I really don't want to make bad movies!

The dormitory for first-year students at Jinghai Film and Television Academy.

Xia Ming was lying in bed when he heard a familiar voice coming from the lower bunk.

"Hello everyone, I'm Riyue, and today I'm bringing you a Chinese sci-fi epic about food."

When it comes to Chinese science fiction films, what four words come to mind first?

"Yes, the film we're going to analyze today is '849 Bureau,' a spiritual successor to 'Shanghai Fortress'..."

Hearing the familiar narration lines, Xia Ming couldn't resist getting out of bed and standing behind his roommate Wang Zhengchuan.

"What are you looking at, Brother Chuan?"

"The movie commentary was really good."

It was nearing noon, and Wang Zhengchuan wasn't wearing headphones; captivating commentary was playing from the speakers.

His tone was steady and his breathing was smooth, which made him very pleasant to listen to.

"Let me see."

Xia Ming leaned closer.

[Director Lu's epic production once again lowers the bar for domestic science fiction; a 10,000-word analysis of 849 episodes]

UP host: Riyue Commentary, Followers: 9999.

"Someone actually analyzes this kind of terrible movie?" Xia Ming feigned doubt.

Wang Zhengchuan, holding a bag of potato chips, tucked his legs into his chair: "I don't know either. This content creator's videos are all about dissecting and critiquing terrible movies, but they're incredibly entertaining!"

Xia Ming pointed to the top right corner of the screen: "It's good-looking, why aren't you following it?"

Wang Zhengchuan chuckled: "Never paid attention, never missed!"

While Wang Zhengchuan was eating snacks and couldn't use his hands, Xia Ming used his mouse to follow Riyue Commentary.

When the number of fans displayed on the screen reached ten thousand, a stirring award ceremony theme music echoed in Xia Ming's mind.

Congratulations! You have reached the milestone of 10,000 followers across all platforms!

[Bonus: Hitchcock's camera techniques]

[Next milestone: 50,000 followers]

[Award: Jiang Wen's Art and Application of Film and Television Language]

Xia Ming's mind was suddenly filled with many complex techniques such as "creating visual images", "arranging subjective perspectives", and "camera operation and scheduling".

Although it had been a month since Xia Ming transmigrated to the parallel world of Earth, this was the first time he had completed a milestone mission of the system and obtained his first director skill pack.

In his previous life, Xia Ming was also a student in the directing department of a film academy.

Like all other directing students, he hopes to one day create a masterpiece.

After graduation, Xia Ming found a marketing job at a film and television public relations company, earning money while networking and building connections.

Just as he was preparing to shoot his debut film, the beams erected on set unexpectedly came loose, sending him to a parallel world, Earth.

The cultures of Earth and Blue Star are basically similar, and some films and celebrities are even completely identical to those on Earth.

Aside from a slight difference in the release dates of the works, Earth can be considered another planet.

After transmigrating, Xia Ming quickly adapted to his identity as a first-year student in the Directing Department of Jinghai Film and Television Academy, and also became completely familiar with his system.

[Bad Movie Analysis System]

You can earn a 10:1 cash rebate based on the number of views across the entire internet by creating videos that dissect or critique bad movies.

One hundred thousand views can earn you ten thousand yuan in cash.

When the total number of fans across the internet reaches a milestone, a skill pack from the Earth Director will be unlocked.

On the day he transmigrated, Xia Ming created the account "Sun and Moon Commentary". With a solid theoretical foundation and by learning the humorous and satirical style popular in his previous life to comment on bad movies, his fan growth rate can be described as steady progress.

But he soon discovered that there weren't many bad movies on Earth.

The system defines a bad movie as one with a rating below 4.0 on the DB website and at least 10,000 ratings.

There are fewer than 100 movies on Earth that meet this standard.

I don't know if it's because netizens on Earth are too tolerant, or if the capital on Earth is too good at inflating scores.

Even in game 849, the score is 3.5 on Blue Star!

Xia Ming has uploaded six videos analyzing bad movies this month, accumulating around 400,000 views across short and long video platforms.

But he was not content with that.

If you've already explained all the bad movies, then just make your own!

As a seasoned marketing professional in his previous life, he knew very well that a film's box office success and critical acclaim were not necessarily equivalent.

Sometimes you can make money even by making bad movies.

In addition, there are system cash rewards and director skills.

In this lifetime, he has every opportunity to create the masterpiece he envisions!

With lofty ambitions in mind, a bank text message popped up on my phone.

The system cash reward marked as "creative incentive" has been issued as a reward for his commentary of episode 849.

The video has been uploaded for over a week, and its view count has remained at just over 90,000.

Including the creator rewards from Bilibili and Yinpu platforms, Xia Ming earned approximately three thousand yuan this time.

Xia Ming returned to his bed, opened Bilibili, browsed his profile, and found that someone with the ID "Invincible Brother Chuan" had left him a comment.

[I've liked, commented, and subscribed to this video. After watching it, I realized Lu Chuan is a scoundrel director! Thanks to the uploader for defending me! Looking forward to the next video on Shanghai Fortress!]

Xia Ming knew this was his roommate Wang Zhengchuan, so he replied with an OK emoji.

"Wow, the uploader replied to me! Out of so many comments, only this one got a reply. Looks like my comment was of higher quality!"

Wang Zhengchuan was overjoyed.

"Is this commentator a girl using a voice changer who only replied to me after seeing my face-revealing video on my profile...?"

Listening to his roommate's fantasizing mutterings, Xia Ming decided to keep his identity as a content creator a secret.

"By the way, Xiaoming, do you need any living expenses?"

Wang Zhengchuan walked to Xia Ming's bedside and placed his hand on the railing: "Tomorrow is summer vacation. Do you have any plans to go out and work?"

Xia Ming glanced at him: "You've overspent again?"

Wang Zhengchuan chuckled sheepishly.

Xia Ming was speechless.

Although Wang Zhengchuan doesn't have any bad habits, he has a lot of hobbies and can't control himself.

When I see Gundam models, new sneakers, badminton rackets, or electronic devices online, I buy them on installment without hesitation.

At the end of the month, his wailing about repaying his debts would always echo throughout the dormitory.

"Abei and Xiaoliang went home early for summer vacation, so you're the only one left to work with me."

Xia Ming shook his head: "I don't lack money, and I have things to do during the summer vacation."

Wang Zhengchuan asked in confusion, "What could you possibly be up to? Staying in the study all summer watching movies?"

Xia Ming took out his phone, opened the announcement in the class group chat, and held the screen up to Wang Zhengchuan: "Aren't you going to participate in the school's summer project?"

"You really want to sign up?!"

Wang Zhengchuan was dumbfounded.

Jinghai Film Academy has a tradition of holding a short film selection event for freshmen every summer.

Students were encouraged to form small film crews and shoot a short film based on a given theme.

The video should be no longer than one hour, with no limit on the number of people in the group. The filming budget is to be paid by the participants themselves, and the final video will be displayed on the campus website.

The video with the most views will not only receive a prize of 10,000 yuan, but will also be uploaded to a streaming website for the world to enjoy.

"Aren't you short of living expenses? Not interested in the 10,000 yuan prize?"

"I am very self-aware!"

Wang Zhengchuan opened his final report card, which contained a series of appalling scores.

"When it comes to filming, we definitely can't compete with the cinematography department. When it comes to scriptwriting, we can't beat the arts and literature department. And when it comes to acting, we're utterly crushed by the performance department!"

Seeing Wang Zhengchuan's complaints, Xia Ming couldn't help but laugh and say, "We're not competing on story depth or filming techniques, so what are you afraid of?"

Wang Zhengchuan was stunned: "If we don't compare these, what should we compare?"

"Of course, we're comparing view counts!"

Xia Ming switched to QQ Space and found the post on the campus wall.

【❀Heartwarming Campus: The Most Beautiful Freshman Smile Contest – Summarize Your New Life with a Smile❀】

The feed features dozens of photos of smiling girls; you can feel the vibrant youthful energy even through the screen.

It's called a smile contest, but it's really just a beauty pageant with voting on the school wall.

Among the dozens of photos of the girls were a few strange images—such as the mysterious smiling man with a red headscarf, and Agni, whose expression was ambiguous, whether she was crying or laughing.

The girl with the most votes was named "Jiang Xixi" with shoulder-length short hair.

Unlike other girls who confidently display their smiles and are as radiant as flowers.

Jiang Xixi just slightly curled the corners of her mouth, looking anything but cheerful.

But her votes were far ahead of the competition, making her the only contestant to reach five figures in the entire voting process.

No tricks involved, just numbers!

Without hesitation, Wang Zhengchuan took out his phone and cast his vote for Jiang Xixi.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"It's great!" Wang Zhengchuan nodded repeatedly. "But what does it have to do with a short film?"

Xia Ming chuckled and countered, "If she were in a short film, would you watch it?"