Chapter 208 I have a meal to eat and you have a dish to wash
Liu Bi, who had just received a big order and was rushing to finish a manuscript, was completely confused when he saw the news.
It’s not like he hasn’t received two requests for money on the same day…
It’s just that the requirements of these two sponsors are exactly the same, and judging from the timing, one left and the other came right after the other, which is inexplicably funny.
After the funny thing, Liu Bi sighed in his heart, it turned out that in circles like the film and television industry and the entertainment industry, newcomers would encounter many obstacles.
The trailer for "The Boys" hasn't been released for long yet, and I, an up-loader who can only be considered T1 in the film review section and far from T0, have received two business orders to discredit this movie in such a short period of time.
What about other peers? What about other top bloggers who have more followers, more traffic, and more prominent recommended positions than you?
They may have already started to receive similar business orders.
Obviously, many friendly competitors are getting anxious about the rise of Kui Guang and its allies, and are actually suppressing them.
Liu Bi thought about it and replied: "Well... it's OK, do you have any needs?"
Earning the money of two videos from one video, this is such a great opportunity that it would be a waste not to make money.
Zheng Weixiong: "They are completely slandering us. They are slandering us in any way they can, and they are nitpicking about the flaws in their propaganda films."
Often, there are all kinds of flaws in a movie, TV series, or even a novel, including illogical points, contradictory points in character settings...
But as long as these points are not too obvious, most viewers or readers will hardly notice them.
They come here for leisure and entertainment, not for serious research.
As long as the plot is acceptable and there are no logical flaws, the audience often won't even notice those flaws.
Even if they were asked to watch the film several times and find faults with it, they might not be able to find those subtle flaws.
But if a more professional person points out these flaws and puts them in the comment section or publicizes them with great fanfare, the flaws that would have been ignored will immediately become noticeable.
The things that the sponsor asked me to do should be of this kind...
Liu Bi expressed his understanding at the time: "Okay, in our initial plan, the video content will include attack methods such as 'riding on the popularity' and 'disrespecting the original content'. Can you accept it?"
Although you can earn two salaries from one job, you still need to have basic professional qualities.
Zheng Wei had no idea what was going on, so he immediately replied, "Sure, you guys can make up your own mind. The video should be no longer than 10 minutes, okay?"
The promotional video has just been released, and it's less than 10 minutes long. You want me to criticize it for 10 minutes. It's really easy to talk without any pain in your waist...
The corners of Liu Bi's mouth twitched, and he was sure in his heart that this "Zheng Weixiong" was a complete layman.
But after all, it's a video to make money, so it's not impossible to make fun of it for 10 minutes.
Who made him do this job?
Liu Bi sighed: "Okay, but after all, the content of the promotional video is too little. Such a video is not easy to make. Um... I have to pay more. Do you understand?"
Zheng Weixiong: "1500, is that acceptable?"
Liu Bi thought about it and felt that the other party's offer was so high for the first time, which was definitely not what he expected. Moreover, there would not be many opportunities like this in the future. If he didn't take this opportunity to make more money, he would be sorry for the brothers in the studio who stayed up late and worked overtime every day.
So I typed a reply: "Mr. Zheng, let me explain to you, if it is to insert ads into our original video content, it is true that this price is right. But now you are looking for us to customize the video, so it will cost a little more. I hope you understand."
Zheng Weixiong quickly replied: "2,000, no more."
Liu Bi was also a man who knew when to stop, so he immediately agreed: "Okay, Mr. Zheng is straightforward."
After a while, Zheng Weneng transferred 1,000 yuan to Liu Bi's WeChat account and left a note on it.
"This is the deposit. The full amount will be transferred after the video is finished."
Liu Bi accepted the deposit and didn't say much.
In fact, this is the normal situation. It is rare to find a sponsor like Yang Ruoqian who pays the full amount without saying a word.
After all, the video hasn't come out yet, and the quality and content cannot be confirmed. It is fair to both parties to pay half of the money first and then give the other half after inspecting the goods.
After receiving the money, Liu Bi started editing the video himself.
It is indeed quite difficult to turn a four or five-minute promotional video into a 10-minute complaining video.
Bosses of small studios like theirs cannot be like bosses of large companies, who are only responsible for giving orders and leave other tasks to their subordinates.
Most of the time, they are like the owners of milk tea shops and small restaurants. They are both bosses and do the work of employees. Sometimes they are even more tired than the employees.
But the risks involved are much higher.
Even the money they get may not be higher than that of their employees.
It's truly a thankless job.
Liu Bi opened the promotional video that he had seen many times and began to watch it frame by frame.
The difference is that before, people were looking for advantages, but this time, they are looking for faults.
After reading for a long time, Liu Bi reluctantly wrote the first sentence on the draft: "Well... in terms of special effects, it is still a little lacking compared to the big movies over at Hollywood House."
This isn’t really a disadvantage, as it can make the video last about a minute and a half.
"The second point... uh, then, the movie trailers occasionally contain some rather unpleasant swear words, which are not in line with the values of young people and affect the viewing experience?"
After holding it in for a few minutes, Liu Bi wrote down the second point that could be criticized on the draft.
"Third, the leading actors in the film are all unknown celebrities. Although it is not obvious in the trailer, perhaps in the official release, these actors will not be able to handle their roles?"
As soon as the third "black spot" was written on the draft, even Liu Bi himself couldn't hold it anymore.
Whether it is the male lead, "Hero of the Motherland", who changes his attitude as quickly as turning the pages of a book and plays the role of a hypocrite to the extreme, or the female lead, who is pure and beautiful, full of girlishness, but is repeatedly embarrassed when joining a superhero group, their acting skills can be said to be impeccable.
Finding faults from the perspective of acting can be said to be a modern-day "groundless" act.
"Alas, it's hard to make money these days..." Liu Bi sighed and pinched his chin hard, "This promotional video is well made and the subject matter is also very good, how can it be criticized?"
"The cast is all new, and there is no negative material to be found. It is also impossible to discredit the lead actor himself."
While making the video, Liu Bi complained about the difficulty of the job.
It’s much harder than inserting commercials.
It's a bit too embarrassing to force such a good movie to be described as ugly.
For more than half an hour, Liu Bi watched the promotional video over and over again seven or eight times, but still couldn't find any major flaws.
It has depth and good technical skills, and from the few clips we can see that the producers have invested a lot of money in it.
Suddenly, a young man from a nearby studio said, "Brother Liu, I think this promotional video is well shot. It's too hard to find 10 minutes of dirty laundry. Why don't you talk to the sponsor and ask him to change the requirements?"
"Yeah... I think it was filmed really well." Another person complained, "These actors are all newcomers."
It’s really well shot…
The actors are all newcomers, and the production company is also a newly emerging company...
Liu Bi, who was racking his brains and trying every possible way to find flaws in the movie, suddenly stopped working.
In his previous videos, he used similar rhetoric to criticize the producers and actors of "Thunder Warriors" and "Magic City Fortress".
For example, they take advantage of their control over traffic and become arrogant, or use traffic stars with no acting skills to play roles that should be very serious in a cheerful manner.
But what’s the difference between what I’m doing now and what I criticized before?
A film that was produced with great care and most of the money was spent on production.
Companies that do not cooperate with other producers will be ruthlessly excluded and cruelly suppressed.
There are also talented actors who have good acting skills but are not famous enough and have low traffic.
Isn't it a bit unfair to the sincere producers and actors to receive so much false criticism just for a few thousand yuan? Especially in recent years, any TV series or movies that have something to do with popular stars will be highly popular, no matter whether they are good or not.
All kinds of overwhelming propaganda, all kinds of attention paid to the actors instead of the content, random CPs, and showing the bottom line of humanity everywhere in other comment areas...
As a blogger who makes film reviews his profession, Liu Bi himself is actually very disgusted with this phenomenon.
But what can you do? Just a few hundred thousand fans can't be said to be of low status and have little influence. If you are targeted by the fans of those traffic stars, it is only a matter of time before you are forced to quit the Internet.
It's so hard to get such a conscientious movie now...
Liu Bi glanced at the two deposit messages on his mobile phone, and his face struggled for a moment, as if he was making a very difficult decision.
After a long while, he turned around and reluctantly said, "How about I discuss something with you?"
The other two guys in the studio didn't even raise their heads: "Brother Liu, just tell me what you want to say. Why are you so shy?"
Liu Bi looked at the two young men working hard for a few thousand yuan and sighed, "Then I'll tell you... I feel like we can't earn these four thousand yuan."
"I may be a little sorry for you guys saying this, so how about this, next time, when there is a business order, I will give you a higher share, okay?"
After saying this, Liu Bi couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
Four thousand dollars!
I had received it all, and it was all in my hands... but I still couldn't grasp it.
Unexpectedly, a young man quickly raised his head and nodded in agreement: "Brother Liu, I actually wanted to say it just now, but our life has not been easy this month, so I didn't dare to say it!"
"This order is indeed difficult to take." Another person immediately stopped what he was doing and said in approval, "We can't destroy our reputation and jobs just because of these four thousand yuan."
Liu Bi looked at his two young men in surprise, as if he was meeting them for the first time.
"You really think so? You don't want the money you just got?"
"It must be true. If you lose money, you can earn it again, but if you lose your conscience, you'll never have it again!"
"No, we can earn more without a conscience... We deserve to be poor, hahaha! The money we earned by violating our conscience is too hot to hold in our hands."
A few people with conscience immediately laughed, and their words were full of self-mockery, but they were very determined not to take this business.
"Okay, okay, now that we have decided not to take this business, let's think about what to do next. Let's quickly find some interesting TV shows or movies, otherwise we're really going to have to eat dirt this month." Liu Bi laughed, waved his hand, and turned on his mobile phone.
Since you have decided not to take this business at the last minute, you have to return the money to others.
The first person he found was a generous sponsor who paid the full amount.
"Hello, Mr. Yang, are you still there?"
Looking at the comments section under his own promotional video, CEO Yang, who was extremely pessimistic about the loss target for this quarter, casually replied: "Still here, did you encounter any difficulties in the video production?"
He couldn't muster up any energy at all now.
Because not long ago, when he bribed Liu Bi to discredit his own movie, the system issued him a warning.
It is against the rules to maliciously discredit one's own film, so the expenses incurred cannot be included in the company's profit and loss account and cannot be reimbursed.
In other words, Yang Ruoqian had to pay out of his own pocket, taking out 2,000 yuan from his already tight piggy bank, to pay for Liu Bi's video production costs.
Seeing that his already small balance was reduced by two thousand, and the company encountered a major profit crisis this quarter, Yang Ruoqian was naturally not in a good mood.
Liu Bi simply worded the message in the dialog box and clicked the send button: "It's like this, Mr. Yang... Our production team just tried to make an outline according to your requirements, but encountered some difficulties."
Yang Ruoqian was somewhat speechless. It was just to discredit a movie. How could this be difficult? Could it be that they were trying to increase the money? Yang Ruoqian took a deep breath, prepared himself for a lot of blood, and asked in a typing voice, "What's the difficulty?"
Liu Bi: "That's right, we may not be able to make your video. How do you get your 2,000 yuan refunded? Will it be directly refunded to your WeChat account?"
Can’t do it?!
And it seems that it is impossible to do it, instead of using it as an excuse to ask for more remuneration?
Yang Ruoqian was a little surprised, so he said in the tone of an experienced person: "Don't rush to talk about the refund. Young man, if you encounter difficulties, you can tell me. If you feel that the money is not enough, you can add more. Business is all about coming up with ideas. Why don't you do this business just because you don't agree with it?"
Liu Bi replied: "You...then I will tell you the truth. Our team has just carefully analyzed "The Black Robe Inspection Team". We think that with the quality of this movie, it can strive to be the box office champion this year."
"Do you understand what I mean? If we forcefully discredit this movie, it will surely cause public outrage. Film critics make a living by being objective and fair. If the reputation is ruined, their jobs will also be ruined."
"We really can't make this much money, why don't you hire someone else?"
Yang Ruoqian looked at these three long messages and was suddenly speechless.
Oh, after all this time, it turns out it’s because of professional ethics... I thought it was because of some problem with the content.
They are being frank and honest, and as it involves their jobs, we really can't force them.
No one would throw away his job for a mere 2,000 yuan.
Yang Ruoqian sighed after his unsuccessful start and was ready to look for other up-masters in the film review section.
Just when Yang Ruoqian typed "Just transfer the money via WeChat", he suddenly had an idea.
That’s not right. Why are you hiding it and not wanting to reveal your identity?
As the producer of the film and the direct beneficiary of the box office, there are too many ways to explain the behavior of deliberately discrediting one's own film.
Mr. Yang's eyes lit up when he found a new idea. He deleted all the words he had entered and re-entered the information: "Haha... So this is the reason. Young people nowadays have very positive values, which is great!"
"But you think too much. To be honest, I am actually the head of the publicity department of Kuiguang Group. The purpose of assigning you this task is not to discredit our own movie, but to test the audience's acceptance of some plots in the movie before it is released."
"So I thought, let's get some people here to expose the issues we're most worried about, such as 'riding on the popularity' and 'disrespecting the original', to see how the audience reacts."
"Don't feel any psychological burden, just do as we ask. After the movie is released, if, I mean if, someone scolds you because of the video you posted, you can just release our chat history, right?"
Liu Bi, who had originally planned to stick to his bottom line and reject the other party's offer no matter how much, did not expect to get such an answer and was completely dumbfounded.
Do you want to look at what you are saying? The producers paid someone to discredit their own movie? Are you crazy? Who doesn't promote and brag as much as possible before the movie is released, and put out as many selling points and highlights as possible to attract a group of fans?
You guys are doing the opposite, right? Liu Bi quickly calmed down: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't know you were the leader of Kuiguang Group, could you provide some relevant proof? If so, can we sign a contract for this deal?"
"Young people are very cautious. The contract is fine, but you still have to keep our conversation confidential before the movie is officially released. Is there a problem?"
As the president of the group, Yang Ruoqian casually took out the document proving his identity.
After carefully confirming Yang Ruoqian's documents and getting the guarantee that he could sign the contract, Liu Bi breathed a sigh of relief.
If the request is made by the film producers themselves, the money can indeed be made.
The companies with vested interests have no objections. As an outsider, what qualifications does he have to point fingers and please himself?
That's a publicity stunt by a big group. It would be great if I could get a piece of the pie! Liu Bi replied, "No problem, no problem... Mr. Yang, I'm really sorry. We misunderstood you. Don't mind it."
Seeing that the plan to discredit the movie was saved, Yang Ruoqian nodded with satisfaction: "It's okay, just talk it out. Do you have any other difficulties?"
Liu Bi thought for a moment and typed, "There are no more questions about video production, but there is one thing I don't know whether I should tell you."
Yang Ruoqian: "We can communicate."
Liu Bi was typing away on his phone keyboard: "After you placed the order with me, we received another order that is basically exactly the same as your request. You should pay attention to this matter. It should be that another company wants to discredit you."
oh?!
Yang Ruoqian, who was feeling extremely heartbroken about his shrinking treasury, suddenly stopped feeling sleepy when he saw these words.
There is such a good thing?! Where did this living Bodhisattva come from, paying to help Mr. Yang? Mr. Yang, who originally wanted to spend more money and find more film review UP masters to smear the film, was overwhelmed by such good news from the sky.
Could it be that I have been unlucky for too long recently and God couldn't stand it anymore, so he finally gave me some good luck?
Yang Ruoqian typed, "Which company is it? Can you tell me a little bit?"
Although objectively, this "friendly competitor" who paid people to discredit its own movie helped Yang Ruoqian, but subjectively speaking, this company undoubtedly came with great malice.
Having lived two lives, experienced the brink of bankruptcy and came back from the dead, Yang Ruoqian is no naive person.
Seeing this request, Liu Bi hesitated.
He didn't want to get involved in the open and covert struggles between the two entertainment companies, and no matter what the users' needs were, it was extremely unethical to disclose user information to others.
Liu Bi thought about it, and did not agree or object for the time being: "Please wait a moment."
He wanted to check the company "Rifu" and Zheng Weixiong first.
If the other party's information is real, then you cannot reveal anything.
But if it is fake information and a pseudonym, it is no big deal to reveal it.
A few minutes later, Liu Bi confirmed that there was no such company as "Rifu" and no name named Zheng Weixiong was found.
However, the name of the entertainment giant Yuefu is a little similar to that of Rifu.
But...how is it possible? Liu Bi imagined the elites of these big companies, who could easily get orders worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.
It is unlikely that a giant company would use such despicable means to attack its rivals. There is a 90% chance that someone is deliberately trying to throw dirty water on Yuefu.
So he told Yang Ruoqian the truth about the chat: "The person claiming to be Zheng Weixiong from the Rifu Group is probably a pseudonym, so you don't need to look for him. If it's his real name, I won't reveal it to you. Do you allow me to take their business orders? If not, I will withdraw now."
Yang Ruoqian looked at the company name and the person's name and was silent for a long time.
Japanese government...Zheng Weixiong...
Damn it, isn't this Zheng Weineng from Yuefu Group? What a pseudonym! Do you dare to be more perfunctory? !
Your crappy company is really haunting.
However, Xiao Liu is really a down-to-earth person.
It's not easy for such a down-to-earth person to earn some hard-earned money, so there's no need to make things difficult for others.
It's okay. Since you've got Kui Guang's ride, from now on, if I have a bite of rice to eat, you'll have a bowl to wash... No, you'll have a sip of soup to drink.
Yang Ruoqian's face darkened slightly, and he typed, "No need to withdraw, just take it."
Just after typing this line, a strange voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Hello, Mr. Yang, can I come in? You have a Black Gold Membership Card... I'll bring it to you."
(End of this chapter)
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