22 Set sail
As the recording time approached, the lights in the venue dimmed, and the logos of Yuanxin Entertainment and the program began to flash on the big screen on the stage. Cheng Xiyan read out softly: "Idol·Unnamed?"
A friend nearby took out his phone and took a picture. "It doesn't sound like a talent show. What kind of competition system is Yuanxin using?"
"I see the cameras are all set up." Zheng Xiyan pointed to the one, two, three, four, and five cameras surrounding the stage and the judges' seats. "Even if the competition system is not disclosed to us now, we will definitely be able to watch the variety show in the future."
Indeed, there are more cameras in the background, faithfully recording the status of each trainee, and Yuan Xiao and the others also have separate shots.
Some people would act very nervous when they are stage fright, but Yuan Xiao is just the opposite. The more nervous she gets, the calmer she acts, which makes her look even uglier.
It cannot be said that her choice to become a producer was unwise. Although she has strict requirements for the trainees, it would still be too difficult for her.
The format of the first public performance was very simple. It was recorded in Yuan Xin's large practice room a few days in advance. The camera followed Yuan Xiao as he walked from the corridor into the practice room with a cue card in his hand. The trainees had been divided into five groups, each with five people, neatly arranged.
For the show, the makeup team picked out a turquoise satin shirt for her, paired with ash grey wide-leg pants. The cuffs of the shirt were rolled up, revealing the slender lines of her forearms. She rarely wore a watch today, which was loosely buckled on her protruding wrist bone. The gold watch chain reflected a cold and hard light.
All the trainees' eyes were focused on the thin card in her hand.
"Good morning, everyone."
"I am Yuanxin Entertainment's executive president and the general producer of the idol project department, Yuan Xiao."
Yuan Xiao lowered his eyes and read out in a calm and clear voice: "The first domestic idol development program that records the debut of idols, "Idol Unnamed", the general rules of the program are as follows:"
"During the 120-day program recording process, you will experience five performances and a final assessment. After each performance, the ranking of the trainees will be determined by the scores of the mentor group and the votes of the audience. After each performance, the trainees with the highest rankings will have the right to choose their group and songs first."
"Each performance will have a different theme stage, and the order of performance will be determined by drawing lots. Each trainee will have to prepare a group stage and a group stage of 25 people."
"No one will be eliminated during the program, but on the final assessment stage, I will select the best trainees from among you 25 to form Yuanxin's new boy band. You will undergo a year of debut training and debut album production. By then, all of Yuanxin's resources will be tilted towards you. There is only one criterion for qualifying, and that is to be the best and unique."
"During these 120 days, each of you will have to complete six to seven group and collective performances on average, with three to four collaborative and individual performances in between. You may only have 20 days or even less to prepare for each performance, but I need you to perform beyond all your previous practice studio performances, because the real stage begins from now on."
Compared with the competition system of general talent shows, Yuan Xiao did not choose to add the elimination system to the variety show recording process.
Elimination can indeed stir up the emotions of the contestants and the audience. However, among these 25 trainees, except for Jin Zeyu, every one of them is a king of luck, and there is no need for elimination to continue to exert pressure. Yuan Xiao's target audience for the show "Idol Unnamed" is not to raise a lot of celebrity fans and extreme toxic fans.
For this, she even reluctantly gave up a considerable source of income. Damn it, you know, she had already spent her initial capital very tightly.
As someone who has a world of more experience than those working in the entertainment industry here, Yuan Xiao is sure of only one thing, which is to never, ever, ever encourage fans to vote.
Especially when her final choice of debutants is not planned to be based on the ranking.
If she really dares to do this, the foreseeable outcome is that she will either be invited to have tea by the relevant departments because of the crazy voting of fans, or she will be attacked by angry fans who spent money but did not get the desired results.
But think about it from another perspective. If she likes a trainee and votes for him after much effort but the producer makes the final decision, she will also go to 12315 to complain angrily. From the perspective of moral and legal standards, whether it is voting, surrounding binding votes, or voting on the edge of binding endorsements, it is not suitable for her.
Even if Yuan Xiao's first mission was not to gain popularity but to make money, she would not use such a risky method.
Youth, growth, passion, dreams, the program Yuan Xiao wants to create is a utopia of group portraits. Even if only a few of them can debut in the end, fans who recognize the team spirit can project their emotions on this group that carries everyone's dreams and continues to move forward.
Although friction is inevitable as the number of fans increases, at least it won't be like domestic talent shows where the number of group fans is pitifully small and each member's fans will pin them to the ground and beat them.
Nowadays, everyone is very tired from working, studying and making money, so they are always willing to watch something relaxing and warm.
The group stage for the first public performance is the theme song of the program. After all, only twelve days have passed, and it is too difficult for the current trainees to urgently organize three stages in less than two weeks.
According to the normal time period from recording to broadcasting, Yuan Xiao estimated that most of the 120 days would have passed by the time the first episode was broadcast. When scoring the program, Yuanxin chose a model in which the internal mentors of the company and the audience on site would score together. The teachers knew everyone, and each group of audiences certainly didn't know anyone, so there was no need for a separate initial stage session. Everyone was a trainee of the same company, and they all learned the same singing and dancing, so it was better to show themselves directly on the group stage.
Taking advantage of the moment when the lights went out, Yuan Xiao led a group of people to the judges' seats. Several closer cameras immediately started running, with the flashing red lenses aimed at them.
Yuan Xiao sat in the middle, with Gu Yuchen and the dance teacher she invited, street dance master Kane, on the left and right, followed by several team leaders of the project and other teachers of the trainees. Judging from their resumes alone, their professionalism was absolutely top-notch, but they were also very good at dancing.
After sitting down, Yuan Xiao glanced at Gu Yuchen who yawned beside her. She asked in a low voice before the microphone was turned on, "Didn't you sleep for a while just now?"
"Not bad." He stuffed the iced American coffee under the chair. This was a little experience learned from the veterans during program recording. It can refresh the mind and reduce swelling, and is a must-have for recording.
Yuan Xiao also knew that Gu Yuchen had worked hard. As the overall controller of the stage, he urgently revised several problems with the accompaniment after the rehearsal. Staying up all night was nothing for creative night owls like them, but not being able to make up for the sleep at this time was fatal.
I originally thought that since she was watching the stage just now, she could take a chance to sleep while Gu Yuchen was putting on makeup, but now it seems that she didn't sleep much.
Yuan Xiao was a little worried, mainly because she was worried that Gu Yuchen would not be able to hold on and fall asleep during the long recording time. Then the entry for their first public performance would have to become something like #Yuan Xin’s new trainees are so weak that they made the mentor fall asleep#.
Their mentor seats are set very close to the stage, so there shouldn't be any audience members taking sneak shots...
"Don't worry." Seeing that Yuan Xiao was still a little worried, Gu Yuchen narrowed his eyes and smiled at her, "Although I haven't been on stage for many years, I still have some professional ethics. I won't openly doze off in front of the camera."
"Really, what's that look in your eyes - okay, okay, I have a backup plan." After working together for this period of time, Gu Yuchen also knew that Yuan Xiao took this program very seriously and would not allow any mistakes. He bowed to show surrender, then took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket.
“Look, this can also be considered as stage experience. I can pass it on to them when they debut in the future. It’s a good way to touch a fish in public without being noticed. The disadvantage is that it is more suitable for cool guys, such as aloof producers like me.” This was the trick they used when they just debuted. Gu Yuchen looked at the sunglasses in his hand and suddenly felt a little nostalgic.
He had just debuted at that time and there were no such rich and simple marketing methods as there are now. In order to increase his popularity, he and his members took on all kinds of activities and worked around the clock. He could only sleep in the car while traveling, and his dark circles could not be covered by foundation.
At that time, four people took turns wearing a pair of sunglasses. One person would slack off while the remaining three worked hard to create the effects. It was quite interesting.
Yuan Xiao: “…”
Okay, this is one way.
Anyway, because it was the first recording, they had all seen the first public stage, whether it was the practice room version or the rehearsal version. Especially Teacher Gu, he was so nauseous after listening to the audio source that he could still make a few just-right comments even with his eyes closed.
Yuan Xiao is responsible for her group's debut performance. If the level is really not up to par, she will not let the trainees go on the official stage even if she has to pay a huge penalty for various equipment, team and venue.
Fortunately, it was only the first time this happened. After everyone became familiar with the process, the staff were able to handle it all, and it still gave her a sense of freshness. It was a pity for Teacher Gu.
Of course, there is a big difference between the stage with and without audience. For an idol, on-the-spot performance is also one of the important scoring criteria. Yuan Xiao sighed and thought, it is better to rely on herself than on others. She can only do this by herself.
The phone screen was briefly lit up. There were still two minutes before the performance officially started recording. Yuan Xiao's headphones rang with the voices of the directors' team at various locations in the venue notifying them to get ready. The trainees and program hosts who were about to perform were already waiting in the wings. Amid the chaos of voices, she could hear the thumping, thumping sound of her own heartbeat.
It's time to set sail.
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