newbobooks Chapter 223 Draft Planning
Chapter 223 Draft Planning
As the 10 AM workday approaches, the interior of Day and Night Entertainment Company is gradually becoming more lively.
Sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a golden glow on the gleaming marble floor.
A beautiful secretary, dressed in an elegant business suit, entered the tea room carrying a tea set. Upon seeing her colleague making coffee, she immediately smiled warmly and greeted her, "Good morning, Director Su."
Director Su paused in making coffee, looked up, and her exhaustion was evident on her face. She replied listlessly, "Good morning—"
The secretary was startled and quickly asked with concern, "Director Su, you don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?"
"Yes, I didn't sleep much all night." Director Su yawned widely, his eyelids drooping, and said sleepily, "It's okay, I'll just have a cup of coffee to perk me up."
Upon hearing this, the secretary frowned and advised with a hint of disapproval, "Director Su, if you're not feeling well, don't push yourself. Our company offers full-pay sick leave, and if you run out of sick leave, there's always annual leave."
The person making coffee in the break room is Su Yaqin, a professional with twenty years of operational experience.
When Day and Night Entertainment was first established, she was recruited by President Bai and is now considered one of the company's "veterans".
Previously, she was in charge of the operation and planning of many activities at Day and Night Entertainment.
For example, she was responsible for many episodes of the group broadcast project at the training base, and the results were very good.
Later, she went on to coordinate the offline operations of the entire "Asking Immortals" actor selection project.
Under her management, the entire selection process proceeded smoothly, and each actor's personality was fully showcased.
The phenomenal success of the movie "Asking the Immortals" is strong proof of the success of this actor project.
Director Su is the soul of their company; his health can't be compromised!
Thinking of this, the secretary's expression of concern deepened.
Seeing this, Director Su waved his hand and explained, "I'm not feeling unwell, I'm just having a bit of a headache because of a new project proposal."
She is not a coffee lover.
Yesterday, she spent the whole day brainstorming a brand new project, and before she knew it, she was so engrossed in it that she was working on it until late into the night.
This is always the case.
Whenever she comes across an interesting project, she becomes completely absorbed in it, unable to stop thinking about it.
Yesterday, Mr. Bai sent her a private message, revealing that the company might be doing a talent show in the future and he wanted to ask for her advice.
This news thrilled Director Su.
As a veteran "Xiufen" (a term referring to a fan of talent shows) for ten years, she has always hoped to create a successful talent show herself, and now she finally has the opportunity to show her skills.
Her mind was full of ideas, and she was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night in order to write them all down.
Seeing that Director Su insisted, the secretary said no more.
After encouraging Director Su, she suddenly seemed to remember something important and quickly reminded him, "Oh right, President Bai came to the company today and brought back a lot of gifts from abroad. They're all in the outer office. Remember to go get them."
Su Yaqin's eyes lit up, and her spirits instantly lifted. The fatigue on her face vanished, and she asked excitedly, "Really? Is President Bai in his office now?"
The secretary nodded and replied, "It should be there."
"Great!" Su Yaqin exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring the coffee she was still brewing, and ran straight out of the tea room.
The secretary blinked, not yet reacting, before Director Su had already dashed away and disappeared without a trace.
She stood there stunned in surprise, wondering: How did Director Su do that? He was just yawning a moment ago, and now he's full of energy in an instant.
On the other side, Bai Li had just arrived at her office and hadn't even settled in when she heard a knock on the door. She casually replied, "Just come in."
As soon as the door opened, Director Su walked in carrying a stack of documents: "President Bai, I have a few ideas about the talent show that I'd like to discuss with you."
The moment Bai Li saw Director Su, she knew why she had come.
She smiled and stood up, indicating, "Director Su, please sit here."
The enormous CEO's office, besides Bai Li's desk, also features a dedicated reception sofa, soft, comfortable, and luxurious.
Su Yaqin walked quickly to the sofa, sat down gently, steadied her breathing, and handed the carefully prepared stack of documents to Bai Li with both hands:
"President Bai, this is the draft proposal. You can take a look at it and see if there are any parts that need to be modified."
Bai Li reached out and took it.
It must have just been printed; it's still a little warm to the touch.
I weighed it in my hand; it was quite heavy.
Judging from the quality of the projects that Director Su had previously been in charge of, Bai Li fully understood the level of Director Su's capabilities.
If there's a ceiling to the industry, then Director Su is definitely at the ceiling level.
Bai Li began to wonder what kind of surprise Director Su would give her.
She opened the document and began to read it carefully.
As she flipped through the documents, Director Su explained their contents to Bai Li:
"The first step is to decapitate, and my strategy is to establish a clause protecting amateurs. Amateurs can enjoy the right to participate in competitions without the involvement of an agency, while contestants who are signed with an agency must pay a high participation deposit if they want to participate in the competition."
Upon hearing this, Bai Li nodded slightly, a hint of agreement flashing in her eyes.
In the current draft environment, high deposits are indeed an effective means of preventing malicious withdrawals.
Most people participate in talent shows simply as a stepping stone to gain popularity, and management companies send their artists to participate in the same way in order to gain free popularity.
This phenomenon is commonplace. Although it is unethical, the allure of the profits behind it attracts many people.
A once wildly popular talent show suffered a reputation collapse because the agencies collectively withdrew from the competition, which even became a trending topic at the time.
With this large deposit, those with ill intentions will likely be deterred.
Su Yaqin pointed to the "Competition Deposit Tier Table" and continued to explain:
"A brokerage firm with 50 million in assets has a deposit of 20 million, a small firm with 1 million in assets has a deposit of 5 million, and no entry barrier for amateurs."
"This approach avoids large companies 'raising' others to occupy quotas, while also providing exposure opportunities for truly promising ordinary people."
Seeing the satisfied expression on President Bai's face, Su Yaqin's confidence soared, and she continued:
"Secondly, there's the voting mechanism for the competition. You can vote through our company's dedicated app... Referring to the operational data of the 'Asking Immortals' actor project, this closed-loop development system can increase user retention rate by 67%."
"The live broadcast of the Hell Week training can shatter the 'idol halo' and turn it into 'real sweat.' Viewers are tired of beauty filters and instead enjoy the '24-hour makeup-free follow-up' real reality show. This has been proven by the day and night group broadcast."
……
Director Su spoke for nearly half an hour about the competition format.
However, Bai Li listened intently and didn't feel that time was passing slowly.
After explaining the competition format, Director Su then began to talk about the mentor lineup;
"As for the mentors' team, I've already prepared several candidates, including those who can generate buzz and those who are responsible for the songs and dances. Below are their profiles..."
As Bai Li listened, the surprise in her eyes grew stronger.
That night, she only had this initial idea, and the next day she casually mentioned it to Director Su.
Unexpectedly, on my first day back at work after jet lag, Director Su presented me with such a complete project proposal.
This proposal is meticulous and considers every aspect thoroughly, from how to avoid capital games to how to create sustainable value output; from cost control to profit sharing, nothing is overlooked.
He had only given Director Su a point, yet she gave him an entire "world".
Is she Superman?
When Shirai first opened the proposal, she was rather casual.
Now, she is completely captivated.
Bai Li has an entry for "[Business Insights]".
Although she wasn't as professional as Su Yaqin in planning and arranging the competition.
But she has a keen sense for various business opportunities.
What she saw was not just a talent show, but a complete industrial chain that connects "ordinary people incubation - user development - commercial monetization".
After ordinary people debut through the show, they can directly join their company. The millions of users accumulated by the APP become a natural fan pool, forming a closed-loop ecosystem with subsequent group variety shows, concerts, and live broadcasts.
The draft proposed by Director Su is very much in line with the current situation of the domestic idol market, and directly addresses the three major pain points of the domestic idol market: "capital manipulation", "trust crisis" and "user loss".
After carefully reading the last page, Bai Lizai solemnly closed the roughly bound booklet. Seeing the five large characters on the cover—"Star-Making Lab"—he exclaimed again: What a great name, simple and direct.
Director Su had even come up with a name for her!
She immediately patted Director Su on the shoulder, moved: "Director Su, with you, we'll have everything! The 'Star-Making Lab' project is now entirely in your hands. Day and night will shine again because of you!"
Su Yaqin felt a trusting pat on the shoulder, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
She's quite old now, and after years of working in this industry, the wear and tear of time has left her feeling weary and numb to the routine, monotonous work process. Her former enthusiasm has been completely worn away.
Only with the day and night entertainment did I finally rediscover the feeling of my youth.
The past year has been very busy, but it has been a very fulfilling one.
She witnessed firsthand how ideas she had never dared to imagine took root, sprouted, grew strong, and finally blossomed into success under the collective care of everyone.
That deep sense of accomplishment is irreplaceable.
What could reignite her passion after twenty years of being a corporate slave, besides money, was a boss who supported her ideas.
As for Shirai, she has both.
Bai Li not only treated her well, but more importantly, she always supported her creativity without reservation, allowing her to unleash her talents without any worries and put her ideas into practice one by one.
That's why she willingly stayed up all night to work on a project proposal.
In the past, she would never have imagined that such a thing would happen to her.
With that thought in mind, Su Yaqin snapped out of her reverie, her gaze hardening. "Thank you, Mr. Bai. I won't let you down!"
After seeing off a capable assistant, Bai Li continued to handle some other business.
This trip lasted for half a month. Although Jingye helped me, there were still a lot of things piling up.
The most important of these is the planning for a second feature film.
As she revealed in a previous interview, she had plans to make a science fiction film, and it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Although "Asking the Immortals" is a film created by Day and Night Entertainment, it is based on a novel, and the copyright was purchased from someone else.
This was a last resort.
At the time, the company was just starting out, and she had to leverage the IP effect of the original work to attract attention.
But now there's no need to worry about that.
The success of "Asking Immortals" is a testament to its quality!
The first company in China to receive the Apollo Golden Statue Award—they can live off the entertainment of day and night for a lifetime!
Therefore, she definitely doesn't lack investment or viewership for her second film.
This time, she wants to make a film with a completely original screenplay.
She has already found a professional screenwriter.
Judging by the time, it should be almost here...
Thinking of this, the secretary knocked on the door, then pushed it open and respectfully announced, "President Bai, Teacher Huang Wen has arrived."
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Bai Li immediately went to the conference room.
Inside the meeting room, Jingye was also present.
Bai Li and Jing Ye exchanged a glance, then looked at the middle-aged man sitting next to him.
This must be Teacher Huang Wen...
Huang Wen is a leading figure in Chinese science fiction literature and a pioneer in screenwriting. He is the first screenwriter to win both the Hugo Award and the China Science Fiction Galaxy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The labels on their heads are everywhere, and any one of them could be terrifying.
But he doesn't look scary at all. He has a shaved head, his face looks somewhat like Maitreya Buddha, and he has a particularly kind smile.
Bai Li took the initiative to walk up and shake his hand: "Teacher Huang Wen, thank you for making this trip."
Huang Wen smiled broadly and said gently, "You're too kind, Mr. Bai. Thank you very much for inviting me."
Given Huang Wen's status, inviting him to come out of retirement should have required considerable effort, including not only building connections but also spending money.
The problem is that even if you offer money, the person in question isn't short of cash, and if they're in a bad mood, they might not be willing to come out of retirement.
But in fact, the process of Bai Li inviting Teacher Huang Wen was very smooth.
Even when Professor Huang Wen learned about this, he took the initiative to contact them and offered to provide an original script.
Later, I learned the reason: it was because Mr. Huang Wen watched "Asking the Immortals" and really liked the special effects in it.
He happened to have a script he had written years ago, which had never been published because it was a bit short, but it was very suitable as a movie.
After searching for so many years, I still haven't found a company qualified to film this script.
Day and Night Entertainment gave him hope; he would only feel at ease if the script was produced by Day and Night Entertainment.
Huang Wen took out a yellowed bound book from his briefcase, which was full of his handwritten notes.
The script is titled "The Craftsman".