I really don't want to make bad movies!

Jinghai October.

Xia Ming returned to the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio and looked at the magnificent gate with a sense of awe.

He is now a sophomore in college.

He spent a year studying and filmed "The Big Hornet," and the fact that he wasn't expelled from school shows the school's leniency.

At this point, there were still four months until the expected release date of the blockbuster film "Pacific Rim: Uprising".

Universal Pictures began small-scale promotional campaigns in various locations.

The first promotional video has been released.

They also officially announced the addition of mainland actress Jing Tian to the cast.

Jing Tian, ​​dressed in white, was quite eye-catching and sparked widespread discussion on Weibo.

That's a huge amount of data!

Xia Ming didn't have much time. To capitalize on the popularity of "Pacific Rim," he needed to complete the web series production within two months, and then use the remaining time to film "Atlantic Rim."

Why did we absolutely have to make this web series?

Making money is one aspect.

It's more about generating buzz and attracting attention.

Xia Ming needs to establish his reputation as a director.

The combined momentum of its own film and the popularity of "Pacific Rim" made "Atlantic Rim" a new blockbuster.

Moreover, big-budget, high-cost productions are needed to attract more viewers; this is an age-old truth in the film industry.

The big production here isn't necessarily used in serious dramas.

Hiring celebrities, spending heavily on publicity, meticulously producing promotional videos, chanting slogans and hype—all these can generate traffic.

This was also a common method in the previous life.

In short, spending money doesn't necessarily guarantee good quality, but it will definitely bring in a lot of traffic.

Let's make money first!

"Xia, I've applied for another month of leave for you. Let's work on that web series of yours properly."

Zhao Fei and his team got off the bus, walked to Xia Ming's side, and unloaded their bags.

Students at Beijing Film Academy can apply for extended leave from the school if they want to film projects.

With Zhao Fei's help, Xia Ming's leave was approved quickly.

"What are your thoughts? You're the director now, we'll listen to you."

Zhao Fei was very approachable, with an expression that suggested he was just having fun.

He knew that Xia Ming had received a million-dollar grant from Producer Ma at the wrap party for "Let the Bullets Fly," enough for college students to make dozens of episodes.

Before Jiang Wen finished editing the final cut of "Let the Bullets Fly," he still had plenty of time to work with Xia Ming on the film.

Helping Xia Ming film a web series was not only out of a desire to mentor newcomers, but more importantly, it was to allow his students to learn a great deal.

Zhao Fei greatly admires Xia Ming's cinematic language and technique.

However, the crew of "Let the Bullets Fly" was too busy, and Jiang Wen's requirements were too high, so those students didn't have time to ask Xia Ming for advice.

"Teacher Zhao, this is the complete script and storyboard. Could you please have your team familiarize themselves with it over the next couple of days?" Xia Ming pulled the script out of his bag.

Zhao Fei opened the script, her eyes immediately gazing intently into it.

So neat!

Each episode comes with detailed blocking instructions and close-up shots, as well as the ideas behind the scene setup.

Even without reading the professional annotations on both sides of the script, the story itself is very engaging.

Actually, the story of the first season of Hustle wasn't particularly outstanding. It borrowed from the British series Hustle and adopted an episodic format.

As a low-budget web series produced by college students, the plot is clearly too rambling and lacks commercial appeal.

The positive word-of-mouth for this web series mainly started to grow from the second season.

Xia Ming adapted the script, taking the best aspects and making improvements based on its weaknesses.

The original first season had twenty episodes, which was too long and the narrative pace was not tight enough.

He cut out a lot of redundant and ineffective plot points, adjusted the series to a standard twelve-episode, forty-five-minute format, and added the highly acclaimed episodes from the second season to the first season.

The early appearance of the key character Shao Zhuang significantly boosted the excitement of the first season and heightened anticipation for the finale.

This was the first time Zhao Fei had seen the script for "The Swindler," and before he knew it, he had turned several more pages.

"This story is alright."

Zhao Fei suddenly felt a little regretful, closed the script and said, "This script is good. Although the budget is not high, at least it can tell a good story."

"By the way, Teacher Zhao, I need your help."

"you say."

"Could the track team please help coordinate those ARRI cinema projectors and high-resolution macro lenses at the school?"

Zhao Fei tilted his head back slightly, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "You want those big cameras to film this?"

"Those big machines aren't cheap. Even if I help you negotiate the price, the equipment, lenses, and team package will still cost three thousand yuan a day."

"If you rent two, it will cost 180,000 yuan a month."

"That's enough, that's enough." Xia Ming smiled and took out the contract Marco had drafted. "We have a million!"

"Are other places free?" Zhao Fei pointed to the students behind him. "Just my small team of six, even at a friendly price, would cost at least 500 yuan a day, right? That's 3,000 yuan a day."

"Teacher! I don't need my salary!" Shi Xiangyuan shouted from behind, raising his hand.

"That's enough!" Xia Ming patted his chest confidently. "I've calculated the budget; it's definitely enough for filming!"

One million to make a TV series?

Wrong, he's prepared to spend a million to film one episode!

Using Jiang Wen's name as producer to attract investment, the target budget is 12 million!

However, Zhao Fei was unaware of Xia Ming's thoughts and could only sigh helplessly: "Fine, you're the director, I'll listen to you. Just don't ask anyone to borrow money later, that would look terrible."

Xia Ming also wrote down the location requirements for several indoor shooting scenes for Zhao Fei, asking Zhao Fei to use his connections to rent the locations at a low price.

"Alright, I'll take care of all of this for you." Zhao Fei took the list from Xia Ming's hand. "Message me once you've found the actors; I'll be at school the whole time."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhao!"

The two waved goodbye, and Zhao Fei led the photography team back to school first.

Xia Ming took out his phone and dialed Wang Zhengchuan's number: "Hey? Brother Chuan, has the matter of finding actors for me been settled yet?"

"Ming-ge, come to the first floor of the second teaching building, we've been waiting for you!"

……

Jinghai Film and Television Academy, Building 1, Second Teaching Building.

A huge crowd had gathered in front of a classroom.

In the past few days, Brother Chuan, a celebrity at the school, has started spreading messages in various QQ groups.

They said they were going to film a web series and were recruiting five lead actors and several extras.

The script outline looks interesting, and most importantly, the pay is generous.

The five lead actors are each paid 3,000 yuan a day, and filming is expected to last 30 days.

For students who are still learning and developing in school, this is a considerable income!

Although Brother Chuan said that the review process was very strict, it still attracted a large number of eager students.

The classroom door was pushed open, and Wang Zhengchuan, who was sitting below, looked up and excitedly jumped up from his seat.

"Ming-ge! You're finally back!"

Xia Ming sat down beside him and asked bluntly, "How many actors came?"

"There are 120 people on record, and about 20 people have signed up for each role."

Xia Ming nodded and waved to let the students outside in.

Wang Zhengchuan suddenly interrupted him: "Ming-ge, did you go to Director Jiang's film crew to launder money?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Damn, if each lead actor gets paid 3,000 yuan a day, even if they only film for 20 days, five lead actors would still make 300,000 yuan!"

"If you weren't laundering money on Director Jiang's film set, where would you get so much money to make web series?"

"besides."

He eagerly pulled out his phone and opened the script Xia Ming had sent him: "You wrote this script? I don't believe it!"

Just a few months ago, Xia Ming was writing a brain-dead plot about inferior robots fighting alien zombies.

How did it suddenly turn into a brain-teasing battle of wits between a con artist and a criminal gang?

Moreover, the camera movements, dialogue design, and dramatic conflicts left Wang Zhengchuan, a directing student, in awe.

He suspected that Xia Ming's brain had begun to mutate after being exposed to radiation from an alien spaceship.

"Haha, this is something I learned while filming with Director Jiang."

"What about the money?" Wang Zhengchuan showed his bank balance. "The 30,000 yuan bonus I received from iQiyi, after paying off the debt, I only had 2,000 yuan left, not even enough for a lead actor's daily wage."

"I didn't ask you to pay your salary."

Xia Ming rolled his eyes at him speechlessly: "Director Jiang's producer invested one million in me."

These casual words instantly enraged Wang Zhengchuan, his large face practically touching Xia Ming's nose: "One million?!"

"You fucking gave it to them?!"

"Alright, alright, let's get the casting done."

Xia Ming didn't have time to argue with him; his schedule was very tight.

After selecting the roles today, I'm going to iQiyi tomorrow to discuss a collaboration with Huang Xuke.

"Hmm..." Xia Ming opened the roster and shouted out the first actress to audition, "Yan Shu."

The wooden door opened, and a beautiful woman in a red dress and a high ponytail stepped into the classroom in high heels.

The clattering of her heels drew everyone's attention, but she seemed oblivious, walking confidently and gracefully as if on a fashion runway, slowly approaching Xia Ming and Wang Zhengchuan.

"Hello, director, I'm Yan Shu."

Yan Shu bowed to the two of them, and the shoulder straps of her long dress slipped down naturally, revealing her full breasts.

Before anyone could focus their gaze, her glossy black ponytail naturally drooped down, obscuring a large portion of the view.

Yan Shu smiled, straightened her back, hooked her right hand on the shoulder strap, and snapped it back onto her neck.

"Excuse me, which one of you is the director?"

Her smile was like that of a passionate rose, carrying an intoxicating fragrance.

Xia Ming blew his nose and frowned.

Where is that foul smell coming from?