"Boss! Welcome back to the company!"
Just as Wang Shu walked into another conference room, he found Wang Baobao, Du Xiaomin, and the entire film crew seated neatly inside.
"Thank you all for your hard work!"
Wang Shu was also very happy. Looking at the people in front of him, he was fortunate to have such employees.
"Let's watch the footage!"
Zhang Yimou then began to play the edited footage on the big screen.
Although it was a rough cut and many details were not in place, it was still evident that both the cinematography and the acting were commendable.
After all, this was the first time these people had truly filmed a television series. From the director and cinematographer to the actors, it was a brand-new attempt.
And for a first work to achieve such a level was already very good.
Especially Wang Baobao, his acting was very natural. In the show, you could hardly see any traces of him acting; it was as if everything was happening for real.
"Yimou, you've done a great job. When will the final cut be ready?"
After watching the first two episodes of the rough cut of "Soldiers Sortie," Wang Shu couldn't help but turn to Zhang Yimou and ask.
"It will probably take another week!"
Zhang Yimou said directly.
"Okay, then let's go and negotiate the sale with the TV stations now. We'll hand over the finished product to them in a week."
Wang Shu instructed Zhang Yimou.
Afterward, Wang Shu and Zhang Yimou directly submitted the sample footage of "Soldiers Sortie" to various TV stations.
However, many companies quickly rejected it because there were basically no military-themed television series on the market at the time.
This was because the main audience for television was women, and women naturally wouldn't like this kind of military-themed television series.
Therefore, Wang Shu had already anticipated that many TV stations would directly return the submissions.
On the other hand, Zhang Yimou felt increasingly uncomfortable as he watched. He hadn't expected that his first directed television series would be so quickly rejected by so many companies.
"Boss, do you think this show can still be sold?"
Zhang Yimou couldn't help but look at Wang Shu with some worry and asked.
Although he could control the quality of the show's content, he couldn't control the market.
If this show couldn't be sold, Wang Shu would lose over ten million.
"Don't worry, this show is of such high quality, and even the military invested in us. This series will definitely be broadcast successfully!"
Wang Shu patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder to comfort him.
However, Wang Shu himself was not entirely confident. After all, he was not very clear about whether this world was optimistic about this kind of military-themed television series.
If no one was optimistic, then this television series of his would be a complete loss.
However, there were over a hundred TV stations in the entire country, and he believed that there would always be one willing to buy this show.
...
"This quarter, our ratings are getting lower and lower, and our new shows are fewer and fewer. We can't continue to be so passive!"
In the conference room of Sunan TV Station in Lin'an City, the atmosphere was peculiar.
A middle-aged man wearing thick-rimmed glasses looked at everyone with a serious expression.
As a television station that focused on film and television dramas in China, Sunan TV Station had not had a drama ranked in the top ten for three consecutive quarters.
Because of this, Sunan TV Station's ranking on the national TV station valuation list had also been declining.
The National TV Station Valuation List was a comprehensive list based on a TV station's ratings, completion rates, and other factors.
It was initiated by the General Administration and used to stimulate competition among TV stations. The valuation on the list could also serve as a reference for advertisers' quoting prices for advertisements.
Therefore, many TV stations paid great attention to this valuation list.
After all, this list directly affected their advertising fees. Sunan TV Station's valuation had declined by several notches in just a few quarters.
The current advertising price had also shrunk by nearly three-quarters compared to the past.
The financial pressure directly impacted Sunan TV Station's ability to purchase new dramas.
They couldn't even secure exclusive broadcasting rights for many big-budget productions.
It was also because of this that Sunan TV Station's viewer ratings continued to decline.
"Director, our copyright acquisition department has too little funding. We can't afford those big productions."
At this moment, a female employee from the copyright acquisition department stood up and said.
"If we can't afford the big productions, are there no other shows? Can't you stop thinking about popular big productions all day and try to discover some excellent niche works? Perhaps they might unexpectedly become a hit?"
The man with glasses then directly said to the female employee who had just spoken.
"Alright, that's all I have to say for today's meeting. Our work focus this month is to quickly acquire new dramas and introduce them for broadcast on our station, because if we continue to re-run old shows, our audience will continue to dwindle."
After the man with glasses finished speaking, he left the conference room.
In the conference room, a group of employees were left staring at each other blankly.
"Xiao Ye, how much money was allocated to our copyright acquisition department this time?"
At this moment, the female employee who had just spoken looked at a younger man next to her and asked.
"Twenty million!"
The man replied nonchalantly.
"Twenty million isn't enough for anything? My favorite idol's single acting fee is far more than twenty million. Our station is too poor. Look at our neighbors at Modu TV Station, they allocate hundreds of millions for copyright purchases from time to time. They directly bought several of my male god's new dramas!"
The female employee pouted and said with a look of complaint.
"How can we compare to Modu TV Station? Having twenty million in funds is already very good."
The man called Xiao Ye retorted.
The company was currently in a difficult period, and it was already not easy to squeeze out these funds for their copyright department.
Later, Jiang Ye returned to his office.
At this time, he happened to see his email flashing.
Then he clicked on it.
The email contained the sample footage for "Soldiers Sortie."
The estimated selling price was 15 million plus 21% advertising revenue sharing.
"They're quite bold. I haven't heard of this company before."
Jiang Ye glanced at the company name and the names of the director and actors, and found that they were all names he didn't recognize.
However, he patiently read through all the details and then clicked on the sample footage.
"It's another military-themed show. This show is doomed!"
The moment he clicked on the sample footage, this thought popped into Jiang Ye's mind.
Based on his experience, there were very few, almost nonexistent, military-themed television series in the current market.
So, although he had initially held a little interest in this show, his heart sank when he discovered it was a military-themed series.
However, as the sample footage continued to play, and as Xu Sanduo's transformation and the vividness of each character unfolded, Jiang Ye, who had no hope for this show, couldn't help but freeze.
This show is interesting. Although the director and actors are not famous, the quality of this show is much better than many big productions.
Even though the protagonist is not handsome, his acting is so much better than those pretty boy actors!
The more he watched, the more fascinated Jiang Ye became with this show.
In the past, he had no feelings for this kind of military-themed television series.
But after watching just ten minutes of the sample footage, he felt a surge of a desire to join the army.
"If the sample footage is this good, the finished product should be even more exciting!"
Jiang Ye muttered to himself.
Then he directly submitted this show for copyright acquisition review.
He even had a vague feeling that this was the great show he had been looking for. The cost was not high, but all the standards met the requirements for a television series.
If market considerations were ignored, this would definitely be a work of art!
Within five minutes of submission, Jiang Ye was immediately summoned to the office by the director of the copyright acquisition department.
"Xiao Jiang, what do you mean by submitting this 'Soldiers Sortie'?"
The director looked at Jiang Ye and asked curiously.
"I think this show is very good. In terms of acting, costume design, and plot, I find it very touching and inspiring."
Jiang Ye directly stated his opinion.
"You're too naive. Anyone who heard you would think you're new to the copyright acquisition department. Who has the time to watch those things you mentioned? People nowadays prefer romance dramas. Your show doesn't even have a single woman. I don't think anyone will watch it!"
At this moment, the female employee from earlier swaggered into the office and said to Jiang Ye.
"Director, I've submitted a few shows for you. Why don't you take a look too?"
The woman then turned her gaze to the director of the copyright acquisition department and asked.
The director glanced at the woman and smiled, nodding. Then he looked at the list of acquisitions submitted.
However, the works submitted by this female employee were basically romance dramas starring young idols.
The station had already acquired many such dramas this year, but none of them had been successful.
"Qi Qi, I think this batch needs more consideration. We've bought many similar works before, but without exception, they all failed!"
After looking at the list of works on the screen, the director of the copyright acquisition department shook his head and said.
As the director of the copyright acquisition department, he had a grasp of market trends. He was well aware of these low-budget dramas starring young idols.
The most expensive part of these dramas was these young idol actors, who had no acting skills but charged hundreds of thousands per episode.
This was a stark contrast to the work Jiang Ye had just submitted.
At least in that work, the bulk of the cost was spent on filming, and he had also glanced at the sample footage. The quality was indeed undeniable.