Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 106 Poorly Made Variety Shows

"Alright, it's just asking you to record a show, isn't it?"

In first class on the plane, Lin Cong offered a half-hearted consolation: "They'll prepare a script beforehand, and besides, it's not like they're only interviewing you."

Lin An hesitated for a moment, then turned his head away, ignoring her.

Are you too tired?

Gao Lu leaned out from the back seat and asked, "I brought a neck pillow, do you want it?"

Lin An did not refuse.

He really wanted to sleep; he had been editing videos day and night for some time, and his mental state had reached its limit.

But as soon as he reached out, Gao Lu quickly pulled the pillow back, saying slyly, "Never mind, I'm afraid someone will get jealous."

Gao Yuanyuan's cheeks flushed instantly.

She bumped into Gao Lu in an annoyed tone, then lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Gao Lu laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

On the other side of the aisle, Chen Shu pursed her lips and looked down at a magazine, but she couldn't get past that particular issue for several minutes.

Shen Teng and Deng Chao also had a mocking look on their faces. If they weren't on the plane, they would definitely have jumped up and started making a scene.

Having just arrived at the film set yesterday, Ji Tao, unaware of what had happened during this time, tugged at Qiao Zhenyu's sleeve, his eyes asking what was going on.

Qiao Zhenyu figured this wasn't a secret on set, so they started talking about it quietly.

"Gossip Gao Lu..." Lin An, sitting in the front row, couldn't help but mutter to himself, ignoring the stares and whispers of those around him, and closed his eyes to rest.

Dong Xuan, being kind-hearted, took a small cushion out of her bag and handed it over across the aisle.

"Lin An, here, take this."

Lin An opened his eyes, said thank you, took the pillow, hung it around his neck, and closed his eyes.

As the plane took off, Shanghai outside the window gradually shrank.

Lin An leaned back in his chair, his breathing gradually becoming steady.

Everyone quieted down on their own.

When the plane landed in Changsha, it was already dusk.

As the crew dragged their suitcases out of the arrival hall, they saw a sign in the distance that read "Love Apartment Crew" in large characters, with a big smiley face drawn below.

Lin An glanced at it and said that the painting skills were worrying, so it would be better not to paint it at all.

The person holding the sign was a young man, not yet thirty, wearing a white cotton coat over a plaid shirt.

Although he looked much younger, Lin An still recognized him at a glance.

"Hello everyone, I am Li Weijia. Welcome to Changsha." Li Weijia smiled and waved to everyone.

As an on-location host for "Happy Camp," Li Weijia has extensive experience in hosting events. With just a few words, he warmed up the atmosphere and led the group onto the van.

"Director Lin Cong, I've heard so much about you."

After getting into the car, Li Weijia handed over a stack of documents and smiled, saying, "This is the script for our program. You can take a look. If you have any thoughts or opinions, please let me know, and I'll do my best to help."

They might communicate with the production team.

Lin Cong took the script, glanced at it, and handed it to Lin An beside him: "Take a look."

Lin An nodded and reached out to take it.

Li Weijia's gaze lingered for a moment on this handover.

He subtly withdrew his gaze, his smile unchanged, but in his mind he silently retrieved the previous intelligence.

This Mr. "Lu Ziqiao" is listed as just nineteen years old and is said to be an actor, screenwriter, and producer.

Before coming, Li Weijia was skeptical, thinking that he was probably just a figurehead and that he was the kind of person who was treated like a darling of the crew.

But when the script was handed over just now, the director did it so naturally, and he received it just as naturally. None of the actors around him showed any surprise, as if it was the natural thing to do.

Li Weijia silently raised her opinion of Lin An by one level.

Lin An was unaware that the future veteran of Hunan TV sitting in front of him was reassessing himself.

He kept his head down, turning the pages of the script one by one, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing.

It's clear that today's "Happy Camp" is very different from what I remember.

The opening dance, singing, and talent show took up a large portion of the program, with relatively few entertainment segments; the overall format leaned more towards a "gala" (or "evening party").

Instead of "variety show".

"A poor-quality version of 'Ace vs Ace'..." Lin An muttered a comment.

Is there a problem with the script?

Li Weijia noticed Lin An's frown.

Lin An didn't answer directly, but turned a page of the script and asked, "Mr. Li, I see that a quarter of the script is for program presentations. I'd like to know what those programs are? Our talents don't overlap."

"Don't mention Mr. Li, you're too kind. Just call me Wei Jia."

Li Weijia glanced at Lin An in the back row through the rearview mirror and said with a gentle smile, "The program we have arranged is a group singing performance of the song 'My Future.' There will be accompaniment on site, and the post-production team will also do some audio editing, so you don't need to worry about not singing up to standard."

Before Lin An could react, Shen Teng, who was sitting diagonally behind him, let out a long sigh.

He clearly lacked confidence in his singing ability.

"There probably isn't enough time."

Gao Lu peeked out from the back row, her brows furrowed slightly, and said, "A song is at most four minutes long, and including the opening and introduction, it won't exceed five minutes."

Li Weijia nodded slightly, her tone still unhurried: "That's right. So we'll extend the dance time, and afterwards we'll also insert behind-the-scenes footage of everyone filming."

"You can do it like that?"

Gao Lu paused for a moment, her expression somewhat bewildered.

Li Weijia smiled and explained, "Everyone who comes to participate in the recording is our guest. We need to consider everyone's physical strength and feelings. It's impossible for everyone to perform continuously. The behind-the-scenes footage can fill the time and also allow the audience to understand the daily life of the crew. It's a win-win situation."

Gao Lu was moved, clearly not expecting Hunan TV to be so easy to talk to.

It's just a matter of time, why make it sound so grand... Lin An secretly curled his lip, once again witnessing the "art of speaking".

The atmosphere inside the car fell silent for a moment.

Ji Tao knew Lin An's words had a hidden meaning, so he patted him on the shoulder from behind and lowered his voice, saying, "Are you up to something again?"

"Speak properly, what do you mean by 'devious idea'?" Lin An muttered to himself, ignoring Ji Tao, and looked thoughtfully at the back of Li Weijia's head.

The film and television market is actually in a terrible state right now.

The total number of movie screens nationwide is just over 1000, and the annual box office is less than 10 billion yuan.

From the initial planning stages to the release of a film, investors spend half a year on tenterhooks, and how much they ultimately recoup depends entirely on the conscience of the cinemas.

In this situation, it is almost impossible for film production companies to maintain operations based on box office revenue.

Lin An didn't want to rely on film festivals for a living forever.

Winning an award is ultimately a low-probability event.

If Xiaodingdang Films wants to quickly establish itself, it still needs to focus on TV dramas.

Compared to the chaos in the film market, the profit model of TV drama producers is quite mature.

The core concept is B2B copyright sales, which means treating TV dramas as commodities and selling them to TV stations in exchange for copyright fees.

From the day filming begins, the production company is already in contact with various TV stations, discussing prices, scheduling, and whether to broadcast exclusively or jointly.

In order to sell at a high price, in addition to the quality of the work and its reputation, channels and connections are also very important.

One Shanghai TV station is still too few.

If the policy changes one day, or if there are internal adjustments within the TV station, he will be put in a passive position.

If we can forge a positive relationship with Hunan TV this time, it might be a new way out.

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