HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Looking at Xu Lang in the crowd, Liu Xiaoli felt another wave of annoyance, secretly blaming her daughter.

"This child, saying this in public, isn't that giving people something to talk about and spreading rumors?"

well!"

Liu Yifei walked down amidst the merriment of the crowd.

Looking at Liu Yifei coming down, and then at the smug Xu Lang beside her, An Yixuan wrinkled his nose and thought to himself, "..."

"This guy tricked me again!"

Next, it's An Yixuan's turn to take the stage.

She was very dignified, and as she walked up, she was still thinking about how to express herself in a more expansive way.

But just as he stood still to speak, he heard Xu Lang below lead the shout:

"good!"

He shouted while leading the applause.

People around them turned to look, thinking...

"Has Xu Lang gone mad? He hasn't said anything yet, what's he shouting about?"

Seeing this, Liu Xiaoli nudged Liu Yifei next to her with her elbow and whispered:

"Did you see that? No one cares what you say."

Everyone's attention is on An Yixuan!

Seeing Xu Lang cheering loudly and clapping enthusiastically, Liu Yifei, though not as sensitive as Liu Xiaoli, still felt a little disappointed.

Seeing Xu Lang suddenly clapping and cheering, Yang Ying felt a little embarrassed. She tugged at him and whispered some words of encouragement.

"Brother Lang, calm down, have some shame, okay?"

"Calm down my ass! How am I shameless?!"

Xu Lang glared at Yang Ying, then urged Tang Yan and Yang Ying to...

"An Yixuan is from our own studio, so stop staring and cheer him on!"

"Well..."

Forced by him, the two had no choice but to clap along.

Seeing Xu Lang and the other two applauding, An Yixuan on the stage looked embarrassed.

"Huh? How did I end up joining such a stupid studio? It's so embarrassing!"

Under the encouragement of Xu Lang and the other two, Cai Yinong couldn't help but shake her head with amusement, but she also clapped along to show her respect.

As soon as she started, many people joined in the applause.

An Yixuan bowed again to all the crew members and staff before saying:

"I came here from Taiwan to film a movie. I was unfamiliar with the place and people, and I thought it would be very difficult. But I didn't expect to spend the most unforgettable three months here."

I thank Mr. Cai, Director Li, and everyone in the crew for taking such good care of me. Thank you so much.

"it is good."

Xu Lang then led the applause and cheers.

Seeing Xu Lang's hard work, An Yixuan felt even more complicated emotions.

She paused for a moment before speaking:

"Finally, I would like to thank my new boss, Xu Lang. She secured more screen time for me in the drama and helped me explore new acting opportunities. Thank you so much."

An Yixuan spoke very seriously and sincerely.

Now, Xu Lang felt embarrassed to lead the applause and cheers.

Fortunately, Cai Yinong was the first to applaud and took over for Xu Lang.

While clapping, Cai Yinong said to Xu Lang:

"Xu Lang, it's all because of you that Lin Yueru added so much more scenes. You're really a responsible boss."

"Haha, this is all thanks to President Cai's strong support."

Xu Lang spoke to Cai Yinong very sincerely.

"By the way, after the wrap-up ceremony later, let's have a good talk about publicity."

"Yes, I also have some ideas that I'd like to discuss with Mr. Cai."

Xu Lang knew that this was Cai Yinong's real purpose in calling him here.

Soon, the brief wrap-up ceremony ended, and the staff and actors dispersed. Xu Lang, along with Cai Yinong and Li Guoli, went directly to the conference room.

Inside the meeting room, five or six people were already preparing.

Among them, Xu Lang knew one person, Li Ting from the planning team, but he did not know the other four.

After everyone was seated, Cai Yinong pointed to a middle-aged man next to Li Ting and introduced him to Xu Lang:

"This is Feng Zhicheng, who is in charge of the series' distribution."

After saying that, she turned directly to Li Ting and said:

"Alright, let's begin."

"it is good."

Then, Li Ting turned on her computer and started showing a PowerPoint presentation while giving an explanation.

At first, Xu Lang was a little confused and didn't know what this meeting was about.

But after listening for a while, Xu Lang understood.

"Oh, so it's the release conference for the TV series 'Chinese Paladin'."

In other words, it's about developing a sales strategy for this drama series.

After filming wraps up, while post-production and approval processes (3-5 months) are underway, the distribution team steps in to start planning how to sell the series to other companies.

To be honest, this was the first time Xu Lang had ever encountered this issuance process, but after watching Li Ting's explanation, he understood the process and principles involved.

Simply put, once a TV series is produced, the production company (Tangren Cai Yinong) mainly has to deal with local TV stations.

The distribution team, like buying a specific product, goes door-to-door to promote and negotiate prices.

At this point, Li Ting brought up a point that Xu Lang had always wanted to know: the cost and revenue of making a TV series.

Then Li Ting pointed to the table on the screen and said:

"The total planned investment for our drama was 2000 million yuan. As of now, which means we've finished filming, the costs are basically within a controllable range."

Xu Lang became interested and looked at the table on the screen in detail:

Copyright of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy": 100 million (already paid);

Basic production costs: 1450 million (already incurred);

Post-production and special effects: 300 million (contract already signed);

Distribution and basic marketing costs: 130 million (planned)

Total cost of the entire project: 1980 million.

After seeing this number, Xu Lang had a better understanding of the situation.

"From now on, don't even think about making a TV series without 2000 million!"

This also became Xu Lang's primary goal for making money.

Then, Li Ting opened another spreadsheet showing projected income.

Xu Lang became even more interested. Everyone said that the film and television industry could make money, but he really didn't know how it did.

The form reads:

Audio-visual rights to the TV series: 550 million (contract already signed);

First and second rounds of broadcast on mainland TV stations: estimated at approximately 800 million viewers;

Overseas distribution revenue (Southeast Asia and Taiwan): 350 million;

Music copyright (OST + ringtone licensing): 150 million (of which, the copyright fees for "Sha Po Lang", "June Rain", and "Always Quiet" need to be deducted, estimated at 50).

Long-tail cycle (2006-2009):

Revenue from initial satellite broadcast and multiple rebroadcasts: 650 million;

Rebroadcast authorizations for local terrestrial stations: 150 million;

Projected total revenue: 2600 million.

Net profit for the entire cycle: approximately 600 million.

Upon seeing this number, Xu Lang felt a wave of unease.

It looks like you made 600 million, but that was all earned during the long tail period. Over a longer period, that amount of money shrinks significantly.

"Aren't film and television companies supposed to make money? Why do they look so pathetic?"

As Xu Lang was pondering this question, he heard Cai Yinong speak.

She said to Feng Zhicheng, the head of the distribution team:

"Old Feng, at this stage, whether this show can break even depends on you guys."

At this point, she pointed to the numbers on the screen and said:

"All things considered, your price per episode cannot be lower than 23."

(23 is the average price, which includes the total revenue after multiple broadcasts by multiple TV stations, divided by the total base. In reality, the cost for a single episode to be purchased in the first round by a local TV station is about 6 to 7.)

Hearing Cai Yinong say this, Feng Zhicheng sat up straight and said with a smile:

"Mr. Cai, you can't let us drive the TV station away, you have to give us more support!"

"Support? Yes."

As Cai Yinong spoke, she looked at Xu Lang.

"Your support is right here."

After Cai Yinong finished speaking, everyone in the conference room looked at Xu Lang in unison.