Chapter 57 Online Drama Criminal Investigation Universe
Since the release of "Avengers" in 2012, the concept of "film and television universe" has gradually become a "new concept" for more and more industry practitioners.
When many new directors and independent screenwriters look for investors to raise funds, no matter whether the subject matter is suitable or not, and no matter whether it is an art film or a commercial film, they will not speak without using words such as "series" and "universe". The
same is true for many producers, especially those who have some "old and outdated" IPs. No matter whether these IPs are from the same world view, they will just put them together for a "big fight".
There is no need to be too picky about quality. If it is well shot, it will become popular again. If it is not well shot, it can also harvest the money of a group of "childhood sentiment" fans, just as "waste utilization".
Therefore, when Liu Jun heard that Meng Bai also wanted to do the concept of "film and television universe", his first reaction was to refuse.
"Mr. Meng, the format of 'film and television universe' is indeed very attractive, but it is not so easy to do. To be honest, I am not optimistic about it."
He thought Meng Bai would refute him immediately. After all, most of those who make content are a bit "literary and artistic", and always think that their ideas are unmatched.
Unexpectedly, Meng Bai nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed, the concept of 'film and television universe' is actually a version trap. Except for a few large manufacturers such as Marvel, DC, Disney, and Nintendo, there are not many people who can play with it."
Is the secret of Marvel's success based on the "Avengers Universe"? Of course not. They rely on the huge "national-level" IP accumulated from comics over the past few decades, as well as the fan base accumulated from six high-grossing movies that sold well around the world in five years. How can
you achieve their success by relying on one or two patchwork films?
"Then you..." Liu Jun asked in confusion.
Meng Bai explained: "The setting of gathering a bunch of powerful people and then forming a team to fight monsters has existed in stories thousands of years ago. Marvel just split this process into two parts, 'independent and collective'."
"I didn't think about achieving the scale of Marvel. I just built a small stage framework through five or six stories with the same story background and interconnected characters. This way, many similar and repeated settings can be saved, and the interactive connection between several dramas can deepen the audience's interest."
"As for whether these stories should be integrated together in the end to cultivate a common IP, it depends on the performance of each drama before this."
After listening to Meng Bai's explanation, Liu Jun thought about it and said, "How should I put it? Your plan is quite..."
"Idealistic?" Meng Bai helped him add the comments at the end.
Liu Jun smiled and tacitly agreed with his own ideas.
"Indeed, these are just my paper plans." Meng Bai said, "But it is not impossible to succeed."
This is nonsense. No one is reborn and traveled through time, and no one knows what the future will be.
Liu Jun was in deep thought. Meng Bai brought up this "series plan". His meaning was very clear. He hoped that Leshi.com could cooperate to complete the construction of the entire "series".
According to him, the whole series is about five to six dramas, which is equivalent to at least two to three years. Leshi.com will always put some resources on this series.
If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. But if the audience is not interested in this model, then the problem of resources will be very big.
After thinking for a while, Liu Jun said: "Your proposal is a bit big, and I can't decide it myself. So, you can tell me about your specific plan first, and I will go back and tell the board of directors."
"Okay." Meng Bai did not object. It should be so: "I will give a general idea first. After I go back, I will submit a detailed planning plan and setting set for easy explanation."
"That's great." Liu Jun asked curiously: "I would like to ask first, your plan for this "series", is "Soul Ferry" the first one?"
Meng Bai shook his head: "No, 'Pendulum' is an independent project. In fact, this new 'series' theme has nothing to do with the supernatural, ghosts, etc."
Liu Jun was surprised and said: "Isn't it a supernatural theme?"
"No." Meng Bai said: "Excuse me, Mr. Liu, you should know better than me that a supernatural horror project like 'Pendulum', even if it is a web drama, will probably not survive for too long."
Liu Jun nodded. Indeed, the emergence and popularity of "Soul Ferry" is due to factors such as scripts, production, and actors, and there is another key point, which is censorship.
It is precisely because of the absence of censorship in the web drama market that "Pendulum" has room for birth.
But as Meng Bai said, this "absence" cannot be maintained for a long time with the popularity of the web drama market and the increase in the number of web dramas. Perhaps in one year or two years, web dramas will inevitably follow the path of "censorship before shooting" like today's TV dramas.
By that time, there are only two ways for "Pendulum". Either it will be like many of the current bloody domestic horror films, all about "mental disorder"; or it will change its nature and become a fantasy theme of "supernatural and strange stories".
It seems that many viewers still remember that "Nie Xiaoqian" is a serious female ghost, and has nothing to do with "fox demon" or "immortal fox".
But no matter how it is changed, the core elements and biggest attraction of the play "Pendulum" have been lost.
"What theme do you want to choose?" Liu Jun asked.
"Suspense, reasoning, and criminal investigation." Meng Bai said, "In fact, this is the subject matter I am good at. 'Pendulum' is just a coincidence."
"Criminal investigation suspense." Liu Jun nodded, "Indeed, this type of subject matter has more role positioning and classification, which is more conducive to constructing different types of stories."
Meng Bai said, "Yes, I thought so too. This series, I call it the 'Green Vine Series', all the stories take place in a fictional city, Green Vine City. According to the different professional positioning of the protagonist, it is divided into five - criminal psychology, forensics, traditional criminal investigation, crime profiling and detective."
"So many!" Liu Jun was surprised, and then worriedly said, "This kind of protagonist with strong professional attributes is no different from others. It requires very high professional knowledge. With so many different types of protagonists, are you sure you can grasp this aspect?"
"Don't worry, I'm prepared." Meng Bai laughed at himself: "No matter who is given two years, he only takes a job occasionally, and the rest of the time is spent looking up information and writing scripts, he can ensure that his story has enough professionalism."
After that, he added: "And I am only responsible for the plot and the role. In terms of professional knowledge, I will find experts in related fields to guide and check during the preparation and filming of each drama. Professional matters should be left to professionals."
"That makes sense." Liu Jun said: "Then which one are you going to start with?"
Meng Bai said: "Criminal Minds. It just so happens that I can also take advantage of the youth campus theme that has been popular in the past two years."
"Youth campus...crime reasoning?" Liu Jun thought about it, and always felt that the two seemed to have nothing in common: "What's the name?"
"Psychological Crime."
Liu Jun pondered for a few seconds: "This name sounds a bit like a story about youth pain."
"That's right." Meng Bai thought about it and said: "Anyway, it is indeed very painful."
(End of this chapter)
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