Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 55 College Graduation
The 19-minute and 49-second song "Not Drunk" was played quickly.

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

Then there was loud applause.

Next came the evaluation session, and Situ Zhaodun directly mentioned Zhang Yimou.

Lao Mouzi took the microphone and was surprised at first: "If you hadn't told me that this was Lu Jiang's work and the protagonist was replaced by someone else, I would never have associated it with Lu Jiang, or even with students. I would have just thought it was an experimental work by some director."

Everyone laughed.

Indeed, "Not Drunk" is very different from Lu Jiang's previous MVs.

If Situ Zhaodun and a group of actors were not present, they could all prove it.

Everyone will definitely suspect that Lu Jiang hired someone to take the photo.

Then Lao Mouzi said seriously: "The most difficult thing about a one-shot is the sense of the lens breathing. If it is not designed well, it will easily cause visual fatigue. Lu Jiang, you handled this very well."

Zhang Yimou spoke extensively from a professional perspective and asked for numerous details, to which Lu Jiang answered them one by one. Finally, he offered his assessment: "I've heard many people say they want to shoot a single take, including some outstanding filmmakers abroad, but they all ultimately give up for various reasons. Lu Jiang, you're so persistent and able to produce such a successful film. You're very talented and truly bold. I think everyone should applaud your audacity. This is the kind of bold and innovative spirit that China's new generation of filmmakers needs!"

The whole audience burst into applause.

Lu Jiang bowed to express his gratitude, and thought to himself that he should not say "how bold" again in the future.

Then the others continued to comment.

To sum it up in one sentence, Lu Jiang has refreshed everyone's stereotype with his work, and it is also believed that this film has great hope of winning awards.

In everyone's eyes, Lu Jiang has completely transformed from a "singer" to a "director seed".

Zhang Yuan is quite trendy and asked directly: "Will this short film be included in the new album?"

"There is such a plan." Lu Jiang did not hide it.

"My goodness, how are other singers going to shoot music videos in the future?"

Someone else joked: "If your short film wins the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion, I'm afraid no one will dare to touch your new album."

Tian Zhuangzhuang said with a serious face: "It is very likely to win the award."

Lao Mouzi also nodded.

But Lu Jiang didn't take it too seriously.

As Situ Zhaodun said, the three major European awards are very casual. It is not seventy or eighty or seventy or eight hundred people who vote, but seven or eight people. Many of the judges are not professional scholars, but actors or celebrities.

There is a lot of randomness and a lot depends on luck.

Of course, Situ Zhaodun also said that the probability of winning the prize is extremely high.

But now Lu Jiang just smiled and responded: "If you really want to win the prize, you have to buy more copies."

"That's necessary~"

Everyone laughed and then reached out for the signed album.

There were no surprises in the final score of the work.

Directing ability: Full marks!
Performance: Full marks!
Lu Jiang's college career finally came to a successful end.

After the event, he thought Director Liu from the Directing Department would pull him over for a talk to discuss staying at the Central Academy of Drama to pursue his undergraduate studies.

In a word: the door of the undergraduate directing department is always open to you. Considering Lu Jiang's busy music career, you can choose to enroll during the academic year, such as next year or the year after.

Lu Jiang expressed his gratitude and said he would consider the details carefully.

Afterwards, Lu Jiang attended the graduation party of the 97 junior college directing department class.

There is no need to say much about the lively atmosphere at the banquet.

During this period, paparazzi also came to take pictures.

Lu Jiang openly invited the other party to come in and take pictures, and asked that everyone be included in the picture.

The next day, news about Lu Jiang graduating from junior college with full marks also spread in the market.

It was not until this time that many fans and the public remembered that Lu Jiang was still in school.

At this time, Xie Tingfeng's voice in the mainland has also increased a lot compared to the previous few days.

The comparison between the two is almost on the table in the market.

But Lu Jiang knew that this matter would not be put on the table for public discussion until Xie Tingfeng's album achieved actual results.

By the same token, as a high-ranking figure, Lu Jiang cannot directly overturn the table and blatantly suppress those of lower rank.

This is an unspoken rule in the music industry.

The reason why Lu Jiang was able to hype up the battle between the two kings before was because he had a record of success, and he could only enter the next stage after the new king had been called for for half a year.

The same thing happened earlier when Yehenara besieged Lu Jiang. On the surface, it was a win-win situation for everyone, but the small actions were only carried out under the surface.

Therefore, at this moment, the competition between Lu Jiang and Xie Tingfeng will also only take place under the surface.

Xie Tingfeng has already been waging a publicity campaign for a month, and now that Lu Jiang has graduated, it's his turn to take action.

Soon, Lu Jiang participated in the 6st CCTV-MTV Music Festival held at the end of June.

This is a music award hosted by CCTV and MTV Global Music Television in China.

No matter how this award becomes a fake award in the future.

After all, this is the first time, and it is hosted by a state-owned organization, so its importance goes without saying.

The awards ceremony will be held in four regions: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Asia and International.

The Best Male Singer in Mainland China was awarded to Liu Huan, and the Best Female Singer award was given to Yehenara.

The Best Male Singer award in Hong Kong was given to Jacky Cheung, and the Best Female Singer award was given to Wang Fei.

The best male singer in Taiwan was awarded to Wakin Chau, and the best female singer was awarded to Li Wen.

As the most popular singer in mainland China at present, Lu Jiang won the Asia's Best New Singer Award.

Arguably, in an age dominated by seniority, this award is the most appropriate, as it doesn't undermine the reputation of established singers from across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while also ensuring the award's value. Lu Jiang won the award, while rising star Ren Xianqi only received the Taiwan Best Pop Song Award for "Look Over There, Girl Across the Street." And it was Ah Niu, not Ren Xianqi, who received the award.

In this way, Lu Jiang took the lead among the new generation.

With awards in hand, the gap naturally began to widen.

However, Xie Tingfeng was not to be outdone. He quickly used his fans to bring out various awards he had won in Hong Kong in 97, including the Most Popular Newcomer Award at the Jade Solid Gold Awards, in an effort to make up for his disadvantage.

At the same time, Xie Tingfeng started the preheating mode for his July album.

This also means that the competition between the two has begun to surface.

At the same time, Yehenara, who had not yet set an exact date for the release of her album, finally made an official announcement.

The new album "Just Do It" will be released on August 8th.

Now, for the spectators, August and September are a feast for the gluttons.

Ren Xianqi, Lu Jiang, Yehenara, the recently popular Hong Kong singer Xie Tingfeng and other singers have all released songs.

But for people in the industry, it is obvious at a glance that Yehenara is up to something.

Everyone knows that Yehenara secretly attacked "Fairy Tale" last year, and now it happened again, and at the critical moment when Xie Tingfeng was chasing and biting it fiercely.

This motivation is a bit subtle.

But no matter what.

Since Yehenara has already confirmed the release date for its album, the promotion and distribution situation for Lu Jiang's new album will become even worse.

There are only so many promotional platforms in the mainland. One is the queen of pop, one is the quasi-king of pop, and the other is a Hong Kong star who has plenty of money.

In addition, Ren Xianqi is also working hard in the mainland market. He is a superstar and also needs the resources of a publicity platform.

There are also a number of other singers from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

This is a chaotic battle on the front line of public opinion.

Lu Jiang's disadvantages in publicity and promotion, which were previously judged by the industry, also began to emerge.

Fortunately, at the end of June, the long-awaited "China Entertainment Report Issue 6" was finally released.

Among them, the first episode focuses on the hottest topic at the moment, the sequel to "Return of the Condor Heroes".

At the beginning of the program, a full two-fifths of the time was focused on the sequel to Return of the Condor Heroes.

It is divided into five topics: TV stations paid exorbitant prices for the film, the battle for broadcasting has been settled, the broadcast time has made it difficult for students, the accompanying advertisements are selling well, and whether it is good is still uncertain.

This gave the first episode a direct basis for ratings.

There is no way, this is the contract signed with Hunan Economic TV.

At the same time, the public's attention to "Return of the Condor Heroes" is indeed unmatched.

This was followed by a connecting program, where stars such as Jiang Wenli and the great poet Chen sent their congratulatory messages.

Some reports on the musical "Xi Shi".

The performance of the great poet Chen's "The Emperor and the Assassin" at the Cannes Film Festival, etc.

Then comes the next ratings highlight: let’s focus on the shooting site of Lu Jiang’s new MV.

Compared with the information reports of "Return of the Pearl".

The shooting scene feels more immersive because the reporters are actually reporting on the scene.

The audience can also see the behind-the-scenes footage of Lu Jiang’s filming, as well as who the actress in the new MV is, whether she is pretty, what the set looks like, what surrounding news there will be about the new song, etc.

This is like nectar to the vast number of fans, and for ordinary TV viewers, it is also an opportunity for Lu Jiang to increase his popularity.

Among them, Lu Jiang and Fan Binbin wrote "Niu Cha" on rice paper together, which ignited the effect of the first episode of the show.

Lu Jiang also said in front of the camera: "This time it's Chinese style, yes, it will be more mature than "Jiangnan". Why write "Niu Cha"? It is really difficult to summarize the splendid culture of 5,000 years with my poor culture, so I can only use "Niu Cha" instead. Vulgar? In front of Li Bai, Su Dongpo, and Wang Xizhi, I am just a vulgar person."

The audience and fans got to know Lu Jiang again.

At the same time, with Zhu Yu's previous performance in "Jiangnan", the expectations for the new album have skyrocketed.

After the first episode was broadcast, Lu Jiang quickly received high ratings.

Very good, an average of 5.4%, far exceeding expectations.

This also means that "China Entertainment Report" has been successful.

It also means that Lao Lu’s family’s assets are about to skyrocket.

The next step is to just follow this path.

Then in the next few episodes, Lu Jiang and Huan Zhu were almost permanent.

But Yehenara and Xie Tingfeng never showed up.

"China Entertainment Report" is broadcast three times a week on more than 33 TV stations including Hunan TV's Life Channel, Beijing Satellite TV, and Anhui Satellite TV.

And as the show becomes more successful, more TV channels sign up.

This exposure may not seem like a big deal, but if you calculate it carefully, you will be shocked.

This is almost equivalent to a TV station with a stable viewership rate of over 6% during prime time!

How terrifying is this concept?
Only CCTV and some satellite TV stations in China can do this.

But people won’t let you show up every day.

So Lu Jiang directly became the second most popular at the moment, second only to the upcoming sequel of "Return of the Pearl", and the two of them interrupted the top two, so that the rest of the news hotspots had to stand aside. As for Xie Tingfeng, in front of the top two hottest ones, what does it matter if you can rank third? You still don't know such a person, and no one will rank you now, so just be depressed.

Others in the industry also realized the role of this new public opinion platform and began to contact it to seek cooperation.

By the time Xie Tingfeng's team reacted, it was already too late.

When they took the initiative to contact Guangguang and wanted to be on the show to promote their new album in July, the sequel to "Return of the Pearl" had already been broadcast on BJ Channel.

(End of this chapter)