Investment Life

Different from previous solo actions, this time Chen Yuanming went to Hong Kong to lead a real team, consisting of the public relations department of Feiyan Company, Xuewen Creative Company and Guangzhou Yishen Audiovisual Company.

In fact, there are still some twists and turns in the distribution of VCD. At present, domestic film and television distribution is mostly video tapes or laser discs, and audio is mainly based on tapes. It is rare to have a CD production line at the same time, let alone the introduction of VCD production. Even though VCD video discs have obvious profits, there are still not many companies that dare to get involved.At this time, domestic audiovisual distribution was also dominated by the state, and there were few private institutions. For the officials and gentlemen who were used to eating imperial food, fresh crabs may not always be a delicacy.

Only two companies reached an agreement in the end. One was the local audio-visual publishing house in Anhui. Since VCD is an emerging industry, it also has national patents and the world's number one title. The local government gave the green light to the construction and production of Feiyan Company. , local funds could not participate in Feiyan's investment, so they naturally turned their energy to the VCD video disc manufacturing industry. For this reason, Anhui Audiovisual Publishing House received a large amount of government support funds. He introduced a VCD filling production line at a high price, and cooperated with Lin Xuewen and others to start a higher-level route, and actively contacted major studios and film companies to negotiate the VCD sales rights of excellent films.

The energy here is focused on the country, and naturally some people are looking outside. The other person who took the initiative to contact is Yishen Audio-Visual Company, a subsidiary of Guangzhou Audio-Visual Publishing House.Unlike Anhui's passivity, Guangzhou is very optimistic about the prospects of VCD, and is very familiar with the development of Hong Kong's film industry, which is close at hand. When they heard that Feiyan intends to enter Hong Kong, they immediately sent people to rush over.So through the lead of Guangzhou, Chen Yuanming and others finally embarked on this trip.

90. Hong Kong in the [-]s is one of the centers of Asian pop culture, and it is also a window for the mainland to see the world.The two golden signs of pop music and Hong Kong movies have firmly attracted the still ignorant mainland entertainment industry, and also ignited a wave of god-making craze for later generations.

However, the Hong Kong film industry in 1993 was far from the age of mythology. Several major film and television companies were sprouting or declining, and well-known directors were still at the threshold of updating. The new generation of Tsui Hark, John Woo, Kwan Jinpeng, Wong Kar Wai and others have just emerged.Under the heavy pressure of the return of [-], this group of people created a large number of excellent works, and also pushed Hong Kong martial arts films to its peak.

However, in terms of qualifications and influence, the current leader of the Hong Kong film industry is still Golden Harvest Entertainment. Since the Shaw Brothers stopped film production in 1987 and the disintegration of New Arts City in 1989, Golden Harvest has no rivals in front of them. Coupled with the appeal of two international superstars, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, it can be called the top representative of Hong Kong Kung Fu movies.As early as 1992, Golden Harvest's films had already entered the mainland theaters in the form of sub-accounts, and it can be regarded as the most well-known Hong Kong film company in China.

According to Yishen Audiovisual, they should start with Golden Harvest and join hands with each other to cut into the center of Hong Kong's film industry, creating a favorable start for Feiyan.But such a concept is not the goal of Chen Yuanming and Lin Xuewen.

Before entering Hong Kong, Chen Yuanming discussed with Lin Xuewen and worked out the development vision for the Hong Kong film industry. Here they are no longer a role that needs to be hired, but on the contrary, they have become a real seller's market. The fact that the VCD industry has replaced the VCR industry is a fact that anyone with a business mindset can see. Holding all the core patent rights of VCD means that any film and television company that wants to publish VCDs cannot do without the support of Feiyan.If you don't form an alliance with Feiyan, you need to pay Feiyan the patent fee for any VCD disc. Without the CSS key, VCD discs cannot be played on the DVD player.

With such unique preconditions, the huge backing of Hong Kong-produced films, and the huge potential market in Southeast Asia, at this time, instead of going to big companies to beg them to cooperate, that’s not called intersecting, it should be called self-inflicted and fat. Meat is right.How could a shrewd Lin Xuewen do such a shameful thing.

Therefore, what Feiyan will conduct in Hong Kong this time is not a film copyright acquisition battle, but a publicity war, a fishing ground for volunteers to take the bait.

In early September, Chen Yuanming and others arrived in Hong Kong. On September 9, through Hong Kong's largest public relations department at that time, Feiyan Company held an internal reception for the film industry in Kowloon, Hong Kong.Since it was a reception held by a mainland manufacturer, and there were no celebrities to help out, the reception seemed low-key and quiet, and even the paparazzi didn't want to patronize it.However, almost all the key members of the distribution departments of major film companies were present at the scene, and the gold content was really not low.

In the middle of the luxurious venue, on a high platform stands a screen wall made of TV screens, half of which is connected to a popular Sony video recorder, and the other half is connected to a prototype of Feiyan VCD that has not yet been launched.After all the participants were seated, the lights in the hall dimmed, and a picture appeared on both sides of the TV wall at the same time.

"Feiyan VCD player, the only one in the world."

Following the sound, a very well-shot commercial promotional video appeared on the screen, introducing in detail the origin of Feiyan VCD, the functions of VCD itself, the current patented technology that is ahead of the times, and the patent rights and other product information.In the huge TV wall, every TV and every screen displayed the same picture effects and color textures, and it was not like using two different players for projection.

After 10 minutes, the short film finished playing, and the lights in the hall were turned on again.Fei Anheng, Fei Anheng, Fei Yan's newly appointed director of the public relations department, calmly walked up to the rostrum, and opened the doors of the two players with the remote control.

"This is a Sony VHS video tape. I believe everyone here is familiar with it." The young man raised his left hand and showed the video tape in his hand, speaking fluent Cantonese.

"And this..." He raised his right hand, and a small disc completely different from the video tape appeared in his hand, "It is the disc used by Feiyan's upcoming new player, we call it Video-CD, A video disc is about 70 minutes long, and the manufacturing cost is no different from that of a normal CD."

As soon as this sentence came out, there was a burst of whispering discussions in the audience.With a smile on his face, Fei Anheng quietly waited for the noise to subside.

"High price, re-recordable, heavy and complicated and cheap, non-rewritable, light and simple, that's such a stark contrast. But as you can see, their video effects are almost the same, and they can be perfectly replaced."

This time before the discussion started again, Fei Anheng smiled slightly, and continued, "The more important thing is the anti-theft mode. I believe that the problem of pirated recording and candid photography of video tapes has troubled everyone here for a long time, and it is very likely that it will also happen in the future." It will continue to trouble you. But Feiyan VCD adopts CSS anti-theft code technology, as long as it is not authorized by Feiyan, it cannot be played on our disc players.”

Immediately, a bunch of rebuttals and questions rang out from below. Fei Anheng listened carefully for a moment, then shook his head lightly, "That's right, no one can completely solve the problem of piracy, but at present VCD already has the most advanced anti-theft means. If If there is a vicious competition, we don’t mind using legal means, and if we want to file a lawsuit, we can let it go.”

The audience suddenly became chaotic again, with conversations, inquiries, and doubts one after another. With an excellent posture, the new public relations director did not have the slightest stage fright, and firmly controlled the situation.

"...lower prices mean higher profits. Movies will no longer rely on pure theater broadcasts, no longer rely on a pure rental model to survive, and become collections that are deeply rooted in thousands of households. If this thing goes on sale , everyone here thinks..."

Sitting in the corner of the hall, Chen Yuanming quietly listened to the provocative yet extremely reserved speech of the man on the stage. Now the team under him finally has some shape, can pull out the scene, open up the situation, naturally There is no need for him to do everything himself.

However, there were still imperfections in today's reception. Chen Yuanming frowned slightly as he glanced at all the guests present.In this complicated pile of film companies, one figure was missing, and Jiahe didn't come.This behemoth has a large enough theater capital, and has also been connected to high-level lines in the mainland, so it doesn't bother to patronize the video disc industry at all.With such staggering arrogance, Chen Yuanming frowned slightly as he flicked the table with his fingertips.The lack of Golden Harvest, although it does not affect the overall situation, but there is still no existence that can control the situation. In this new and old Hong Kong, should he also take the initiative to do something?

The reception that day was quite successful. Afterwards, several film and television companies had a strong interest in VCD, especially a laser video company named Huanyu, which is a small company specializing in the distribution of VHS video tapes and laser discs. The publisher, which has just been established for a few years, is currently preparing to expand the mainland line.The person in charge surnamed Lin followed Fei Anheng almost every step of the way, and asked about the cost of setting up a VCD filling line, as if he wanted to cooperate with Feiyan in depth.

On the contrary, Yishen Audiovisual has the idea of ​​Golden Princess Entertainment.At that time, Xinyi City Films under the Golden Princess had a great box office, and could even compete with Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest at that time. However, due to the hidden dangers of the equity distribution problem, it disintegrated in 1989 and closed down in 1991.

New Art City is finished, but the film and television heritage it left behind is still rich, especially in the 80s, such series as "Ghost Horse", "Best Partner" and "Sword Horse Dan", almost every one of them was the box office hit of the year. Hot, also a popular product for videotape and laserdisc selections.Now that the company has disintegrated, it is only natural to use copyright fees to recover costs, and it has naturally become the best choice for Yishen Audiovisual.

The reception was full of excitement, but Chen Yuanming did not stay, and left the venue early with Zhang Gang.For him, the promotion of VCD is no longer the focus, it is time to take a more active attitude.

A week later, after many rounds, Chen Yuanming finally made an appointment with the person he wanted to see.Now the executive chairman of Hong Kong TVB (TVB) is also the head of the Shaw Brothers, an old man with a legendary reputation.