A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

After reading the proposal, Deng Zongqi did not speak immediately.

Instead, they flipped back to the beginning and marked several places.

Su Fan wasn't in a hurry and sat down to the side with his teacup in hand.

After a while, Deng Zongqi finally looked up: "The idea is good, but there are a few issues I need to discuss with you."

Su Fan put down his cup: "Please go ahead."

Deng Zongqi pointed to one of the pages: "First, let's talk about timing. Your travel livestream will continue after the New Year, and the routes are decided by audience votes. But the ingredients and people in the documentary have their own timelines. If something misses its season, you have to wait another year. How do you coordinate these two aspects?"

Su Fan nodded: "So the documentary can't follow the live broadcast schedule completely. The two sides can cooperate, but they have to have their own filming plans."

"You mean, form separate teams?"

"That's right." Su Fan explained, "The topics and people for the documentary need to be researched in advance. When it's the filming season, the production team goes there first. If it happens to overlap with the live broadcast route, the two sides can share some resources for pre-production communication. If they don't overlap, we can't delay filming just to wait for us to get there."

Deng Zongqi then asked, "And what about yourself? You can't be watching both sides at the same time."

"I'm responsible for clearly explaining the content direction and narrative approach. We discuss important topics together, and then we watch the sample footage together. As for the specifics of how to shoot it, that's definitely up to an experienced team. I can't just go wherever I want and expect the whole project to follow."

This answer made Deng Zongqi nod slightly.

His biggest worry was that Su Fan wanted to control everything himself.

If that were to happen, the two programs could easily drag each other down.

He turned another page: "There's also the broadcast time. Travel live streams are instantaneous, but documentaries have to go through filming, editing, and review. By the time the film is finished, you may have already traveled to several destinations, and the initial buzz surrounding the topic will have died down."

Su Fan smiled and said, "This time difference is just what we need to take advantage of."

Deng Zongqi looked at him: "What do you mean?"

"During the live broadcast, we can first introduce some places and people to the audience. For example, we can go to a sauce-making workshop and taste the sauce on the spot. But how exactly is this sauce made and why does it take so long? The live broadcast cannot cover several months in a row."

Su Fan paused briefly, then continued, "The documentary team can do that. We can tell the audience in the live stream that there will be a film that shows the process of this sauce from raw materials to the table. If there are suitable clips, we can use them as a preview. As the audience follows the travel live stream, they will gradually find out what this documentary is about."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wenli said, "So you're saying you started promoting the documentary while you were live-streaming?"

"Yes." Su Fan nodded. "There's no need to wait until the film is finished before suddenly telling everyone about this program. We can introduce it gradually along the way, and by the time it's officially broadcast, the audience will already have expectations for the people and stories in it, and the promotion will naturally follow."

After listening, Deng Zongqi scribbled a few notes on a piece of paper, then asked, "But if too much is revealed beforehand, won't the final product lose its novelty?"

"Therefore, we need to plan in advance which content is suitable for live streaming and which content is reserved for documentaries. Live streaming can generate interest, but the full-length documentary needs to provide a more complete picture. Just because a viewer knows that a food is delicious doesn't mean they know the story behind it. We also can't just re-edit what was said in the live stream and put it on TV."

Deng Zongqi smiled and said, "We need to be careful about how we handle this."

"Definitely, in the end, it still depends on the film itself to keep people engaged."

At this point in the conversation, Deng Zongqi was no longer just asking questions based on the project proposal.

He picked up his pen and began asking more specific questions about production: "Local cultural and tourism associations are very willing to cooperate, but after cooperating, they will inevitably want more screen time for themselves. How do you plan to divide it? One episode per location?"

Su Fan shook his head: "We can't divide it by location; we have to divide it by theme."

"To be more specific."

"For example, when talking about staple foods, we can put people from different places in the same episode. Everyone uses different grains and cooks them differently, but this bowl of rice and this pancake are very important in their lives. We can find stories along this common point so that the whole episode will be coherent."

Su Fan glanced at the proposal and continued, "When contacting local authorities in the early stages, this principle must also be made clear. Local authorities can provide clues and help with contact, but ultimately, who to film and how much to use should be determined by the content. We can't just give more minutes of filming to whichever side receives better treatment."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zongqi paused slightly in his grip on the pen.

Such requirements sound simple, but they are the easiest to waver on when actually doing a project.

The fact that Su Fan was able to figure this out from the beginning means that he knew what this program would ultimately rely on to succeed.

Jiang Wenli, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement: "This principle must be followed."

Deng Zongqi then asked, "What about the characters? Ordinary people might not be able to express themselves well. Some people can't even speak in front of the camera. What if we find someone with a great story but who isn't good at speaking?"

"Then don't force him to talk," Su Fan replied decisively, "Just tell him to do things."

Deng Zongqi looked up at him.

Su Fan continued, "A master craftsman may not be able to explain what inheritance means, but he can definitely tell if his apprentice has done something wrong. Whether he lends a hand to help him or takes the item back to redo it, these actions can explain a lot. For example, a mother may not be able to express how much she misses her child, but she will buy things in advance before the child comes home, cook things first when she enters the kitchen, and pack things in the luggage in case the child can't finish the food. If the camera captures these things, the audience will naturally understand. Information that needs to be explained can be supplemented with interviews and narration, but the character's emotions are best developed from his own life."

The office fell silent for a moment.

Deng Zongqi looked at Su Fan, his expression completely different from when he first entered.

The previous answer can also be attributed to Su Fan's experience in live streaming and program operation.

But the more they talked, the more he could feel that Su Fan's understanding of the documentary had penetrated into the specific filming and narrative.

How should the time be arranged?

How should the content be organized?

How are the characters presented?

He even had a clear understanding of which demands could not be easily compromised.

Jiang Wenli was also somewhat surprised to hear this.

When he reviewed the proposal last night, he already felt it was complete enough.

Only now did Su Fan realize that he could actually expand upon those seemingly simple arrangements in the document, line by line.

Deng Zongqi glanced down at the paper filled with notes in his hand, then looked up at Su Fan and couldn't help but ask, "Have you thought about all these questions beforehand?"

Su Fan smiled and nodded: "When making a plan, you always have to think about what you'll encounter when you actually start filming."

Jiang Wenli and Deng Zongqi exchanged a glance, both seeing undisguised surprise on each other's faces.

They had originally planned to help Su Fan complete the plan together.

After this conversation, it was actually them who needed to take notes and process what they had to do.