Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 805 Writing the Script
A short while later, Factory Director Wu and Kuang Mingyi came out together.

With just a glance, I saw Chen Fan smoking on the roadside not far from the jeep.

Since they needed to discuss business, it wasn't appropriate to continue sitting in the car, so Chen Fan told the two sisters to wait in the car while he waited to the side.

As the two approached, he had just handed them two cigarettes when he heard Factory Director Wu ask impatiently, "Old Kuang said you wanted to discuss creating stars and making TV dramas, what's the situation?"

Chen Fan smiled, and after they lit their cigarettes, he said seriously, "Director Wu, do you want Jiangying Film Studio to rise again?"

Factory Director Wu's expression changed. "Who wouldn't want that!"

If he didn't want to, why would he travel thousands of miles to Shanghai to find Chen Fan? Why would he bet the entire factory on Chen Fan, with even the factory manager working as his assistant?

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Since you're interested, I'll give you a suggestion."

Factory Director Wu, "Go ahead."

Chen Fan said seriously, "If we want the factory to thrive, we need more productions. Good productions are one aspect, but star actors are also very important. For example, the Beijing Film Studio produced a group of 'golden flowers' in the 60s, including Xie Fang, Yu Ping and others."

Now, they have five leading ladies: Zhang Jinming, Li Xiuming, Liu Xiaoqing, Zhang Liwei, and Fang Shu. Audiences love watching any film starring them.

Factory Director Wu nodded without hesitation, "This was also mentioned in Popular Cinema, which even referred to them as 'star actresses'."

Chen Fan nodded and said, "Yes, that's star actors. If we want to run a film studio well, we must start from two aspects: cultivating 'star actors' and making good movies."

Hearing this, Director Wu couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "We understand what you're saying, but the key is that good movies are hard to make. Without good movies, how can we create 'star actors'?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and looked at Chen Fan with a face full of doubt, "You just said you wanted to make a TV series. Does that mean making a TV series can create a 'star'?"

Kuang Mingyi, who was standing nearby, immediately said, "No way?"

He looked at the two of them as he spoke, and finally his gaze settled on Chen Fan's face, his eyes full of doubt. "I've seen that TV series before. It's just a few people performing in one or a few scenes, similar to a stage play. After it's filmed, it's broadcast on TV."

This art form is widely considered a substitute for film; if it's not even film, how can it create movie stars?

Chen Fan waved his hand and laughed, "That's because old TV dramas weren't good enough. Just think about it, what would happen if we made TV dramas like movies?"

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Wu immediately blurted out without hesitation, "He owes money!"

Chen Fan was taken aback. "Huh?"

Director Wu shrugged and said, "Making movies is expensive. We can only recoup our costs and make a profit by having China Film Group buy our films. If we use the same methods to make TV series, who would we sell them to? TV stations? Do they have that much money to buy them?"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "I just want to ask one question: why is the cost of making movies so high?"

Director Wu said, "Because film is expensive. Shooting a movie costs at least several hundred thousand yuan worth of film..."

Chen Fan interrupted him again, "Okay, then let's use a video camera instead of a camera, is that alright?!"

Factory Director Wu was stunned for a moment, and after two or three seconds, he turned to look at Kuang Mingyi.

Kuang Mingyi frowned, thinking as he spoke, "Cameras use film, and film is expensive. But video cameras use magnetic tape."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Director Wu, “Magnetic tapes can be reused repeatedly, and they are much cheaper than film. Shooting a movie on film costs at least several hundred thousand yuan, but with a camera, perhaps only tens of thousands of yuan will suffice.”

Factory Director Wu's eyes widened in shock. "Tens of thousands of yuan? That's a huge difference?"

In later generations, television drama production was expensive because of the high costs of actors' salaries, costumes, props, and staff wages. Now, apart from costumes, props, and props, actors' salaries are fixed, and even the cost of costumes, props, and props can vary.

All things considered, if we don't pay attention to costumes, props, and sets, the cost is at most a small filming allowance, like one yuan per person per day. The main cost is filming itself, but if we use a video camera and dozens of tapes, it really doesn't cost much.

Seeing that Director Wu looked a little confused, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Since the invention of the magnetic tape camera in the 1950s, this technology has been adopted by television stations in major countries around the world. Now, after more than 20 years of development, camera technology has become very mature."

Creating star actors, or rather, training actors, requires a large number of works to provide material for them and to allow them to practice.

Jiangying Studio, while capable of independently producing films, may lack the necessary skills and actors, but there are fewer requirements for producing television dramas.

He turned to look at Kuang Mingyi and smiled, "Director Kuang, didn't you want to be a film director? Why not try starting with television dramas? The first step is to move the filming locations from indoors to outdoors and shoot television dramas using cinematic techniques."

You can start by filming one or two episodes of a TV series and submit them to Jiangnan TV for broadcast. If the audience response is good, you can sell the series to TV stations in other parts of the country.

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and offered it to everyone, while smiling at Director Wu, "A movie can only be sold once, but a TV series can be sold many times. There are as many TV stations in the country as there are, so we can sell it as many times as we want. We won't have to worry about making money then."

Factory Director Wu's eyes lit up as he listened. "If that's the case, it could be very promising."

Kuang Mingyi nodded slightly and said, "As long as the story is interesting, the TV series can also be outstanding."

He looked at Director Wu, then at Chen Fan, his eyes filled with sudden realization. "I understand. You want us to film TV series first, and then use that to train actors. If the TV series is well-made, it can be broadcast on various TV stations across the country, and the actors can become famous."

"If they go back to making movies, and audiences see their familiar faces, they can naturally be turned into movie stars!"

Chen Fan nodded and laughed heartily, "Indeed."

He turned to Director Wu and said, "That's what I mean. Jiangying Film Studio has actors, props, hundreds of acres of outdoor shooting locations, and all kinds of talent needed for post-production. As long as we are well prepared, filming a TV series is not difficult."

Jiangnan TV can serve as our testing ground. Money is not an issue. Once the TV series is produced, we can just give it to them for broadcast. If the audience and the leaders are satisfied, why would we be afraid of them not paying us?

With the example of Jiangnan TV, Jiang Film Studio can continue selling TV dramas to other TV stations, and might even make more money than producing movies.

By 1979, there were more than 80 television stations nationwide. As the 1980s approached, television production surged, and the number of television stations also exploded. In just a few years, my country would officially enter the "television era," with several hundred television stations across the country.

It was around this time that the scene of the whole village, young and old, crowding together to watch TV dramas in the 1980s became an unforgettable memory for many born in the 1980s.

Starting to film the TV series now is a great opportunity to seize the limelight. Once Jiangying Studio tests the waters and trains the team, Chen Fan can launch the TV series project "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" and be the first to benefit.

Except for the fact that the money earned wasn't his own, everything else was perfect. Thinking of this, Chen Fan suddenly had an idea and remembered his promise to He Qingsheng to help promote the films from Jiangxi Film Studio abroad.

Perhaps Zhou Yali could establish a comprehensive media company in the United States?

I just don't know when my country started allowing foreign investment in the film and television industry?

While Chen Fan was deep in thought, Director Wu had already figured everything out. He slapped his thigh and grinned, "So, the TV series has a lot of potential?"

Kuang Mingyi pursed his lips and nodded, "I think it's a good idea."

He then looked at Chen Fan and asked, "I just don't know if there are any regulations or restrictions from higher authorities regarding this?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, "That's easy. Let's go to the hall and ask. As long as there's no explicit prohibition, it means it's okay to do."

Last year's meeting talked about reform, but if we don't even dare to take this step, what kind of reform are we talking about?

Factory Director Wu thought for a moment and said, "I think it should be fine. At most, we can bring in Jiangnan TV and film it under their name. That should definitely work."

Chen Fan clapped his hands and laughed, "Then it's settled?"

Factory Director Wu and Kuang Mingyi exchanged a glance and laughed heartily, "It's settled!"

Both of them were extremely happy. Director Wu felt that he had opened up a new path for Jiangxi Film Studio, while Kuang Mingyi was excited about the opportunity to direct independently.

Surely Director Chen wouldn't try to compete with me for such a small project as a TV series?
Actually, it doesn't matter if we fight over it. With the large sum of money from the sale of "Little Lotus Just Showing Its Tip", the factory can easily take out tens of thousands of yuan to produce one or two episodes of a TV series.

With his dream within reach, Kuang Mingyi was already quite impatient.

But after only two or three seconds, he realized what was happening and turned to look at Chen Fan, "Uh, Director Chen, where's the script?"

Chen Fan blinked. "What script?"

Kuang Mingyi said with a bitter face, "A TV drama script? Without a script, what are we supposed to film?"

Factory Director Wu also came to his senses and immediately smiled at Chen Fan, "Director Chen, you are a great writer, so you'll have to put some effort into this script. But don't worry, we will definitely set the script fee according to the highest standard, so you won't be taken advantage of."

Chen Fan waved his hand and laughed, "How can I possibly write them all? Doesn't your Jiangying Film Studio have its own screenwriters? Just have them select a few popular articles based on the template of 'A Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip' and adapt them into TV drama scripts."

Kuang Mingyi hesitated for a moment, "Is this... alright?"

Factory Director Wu frowned deeply, "But they have no experience."

Chen Fan sighed and said earnestly, "Director Wu, weren't you fighting for opportunities for actors like Master Yang before? Why do you lose confidence when it comes to the comrades in the creative department?"
How will you know if it will work or not if you don't try?

If you still lack confidence, you can always go to the Writers' Association and ask Chairman He for help. Ask him to recommend some writers with experience in theatrical creation. That's another option, isn't it?

Factory Director Wu nodded slightly as he listened, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, we'll do it your way."

After finalizing the plan, Director Wu rushed back to convene the factory's key leaders and cadres to implement it.

Kuang Mingyi is currently unable to leave his post; he needs to continue serving as Director Chen's assistant director to keep the crew running.

However, with his dream a little closer to reality, his enthusiasm grew even stronger. He worked day and night, hoping to finish filming as soon as possible and then go on to film his own TV series.

After spending two days with Chen Fan, Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili returned to Shanghai on Wednesday, October 3.

When Chen Fan was taking them to the airport, he suddenly brought up the matter, "Tian Tian, ​​Jiang Film Studio is currently soliciting TV drama scripts, why don't you give it a try?"

Jiang Tiantian was somewhat surprised, "You want me to write the script?"

Chen Fan glanced at the rearview mirror. Compared to before, this woman's complexion was noticeably more mature, but not in the sense of aging. Instead, she had become more charming, appearing more composed and dignified, and radiant than before.

He smiled and said, "It's not about what I want, it's about whether you want to or not. If you're not willing, of course I won't force you."

Jiang Tiantian frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm quite interested."

He then wrinkled his nose and said, "But I don't know what to write."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "You can write about anything. Write about campus life as you see it, the story of the first generation of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination, it must be very interesting, right?"

After a pause, he continued, "Doesn't your school have a literary society with many people who enjoy literary creation? You can tell your classmates about this, and then you can organize them to create a batch of scripts and submit them to Jiangying Studio."

Jiang Tiantian frowned, lost in thought, and occasionally nodded slightly. "Hmm, I understand. I'll contact my teachers and classmates to handle it when I get back to school this afternoon."

Hearing her offer to contact the teacher, Chen Fan couldn't help but nod in approval. His sister's experience over the past year or two hadn't been in vain.

At this moment, Jiang Lili asked curiously, "Xiao Fan, if it were you, what kind of story would you write?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his reverie and said with a smile, "There are many. In fact, many of the novels I wrote before could be adapted into TV series, which would be quite in line with the tastes of today's audiences."

Then a thought flashed through his mind, and he said, "Sweetie, I have a task for you. Are you interested?"

Jiang Tiantian looked up at him, "What?"

Chen Fan said, "I'll call Mr. Ba later and ask him to help me contact the Public Security Bureau to borrow some of the publicly available case files. Could you write a script about investigating and solving the case based on those files?"

"A script for solving a case?"

Jiang Tiantian was taken aback at first, but her eyes grew brighter and brighter. "You know what, I'm actually quite interested."

He then grinned and said, "Okay, I'll take this task."

(End of this chapter)