hollywood billionaire

Chapter 284 Top Production
MV, like a backyard barbecue on the weekend, is a matter of abundance and frugality.

If there is no special anniversary and it is just a family dinner, go to Target and buy some frozen sausages, boxed pork ribs and pre-made coleslaw, spread it with barbecue sauce, grill it for about 10 minutes and then eat it.

If you invite a few friends to your home and you need to show them the host's enthusiasm and the strength of the business, then the Target shopping bags need to be replaced by Trader Joe's, and the food types need to be more abundant.The quick-frozen sausages were replaced with organic salami, the boxed pork ribs were replaced with freshly cut short ribs, and cheese garlic bread, pulled pork, and mini burgers had to be arranged to ensure that both guests and hosts could enjoy themselves.

Think boldly – ​​if it’s your turn to host a Super Bowl or Grammy’s live viewing party this year, it’s going to have to be something more spectacular than a Thanksgiving turkey feast.Not only does the whole family have to work together, but they also have to consider whether to hire a catering team to satisfy the taste buds of dozens of people in just two or three hours.

The same is true for the production of MV, which varies according to the audience group, coverage and the effect the copyright owner wants to achieve.If it is just an unsigned college independent band, then you can use your iPhone to shoot some performance materials, pay one or two hundred dollars to find someone to edit it, and you can get a lot of likes and enthusiastic comments from your uncles and aunts on Facebook.

But what if it was a Budweiser-themed music video that would be played over and over again around the world for a three-time Billboard No. [-] single?
The answer given by Han Yi is that all indicators are met.

First of all, in terms of directors, Han Music, which does not have sufficient resource reserves, mainly recommends talents through familiar industry bosses.This time, it was Dr. Dre who helped. He recommended Dave Meyers, who was filming the first promotional single "Humble" MV for Kendrick Lamar's new album "Damn".

Although he has never heard of this name - and few people care about the name of the MV director - Han Yi made the decision almost as soon as he got the Dave Meyers Press Kit and Production Reels. to take charge of the filming of "Cold Water".

Because the artistic style of the MV for "Humble" really suits his taste.

Not to mention anything else, just in the opening scene, Kendrick Lamar stood in an empty church, wearing a white papal robe. A beam of moonlight fell from the window and hit his back. The composition of the dust and white mist is enough to enter the selection of the greatest MV scene in history.

And in the back, among a group of bald men in black, Kendrick raps freely, and in front of a long table imitating "The Last Supper", there are six special actors dressed like other famous hip-hop artists, and Ken Derek himself enjoys the title of Jesus Christ... The three-minute and three-second MV, every shot is full of evocative visual effects.It can be said that compared to the song itself, the visuals of the MV are equally a masterpiece.

After getting to know more deeply, Dave Meyers' career made him feel like he had met him too late. 12 MTV Video Music Awards and 1 Grammy Award for Best Video, for Janet Jackson, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z There is also Gou Ye, the most beloved helmsman of the Temple label, who has filmed many works.At the same time, he is also the official commercial director for Adidas, Apple, Chevrolet, Chase and the NFL, and even shot a 30-second promotional video called Traffic Stoppers for Budweiser.

With a rich resume, outstanding talent, and recognition from sponsors, why wouldn't Han Yi have any reason not to hire him to direct the first important visual project since the founding of Han Music?

Of course, good stuff doesn’t come cheap, and the price offered by Dave Meyers was $25000 per actual shooting day, with free post-editing work time included.

This offer is definitely not comparable to that of Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan, who are paid by big directors in Hollywood, such as 2000 million US dollars in remuneration and 20% of First-Dollar Gross, but in the market segment of MV directors, Dave - Meyers' price has basically reached its peak.You know, an ordinary MV director who can get the discernment of a record company will charge about US$800-1200 a day.Star directors who have shot music videos for some hit singles can only get $3500 a day.

Therefore, if you have to make an analogy, just based on the quotation, Dave Meyers can be called the Steven Spielberg of the music video industry.

For record companies, this price is too expensive. Only first-tier big names that have helped the company make a lot of money can get this level of extra special production budget, and not every song can get it. Yeah, it has to be the first two promotional singles of the new album.

As for ordinary artists, it is even more impossible to pay such a big-name MV director from the advance payment.For ordinary musicians, the advance payment for an album is only around one hundred thousand dollars, and this figure is also decreasing year by year with the rapid decline in the industry's average production costs. It is no exaggeration to say that Dave Meyers's day's compensation , which can eat up a quarter of their advance payment.

But Han Yi didn't care.

He is raising funds to buy a 9000 million euro yacht. Now when he looks at the number "25000", he will automatically put a decimal point between five and zero.If he hadn't been temporarily unable to contact him, he would have even wanted to ask David Fincher to help him direct this MV. Anyway, the great director had only helped Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake produce "Suit & Tie" a few years ago. MV.

Among the three artists of "Cold Water", one is a top star with hundreds of millions of fans on social media, one is the banner of its electronic music sector and a pillar of the top five DJ circles in the world, and the other is...

The girl who wants to take a bite out of him every time we meet?
No, I should say she is a young girl who has the potential to become the next music icon.

Coupled with the US$200 million sponsorship promised by Budweiser, Han Yi will not be stingy with this remuneration to the director.

Not only the director, but also every department head who participated in the production of the "Cold Water" MV is an industry leader with many honors.

Lighting director Steve Lieberman, head of SJ Lighting, is a true industry giant. He was responsible for the lighting design of Ultra Electronic Music Festival, EDC Electronic Music Festival, Coachella Music Festival, as well as LIV Nightclub in Miami and Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas. Diplo has collaborated with him many times on the stages of major music festivals. This time, the MV for "Cold Water" required a lot of lighting scenes similar to those of an electronic music festival because of the theme and storyline. Lieberman's team naturally became the team. The perfect choice for this project.

The art direction is shared by Charles Infante and Alex Brewer.Charles Infante’s masterpieces include Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”Charles was able to be selected by Lady Gaga's management team when she was at the height of her popularity to provide visual control for one of the most important music videos of her career. He must have something special about him.Alex Brewer has collaborated with Diplo and Justin Bieber a year and a half ago, and "Where Are U Now", which changed Bieber's reputation, was produced by Brewer.

The whimsical idea of ​​combining real scenes with graffiti lines, turning completely static indoor shots into magic, Alex Brewer is completely a top talent who can be called an artist.

The director of photography is Larkin-Sepple, who just won the Best Cinematography Award at the 2015 VMA Awards last year for Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar's "Never Catch Me."He is an old friend of Ellie Goulding, and he shot the music video for "Anything Could Happen", one of the promotional singles for Ellie's second album.In addition, DJ Snake's hit single "Turn Down For What" in 2014, with its controversial and addictive shaking, is also the crystallization of his wisdom.An EDM Trap with no vocal melody and extremely simple lyrics becomes so vivid in his lens that no text description is needed. You can even turn off the sound and just look at the picture, which can perfectly convey the idea of ​​DJ Snake. What I want to express is the kind of mischievous carnival with a playful meaning.

The reason why "Turn Down For What" climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard singles chart is this popular MV.

However, this is not the most proud masterpiece of Larkin-Sepple's career. What really makes him a god is "This Is America", which will be released on May 2018, 5 and shot for Childish Gambino.

Four minutes and four seconds, one shot to the end.A warehouse contains an entire bizarre American society.

Director, storyboard artist, art director, lighting director, set director, director of photography, sound mixer, and even makeup artist and hairstylist, "Cold Water" has used the top 1% in the music industry.Even for the post-production special effects team, Han Yi appointed a local studio in Los Angeles, Ingenuity Studios.

He chose this studio not because... to be precise, not just because it was a team founded by Chinese, run by Chinese, and dominated by Chinese visual designers.

The main reason is that this studio has just won the bid and will be responsible for the visual effects production of the music video for "Look What You Made Me Do", the first single of Taylor Swift's new album.

This MV cost more than 1100 million US dollars to produce, making it one of the most expensive visual works in the history of the music industry.

As for the finished product?

Just click on YouTube and check it out.

Whether you like Taylor's song or not, the technical level of the MV of the same name is the undisputed pinnacle of this industry.

Taylor Swift spent a lot of money on "Look What You Made Me Do" to fight back against online bullying led by Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

What about "Cold Water"?And why does it need an entire theater-level movie-level VFX team to help it create visual effects?
"You look a bit..."

Han Yi looked at Maddie who was yawning on the other side of the screen and hesitated to speak.

"I look like...what's wrong?" After hearing Han Yi's words, Maddie nervously stretched her fingertips to her face, but stopped suddenly when she was about to touch her skin. "Is the foundation not evenly applied? Or is it flashing?" Is there something wrong with the pink color? I just felt something was wrong..."

"No, I feel like you don't have much energy." Han Yi shook his head, "Didn't you get a good rest last night?"

"It's not like you don't know where I went yesterday." Maddie curled her lips and glared at him cutely.

"Where did you go yesterday?" Han Yi looked confused.

"Good Morning America!"

"Oh... is it today?"

"I just said it was yesterday..."

"Sorry about the jet lag, I'm completely confused now." Han Yi drew a circle on his temple with his right index finger, whistled, and said, "How was the show? How was the response?"

"294 million viewers, no more than other times, no less than other times." Madison raised her eyes and thought for a while, "But when I met Sarah Jessica Parker, she said that when she was driving during this period, her favorite The one I listened to was ‘Cold Water’.”

"that is good."

"Not bad." Madison chuckled, "I blocked her on Instagram and took a group photo to send to my mom. She was so happy."

"Tracy is a huge Sex and the City fan?"

"It can be said to be the spiritual food she relies on for survival."

"What about the show? How was the performance session?" Some guests appear on "Good Morning America" ​​to promote new dramas, new shows, and movies. They only have indoor interviews, while music guests sometimes go to ABC's iconic Times Square. A makeshift stage was set up outside the studio to perform the new music they brought to the show.

"I got up at four o'clock in the morning to get ready, but... my throat didn't wake up with me. I buzzed and cooed in the room for a long time, and my vocal cords were still very tense. I didn't dare to drink too much warm water. If I drank too much, my throat would be sore. uncomfortable……"

"...What are you doing? Why do you have this expression?"

Halfway through, Madison frowned slightly, stopped narrating, and looked at Han Yi, whose dimples were looming across the screen.

"It's nothing, you continue."

Han Yi wiped his cheeks hard, suppressed his smile, and responded.

In front of Han Yi, Tracy McGrady always seemed like a nagging little talker.In addition, she originally spoke very fast. In order to protect her throat, she usually spoke in a very soft voice. She would never use her real voice if she could use bubble sounds.Therefore, every time Maddie talks to him, he can't help but think of the little duck in his mind.

Today, perhaps because he was too tired from traveling back and forth for a long time, Tracy McGrady's bubbling sound was particularly obvious.He can compete with the rizz masters he saw on Tik Tok in his previous life.

Both domestic and overseas versions.

"What!" Han Yi, who was pretending to be calm, made Madison, who was extremely curious, scratch his head and head, "Tell me now!"

"If you don't tell me, you will eat me alive."

"I will swallow you alive if you don't tell me." Maddie spread her teeth and became anxious. If Han Yi were in front of her, the Changdao girl would have strangled him by now. "You know how thirsty I am for knowledge. If you don't tell As for me, I will think about this every day today...the MV will not be shot well."

"Okay, how should I put it..." Han Yi pinched his Adam's apple.

"Your voice was so loud today that I want to order a box of salad dressing to dip it in."

The English word for bubble sound is vocal fry, which literally means taking away the sound and frying it, describing the graininess of this way of making sounds.

"Oh god...shut up."

After hearing the answer revealed by Han Yi, Madison's face instantly burned hot. With her eyes averted, she didn't need to look at the screen to know that her skin color in the frame must be so red that even foundation couldn't hide it.

"I'm not studying...those girls."

In America, from Valley Girls to the Kardashians, young women have long been mocked for the way they speak.Whether it’s pitching declarative sentences up, pronouncing them like questions, or coined slang like “bitchin’” and “ridic,” or the constant use of “like” as a conversation filler, it’s relevant to young women, especially young white women Communication habits are often seen as a sign of immaturity or stupidity.

Bubbly sounds are the latest fashion trend in the language and culture unique to American women.

British linguist Dr. Christo cited the word "vocal fry" in his paper as early as 1964.In the UK, it is usually men who frequently use bubble sounds as a way of expressing their superior social status. Because this pronunciation method is lazy, loose and procrastinating, it seems that only people with money and leisure can speak like this.

In the United States, the situation is exactly the opposite. It has become a common trend among women.

"Well, I'm sorry, my throat just doesn't feel good today... I've been too tired recently, so I need to let it rest."

"Why are you apologizing? I think it's cute."

Han Yi softly comforted Maddie, who was obviously a little embarrassed. He knew very well that the other party did not want to be regarded as one of those flashy girls who were ridiculed and criticized by society.Moreover, the closer you get to Maddie, the easier it is to discover that she is actually a bit of a pleaser.

Han Yi didn't know why a girl with such excellent appearance would be so cautious when interacting with others, and would change her attitude at any time due to other people's objections, but he could probably guess some clues.

When she debuted at the age of 13, she was surrounded by adults who either wanted to control her or the "Beverly upper class" who did not treat her as their own kind. While she was stubbornly resisting, these experiences would definitely leave some scars on her character structure. .

This is something Han Yi strives to change.

A superstar who aspires to shine all over the world cannot be defeated by this kind of insecurities and inferiority complex that always accompany him.

"Cute?" Madison narrowed her eyes, "I told you, you must like Hailey's type."

"What?" Han Yi laughed dumbly. The little girl was really jealous. Hailey Baldwin struck up a conversation with him at a party, and Madison complained resentfully for more than a month, "Listen to these gorgeous things. It looks cute, and girls are meant to be cute. You know what? Linguistically speaking, women are more sensitive to social interactions and so are more likely to use subtle vocal cues."

"Then what am I implying when I talk like this?" Madison squeezed her voice and tried to imitate Donald Duck.

"You know the universal human perception - if a woman does something like speak loudly or yell, it's immediately interpreted as insecure, emotional or stupid. So, I think, girls The act of speaking in a lowered voice is an attempt to resist the shackles imposed on oneself.”

"Our society has really strict requirements for women. If you use uptalk to show friendliness and enthusiasm, you will be called exaggerated and false. If you lower your voice and use vocal fry to show maturity, some people will say you are pretentious. Even 'like' If this word is used too much, some people will say it destroys the beauty of language... But in fact, young women are the incubator of the entire cultural and linguistic trend. Slang that is popular among women usually becomes popular in all circles after a period of time."

"That's true, even my grandma is uptalking now." Madison chuckled.

"So, you can talk however you like, and you don't have to apologize for it. I laughed just now because I just thought you were cute and like a little duck. There was nothing else."

"Oh, I'm cute?" Madison held her chin with one hand and blinked, as bright as a blooming flower, "Do you like it?"

"What I mean is..." Han Yi cleared his throat and forced the topic back on track, "You should be proud of your identity, character and behavior all the time. As a music idol, you should also continue to strengthen and consolidate your self-confidence. , self-esteem, and self-love, and don’t let any insecurities get the best of you — always remember that you are meant to be the pioneers of an era like Britney and Kesha. Think about it, without Britney on Baby One More How could a Chicano girl imitate her vocal style when she sings bubbles in "Time"? Without her, you wouldn't be able to speak with bubbles now. This is the power of pop culture. And you have the opportunity to use this The person who maximizes the use of power to promote social change and progress.”

"Don't forget this."

"I know, smooth talker."

He said this, but the ripples deep in Maddie's eyes didn't lie.This may be the main reason why she is attracted to Han Yi and becomes more and more obsessed with him.Not only would he carefully pop up the little bubbles that symbolized insecurity in her heart one by one, he would also use the most serious, pedantic, but also the most equal way to heat up her cold spring. To the point of piping hot.

Machine Gun Kelly, who will play with her today, is the kind of man Madison Beer avoids in real life.There may be people who think this type of drug addict who walks on the edge of life and death is cool, but that person is definitely not Madison.

What Maddie likes is someone like Han Yi, who is gentle and clean.Most of the time he is strong and tough, but he can always see some cute puppy-like moments...

No, I can't think about it anymore.

"Have you watched that... MV?" Madison moved the phone away from her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief to the side to calm down.

"Aren't you still filming?" Han Yi was confused, "We haven't finished filming yet, what should I think?"

"I'm not talking about 'Bad Things,' I'm talking about 'Cold Water.'"

"Oh, I..." Han Yi paused, "I've seen the sample."

"That means you haven't watched the finished film on YouTube yet?"

"They sent the final version to my mailbox." Han Yi answered the question.

"Wow, sir, I really didn't expect it." Madison clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You're not... the 480 millionth viewer. This is a MV you paid for yourself."

"Already 1480 million views?" Han Yi was surprised, "Just one week?"

"It was uploaded on September 9th, exactly one week ago." Madison said angrily, "You are in Europe, not in a cave, why don't you care about anything?"

"Been busy recently."

Han Yi laughed twice. The team structures of Han Music, Han Publishing, Han Live and Renyu Management were all established very solidly. Each department was helmed by capable people from the three major groups. In addition to regular weekly meetings, Now that he has embarked on a formal music business group, there is no need for Han Yi to do micro-management.

If you have money, you will have fewer worries.

In other words, the worries about money basically focus on how to spend money.

This is particularly obvious for Han Yi. This week, he has focused exclusively on consumption and worked hard to enhance his positive feedback, so his attention to other things has naturally weakened.

Moreover, Han Yi's feelings towards the "Cold Water" MV are also very complicated.Because, in the previous life, this hit single, which unfortunately failed to reach second place, did not have a MV, only a dance version video with several dancers.

In other words, the MV of "Cold Water" and even "Cold Water" itself are the biggest storm caused by Han Yi, the butterfly, who traveled back to 2016.

Could it be a perfect storm?

This is a puzzle that Han Yi hopes for in his heart but dares not to reveal.

So, it’s not so much that I don’t have time to watch it, but that I don’t dare to watch it.

"What are you busy with?"

Madison's voice was muffled, and she was not particularly happy after knowing that Han Yi had not watched the MV for "Cold Water" yet.

Although the girl understands that Han Yi is unlikely to be targeting her...

But I certainly don’t care that much.

Mad.

"Let me see... looking at shipbuilding in Monaco, looking at hotels in Italy."

Han Yi replied seriously. In theory, he was not lying.

"Then what industry are you investigating in the UK?" Madison curled her lips, obviously not believing it, "The fish and chips industry?"

"Absolutely, similar to fish and chips...something with a long history." Han Yi nodded seriously.

"Historic... stuff?"

"Well, I can't explain it to you now."

Han Yi thought for a while and replied.

"But after a while, when I return to Los Angeles, you should be able to see it when you come to Stradella Road."

(End of this chapter)