8 per episode, and the total budget is 80."

Cheng Xi gave the budget sheet to Lu Fanxi and introduced it.

In fact, the real budget was more than 4 per episode, but Cheng Xi added the costs of the screenwriter, director, and leading actor, as well as some saved labor costs, to the budget table, achieving a budget of 8 per episode.

"I don't know if you've paid attention to the micro-film "Old Boy" produced by Youku these past two days. I was the one who led the project."

After reading the budget sheet, Lu Fanxi smiled slightly and continued:

"The first broadcast the day before yesterday received 30 hits, and yesterday it received 70 hits, but his cost was only 70 yuan."

When Cheng Xi and the other two heard this, they were shocked. Of course they could hear Lu Fanxi's subtext.

Our drama with 70 views has such a high number of hits, but your drama has 80 views, and in his mind it will definitely not be more popular than "Old Boy".

But Cheng Xi knew that "Wan Wan" was first broadcast on Youku. Although Cheng Xi didn't know the exact number of clicks, it was definitely phenomenal.

Even though it was broadcast more than two years earlier, the excellence of the drama "Wan Wan" is at least one level higher than "Old Boy".

Then Cheng Xi said:
"Brother Lu, how about we make a bet? I'm confident that the number of hits for 'Wan Wan' will surpass that of 'Old Boy'."

Lu Fanxi was an enterprising person. When he heard this, instead of looking unhappy, he became more energetic and looked at Cheng Xi again.

He said, "Junior brother, you are very confident and ambitious. Let me hear how you bet."

"Brother, what do you think the number of hits Old Boy will get per month based on the current situation?"

"A month is a bit long, and the number of clicks will gradually decline, but it shouldn't be less than 500 million."

Lu Fanxi thought about it and gave an estimated value.

At that time, if a micro-film had 100 million hits, it was considered good, and 500 million was considered a hit.

Bai Ke’s dubbing video on Youku became popular after it exceeded 100 million hits.

"Then we'll do it for a month. If the number of hits doesn't exceed Old Boy's, we won't take the money."

"But for every one million hits, you'll reward our team 100 yuan. How about that, brother? You're not going to lose out, are you?"

After listening to what Cheng Xi said, Lu Fanxi silently calculated in his heart that even if "Wanwan" became a huge hit, it would at most break 1000 million hits. If "Old Boy" had 500 million hits, then he would only need to pay 10 yuan.

What's more, he didn't think that the number of clicks on "Wanwan", which was composed entirely of new members, could exceed that of "Old Boy".

So he said, "Isn't this a bit of a loss for Junior Brother? Do you have any other conditions?"

Cheng Xi immediately took advantage of the situation and said with a smile:

"Brother, of course you have to offer a base price. We will sell you the online broadcasting rights for 'Wan Wan'. Otherwise, we will be making a net loss."

"What's the base price? 2 per episode?"

"4 per episode. After all, our cost is only 8 per episode."

"But we at Youku don't own the copyright, so I'm going to give my junior brother a favor and charge 2 yuan per episode. If it's more, my senior brother can't make the final decision.

"Also, now that we have a base price, the betting reward will be changed from 2 to 1. This will significantly reduce the cost and risk for both of us. How do you think?"

Cheng Xi and the other two looked at each other. 2 yuan per episode had already met their expectations.

Youku is really generous! What's more, there's a betting reward as an added bonus. Although it's difficult to achieve, what if?
In fact, the reason why Lu Fanxi was willing to purchase the online broadcasting rights for 2 per episode was because he saw the potential of short videos through "Old Boy". Moreover, the original content of "Wanwan" was really good and very much to his liking.

Cheng Xi finally proposed this plan by taking advantage of everyone's expectations for the drama "Wan Wan". After all, no one knew how popular this drama would be.

But Cheng Xi knew.

Even if "Wan Wan" was released a few years earlier, Cheng Xi's chances of winning the bet were not small.

The result is that both parties are satisfied.

Then everyone further refined the specific cooperation, such as the time for completion, capacity, broadcast time, specific details of payment, etc., and put them into the contract.

Finally, Lu Fanxi, Cheng Xi and the other three shook hands in turn and wished the filming of "Wan Wan" a smooth journey!
Cheng Xi and the other two returned to school and started their busy filming journey again.

After receiving the money, everyone felt a lot less stressed.

Cheng Xi was even busier with the filming at school.

In addition to requiring him to go and coordinate with his teacher for the venue, he also had to ask his classmates and seniors for help with the extras in the modern drama.

After all, every dollar saved now is money they earn.

As for the two leading actors Bai Ke and Reba, in addition to the basic salary, Cheng Xi and Yi Xiaoxing also gave them 5% of the profits of the show respectively.

That is to say, Cheng Xi's current profit share is 55%, Yi Xiaoxing 35%, Bai Ke and Reba 5% each; the copyright remains unchanged.

After all, this drama was created by everyone together, so there is no need to be so stingy.

As for Gao Chunyang, who we haven't seen for a while, he has also joined the crew. He plays the role that Kong Lianshun had previously played in reverse.

Either she is Wang Dachui’s childhood sweetheart or Wang Dachui’s Lezi’s mother.

At first, Gao Chunyang was reluctant. The 1.80-meter-tall tall man wore a pink skirt and refused to see anyone after putting on makeup for the first time.

In the end, Cheng Xi and a few of his roommates carried him out.

Dachun felt particularly depressed.

The director also praised him for his good acting, so he should keep this feeling.

Everyone burst out laughing.

There was also an interesting thing during this period. In a talent show with the most extras, Cheng Xi pulled all the classmates over to act as the audience.

The class was still going on at that time, and only a few class leaders had not left and stayed to answer everyone's questions.

When twenty people all gave the same answer, the result was that the old man was very angry.

Everyone was marked as late, and the report was reported to the counselor and the class teacher, who gave Cheng Xi a good scolding.

This is the case with Beijing Film Academy. They don’t have strict control over everyone and they encourage students to go out for more practice.

If it were the Central Academy of Drama, Cheng Xi might have been expelled.

The filming of the modern drama ended with everyone laughing and joking, and in the end Cheng Xi even got to indulge in his passion as a director.

Yi Xiaoxing knew that Cheng Xi had always wanted to be a director. These days, apart from working hard on the crew, he was also learning from him.

Yi Xiaoxing is very optimistic about this hardworking and smart young man.

So, let him direct the last scene of Reba to satisfy his own pleasure.

In this way, Reba's first journey as the heroine and the drama "Wan Wan" were finally completed amid the laughter and cheers of "Director Cheng".

They will all enter a new beginning.

(End of this chapter)