237. Lu Ban Falls from the Altar
After helping Song Yunyan's friend, Lu Ban was finally able to relax and continue making things.
This time, however, Lu Ban did not remain silent as he had at the Yannan University Student Film Festival.
Making good use of one's identity and resources for publicity is an essential part of modern media and something one cannot avoid.
He first created a short trailer of only a dozen seconds, a PV that was like a pie in the sky. If it were put on a console game, it would be ridiculed by players as if the wheat had just been planted. He also registered all the relevant intellectual property rights.
The trailer shows a hand opening a book, picking up a pen and writing words, accompanied by a self-narrating voiceover. "When you see this story, I will no longer be in this world," creating a very eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. The trailer ends with the title "The Mouth of the Madman."
The trailer didn't offer much of an immersive experience; it was just ordinary footage. Lu Ban checked it again and uploaded it to the Silence Project accounts on various video websites, and then reposted it through his own account.
The movie "The Crying" was released at the end of last year, and now a new movie is being released directly. Audiences haven't even recovered yet. Even the normal publicity and distribution process takes more than a month, and there is also the need to secure theatrical release dates. All of these are necessary to gain more attention and spread the film more widely.
There used to be a saying that good wine needs no bush, but now, in this era of explosive information Loop on the internet, today's hot topics are no longer being discussed by anyone tomorrow. With all sorts of information iterating, even the best movies will be affected if promotion and distribution are not done well.
Of course, sometimes during the promotion, it becomes clear that the product cannot be completed, and the product has to be delayed. Sometimes, the product is delayed three or four times, and the audience gets tired of it. In other cases, the audience's expectations are set too high, and as the promotion continues, it is discovered that the photos do not match the actual product, and the audience feels cheated.
Less than an hour after uploading, Lu Ban saw that the video had already garnered over 500,000 views on the Old Days Video Network, and the number was still increasing at a visible rate with each refresh.
Those who came at this time were mostly long-time fans of Lu Ban, and their attitudes might have been somewhat biased. Most of their comments were also praising him, Lu Ban didn't read carefully.
By evening, he saw the notification from Did You Get It?".
How would you rate the trailer for Lu Ban's new film, "The Mouth of the Madman"?
Lu Ban clicked on it.
The first comment with the most likes came from an online film critic, someone who frequently writes film analyses, movie reviews, and ratings, but is not actually in the industry.
[Deep Blue Melancholy: This trailer looks very mysterious, grand, and suspenseful, but it actually says nothing. The cinematography, dialogue, and scenes are all very high-class, but it doesn't really explain anything. Through the visuals of this trailer, it's clear that director Lu Ban's visual skills have improved significantly, but it still doesn't say anything. So what exactly is this trailer about? From the perspective of a trailer, I think the film is still very, very far from complete; it's probably still in the project approval stage. To see this film, we'll have to wait at least two years. We can wait until then to give our evaluation.]
"Indeed, it's not very well completed."
Lu Ban agreed. He was striving for perfection, but he had only completed about one-third of the progress. To finish it, it would take at least another month. The completion rate was indeed too low.
He then looked at the second most upvoted answer, which belonged to an industry professional, apparently a screenwriter who had participated in the production of some films and television series.
[My name is Teacher Zhao: This trailer is very simple, just a few shots and one line of dialogue. Analyzing the dialogue, we can infer that this person is probably dead, and he's the narrator of the story. His clothing suggests a modern style. As for the title, I'm sorry, I can't come up with anything more. It feels like only the title is useful information in this trailer; the rest is useless. It's impossible to deduce any information from it. Of course, this is also a promotional strategy. Horror films rely on creativity, and Lu Ban's currently popular film is also very creative. If the trailer reveals too much information and is easily copied by smaller studios, the final effect will be diminished. Let's wait for Lu Ban's subsequent trailers.]
"I didn't know there was such a thing."
Lu Ban couldn't help but agree.
Considering that Ye Cheng also participated in the filming of a new horror movie, many film crews may now be eager to capitalize on this trending topic.
The creativity of horror and suspense films is very important. Once some core ideas are revealed, the overall effect of the film will be greatly reduced. Therefore, promotional videos sometimes need to be a bit mysterious.
He looked at the third answer, which was a movie review account—the kind of blogger that edits together exciting scenes from movies and adds commentary, allowing viewers to watch the movie in just a few minutes.
[Bai Xiang Talks Movies: Before discussing Lu Ban's new film, I want to talk about this director. He debuted with horror videos, short videos, online films, and theatrical films. In less than a year, he went from an unknown nobody to a sought-after director. His rise is worth pondering. First, it's impossible for a normal film to be produced in such a short time, so he must have been prepared and had already filmed it before releasing it step by step. Second, the actors he chose are very secretive; other film companies can't find them. I have reason to believe that there is huge capital behind him preparing to enter the market, and Lu Ban's appearance is just a signal.]
"Huge capital?"
Lu Ban looked behind him and saw only two wisps of mist, one black and one gray, swirling around him; there was no sign of any enormous capital.
Although Song Yunyan's Jiangcheng Industries is a large conglomerate, it is well known that Lu Ban is now self-sufficient and has hardly ever asked Song Yunyan for further investment.
"This won't work."
Lu Ban drew a conclusion.
He ignored the subsequent discussions and let the buzz spread on its own. With the bombardment of modern social media, a hot topic like Lu Ban was bound to become even more popular.
While continuing production, Lu Ban also managed to create a second trailer.
Before it was even posted, Lu Ban saw a screenshot of a post that some public accounts he usually followed had forwarded. The screenshot showed the title of the post.
Analysis of the new work in the Silence Project: Lu Ban is about to fall from grace!
"?"
Lu Ban didn't know how he had become a god. He curiously clicked on one of the articles and read it carefully.
"Although Lu Ban's horror films are excellent and no one in the market can compete with them at present, if Lu Ban continues to indulge in his comfort zone and does not break out of it, he will soon become stagnant, eventually crash and burn and fall from grace. He should make some more emotionally rich or large-scale productions, instead of continuing to dabble in niche horror films!"