Images Started to Move Chapter 10

"so much?"

Han Sanping took the script of "A Ghost Story" from Ethan Tang and felt something was wrong as soon as he touched it.

This thick stack is almost as thick as three movie scripts.

"Mr. Han, there is a script, a storyboard and a planning document," Ethan Tang explained.

"Are there storyboards and planning documents?"

Han Sanping became interested and motioned Ethan Tang to wait a moment.

He didn't read the script first. As a professional director, it would be too easy for him to just read the storyboard.

I read the beginning of the storyboard script and it's very standard, worthy of a top student from a film academy.

I opened the storyboard again, and there was nothing special about the first few scenes of the couple interacting with each other.

However, when he turned to the morgue, the heroine stared blankly at her lover who could not be rescued and was covered with a white cloth. This somewhat simple picture gave Han Sanping a great shock.

"This composition has a very strong sense of space and depth, which makes the heroine feel deeply immersed in it."

After praising it, I turned the page and saw a ghost wrapped in a bed sheet walking in the downtown area.

"The ghost is in a busy city, with people and cars passing by quickly. The guiding composition makes the ghost's purpose very strong: he wants to go home."

The heroine was in a daze in front of the window at home.

"A typical frame composition, with the heroine being restrained by layers of frames."

"very nice!"

Han Sanping only read the beginning and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

If the storyboard script only brought some surprises, then this storyboard and composition had already allowed Han Sanping to see the endless loneliness contained in this film.

Putting down the script, Han Sanping picked up the plan again and asked curiously.

"How did you come up with the idea of   making a plan? Domestic directors and screenwriters basically don't do this. It's only used in Hollywood."

Ethan Tang explained, "This is a commercial film, and a low-budget, unpopular commercial film. Profitability is a big problem for this type of film. In order to avoid wasting the investment, when I finished writing the script, I was thinking about how to get the audience to the cinema."

"It's not easy for you to consider being responsible to investors. The industry is short of funds right now, and every investor is precious."

Han Sanping nodded repeatedly, becoming more and more surprised. This is almost never seen in domestic filmmakers.

"Since it is for the Mark Liet, why choose such an unpopular subject?" Han Sanping asked again.

"The gimmick of 'ghost' is actually not particularly unpopular. I think the audience should be interested in it." Ethan Tang said with a smile.

"Tell me about your plan."

Han Sanping closed the document. Rather than reading the cold words, he would rather listen to Ethan Tang speak out.

Ethan Tang was a little surprised, but if he wanted to listen, he could just tell him.

"Mr. Han, I have studied the current domestic Mark Liet. In the top 20 cities with the highest box office, female audiences have surpassed male audiences and have taken up a major position in movie consumption, just like the TV remote control at home is in the hands of my wife.

The main audience for this kind of particularly touching love film is women. Given the low cost, inability to invite big stars, and lack of publicity, the target must be placed where the group is more concentrated.

University is a place with a large number of potential audiences. Couples often go there to watch movies on dates. Basically, girls choose all the movies. In the absence of big-name stars, they are most likely to choose romance movies.

The dense audience makes it easier to promote the work, and each university has its own BBS forum, which is convenient for college students to share and communicate. If one person thinks something is interesting, it is likely to influence others.

College students are concentrated in universities, and universities in each major city are basically concentrated in university towns. It is enough to target the film promotion in the university towns of major cities."

Ethan Tang chose the movie "A Ghost Story" after careful consideration.

He had no money for publicity, nor did he have time to wait for word of mouth to spread, because consulting was not well developed in that era and piracy was rampant.

Copying is also a problem. It is impossible for a low-budget movie to be fully released. One copy costs 8,000 yuan, and at most 20 to 30 copies can be released.

When "Crazy Stone" was released, the Internet was more developed than it is now, so the quality of the movie is impeccable, and it is also a comedy that has a wider audience.

However, it still only grossed over 20 million.

It lacked gimmicks in the early stages, and gradually became popular through word of mouth, but there were not enough copies.

A copy costs 8,000 yuan, and it is impossible for the film distributor to give much for a low-budget movie.

Later, word of mouth became a big hit, and copies were only added little by little, but it was too late because pirated copies came out.

"A Ghost Story", the fact that the title contains the word "ghost" is a gimmick, making people curious and want to watch it.

The film focuses on colleges and universities where the audience is densely populated. It is also a romance film. A lonely ghost has been waiting for hundreds of years, which is still very attractive to girls, as they are much more emotional than boys.

The only drawback of the movie is that it is a little unpopular and a little literary, but Ethan Tang deleted the scenes about religion and life, and changed all the long and tedious shots, turning it into a romantic and touching commercial romance film.

Moreover, most of the college students of this era are literary youths, just like in "Lost in Hong Kong", the male protagonist Xu Lai played by Xu Zheng is partly himself. Who would have thought that Xu Zheng was also a literary youth when he was young.

The only shortcoming is no longer a shortcoming, because the audience twenty years later is different.

Each era has its own characteristics, and the film Mark Liet in each era is different.

So, after careful consideration, Ethan Tang chose "A Ghost Story" from many low-budget movies.

Low cost, easy shooting difficulty, few actors, few scenes, gimmicks, touching, dense audience and convenient publicity.

The unknown content on the note at the end is also easy to arouse topics, making it convenient for college students to discuss with each other or on BBS, helping to expand the influence of the movie.

A near perfect choice!

As a filmmaker who returned from the Internet age, Ethan Tang considers things more comprehensively than people of this era, taking into account almost all aspects from filming to release.

As for audiences other than college students, a low-budget movie can't take them into account at all. Don't even think about appealing to all age groups, that's impossible.

After explaining his entire film plan, Ethan Tang's mouth felt a little dry.

After listening to him talk so much, Han Sanping was stunned.

But soon, after a brief moment of daze, Han Sanping's eyes lit up when he looked at Ethan Tang.

"How much investment do you want?"

"About 3 million. Although there aren't many scenes or characters, but..." Ethan Tang quoted a number that left room for bargaining.

"3 million, all in one lump sum within three days!"

Han Sanping waved his hand without bargaining.

Ah, this is too much.

Ethan Tang didn't have time to bargain as he didn't expect Han Sanping to be so straightforward.

If I had known it would go so smoothly, I would have taken the script earlier, so I wouldn't have to work so hard to show off myself in the "Big Shot" crew.

"Thank you, Mr. Han. I will definitely live up to your trust!"

"Work hard and don't feel stressed." Han Sanping looked at Ethan Tang with admiration. It was the first time he met a filmmaker like Ethan Tang who put the Mark Liet first and was so well prepared.

Not to mention anything else, just this Mark Liet-oriented thinking that is different from 90% of filmmakers is worth three million.