1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhang Yimou did not give Zhou Yan any more advice. He returned the script and storyboard to Zhou Yan and said, Let's wait until the director has read it.

Zhou Yan nodded, Okay.

After thinking about it, Zhang Yimou added, Let's see what he says first, and then we'll talk about the rest.

Zhou Yan nodded again, listening to what he meant, it seemed that he had other plans.

Zhang Yimou tightened his clothes and stood up, I drank too much last night and didn't eat anything. Now I'm hungry. You sit here for a while and I'll get something to eat.

After Zhang Yimou left, he didn't return to the dormitory for a long time.

Zhou Yan was bored and saw a copy of Carving Time written by Tarkovsky on the table, so he took it in his hand and started reading.

It was not until half past nine that Hou Xiaoxian woke up.

Hou Xiaoxian first poured some water from the thermos bottle on the bedside, took a few sips, and then noticed Zhou Yan was in their room.

Zhou Yan, why are you here?

Zhou Yan put Carving Time back on the table, smiled and pointed at the script and storyboard in his hand, Director Hou, you said last night that you wanted to read my script, so I brought it over.

Hou Xiaoxian drank a little too much, and his memory of last night was a little blurry. He frowned and thought for a while, then nodded, That seems to be the case. Wait a minute, I'll wash my face before talking.

It's okay, don't be in a hurry. Zhou Yan smiled.

After Hou Xiaoxian got up and washed up, he asked for Zhou Yan's script.

He read the script faster than Zhang Yimou, and did not express any opinions during the whole process. When he finished reading the storyboard, he did not rush to comment, but kept tapping the table with his fingers, as if he was making a decision.

After a while, Hou Xiaoxian looked up at Zhou Yan, Did you write this script?

um, yes.

Hou Xiaoxian continued to ask, Is there any reference? You should understand what I mean.

Zhou Yan nodded, of course he understood, Hou Xiaoxian asked him if he had plagiarized.

Plagiarism is definitely plagiarism, but it is plagiarism from a distance. Unless the space and time police come to take care of it, no one will know.

This script will not involve any copyright disputes. Zhou Yan said with certainty.

After hearing what Zhou Yan said, Hou Xiaoxian smiled and asked, Do you want to take a photo of it?

Zhou Yan was stunned, did happiness come so suddenly?

He nodded firmly, Of course I do.

Hou Xiaoxian pressed the script with his hand, Although the cost of making a short film is not high, the commercial value is also very low. It can be said to be a business with a high probability of losing money. And your Antfly, although it is very short, it is also It will cost a lot of money, can you afford it yourself?

Zhou Yan told the truth, I can't afford it. The money I have now is all the salary given to me by the crew.

Hou Xiaoxian smiled, knowing that Zhou Yan would definitely not be able to bear it.

If you want to shoot Antfly, even if you save money, you can't do it without 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. And now the mainland's economy is relatively poor, 10,000 to 20,000 yuan is a huge sum of money for most people. It was normal for Zhou Yan not to be able to withdraw the money.

Besides, if you really spend only 10,000 to 20,000 yuan to make a movie, it will most likely be a poor quality product, because some parts cannot be saved at all.

If you really want to take pictures, I can help you.

When Zhou Yan heard that Hou Xiaoxian offered to help, Zhou Yan's first reaction was not happiness, but confusion, why did Hou Xiaoxian want to help him?

Zhou Yan didn't beat around the bush, Director Hou, what do I need to pay?

Hou Xiaoxian shook his head, Let's not talk about payment. We invested in the filming of Antfly and can pay you the script royalties and director fees. If you want to act it yourself, you will also get an actor's salary. After the film is finished, The copyright will belong to Era International.

All copyrights? Zhou Yan asked.

It's the main copyright, and everything like the right of authorship is still there.

Zhou Yan smiled, what about the main copyright, this is equivalent to all copyrights, and the signature right cannot be sold, at least not in an open and honest manner.

This condition sounds quite harsh. From now on, all the income from the short film Antfly will have nothing to do with Zhou Yan. But to be honest, although this short film is very good, it actually doesn't make much money, so I sold the copyright. If you go, Zhou Yan won't lose.

Whether domestic or foreign, short films do not have a mature and effective business model, so it is difficult to attract investment. Especially before the advent of the Internet era, there was almost no way to monetize short films.

Nowadays, most of those who make short films are students from film schools. In order to complete their graduation works, they will make some short films. These students make short films either with their own money or sponsored by the school.

Therefore, being able to attract investment for a short film and even get paid for the film is already beyond most people. As for whether the copyright is copyrighted or not, as long as the director and screenwriter still write their names in the two columns, what's the big deal? ?

Zhou Yan didn't agree immediately. He asked the price first.

Director Hou, can I ask about the salary?

Hou Xiaoxian smiled. He knew that since Zhou Yan asked the price, it shouldn't be a big problem.

He took out a pen and paper from the drawer and calculated it for Zhou Yan, I will give you five thousand yuan for the script, four thousand yuan for the director's salary, and you, the actor...

I'm going to be the actor myself.

Hou Xiaoxian nodded, If you act it yourself, I'll give you another two thousand yuan, for a total of eleven thousand yuan. That's enough.

This price is indeed not a scam. Hou Xiaoxian still prefers the market in Taiwan to give Zhou Yan the price.

If we go by the market conditions here in the Mainland, it would be fine if we could get a few hundred yuan for the script. But a few years ago, the state stipulated that the licensing fee for work adaptations could not exceed 800 yuan, and the screenwriting fee could not exceed 4,000 yuan, no matter which one was used. , five thousand yuan is certainly a lot.

The director's salary is not high. Calculated based on monthly salary, it is only a few hundred yuan a month at most. Not to mention the actor's salary. A first-line actor only pays 200 yuan for an episode of TV series. If he plays a three-minute role, give him 200 yuan. Thousands is already very high.

Two months ago, Zhou Yan would have felt that eleven thousand yuan was a lot. After all, many people now don't have a monthly salary of one hundred yuan. He suddenly earned what others had earned in ten years.

But now Zhou Yan doesn't think so, because he found that making a movie is very expensive. If he doesn't pay attention to it, he will be even more strapped for any projects to start in the future.

In the film era, the threshold for taking pictures was really high, unlike later when you could take a picture with just a mobile phone.

Zhou Yan wanted to order more, but the price given by Hou Xiaoxian was okay and not easy to raise, so he changed his mind and said, Director Hou, I agree with these prices, but the soundtrack of this movie is also my own. made.

What's the soundtrack for this short film...Okay, okay, I'll give you another two thousand for the soundtrack, okay? Of course Hou Xiaoxian understood that Zhou Yan was raising the price with him, so he simply gave him two thousand.

After winning another two thousand, Zhou Yan was satisfied. He rubbed his hands and asked, Director Hou, when will we start filming?

Hou Xiaoxian thought for a while and said, We have one week to evacuate everything. You buy the props in the next two days, confirm the shooting location, and then start shooting. The film is very short and it won't take too long.

Zhou Yan nodded. He originally thought that if Hou Xiaoxian was willing to lend him the camera to shoot, he would not find another place and just find a room in the Qiao family compound to shoot, which would greatly reduce the cost.

But now that the company is providing the funds, there is no need to make do with it anymore. He plans to go to the county to find a better house.