I really don't want to make bad movies!

When Xia Ming arrived at the Kiwi headquarters, the short video section was still bustling with activity.

Huang Xuke invited Xia Ming to his office and happily poured him tea.

"The idea of ​​a rendering competition is brilliant! It perfectly fills the gap in the domestic rendering field where there is no large-scale exhibition channel."

"Those contestants not only upload their works to our event page, but also to other platforms, which is like giving us free publicity."

Xia Ming sipped his tea, somewhat puzzled: "Are there really so many people in China who work in post-production rendering signing up for this competition?"

Huang Xuke explained with a smile, "Doesn't the second-generation innovation competition have two tracks? One for professionals and one for entertainment."

"Many casual participants just want to participate in the recreational track, but they accidentally register for the professional track instead."

"We made quick adjustments and created a connection between the two tracks; the data just hasn't been updated yet."

Xia Ming understood immediately. Looking at the charts Huang Xuke handed him, he realized that the number of participants in the entertainment track of the Wawa Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was far greater than he had expected.

In just a few days, videos with the tag "Wawa" have surged to three million, and the number of participants has exceeded one million.

"Your robot Wawa is well-designed and cute, attracting many passersby to participate in the competition."

"Cuteness alone shouldn't be enough to achieve this kind of viral effect. Did you add something extra?" Xia Ming, who came from a publicity background, knew very well that this data was abnormal.

If it wasn't just good luck, then it must be kiwifruit pushing things along.

Huang Xuke leaned against his desk and shook his head slightly: "It wasn't us, it was Chen Kun who also participated in your innovation and entrepreneurship competition."

"With the release of the last two episodes of 'The Swindlers,' his popularity on the internet has reached unprecedented levels, and he has become incredibly popular."

"During this peak period of online traffic, he did two things: first, he helped Jiang Wen promote 'Let the Bullets Fly,' and second, he participated in your creative competition."

Xia Ming took out his phone to check the messages. Chen Kun hadn't informed him beforehand; it was entirely his own initiative.

Clearly, Chen Kun is pragmatic.

Xia Ming and Jiang Wen both gave Chen Kun a role that would make him famous in the film and television industry, and Chen Kun immediately reciprocated.

If similar roles come along in the future, he will naturally be able to seize the opportunity.

"It's not just celebrities getting involved." Huang Xuke sat down opposite Xia Ming and continued, "Seeing the short video section booming, Wang Hui allocated some money to me, and we also pushed out a few videos with millions of likes on Yin Fu."

Mentioning Wang Hui, Xia Ming couldn't help but think of Yang Xianghua: "How's that old fox doing?"

Huang Xuke leaned back in his sofa chair and shook his head: "An old fox is an old fox. Even if he let it slip on the phone and everyone knew he embezzled public funds, he didn't leave any evidence. He could only be suspended from his duties for investigation."

Xia Ming laughed and said, "I'm sure I've caught him red-handed."

"Do you have evidence?"

"Although I didn't, Ju Jingyi's studio has been working with him for so long, they must have some dirt on him."

Huang Xuke shook his head while sipping his tea: "You used unfair terms to trick Ju Jingyi, do you think she'd help you?"

Xia Ming shrugged: "There's no such thing as helping or not helping, it's all just an exchange of interests. I also have some dirt on them, and I'll exchange it with them for evidence of Yang Xianghua's crimes."

"You didn't film some weird little video, did you?" Huang Xuke asked in surprise.

Xia Ming was both amused and exasperated: "What kind of person do you take me for!"

Huang Xuke waved his hand: "Forget about that, let's not talk about that now. Let's talk about your movie's promotion and distribution."

"With the fan-made content competition so popular, aren't you planning to capitalize on this momentum and promote your film?"

At this point, Huang Xuke seemed somewhat worried: "With the production crew in such a mess, can the quality of your movie still be guaranteed? Won't this round of promotion cause a backlash against the film's popularity?"

"I have four investors on my side, so I have to make this money no matter what, right?"

"Heh, who expects you to make money?" Huang Xuke shook his head with a laugh. "With our own senior executives pulling such a stunt, it's a miracle we didn't lose money!"

"If you can still make a profit from this, Wang Hui will treat you like a VIP at Kiwi Fruit Restaurant from now on!"

Although Kiwifruit withdrew most of its funds, it still had seven million in marketing and promotion investment, and could ultimately receive a 5% dividend as a distribution channel and marketing and promotion investment.

After finishing his cup of hot tea, Xia Ming got up and called Huang Xuke. The two of them went together to the studio where they had previously filmed the interview.

It's time to show Blue Star the ultimate in marketing and promotion.

First, create a confrontation, then portray yourself as the absolute weaker party.

Only the vulnerable can gain the sympathy of netizens.

On fast-paced information platforms like Yin Fu and Lv Guo Short Video, netizens' views can easily be swayed by videos that are taken out of context.

Regarding a particular event, there can even be extreme cases where people's attitudes are dictated by the background music.

The opposing event was easy to choose: just gravitate towards the currently popular "Pacific Rim 2".

Is Universal Pictures acting arrogantly? Domestic sci-fi films are facing suppression, with titles being changed repeatedly and projects even being rebooted?

With a title like this, anyone with even a slight interest in Pacific Rim 2 or Chinese science fiction will be unable to resist continuing to read.

At this time, iQiyi launched Xia Ming's interview program, in which he talked about the setbacks he encountered during the filming process.

The events actually happened, but Universal Pictures did not do them.

At the same time, release the names of the lead actors.

It's probably impossible to get Wang Yuan and Ju Jingyi involved in the promotion, but their names themselves are a huge source of traffic.

When the news broke that two celebrities would be starring in the lead roles, their fan base immediately flocked to the event.

At this point, it had already attracted both fan groups and science fiction fans.

By releasing exquisite footage personally filmed by Xia Ming to fan groups and special effects footage produced by Tiangong Visual Effects to sci-fi fans, the expectation threshold of both groups can be simultaneously captured.

The next step is to use the remaining publicity budget to generate buzz and keep the topic trending.

Huang Xuke was dumbfounded when he saw the publicity plan Xia Ming presented.

"I don't remember my alma mater teaching these things?"

"Senior, you've been out of school for too long, your textbooks have been upgraded!" Xia Ming joked.

He had witnessed too many domestic film promotion strategies in his previous life, and as a practitioner, these methods were firmly imprinted in his mind.

After recording the interview in the studio, the process was similar to the first interview, both highlighting the difficulties faced by domestic films.

During this period, Xia Ming also specifically mentioned that he had disagreements with the two celebrity studios on the creative process, and the two sides had different opinions on the production direction of the film.

Xia Ming did not specify what the disagreement was about.

Those who are interested will naturally go to the Weibo accounts of the two celebrities' studios to dig deeper, and no matter what their response is, it will only add to the hype for the movie.

As for the movie's title, Xia Ming kept it a secret.

He stated that the film title had been repeatedly rejected, and he suspected that a certain large and powerful film company was suppressing him and denying him a fair chance to compete.

Huang Xuke extracted these topics and created different versions to promote them on Green Fruit Short Video.

Those working in the music industry will repost these videos for secondary promotion when they see them gaining popularity.

Those netizens who participated in the Wawa Creative Competition will eventually receive these videos via streaming.

A few days later, Xia Ming's name, along with Wang Yuan, Ju Jingyi, and domestic science fiction, began to climb the Weibo search rankings.

Xia Ming also released the prepared trailer, simultaneously raising the expectations of both groups of fans.

"The stars shine brightest, but we only love Wang Yuan! Wherever Wang Yuan goes, Little Tangyuan will follow!"

Wang Yuan's fans remain as mindless as ever; they don't care about anything else, they just want to see their idol on screen.

Xia Ming only managed to find a two-second mid-range profile shot from a pile of shoddy footage, but that was enough to make these fans scream for dozens of days.

After all, Wang Junkai and Yi Yangqianxi, who are rivals, have successfully entered the film industry, leaving only Wang Yuan without any notable works.

"My brother has finally made it into the movie industry! Ahhhhh!"

"The film industry is waiting, your king is coming!"

"Regardless of whether the movie is good or not, I'll at least give my brother ten tickets!"

They didn't spread the news far and wide; they mainly gathered in their own fan community to discuss it, letting all the "Little Tangyuan" know that Wang Yuan was going to star in a movie.

When it comes to Ju Jingyi's circle, her fans are more concerned about the topic of "Ju Jingyi's transformation".

"I heard that Ju Jingyi is seeking a breakthrough this time, challenging herself with an unprecedented image on screen?"

"Chen Kun, who's been really popular lately, was brought up by that director named Xia Ming, right? The character of Shao Zhuang is really brilliant; he established the character in just three episodes."

With Xia Ming directing, will Ju Jingyi be able to shed the label of "traffic idol"?

"But I heard that the creative team is at odds?"

"Well, no matter what, we should at least buy a movie ticket for Xiao Ju, right?"

Ju Jingyi's fan base is half male and half female, but the main force on Weibo is female fans.

Some of them are fans of Ju Jingyi's career and are very concerned about whether Ju Jingyi can successfully enter the film industry.

Compared to the popularity of the two celebrities, the film itself received far less attention.

Science fiction has indeed cooled down a bit in the country, but the name Xia Ming is still quite well-known recently.

"Xia Ming, the guy who made 'The Swindler'? How come he's already got a movie out so soon?"

"I heard that it has been in preparation for a long time, but there has not been a suitable actor."

"How did they even find these two lead actors? I instantly lose interest in watching it."

"But the trailer that was released is pretty good! Even though it's just one shot, it really has that Pacific Rim 1 feel to it!"

"No wonder Universal Pictures is trying to suppress this film; it's clearly a box office grab!"

Public opinion gradually fermented online, while Xia Ming, with all the remaining budget, plunged headlong into Tiangong Visual Effects' company.

Whether the word-of-mouth can be reversed ultimately depends on this refined director's cut!