After one day of auditions, most of the actors were selected, including several people who played the roles of ghosts.
Yes.
In the book "The Last Wish of the Dead", there is more than one ghost.
This is different from the "Soul Ferry" in the original time and space. Sun Quan remembers that in "Soul Ferry", there seemed to be only one or two ghosts.
In his book "The Last Wish of the Dead", he set up many ghost servants.
There are men and women, old and young.
Each ghost is only in charge of one place. In the setting of "The Last Wish of the Dead", as the male protagonist Chen Yang goes to different cities, the ghosts he encounters are not the same.
Sun Quan has several purposes for setting this up in this book.
Firstly, when he first read "Soul Ferry", he felt that there were only one or two ghosts, which seemed a bit monotonous. Secondly, because he felt that adding a few more ghosts would increase the number of main characters in the book.
After adding more characters, more unexpected plots can be written in the plot, so that the audience can't guess who the ghost character Chen Yang will encounter next? What kind of ghost character it is.
In addition, setting up a few more ghosts will also make the action scenes of this drama more interesting.
Because the fighting methods of different ghosts are definitely different, and the fighting methods used by the male protagonist Chen Yang when facing different ghosts must also be different.
In this way, the action scenes will be more interesting to watch.
In short, there are many benefits to setting up a few more ghost agents.
Different ghosts and differences in personality will also have different effects on the plot.
For example, depending on the character of the first ghost who appears, the way he handles something will definitely be different from the way another ghost with a different personality handles it, and this difference can make the plot of this book take an unexpected turn.
In the direction expected by the audience.
…
After this day, the work of selecting actors for this drama continues, and people for roles that have not yet been selected are always selected.
At the same time, other work is also being carried out simultaneously.
The job of selecting actors is still done by Tao Yujuan.
As the deputy director, Wang Zheng began to form a complete behind-the-scenes team. As the general manager of Xianyu Film and Television, Xue Zihan was looking for a suitable building in Hengdian. As long as she found a suitable building, Sun Quan would be there.
The building was purchased and renovated to serve as the headquarters of Xianyu Film and Television.
While Xue Zihan was looking for a building, she was also recruiting staff for various positions. She carried out these two tasks simultaneously.
Otherwise, when the company building is built and there are no staff, then wouldn’t the so-called Salted Fish Film and Television Company headquarters be an empty shell? What’s the point of having an empty shell?
Compared to the three of them, Sun Quan, the largest shareholder of Xianyu Film and Television, has much more leisure time.
He's not that busy.
He returned to City M again, firstly to take care of the 99 Braised Chicken and Salted Fish Studio under his own name, and secondly...he had to code every day.
"The Last Wish" that is currently being filmed is his work, but his book is still far from being completed. The professional screenwriter Wang Zheng was looking for before could only write a part of the script based on the plot of his current novel.
The follow-up scripts will have to wait for Sun to write more plots for the book before they can be written.
Therefore, for the web drama "The Last Wish of the Dead", Sun Quan's most important job at the moment is to write more plots from the original work.
He doesn't want his show to be like that show "Killing and Grass"... no, it's like that show "Game of Thrones". The entire series has been filmed, and there are still two volumes of the original "A Song of Ice and Fire"
Didn't write it down.
In other words, after watching the show, his biggest feeling was that the show was unfinished.
Especially the last season, after watching it, he felt completely bad.
Then he searched the original work on the Internet. He wanted to know whether the final plot of the drama deviated from the plot of the original work.
The results of it?
However, I discovered that the entire drama had been filmed, and the last two volumes of the original novel were still unwritten.
What does this mean?
Sun Quan felt at that time that it was no longer a problem of deviating from the original work, but a problem of a train derailing.
The plots in the next two volumes are actually all created by the screenwriters themselves.
Even though there was news on the Internet that the screenwriter communicated with the original author when writing the final plot, Sun Quan thought it was too childish.
If the screenwriter is so awesome, then why should the original author do it?
The lessons learned from the past gave Sun such a deep understanding. Now that he is preparing to make his own "Dead Man's Last Wish", he certainly does not want to make such a mistake.
So, after the audition ended that day, he returned to City M, tried his best to concentrate on writing the follow-up plot of "The Last Wish of the Dead", and left all other preparations for the drama to Xue Zihan, Wang Zheng and Tao Yujuan.
This hands-off shopkeeper should feel at ease.
Anyway, he doesn’t understand those professional jobs and can’t do them well.
It is better for everyone to perform their duties and do their own work well.
…
A month and a half passed in the blink of an eye.
The time has come to January.
The weather is getting colder, but the preparations for "Dead Man's Last Wish" are almost complete. The building of Salted Fish Film and Television... has also been purchased and decorated.
Staff for various positions within the company have also been recruited.
In the video conference that night, Xue Zihan told Sun Quan that the filming of the drama was ready to begin.
Discuss the start date with Sun Quan.
At this time, the book "The Last Wish of the Dead" has not yet been completed.
In a previous video conference, they had already discussed that the show would be tentatively scheduled for two seasons, and this time only the first season would be filmed.
With this arrangement, the script problem will be solved.
In the subsequent plot, there is no need for the screenwriter to express himself.
"The day after tomorrow! January 20th the day after tomorrow, just turn it on that day! What do you think?"
In front of the computer, Sun Quan pondered for a moment and proposed this date.
Xue Zihan had no objection, "Okay! It's okay."
Wang Zheng and Tao Yujuan had no objections and both said it was okay.
Then, Tao Yujuan asked: "Ah Quan, then our opening ceremony this time... should we do it in a big way, or should we keep everything simple and do it in a small way? Should we invite more media reporters to help us publicize it?"
this is a problem.
But it's not a problem here in Sun Quan.
He shook his head without hesitation, "Don't go to too much trouble! Keep everything simple! Publicity work... we need to do it, but we don't need the media to help us publicize it for the time being. I will promote it in our online literary circles later, and you will also be on our company's official scarf.
Let’s talk about the publicity. I think this is enough for the preliminary publicity work. For the follow-up publicity, we will stick to this routine for the time being! When the filming of this drama is completed and post-production is carried out, we will increase the publicity intensity. What do you think?
Is this okay?"
Xue Zihan, Wang Zheng and Tao Yujuan had different expressions.
Xue Zihan frowned slightly and hesitated.
Wang Zheng smiled and did not express any opinion.
Tao Yujuan also frowned and said, "Is this okay? Isn't it too simple? We didn't hire any big stars for this drama. If the media doesn't do some publicity, won't the noise be too small? If we do it this way, then by then,
, when our drama is filmed, I’m afraid it won’t fetch a good price!”
Xue Zihan nodded slightly, "How about... let's invite a few media? It won't cost much anyway..."
Sun Quan shook his head, "No need! This drama is the first of our company, and the quality of the series is the first. All the money should be spent on improving the quality of the series! Just do what I say for the early promotion!"
After all, this is a web drama, and our early publicity on the Internet should be enough. As for the problem of not being able to sell it at a good price after filming..."
After a pause, Sun Quan continued: "You don't have to worry about this for now, I will figure it out then!"
He was the major shareholder, so he insisted. Although Xue Zihan and Tao Yujuan still frowned, they had no choice but to nod in agreement.
It's just that both of them looked a little helpless.
The helplessness that there was nothing he could do about Sun Quan.
Their thinking is probably that of a TV station. They always feel that when filming a TV series or movie, the publicity work in various media must be done well.
But Sun Quan's thinking was different from theirs.
In his opinion, the best place to promote the show "Dead Man's Last Wish" should be on the Internet.
For example, the Internet literary circle is the best publicity circle.
After all, "Dead Man's Last Wish" is an adaptation of an online novel, and his current status in the online literary circle is pretty good. At least his book is the current record holder for the highest first order in the online literary circle.
He believes that as long as the publicity work in the Internet literary circle is done well enough, after the series is filmed and launched, it will attract a large number of Internet writers and readers to watch it.
And the number of these people... is definitely beyond many people's imagination.
As long as the authors and book fans in this circle can generally give positive reviews after watching the show, the reputation of this show will definitely spread to outside the circle.
Then it will naturally attract a large number of outsiders to watch.
Of course, just because he thinks so does not mean that this drama will no longer be promoted in traditional media.
After the filming of this drama is completed, he will naturally increase publicity efforts in all aspects.
As for what Tao Yujuan was worried about just now - because of the lack of early publicity of this drama, it will not be able to sell at a good price...
Sun Quan doesn't think so.
He feels that no matter how well the show is promoted in the early stage, those video platforms may not be willing to pay high prices in the future.
Just like what he knows about the Internet literary circle.
Are there any great new authors in the online literary world?
Of course there is!
There are so many outstanding newcomers every year, just like women have so many days every month.
However, Sun Quan has never seen a new author get a great title, a platinum contract, or a high-price guaranteed contract for his first book.
Why?
The reason is very simple: new authors are in an absolutely weak position in front of the website platform and have no right to negotiate prices.
The way websites treat newcomers is to throw you a general contract. The new author can choose to sign or not, but they have no right to object to the terms of the contract.
There are no exceptions.
Therefore, Sun Quan believes that after "Dead Man's Last Wish" is filmed, he will definitely not have much bargaining power against those video websites.
Unless he spends his own money to buy a video website, or invests in a video website.
In that case, there is naturally room for negotiation on the price of this drama.
He did consider this aspect, but he gave up immediately.
His energy has been spread across several industries and he is unwilling to expand investment areas at will.
Moreover, as far as he knew, every video website these days was operating at a loss, losing hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
This status quo lasted until he was reborn, and it still didn't change much.
Therefore, he has no interest in falling into that trap.
He put the show's hope of making money in the second season.
As long as the reputation and views of the first season are good enough, it will be their first shot at Xianyu Film and Television, and the show "Dead Man's Last Wish" will be polished, and when the second season of the show comes out, the price will naturally go up.
With this in mind, he was certainly not willing to spend too much money on publicity for the first season of this show.
Instead of spending money on promotion, it is better to spend as much as possible on improving the quality of the series.
In his opinion, the first season of this show is the best publicity.
Therefore, he did not plan to make money in the first season. He put his hope of making money in the second season.
For this reason, he does not plan to shoot too many episodes in this first season. In his plan, the first season will have around 20 episodes.
It can be 18 episodes or 22 episodes, but it will never exceed 22 episodes.
And the second season...
He plans to shoot 40 episodes.
He did not tell Xue Zihan and others about these plans because it was too early to talk about them now. Only if the reputation and views of the first season were good enough, would his plan have real value, otherwise he would not know about the second season.
That’s a lot of shooting for 40 episodes.
…
The next day, Sun Quan took a flight to the Magic City.
The purpose is not only to visit my wife and children, but also to film the upcoming "Dead Man's Last Wish".
The filming location for the first season of this drama is set to be in Shanghai.
This was the result of discussions between him and Xue Zihan and others.
There are advantages and disadvantages to setting the shooting location in Shanghai.
The advantage is that there are many iconic buildings in Magic City, which are familiar to audiences across the country, such as the Pearl Tower... and so on.
When the audience often sees these landmark buildings in this drama, it will definitely increase everyone's sense of immersion.
In addition, many places in the city of Magic City are relatively new and prosperous. The images shot here will definitely be beautiful and can invisibly enhance the quality of this drama.
This is a plus side.
And the downside...
It should be the cost during the filming period.
The magic city is prosperous. It is difficult to find a more prosperous city in the country, but behind the prosperity is the high consumption here.
Everything, including food, clothing, housing and transportation, is more expensive than other cities across the country.
In this regard, it is difficult to find a more expensive city than here in the country.
But Sun Quan still decided to set the main filming location for this season here.
On the one hand, it is for the quality of the series, on the other hand...
It's just to take care of my wife.
Yuan Shuiqing's belly was getting bigger. Although it was still early before the due date, Sun Quan had already raised his heart and worried that she would give birth prematurely.
Therefore, in order to take care of her and the two children in her belly, he deliberately chose the filming location in Magic City. In this way, he could at least be with her every morning and evening. Even if she was really in trouble, he could rush as soon as possible.