Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 31 Yes, that's exactly what I think.

Having secured a top-tier script and made the acquaintance of promising newcomers, Lin Cong was in a great mood.

Faced with Ning Caishen's uninformed question, she unusually patiently opened the manuscript paper on the table and said in a calm tone:

"Generally speaking, a good script must have five elements: story core, characters, structure, conflict, and visual appeal."

She picked up the stack of manuscript papers titled "Not Watching the Spring Festival Gala," and lightly tapped the first page with her fingertip:

"Take this script as an example—the story begins with a simple magic show on New Year's Eve."

"A room, a few sofas, and a few minutes of dialogue are enough to explain the core story, characters, and main conflict of the entire episode."

"This level of information density is extremely rare in today's script market, and very few people can handle it."

Why are you looking at me like that? Can't I be one of those rare few?

Lin An muttered a few words to himself, glancing guiltily to the side.

"So," Ning Caishen pushed up his glasses, his tone becoming serious, "a good script must contain a lot of information?"

"This is valid information."

Lin Cong corrected him, his tone becoming even more serious than before:

"The audience's attention span is limited, so you have to make sure that every line of dialogue and every action advances the plot, develops the character, or creates a joke."

She turned to the second page of the manuscript, her fingertips tracing beneath a few lines of dialogue:

"For example, here. Three netizens are criticizing the Spring Festival Gala. On the surface, it's a 'joke,' but actually, every sentence reinforces the characters' personalities: who is more cynical, who goes with the flow, and who says they don't watch it but is actually still bothered by it. This is a storyline with multiple uses."

Yu Baimei and Wang Shaoxiong nodded, both appearing thoughtful.

Ji Tao, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, his tone indifferent:

"Different projects have different needs. Too much information density is not necessarily a good thing."

Ning Caishen turned his head, his brows slightly furrowed, and said:

Why?

In his view, information density is the key to attraction.

Given the same amount of time, viewers naturally want as many highlights and jokes as possible.

Ji Tao rolled his eyes in annoyance:

"Because we don't have money."

"No money?"

Ning Caishen was stunned.

Ji Tao took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and said slowly:

"Film and television works need people to shoot, people to act, people to record, people to light... The more complex the script, the more difficult it is to shoot and the longer it takes."

"A film crew can have several hundred people from top to bottom. Just the cost of food, drink, and toilet facilities is astronomical every day."

He flicked off his cigarette ash, his gaze becoming complicated, and his voice lowered slightly:

"That's also what makes this script so good. The content is clear enough, the plot flows very logically, and there's no need for last-minute changes. The director and actors can simply follow the script, and the plot itself doesn't require much extra work."

Everyone knows that "lone smoke rising from the desert" can convey a sense of tragedy, but which film crew would actually go to the desert for just a few seconds of footage?

The meeting room fell silent, everyone absorbed in their own emotions.

Lin An crossed his arms, showing no reaction to the indirect praise from the others.

At that moment, only one sentence echoed in his mind:

"No need for temporary modifications...no need for temporary modifications...no need for temporary modifications..."

Damn it, so the reason why that fat guy surnamed Ji so easily agreed to join the crew is that the script didn't need much modification at all... Bringing him into the crew not only gives them a reputation for "valuing newcomers," but also saves them thousands in royalties.

No wonder Lin Cong offered to pay in cash.

He didn't pay much attention at the time, but now it seems that besides helping him with tax exemption, it was probably also subtly reminding him that the contract was unreliable!

Damn! The city is full of traps, I want to go back to the countryside!

"Actually, besides what I just mentioned, the best thing about this script is its timeliness," Lu Xiaopin, who hadn't spoken until now, joined the discussion.

Ning Caishen was puzzled again:

"Timeliness?"

Lü Xiaopin nodded slightly. "The production of 'Internet Addict's Diary' will start next month. According to the filming schedule, the premiere of the series will be around January next year. With a little planning, we can make sure that this episode airs around the time of the Spring Festival Gala."

"hiss......"

Ning Caishen gasped, and the way he looked at Lin An completely changed.

This kid is so cunning?

This is absolutely terrifying!

Lin An, who was simply struck by this episode's impression: "..."

"Besides keeping up with current events, the script for this episode is accurate enough."

Ji Tao looked at Lin Cong with a deep gaze and said:

"Starting with not watching the Spring Festival Gala, everyone ended up watching it unexpectedly... If it's well-made, the official channels will actively promote it."

This is essentially the same as a tribute film, or even better.

Yu Baimei and Wang Shaoxiong looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock, envy, and a hint of inexplicable frustration.

A student in a continuing education program, not yet twenty years old, wrote his first screenplay, and he took into account the topic, the release schedule, and even the official tastes.

How can these writers, who have struggled for years, bear this?

Lin Cong and Lü Xiaopin also looked at Lin An with expressions of emotion.

It's as if it's saying: Little brother, you have a bright future!

Lin An's lips twitched slightly, his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, and in the end he could only manage to squeeze out one sentence:

"That's right, that's what I think."

Everyone: So you're still pretending, huh?

Bah! Shameless!

……

……

"Ta-da..."

Lin An walked briskly on his way home.

It has to be said that having 8,000 orders gives them a different kind of confidence.

The sky is still the same sky, the clouds are still the same clouds, but everything looks so beautiful to the eye.

Even the little "GG" stickers on the utility poles look exceptionally artistic, and the stray dogs on the street are so charming.

Everything was so wonderful!

Lin An took a deep breath, and the September evening breeze, carrying the aroma of food from every household in the alley, filled his nostrils.

He felt that he had been completely unreasonable a few days ago.

To attempt to create such vulgar paintings for a paltry sum of money?

What "art commission"? What "a man's dream"?

Pooh!

Fortunately, he was of pure and kind nature and did not allow the sanctity of art to be tarnished by trivial matters!

From this day forward, Lin An will be a breath of fresh air in the Beijing Film Academy's Literature Department advanced training program—a noble person, a pure person, a person who has transcended vulgar interests...

Lin An stopped in his tracks as he passed "Hongda Hardware".

Doraemon was squatting at the doorway, his round body curled into a ball, with a half-disassembled electric fan in front of him.

The blue, round hand holds the screwdriver, tightens it once, tilts its head to look at it, then tightens it again, its movements focused.

Lin An's lips curled up slightly as he tiptoed closer.

He took a deep breath, bent down abruptly, and brought his face close to Doraemon's ear:

"Onii-chan!"

"Wow!"

Doraemon screamed and jumped three feet high, startling the screwdriver out of his hand.

Lin An laughed so hard he bent over, his hands supporting his knees, his shoulders shaking, and tears were almost in his eyes.

"You, you—"

Doraemon clutched his chest, his round face turning a shade pale with fright, staring at Lin An with a mixture of shock and anger.

Lin An laughed heartily, reached out and rubbed Doraemon's round head; it felt as good as ever.

"I was just kidding, don't be angry."

Doraemon angrily slapped his hand away, bent down to pick up the fallen screwdriver, and muttered:

"That almost scared me to death..."

"Alright, alright, I won't scare you next time."

Lin An squatted down to be at eye level with the blue fat man and lowered his voice:

I have good news for you.

Doraemon looked up, a trace of lingering shock still visible in his round eyes:

"What good news?"

Lin An's lips slowly curled up, and he raised his index finger:

"My script has been bought."

Doraemon's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Lin An nodded, then gave a thumbs-up and whispered:

"Eight thousand."

Doraemon's round eyes slowly widened, and his mouth opened into a small "O" shape.

"One episode?"

One episode.

Doraemon stood there, stunned, and almost dropped the screwdriver in his hand again.

Seeing his dazed expression, Lin An couldn't help but laugh again, and his sense of smugness rose even higher.

"How was it? Pretty impressive, right?"

"sharp......"

Doraemon murmured, his eyes filled with shock, which then slowly turned into heartfelt joy.

He jumped and skipped, saying:

"That's great! That's really great!"

Lin An was a little embarrassed by his reaction and waved his hand:

"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile."

Doraemon nodded vigorously, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

However, the next second, as if he had thought of something, the light in his eyes dimmed little by little, and the smile on his lips slowly disappeared.

Lin An sensed something was wrong, his smile faded, and he frowned, asking, "What's wrong?"

Doraemon lowered his head, his round hand gripping the screwdriver, and sighed:

"Uncle Zhao is in trouble."