There are four people sitting in the living room, namely Zhou Hexuan, Ruan Lingyu, Luo Mingyou and Sun Yu.
Luo Mingyou did not talk about business after meeting. Instead, he looked at the house and said, "Mr. Zhou, you bought this house well, so you spent a lot of money, right?"
"My father-in-law bought it." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
"Tsk, tsk, your father-in-law is really willing to give up." Luo Mingyou said with a sigh.
Luo Mingyou's lament is normal. Houses in Shanghai are now only for rent, not for sale. 90% of Shanghai's permanent population needs to rent a house. It's not that many people can't afford a house, but the owner refuses to sell it. Good houses can't even be rented.
Not easy to rent.
Take Xu Zhimo and Lu Xun for example. After they came to Shanghai, they both had "top" housing. That is, they sublet to the original tenants. Not only did they have to pay rent, but they also had to pay others several hundred yuan at a time to cover the rent.
fee.
Unless the homeowner needs money urgently or the price is extremely high, it is impossible to buy a house in Shanghai.
The property purchased by Zhang Mouzhi cost 80,000 yuan. Nowadays, the house prices in Shanghai are still rising. If it is resold, it is estimated that someone with 100,000 yuan will be willing to take it over.
Luo Mingyou said with a smile: "If I have spare money, I will either use it to start a company or travel around. I will never buy a house and trap myself to death."
"Boss Luo, this is called Game Fengchen, the two of them are really envious." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
"They said I was a libertine, hahaha," Luo Mingyou laughed, then took out the script of "The Goddess" and asked, "Mr. Zhou, how do you plan to collaborate on this movie?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "I plan to make a talkie movie."
"This is a bit troublesome. Lianhua Pictures lacks sound film equipment." Luo Mingyou was confused.
Sun Yu suddenly interrupted and suggested: "You can rent sound equipment from Mingxing or Youlian Company. I heard that Mingxing's sound movie has been filmed."
"Song Girl Red Peony" produced by Mingxing Film Company is the first sound film in the history of Chinese films. It uses the "wax disc method", that is, the sound is recorded on a record, and the record is played while the movie is played.
This is the most primitive sound film. Only the characters can be heard talking, no other background sounds can be heard, and all scenes are silent.
Even though it is very simple, the production cost of "Song Girl Red Peony" still cost 120,000 yuan, making it one of the largest productions in the Chinese film industry today. Of course, since it was the first time to make a sound film, this film went through five trials before it was ready.
It was shot, and maybe twenty or thirty thousand was wasted during the test.
Zhou Hexuan laughed and said: "I want to make a real talkie movie, not a movie where you can only hear the dialogue between the characters."
"A real talkie movie?" Sun Yu didn't understand.
Luo Mingyou was well-informed and asked: "Mr. Zhou is talking about the 'on-chip sound generation' method?"
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "Not bad."
Sun Yu was confused and asked: "What is the 'voice on film' method? I also came back from Hollywood, but I have never heard of it?"
Luo Mingyou laughed and said: "The new thing that has just been developed in the past two years is that when shooting a movie, the sound can be recorded on the film simultaneously. Even in Hollywood, only Warner Brothers uses this technology."
"Is the machine expensive?" Sun Yu asked.
Zhou Hexuan said: "The machine is not expensive, but the film is very expensive, because the on-chip sound technology uses special film. But because it is too expensive, although this technology is good, it is not easy to promote, and the American Western Electric Company is cutting prices for promotions.
"
Ruan Lingyu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said in surprise: "Mr. Zhou is also so good at making movies?"
Zhou Hexuan laughed and said: "I sent a transoceanic telegram two months ago and asked my father-in-law to inquire about the situation of sound films, so I know better. Now 95% of the movies in the United States are sound films, but only a few films use 'on-film'.
"Sound method' shooting. In order to promote sound film, Western Electric Company has reduced the price to twice that of ordinary film, but no company is still willing to buy it."
Before the birth of digital cameras, film was the most expensive consumable in film production. Sound film was twice as expensive as ordinary film, which was equivalent to increasing film production costs by two-thirds. Now that there is still a market for silent and silent films,
But few movie companies take advantage of this.
Even a young man like Luo Mingyou, who does not regard money as money, gasped when he heard the price. A movie that can be made with an investment of 100,000 yuan, if it uses sound film, the production cost is likely to be as high as 150,000 yuan or more.
Even higher.
"Well," Luo Mingyou said, "I think it's okay to make a sound film, but it's better to use the 'wax method'. The 'on-film sound generation method' is too expensive."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Boss Luo, Mingxing Company has produced China's first talkie film. It will be released soon. It will definitely steal the limelight. If we use the 'on-film sound production method' to produce it, we can completely steal the limelight. It can even be done."
They ridicule Star Company for making semi-talkies, which are outdated technologies, while what we make are real talkies."
After hearing this, Luo Mingyou's eyes suddenly lit up. He likes to be in the limelight. Without much thought, the young master made the decision and said, "Then let's shoot!"
Zhou Hexuan said: "My father-in-law has communicated with Xidian Company. Since we are the first Chinese customer to order sound film, they are willing to sell it at a discount again. The price is only 60% more than ordinary film. I have already ordered 50,000 feet of film.
The film will arrive in Shanghai in another half month."
"You are really generous. If you save 50,000 feet of film, you can make three movies." Luo Mingyou said with a smile.
Zhou Hexuan added: "Let's talk about cooperation again. The investment and profits will be split half and half, but your share of the cinema share must be reduced to the minimum."
"Okay." Luo Mingyou nodded and said.
Sun Yu volunteered: "Mr. Zhou, I want to be the director of this movie."
"I agree," Zhou Hexuan pointed at Ruan Lingyu and said, "Miss Ruan is the default heroine. I believe she can do the job."
Luo Mingyou smiled playfully and said: "Haha, of course, Mr. Zhou has the final say."
When Ruan Lingyu heard the ridicule in Luo Mingyou's tone, she couldn't help but blush, lowering her head and not daring to say a word.
Sun Yu added: "Mr. Zhou, since this is the first time to make a 'voice on film' movie, I'm afraid it will waste some money. After all, we all have no experience. There is also the language aspect, should it be in Mandarin, Shanghainese or Cantonese?"
"Of course it's in Mandarin, otherwise northern audiences won't understand." Zhou Hexuan said without hesitation.
Sun Yu spread his hands: "That's difficult. There are very few actors who can speak Mandarin, and even fewer who can speak it well."
Ruan Lingyu raised her hands in embarrassment and said, "I don't speak Chinese very well either."
Sound film has just been invented, and post-dubbing cannot be completed at all, because the film and the recording tape are integrated. Zhou Hexuan suggested: "You can ask someone who speaks Mandarin well to dub at the same time during filming. The recording equipment is not aligned.
actor."
"This is really difficult." Sun Yu exclaimed.
"Progress comes from challenges," Zhou Hexuan said to Luo Mingyou with a smile, "By the way, Boss Luo, your theater also needs to replace audio playback equipment. Including shipping and installation fees, a theater only costs three to four thousand.
Block it."
"What?" Luo Mingyou jumped up in shock. He found that he had been cheated. It would cost 200,000 to 300,000 yuan to replace audio playback equipment in dozens of cinemas owned by him.
This is also the most difficult part of promoting sound films...
Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "If Boss Luo has difficulties, I can invest in the theater. Talkies are the general trend. 95% of the movies in the United States are talkies. If we don't update the equipment, we will fall behind."
Although Lianhua Pictures may lose money when making movies, investing in movie theaters is a guaranteed profit.
"I'll think about it again." Luo Mingyou had difficulty making a decision.
