My game, you have no right to award

Chapter 209 Core Terms
Led by the other party's staff, Zhou Kuang and his group arrived at a restaurant outside the office building, which appeared to have been booked in advance.

However, the people from Crane Shadow Vision did not come with them, which relieved Zhou Kuang.

Both sides certainly have their own internal matters to discuss, and it would be somewhat inconvenient for them to eat together.

Although Zhou Kuang still couldn't speak freely in such a public setting, he felt somewhat more relaxed as long as his own people were present.

The restaurant offers a very standard business buffet, with a row of buffet stoves mainly featuring Chinese stir-fries, supplemented by salads, fruits, desserts, drinks, and so on.

Since the afternoon meeting was the main event, Zhou Kuang naturally needed to fill his stomach.

He ladled out a bowl of fried rice and a plate of stir-fried vegetables, but he wasn't very interested in the other random snacks.

Zhou Kuang randomly found a seat by the window and took a bite with his chopsticks.

Hmm... the rice is warm, but the stir-fried vegetables are a little cold.

The taste wasn't exactly delicious, but it wasn't bad either.

very common.

After mentally evaluating the food, Zhou Kuang beckoned Yang Ji and Chu Hong to sit down.

"Hey Kuang, I see they have a durian and pineapple combo pizza over there!"

Yang Ji sat down, his eyes still glancing towards the dessert area.

"Don't just think about food, what did I call you here for?"

Zhou Kuang looked speechless; Yang Ji had really come here as a tourist.

"Oh……"

Yang Ji looked aggrieved, turned around, and poked at the stir-fried chicken breast on his plate with his chopsticks.

After Chu Hong sat down, Zhou Kuang asked the two of them, "What do you think of this cooperation?"

Yang Jigang picked up a piece of chicken, and upon hearing this, quickly put it in his mouth, then turned to look at Chu Hong.

"Uh, I think it's a good fit."

Seeing that the question had been thrown at him, Chu Hong had no choice but to speak.

"Hmm? Tell me more."

Zhou Kuang raised his eyebrows, revealing an interested look.

He would naturally make his own decision, but he also wanted to keep track of his subordinates' thoughts as much as possible.

"The team at Heying Vision is very strong."

Chu Hong himself works in this field, so he could easily see it.

Especially during the meeting, the high-speed combat clips shown by the other side were basically just showing off their skills.

No animation team that lacks confidence in its own abilities would be so idle as to create such a difficult design and torture itself.

"Moreover, I think the style that the other team is good at is also very suitable for the art style of 'The Netherworld Mountains and Seas'."

Yang Ji swallowed a mouthful of chicken, and upon hearing this, his ears perked up instantly.

The so-called art style of "Youming Shanhai" is actually Yang Ji's own style.

“I’ve seen their Buffalo Animation Studio’s independently produced animation last year – Supernova Frontier.”

"This is a story-driven anime, but it also has a lot of battle scenes."

"They used a style similar to traditional Chinese ink painting in it."

Zhou Kuang recalled the animated clips shown on the PowerPoint presentation during the meeting, and suddenly a brilliant idea struck him.

"You mean that aerial combat scene?"

"Yes, that's the part!"

Chu Hong nodded firmly.

Zhou Kuang stroked his chin, deep in thought. He hadn't originally considered this direction, but after Chu Hong mentioned it, the animation style in that battle scene did indeed bear some resemblance to the special effects and art style in the game.

When he watched it, he only paid attention to the fast-paced fighting action and didn't think about the artistic aspects.

Looking at it now, the use of ink and color has a certain sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of the novel "The Lost Tomb".

"Old Yang, what do you think?"

Zhou Kuang looked at Yang Ji.

"Hmm...maybe it's because their drawing style is similar to mine?"

Yang Ji shook his head, then nodded.

"But it's still different."

“I draw more inspiration from the techniques of meticulous brushwork painting, while they simply use the ink wash style to enhance the ‘Chinese style’ texture.”

"So I think it's just a coincidence."

“Whether it’s a coincidence or not, this style fits the visual style of our ‘Youming Shanhai’,” Chu Hong insisted. “So I think if the animated adaptation of ‘Youming Shanhai’ uses this style of drawing, it will give players a similar feeling.”

"That's why I said their style of play is a good fit for us."

Zhou Kuang nodded after hearing the other party's idea.

Both Yang Ji and Chu Hong made sense, and he could understand their perspectives and why their ideas differed.

As the chief artist, Yang Ji's approach from the perspective of conceptual art naturally leads to different results depending on the concept he adopts.

If you want a specific result, you must choose the right painting angle from the beginning.

The starting point of Crane Shadow Vision is definitely different from that of "The Netherworld Mountains and Seas", so Yang Ji believes that this is just a "coincidence".

But for Chu Hong, he is more concerned about the final result.

Whether he was in charge of the special effects team before or now he is looking at things from the perspective of an animation director, what he cares about most is definitely the external presentation.

Since "The Netherworld Mountains and Seas" and "Supernova Frontier" exhibit similar painting styles, he believes that this is a good thing.

This indicates that they already have some experience in how to create a similar style for adapted animation.

If Kuangshi Games ultimately chooses Heying Vision, this will become an important consideration.

“I understand…” Zhou Kuang paused after speaking, then looked at Chu Hong, “If you were the director, would you have them use this painting style?”

Upon hearing this question, Chu Hong stiffened.

He hesitated for a moment before replying, "We'll have to wait until we have a better understanding of their team before we can decide..."

"That's too late."

Zhou Kuang interrupted him directly.

Judging from Chu Hong's previous performance, it is clear that the other party lacks confidence in themselves.

At least regarding his decision to become a director, he harbors doubts.

This is also normal.

If you ask someone to do a job they've never done before, and their first project is one of the top projects in the industry, no one would have confidence.

You'll get numb if you stomp on it.

But the problem is, Zhou Kuang knew it perfectly well!

Chu Hong is now an S-level director!

It'll be incredibly powerful once you get the hang of it!

How do I know?
All I can say is: the system has never lied to anyone.

So what Zhou Kuang needs to do now is to boost Chu Hong's confidence as much as possible, even if it means forcing him to do it first.

When he discovers that he is a very capable director, he will naturally gain more confidence and things will become smoother and smoother.

"We'll start discussing the core terms this afternoon, and I'll definitely bring up the idea of ​​having you direct then."

Zhou Kuang said decisively, while also observing Chu Hong's expression.

Upon hearing this, the other person's eyes still revealed a hint of worry.

Zhou Kuang sighed inwardly. This man has talent, but not courage.

If it were an ambitious person, they wouldn't boast about how great they are, but at least they should appear calm and collected in front of the boss, so as not to give the impression that the boss is incompetent.

It's fair to say that everyone has their own personality. This is especially true in the field of artistic creation, where talented individuals come from all walks of life.

Eat according to the dish, and tailor your clothes to your needs.

……

……

……

After a rather ordinary business buffet meal and a short rest, Zhou Kuang led his team back to the conference room.

The people from Crane Shadow Vision returned to the conference room even earlier than them.

Zhou Kuang glanced at his watch to make sure he wasn't late. As he walked to his seat and sat down, he said with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's alright, it's alright, we just got back too."

Lan Changping smiled kindly and waved his hand in acknowledgment.

After both sides further clarified their cooperation intentions in the morning, the afternoon's discussion will focus on the practical details.

Just like now...

"We propose signing a non-exclusive license agreement, and prohibiting any secondary development based on the film's content. The distribution area is limited to China."

"The authorization period is five years, and the authorization will automatically terminate if the task is not completed within the time limit."

Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Kuangshi Games, one of Lan Changping's employees turned and whispered a few words to the others before speaking.

"We can accept non-exclusive licensing, a five-year licensing period, and corresponding derivative rights terms, but could the distribution area be considered to be global?"

"Heying Vision also has global distribution channels."

Zhou Kuang turned to look at the Minister of Commerce, who shook his head very slightly.

"We can discuss this in more detail later."

A business representative from Megvii Games responded.

Upon hearing what Kuangshi Games had to say, Heying Vision expressed its understanding.

Negotiations of this level certainly cannot be completed in a day.

This afternoon was just a preliminary discussion on the core terms.

The fact that Heying Vision had no objection to the non-exclusive license and the license period is already a very good start, indicating that there is not much difference in the ideas of both parties regarding the type of license.

The specific details still need to be negotiated by the employees below.

Since both sides have similar ideas, there shouldn't be any major problems.

At most, it's just a matter of which side the conditions favor more.

The so-called non-exclusive authorization and prohibition of secondary development means that Heying Vision only has the film adaptation rights for "Youming Shanhai".

If the movie is a box office hit and Crane Shadow Vision wants to continue making a sequel to "The Lost Tomb," then they will have to renegotiate with Kuangshi Games.

Back then, the price was definitely not what it is now.

Zhou Kuang also has the right to license the IP to other film and television companies for filming.

However, for both parties at present, non-exclusive licensing is a very good option.

Crane Shadow Vision didn't want to invest too much, and Kuangshi Games didn't want to make too many promises, so the two sides hit it off perfectly!
Five years is more than enough time to film.

The next thing to talk about was money.

On this point, the two sides unexpectedly found themselves at a stalemate.

It's not that Crane Shadow Vision doesn't want to spend money, or that Kuangshi Games is asking for too much money.

But...

"We can offer a guaranteed licensing fee of ten million."

The speaker was from Crane Shadow Vision.

“We don’t need a guaranteed minimum licensing fee. We propose a tiered revenue-sharing agreement, plus a penalty clause for breach of contract.”

This time, the rebuttal comes from the people at Kuangshi Games.

The people at Heying Vision were stunned when they heard the terms: no guaranteed licensing fee?

It's important to know that when many companies negotiate with them, the most meticulous point they make is how much licensing fee to pay.

After all, it's called a "minimum guarantee" licensing fee because the film company has to pay this money no matter what.

Even if the movie is a complete failure, the IP owner can at least get this money.

But why doesn't Kuangshi Games require a minimum licensing fee?
This is truly the first time I've ever seen negotiations like this.

However, they still overlooked Zhou Kuang's needs.

Other companies may be short of money, but Zhou Kuang is not.

He's not afraid of not making money; he's only afraid that the other party will ruin the IP.

and so……

"If the film review website rating is lower than 7.5, 5% of your revenue share will be deducted."

"This is impossible!"

The people at Crane Shadow Vision almost jumped up.

Take less? !
5%?

Do you know how much money five percent of a movie is?
If they deduct 5%, won't they be making movies at a loss?

"We can still talk about it."

Kuangshi Games appeared very calm.

Everyone knows that if this clause is triggered, Heying Vision will lose money.

Won't that avoid triggering the terms?
As long as the film's quality meets the standards, even if this clause deducts 100% of the revenue share, it is meaningless.

Furthermore, for both sides to reach an agreement, these two figures will definitely decrease further.

Whether it's the rating or the percentage of deductions.

Zhou Kuang's bottom line was seven points and two percent.

Such a score requirement is neither too high nor too low, and the 2% threshold won't cripple them, although triggering it is still no joke.

The two sides talked for a long time but still could not reach an agreement.

Heying Vision is perfectly willing to forgo paying the minimum licensing fee and then make some concessions on the revenue sharing ratio.

This is even more advantageous for them!

Not only is the financial pressure greatly reduced, but the risk of losing money if the project fails is also lowered.

However, they really didn't want to accept the penalty clause!

It's not that they think their film can't reach a 7 out of 10, but rather that the risks involved are too great.

If the movie is of mediocre quality, they'll only be able to lose money while gaining publicity.

But the problem is: movies that score less than seven points don't generate much buzz.

Then all that's left is to lose money!

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Kuangshi Games had no choice but to put the financial matters aside for the time being and continue discussing the subsequent topics.

Zhou Kuang's spirits lifted; he knew the real show was about to begin!

An employee from Kuangshi Games stated, "Kuangshi Games has the final review and decision-making authority over the script, character settings, scene design, promotional materials, and other related content."

"If the film's content deviates significantly from the core setting of the 'Youming Shanhai' IP, Kuangshi Games has the right to terminate the cooperation and seek compensation."

He looked up at his negotiating opponent and began to speak.

"Produced by Kuangda Pictures, a subsidiary of Kuangshi Games..."

"...Chu Hong, an employee, served as the project director and producer of the entire film."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

(End of this chapter)