Huayu: This director specializes in promoting young actresses.

Chapter 30: Mr. Lin Never Does Marketing

"You understand me best, teacher." He took out the script from his bag and handed it over. "This is a new script I wrote. I'd like to ask for your guidance."

Jiang Wei took the script, saw the words "The Beginning" on the cover, flipped through a couple more pages, raised an eyebrow and said, "Web series? What made you decide to make a web series? You just finished filming a movie, haven't even done post-production yet, and you're already busy starting a new one? You've got quite the appetite."

"This is also for the sake of the movie. The movie is full of newcomers, and it's too difficult to promote it in the early stages. I want to release this web series before the movie is released, and intersperse some movie promotion in it, so that they complement each other."

Jiang Wei didn't speak, but instead quickly flipped through the script. The office was quiet, save for the sound of pages turning.

About ten minutes later, Jiang Wei put down the script and tapped his fingers on the table: "The story is quite interesting. The infinite loop setting is fresh, and the characters are believable."

He changed the subject, "But there are quite a few problems. Look here," he pointed to one of the pages, "the trigger point of the loop is written too vaguely, which will be easily criticized during the review process. Also, the motivation of this supporting character is not explained clearly, which seems deliberate. Most importantly, the descriptions of these two social issues are not handled well, and they may be rejected."

He was secretly delighted, but feigned annoyance: "Now that you mention it, I also feel there's something wrong. I knew something was off; you're so perceptive, teacher."

He leaned forward slightly. "That's why I came to you for help. You're very experienced; could you please check it out and fix these details for me?"

Jiang Wei glanced at him sideways: "You little rascal, you're pretty shrewd. You want me to revise the script so you can use my name to get it approved, right?"

"Teacher, what you're saying... is mainly because your revisions are excellent. Besides, having your name in the scriptwriting credits not only ensures a smooth review process, but also resonates with the audience."

"You, you." Jiang Wei was amused by him, picked up the script and shoved it into his arms, "Alright, you go back first. I need to take a good look at this script, I'll call you when I'm done."

"Oh! Thank you, teacher!" As long as the teacher is willing to take on the project, the script is guaranteed to pass the review. The "questions" he deliberately left were to give the teacher room to maneuver and to firmly pull him into the project.

"Don't be too happy yet." Jiang Wei pointed at him. "Changes are fine, but you need to hurry up with the post-production of your movie. Don't just focus on the new film. Besides, you brought in a lot of people. If you mess it up, you'll be in big trouble."

"Don't worry, teacher!" Lin Feng assured him, "I'll be overseeing the post-production, it definitely won't be delayed."

We then went to the company. Fengrui Films' office was on the 18th floor of the building; it was to the left after exiting the elevator. The company logo was affixed to the glass door, with a simple black and white design.

"President Lin is here." Old Yang was the first to look up and greet him. He was sitting at the workstation closest to the door. Old Yang had been working in the film and television industry for more than ten years and was familiar with everything from distribution to copyright. He was the "pillar of strength" that Old Yang had specially recruited from his old company.

"Hello, Director Lin!" the three young people called out in unison, their voices a little reserved. Xiao Zhang, who was in charge of administration, had only graduated six months ago and still spoke with a student-like tone. Xiao Wang, who was in charge of finance, wore thick glasses and always kept his head down while doing accounting. Li Yi, the only girl in the publicity department, had graduated two years ago and had previously worked in a public relations company.

Li Xue walked in carrying freshly brewed tea and placed it on Lin Feng's table: "Director Lin, are we having a meeting? I'll go call everyone."

"Okay, let's have a quick meeting." He took off his coat and draped it over the back of his chair. "Everyone, come to the meeting room."

In the small conference room, six people sat around a long table, connected their laptops to the projector, and the words "Recent Work Plan" appeared on the screen.

"The film is already in post-production editing, so there shouldn't be any major problems." He clicked on the first page. "Next, we'll focus on two things: finishing the film's post-production and submitting it for review, and preparing for the new web series 'The Beginning'."

Old Yang pushed up his glasses: "Is the script for 'The Beginning' finalized?"

"Yes, the teacher agreed to help, so passing the censorship shouldn't be a problem. The most important thing now is casting and finding partners. Lao Yang, you need to put a lot of effort into the actors. For the main roles, we need to find actors who are good at acting but also cost-effective. The supporting roles are even more crucial. They need to be recognizable, even if it's a role with only one scene, they need to be believable."

He pushed the printed cast requirements list to Lao Yang: "The female lead, Li Shiqing, needs to portray the fear and resilience of an ordinary person, and her eyes need to be clear. Among the supporting roles, the aunt with the pressure cooker is a key character, so we need to find an experienced actress with expressive eyes..."

Old Yang took the watch, nodding as he looked at it: "I understand. The essence of this drama lies in the ensemble cast. I'll try to release the preliminary selection list within a week."

"And there are platforms. Contact Tencent Video, send them the script, and ask if they are interested in collaborating. Also, mention my teacher's name."

"Okay, I'll contact you this afternoon."

After arranging things for Lao Yang, Lin Feng turned to Li Xue and took out a script from his bag: "This is Li Shiqing's solo script, take a look."

Li Xue paused for a moment, her fingers trembling as she took the script. The three characters "Li Shiqing" on the cover were written delicately. The first page contained a character biography: "Female, 21 years old, ordinary college student, kind and resilient, trapped in a loop on the bus..."

"Director Lin, this is..." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You should study the character of Li Shiqing carefully. If you're still not good at it, then this role is yours."

Li Xue's heart was pounding. She had never imagined that she could play the lead role, let alone such an important one.

Previously, when she worked odd jobs in the short film crew, she could only play minor roles at most, without even a single line.

"Can...can I do it?" Her voice trembled, a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"Whether it works or not, we'll only know after we try." Lin, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just think of it as... doing me a favor, giving it a try first.

"Yes! I'll definitely read it carefully!" Li Xue nodded vigorously, clutching the script tightly to her chest, her fingertips turning white. This feeling was too unreal, like a pie falling from the sky and landing right on her head.

The others were happy for her too. Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "Go, Sister Li Xue! I think you can definitely do it!"

Li Xue blushed as she thanked him, but in her heart she was already planning to stay up all night to thoroughly understand the script and practice her lines in front of the mirror the next day. She was determined to seize this opportunity.

After Lao Yang left with Xiao Zhang and Xiao Wang, only Lin Feng and Li Yi remained in the conference room. Li Yi sat upright, holding a notebook in her hand, knowing that the main event was about to begin.

"You're the only one in the publicity department right now. Are you managing to handle it?" Lin Feng asked.

"It's alright. I've been organizing all the pre-production materials for the movie." Li Yi smiled. "It's just that we're a bit short-handed. Last time, I wanted to find some marketing accounts to release press releases, but after contacting them for a long time, I couldn't find any reliable ones."

"So we need to expand. Make a budget and hire people. Hire at least two more experienced people, one who knows how to operate on Weibo and one who is good at copywriting. It would be best if they brought their own resources. Offer higher salaries, don't be stingy."

Li Yi's eyes lit up: "I've already picked out two people. They're former colleagues from the PR firm. One is an operator of a Weibo influencer, and the other has written viral articles, but their salary requirements are a bit high..."

"As long as you can get things done, salary is not a problem. Also, I want you to create a batch of your own marketing accounts."

"My own?" Li Yi was taken aback.

"Yes, buy a batch of ready-made accounts, on various platforms. They don't need too many followers, a few thousand to tens of thousands will do. The key is that they are active and can post original content. If we can't buy them, we'll find partners and sign long-term agreements with small and medium-sized bloggers to have them speak for us."

He drew a circle on the whiteboard: "We need to form our own publicity matrix. When the movie is about to be released, these accounts can help us build word-of-mouth. When 'The Beginning' is broadcast, they can guide the direction of discussion. We can't always rely on others; we need to have our own voice."

Li Yi quickly jotted down in her notebook: "Buying accounts, signing bloggers, building a matrix... how much will that budget be?"

"You need to come up with a plan first. Money isn't an issue; I want results. For example, if there's a scene in a movie where the protagonist saves a little girl, then we can have parenting accounts discuss 'kindness from strangers.' If there's a workplace scene, then we can have workplace accounts analyze 'the helplessness of working people.' We need to break down the points in the movie and connect them to different social circles to spark discussion."

Li Yi's eyes lit up as she listened, and she wrote rapidly in her notebook: "I understand! It's about 'breaking out of the circle'! Deconstructing the elements in the drama into different topics so that people from every circle can find something to resonate with."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Finalize the plan in the next couple of days, and start recruiting at the same time. Don't delay. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to contact me. I'll provide the manpower and funding you need. I only care about the results."

"Okay! I guarantee I'll complete the task!" She used to work on projects at a public relations firm, where she was constantly bound by rules and regulations. Now, having met a boss who was willing to delegate authority, she felt her blood boiling.

With the experience of later generations, they understand the weight of the word "promotion" better than anyone else, especially on the eve of the explosive growth of traffic and the rewriting of the entire industry's rules of the game. Planning ahead is to seize the initiative.

If we can have 800 of them by then, why should we avoid the limelight?