114. Million Earnings

It must be said that the perfect video footage with 100% mission exploration is indeed quite excellent.

Not only is the image quality extremely high, but it also offers a variety of angles, including some that Lu Ban himself has never experienced.

However, looking at the Momiji in the video, Lu Ban still felt a little melancholy.

"Thinking about it this way, if these videos were to circulate widely, at least people around the world would know about you and remember you, which would be a kind of memory."

Lu Ban muttered to himself, when he felt someone pat him on the shoulder.

Turning around, Lu Ban saw a bloodshot eye staring at him from the shadows at the head of the bed.

"You came out of the sewer?"

He asked a question, his eyes slowly disappearing into the shadow of the curtains.

How to put it? It's like the cats you keep at home. Normally, they won't respond no matter how you call them, but when you're focused on doing something, these cats will keep running over to you wanting kisses, hugs, and to be lifted up high. They'll even pat you with their little paws.

Lu Ban turned his attention back to the computer.

"A video that is more than 30 minutes long can basically be considered a short film."

He pondered for a moment, then began searching online for information about the revenue generated by short films.

"The most reliable way to make money with long videos is to produce a short film and rely on box office revenue. If the ticket price is 20 yuan, then 140,000 viewers would be enough to achieve the target. However, this is the calculation for theatrical releases. If it is a low-budget online movie or a film festival screening, the revenue share will be higher."

Lu Ban had studied the box office revenue sharing model for domestic films before. Roughly, about 10% of the box office revenue of 100 yuan goes to taxes and the film special fund. Then, the theater chain and cinemas take more than 50% of the remaining revenue, and the distributor takes about 10% of that. So, less than 40% ends up with the production company.

After deducting costs from these profits, a rough calculation shows that the box office revenue needs to be at least three times the cost to guarantee that the company will not lose money.

However, Lu Ban's costs are almost zero, so whatever he earns is whatever he makes.

"The cinemas are facing some difficulties, the revenue sharing is relatively low, and currently my video footage is not long enough to make a 90-minute movie. A 40- to 50-minute movie simply won't attract people to the cinema."

Lu Ban then checked the revenue streams for online movies.

Leaving aside the revenue sharing between investors and producers, online movies are also calculated based on clicks. Websites like Lovecraft Video Network Scarecrow Video Network give movies a rating, and the clicks of different ratings are converted into different prices, ranging from 50 cents to 2.5 yuan.

Since these video websites primarily rely on VIP monthly subscriptions for revenue, they differentiate between valid and invalid plays. If a viewer watches a web movie for more than six minutes, it is considered a valid play, and revenue is calculated based solely on valid plays.

This is why many websites have a "six-minute curse" for movies, meaning free users can only watch the first six minutes.

To earn millions in revenue using this method, Lu Ban would need at least 400,000 valid clicks on an exclusive platform.

If it's not exclusive, the total number of clicks across all platforms needs to exceed 700,000.

"It seems that the online movie streaming model is a faster way to make money."

He has some internal documents he obtained when he set up his film and television studio. Although many websites do not directly display the number of views, the internal documents still have accurate figures. A popular online movie can get three to four million effective views in two months. According to the exclusive revenue sharing, that would generate about six million in revenue.

However, this model is subject to natural selection. Just like online novels, everyone sees the high returns from low-cost investments, but they don't see how many online dramas and movies have lost everything.

Many people look down on online dramas and movies, believing that they are inferior to the full-length films shown on TV and in cinemas, and are considered cheap and poorly made knock-offs.

Indeed, many web series and online movies are simply riding the coattails of trending topics, such as The Lost Tomb: The Green Tong Gate, Ghost Lamp: The Green Skin Tomb, and Interstellar: The Dream Knight.

However, some online films and television shows do not require strict censorship, so their content can be more open, especially when dealing with suspense, social issues, or crime.

Of course, Lu Ban has a third option: to take advantage of the year-end film festival to screen films at film festivals. This way, the theaters take less cut, and he can get more of the revenue share. Moreover, film festivals are frequented by more enthusiastic film lovers who are more willing to pay.

Lu Ban had seen examples of low-budget films that received positive reviews during their theatrical releases before achieving impressive box office results.

Of course, he probably won't be able to go to the film festival. A video that's over an hour long is barely enough to be a student's graduation project, let alone something that will make it onto the big screen.

"It seems that streaming online is the most convenient option."

Lu Ban has made a decision for now, but ultimately it depends on the final product he puts together.

He first organized his own experiences, divided the entire film into several segments, and separated them according to the structure of introduction, development, climax and conclusion. Then, he began to work seriously.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if that murderer has been found yet."

As evening approached, Lu Ban stretched and muttered to himself as he casually remarked.

He decided to go downstairs for dinner.

In the evening, the number of people in the neighborhood actually increased.

Lu Ban saw an elderly man with a child, a girl walking a dog, and a middle-aged man who looked down on his luck sitting on a bench in the community wearing a suit. Next to him, a couple was looking at their phones and whispering sweet nothings.

"You'll catch a cold doing that."

Lu Ban kindly spoke to the down-on-his-luck middle-aged man, whose hair was wet, as if he had just crawled out of the water. The man was clutching his briefcase, as if he was afraid of something.

The man glanced at Lu Ban but didn't say anything.

The couple next to them glanced at the bench and looked at Lu Ban suspiciously.

Who are you talking to?

The boy asked a question.

"The uncles here."

Lu Ban pointed to the middle-aged man.

"Let's go quickly, let's not stay here."

The girl said something with a hint of disdain, then pulled her boyfriend to stand up.

"Alright, since you're willing to stay here, then forget it."

Lu Ban didn't dwell on it; he was just offering a friendly reminder.

After having dinner on the back street of Jiangcheng University, Lu Ban returned to his apartment building.

He took the elevator upstairs and arrived at the hallway of his own home.

"Um?"

Lu Ban noticed something odd about his door after standing some distance away.

"I didn't close the door?"

He frowned slightly.

Because the security door was now ajar, seemingly within easy reach to open.

*

Please vote with monthly tickets and recommendation votes!