I really don't want to make bad movies!

Chapter 35: The Creation Competition Ends

On the thirtieth day of filming "Let the Bullets Fly", Xia Ming returned to his room after finishing his work.

I received a call from Wang Zhengchuan.

The winners of the iQiyi Creative Writing Competition will be announced tonight!

Wang Zhengchuan excitedly shouted into the microphone, "My behind-the-scenes video made it into the top ten! I'll get at least 30,000 yuan in prize money!"

"Ming-ge! I love you!"

If Xia Ming hadn't wanted to film "The Big Hornet," he wouldn't have had the chance to earn that 30,000 yuan.

"Ming-ge, if you ever need a film or TV show, come to me first. I'll go through fire and water for you!"

Xia Ming glanced at the shortlist for the iQiyi Creative Writing Competition finals and found that his two works were among them.

"It's a pity that the quality of Riyue's commentary videos is too high, there's absolutely no chance of winning," Wang Zhengchuan complained over the microphone.

Xia Ming opened the leaderboard.

"Do you really understand giant wasps?" is prominently featured at the top of the list!

I just casually submitted a video to the competition, I never expected to win?

The content of "Do You Really Understand the Hornet?" is more hardcore, and even has a deliberately mysterious atmosphere, so it is more popular on short video platforms and has received higher support.

The video analysis of the character "万" was too long and ultimately did not make it into the top ten.

"Actually, I prefer the 'Ten Thousand Characters Analysis' by Riyue Jieshuo. Sigh, they just don't know how to appreciate it!" Wang Zhengchuan spoke in the microphone with the air of a seasoned veteran, beginning to explain the Riyue Jieshuo videos to Xia Ming.

Hearing Wang Zhengchuan's praise for the sun and moon commentary over the microphone, Xia Ming felt a little embarrassed.

At this point, the movie review variety show produced by the iQiyi platform was also nearing its end, and the host concluded by saying, "After a month of accompanying us, the movie 'The Big Hornet,' which has brought us endless joy, is finally coming to a close."

"As you all know, the kiwi platform is hosting a massive fan art contest, giving away millions in prizes. In the fierce competition..."

After a few polite words, the host began announcing the winners, reading from tenth place upwards: "The invincible work 'Behind the Scenes of the Big Hornet' by Brother Chuan has won tenth place, and will be awarded 30,000 yuan in cash!"

"The seventh place goes to the Special Effects Guy Studio's video, 'A Visual Feast of Giant Hornets with All Special Effects on, Comparable to Transformers!', which won a cash prize of 50,000 yuan!"

"The second place winner is a fan-favorite article titled 'Talking about the Dilemma of Transformers Through the Lens of the Hornet,' who received a cash prize of 100,000 yuan and a 10-year SVIP membership from iQiyi!"

"..."

Finally, the winning entry in the competition was—

"Sun and Moon's commentary on 'Did You Really Understand the Giant Hornet?' has won a grand prize of 200,000 yuan in cash, a lifetime membership to iQiyi, and exclusive star map exposure resources from the iQiyi content creation platform!"

"Let's congratulate Riyue on the commentary!"

The screen was filled with congratulatory messages for Riyue's commentary, and Huang Xuke, the production director of the variety show, also went on stage to speak.

What follows is a long, pointless closing statement.

Xia Ming closed the webpage.

Thanks to the operation of the iQiyi platform, the popularity of "The Big Hornet" lasted for quite some time.

Open the movie section of the iQiyi website and find the dedicated online movie section for students of Beijing Film Academy.

Among a host of movies with only four or five figures in views, "The Big Hornet" stands out with its 70 million views.

Without a doubt, this was a traffic miracle that is hard to replicate.

This kind of marketing tactic is like Zhang Yimou's "Shocking" style; if you use it too often, the audience won't fall for it anymore.

However, Xia Ming already had other plans in mind.

First, produce high-quality web series to build your reputation.

They released Atlantic Rim before Pacific Rim was released, maximizing its popularity.

However, it would require the use of some classic marketing tactics to ensure that "Atlantic Rim" would achieve box office success while its critical reception plummeted.

Looking at his number of followers on Bilibili, Xia Ming sighed helplessly.

This incident further proves that riding the wave of trending topics is the fastest way to gain followers.

I painstakingly posted six videos, but they didn't gain as many followers as two videos featuring big bees in just a few days.

He didn't want to make bad movies, but the masterful techniques were just too tempting!

As I was thinking, a WeChat message suddenly popped up on my computer.

A friend request came from someone named "Kiwi Creator Support Program Specialist".

Xia Ming left his mobile phone number when he participated in the iQiyi Creativity Competition, so the staff of the iQiyi website could easily find his WeChat ID.

Xia Ming agreed to his friend's request, and the friend immediately stated his purpose.

In short, iQiyi is preparing to enter the short video market and will prioritize selecting a group of high-quality content creators.

The Star Map exposure resources and support for the champion of the second creation competition are specifically prepared for the short video track.

He asked Xia Ming to create an account on iQiyi's short video platform, Green Fruit Short Video, and to maintain it as the primary platform for video releases for one year.

You can only post videos on other platforms after eight hours of posting them on Green Fruit Short Video.

Kiwi will provide Xia Ming with corresponding traffic packages and the highest level of revenue from video creation.

Looking at the contract sent by the other party, Xia Ming became somewhat interested.

The 200,000 yuan bonus was nothing to him, but the resource support was indeed useful.

After all, the system rewards require fans across the entire internet, including those on the iQiyi platform.

However, whether this short-sighted approach to green fruit can succeed depends on the capabilities of the iQiyi platform.

After chatting with the specialist for a while and finalizing the contract, the two stopped communicating.

After taking a shower, Xia Ming sat at the table reviewing tomorrow's shooting schedule when the phone rang again.

"Feed?"

The call connected, and Huang Xuke was on the other end.

"Senior, why aren't you asleep so late?"

It was very noisy on Huang Xuke's end, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice: "Junior, are you in Jinghai? I'll treat you to a late-night snack!"

"Senior, I'm filming on set."

"Huh? Filming college students' assignments again?" Huang Xuke was taken aback at first, then laughed and said, "It's okay, whenever you're free, I'll treat you to a meal! I have some good news for you!"

This guy is so excited; he must have had a great time in the creative writing competition.

"You and Riyue commentators are my benefactors!" Huang Xuke said, becoming increasingly happy. "Back then, when I bought the rights to DaMaBee for 650,000 yuan, everyone in the company said I'd lost my mind and wanted to get out!"

"And the result? The online creation competition garnered over 100 million views across the internet, the main site had a 17% redirect rate, over one million paid users converted, and Google's revenue skyrocketed! I got promoted!"

A series of celebratory cannon shots rang out from Huang Xuke's side, presumably to celebrate the successful conclusion of the program.

He could only cover his mouth and gather his voice: "Oh right, I haven't told you the good news yet."

"The company will continue to develop the innovation and entrepreneurship competition, gradually making it a signature variety show on the website! I can recommend you as a program director then; the compensation will be substantial!"

Xia Ming interrupted him: "Senior, actually I'm preparing to start a new project."

Huang Xuke was very excited: "What are we going to film? Honeybees? Worker bees? Queen bees?"

"No, it's a web series."

"Web series?"

Huang Xuke froze, moved his phone screen away, and confirmed that the person he was talking to was Xia Ming.

What's wrong with this junior?

Isn't it better to make bad movies and ride the wave of popularity?

He pressed his ear back against the receiver and heard Xia Ming's voice again: "I'll send you the script later. See if you can get some likes on iQiyi."

"Alright."

Huang Xuke was in a good mood, so he didn't make any sarcastic remarks.

If you want to make a web series, then go ahead and do it!

Could anything be worse than "The Wasp"?

My junior classmate did me a huge favor, so I should help him out in return.

"Manager, the car's here, time to go to the dinner party!"

Huang Xuke gave a casual reply, put his phone in his pocket, and prepared to leave the studio.

He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly remembered the incident with the giant hornets.

It's because I didn't check the email Xia Ming sent...

After thinking for a moment, Huang Xuke took out his phone and found the script that Xia Ming had sent him.

Several large characters came into view.

The Swindler