Zhao Yifang, President of Huace: Internet gene injection into the film industry produces a "multiplier effect"

In the past July, domestic films such as "Return of the Great Sage" and "Monster Hunt" set new box office highs for anime films and domestic films respectively, which undoubtedly injected a boost into the film and television industry in 2015. Based on this, can we believe that domestic film and television have entered a new golden age? Under the impact of the Internet wave, how do film and television makers need to respond?

According to statistics from the State Film Administration, in the first half of 2015, the box office of China's film market reached nearly 25.9 billion yuan, and is expected to exceed the 40 billion yuan mark throughout the year. In the past July, domestic films such as "Return of the Great Sage" and "Monster Hunt" set new box office highs for anime films and domestic films respectively, which undoubtedly injected a boost into the film and television industry in 2015.

Based on this, can we believe that domestic film and television have entered a new golden age? Under the impact of the Internet wave, how do film and television makers need to respond?

In this regard, the reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Zhao Yifang, the leader of the domestic film and television industry and president of Huace Film and Television (300133.SZ), to provide a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of the film and television industry in the first half of the year.

Internet transformation of film and television content: only fans have box office

reporter: compared with 2014, the domestic film box office market in the first half of 2015 has been significantly improved. How to evaluate the growth of box office market this year? What do you think is behind this rapid growth?

Zhao Yifang: We have seen a blowout at the summer box office, with a total box office of over 5 billion yuan in July. One of the most prominent feelings for everyone is that you can hear many people in the streets and alleys talking about domestic films "suddenly becoming better." This is a very gratifying trend.

Of course, the surge in box office is related to many factors, but there are two most important ones. One is that the quality of domestic films is indeed gradually improving-both audio-visual presentation, storytelling ability and emotional touch have made great leaps; the other is the multiplier effect produced by the injection of Internet genes into the film industry in the era of "film and television entertainment + Internet".

In the past month, the heated discussion and popularity of several domestically produced phenomenal films reflects the huge demand and call for high-quality content in the domestic market, and also confirms that this market has unlimited room for future growth.

Reporter: Compared with the rapid growth of the film market, how did the TV drama market perform in the first half of this year? What new characteristics did the TV drama industry reflect in 2015?

Zhao Yifang: If you only talk about "TV dramas" in the traditional sense, although the overall situation is affected by the "one drama, two stars" policy, the overall market is still developing steadily. However, the survival of the fittest will be more obvious, the stronger, and the industry concentration will be Further improved, the market demand for high-quality content and high-quality dramas in market segments is still high.

The drama produced by Huace is a brand-new "SIP"(S=Super) concept. Its core playing method is: Internet user-oriented, Internet channels come first, and then feed back traditional channels, which is now popular in the industry."Online TV dramas" are also what you call the new feature of the TV drama industry.

In addition, the most important thing about these SIP dramas operated by Huace is that they have completely opened up the boundaries between the Internet and film and television entertainment. From the initial stage of IP development, they have developed full product lines such as dramas, movies, interactive programs, games, and e-commerce derivatives. Carry out overall design and package operation, and multiple core products can be developed simultaneously under one IP.

This is a subversive and revolutionary concept. For example, we are currently producing "Night in Beautiful Clothes" starring Zhang Han and Park Min-young. While filming the drama, we are simultaneously developing big movies, overseas online dramas, and licensing games and derivatives.

Over the years, the dramas produced by Huace have always been very close to the needs of the Internet. For example,"He Sheng Xiao Mo" has received nearly 10 billion clicks on the Internet. Since 2014, among the top 20 dramas with clicks on the entire network,"Made in Hua Ce" has occupied 4 seats, including "Love Apartment 4","Shanshan is Coming","Wife's Lies", etc.

Reporter: Against the macro background of the film and TV drama markets flying together, what investments and arrangements does Huace Film and Television have in the two sectors this year?

Zhao Yifang: Our film business has entered a period of rapid development. At least 12 films will be released in the second half of this year, 6 of which were independently released by us, including this year's Cannes Best Director Hou Xiaoxian's "The Assassin Nie Yinnian", etc., and "Tiny Times 4", which was mainly invested by Huace, also grossed 490 million yuan at the box office. Next year, the number of independently released films will reach at least 12, and the box office is expected to be at least 2 billion.

In terms of movies, our comparative competitive advantage is that we can have close access to the water and transform our SIP dramas into big movies. Fans of the two can connect seamlessly and transform each other. For example,"Night in Beautiful Clothes" I just mentioned,"The Translator" starring Yang Mi and Huang Xuan,"A Sight Smile" starring Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang,"Battle of the Nujiang River" based on the novel of the Third Uncle of the Southern School... these are all simultaneous development of big movies.

In Huace's SIP business model, TV dramas and movies with quotes are in the same super IP system and complement and inspire each other. One of the characteristics of SIP is its huge fan base. The already developed "How to Sheng Xiao Mo" is a good example. At present, we still have many projects with such explosive power in our hands.

Strong content is a core reporter who responds to changes without

change: "IP" has now become the hottest keyword in the film and television industry. On the one hand, high-quality IP brings huge fan economy and investment returns; on the other hand, it is accompanied by a large number of IP transactions. With the emergence of IP transactions, IP prices are also rising. Which model is more favored by Huace? Why?

Zhao Yifang: I think in the era of super IP, high-quality IP will eventually become the "biological child" of many people. The era of being alone and happy has long passed. Our attitude towards the source of SIP is to walk on multiple legs. On the one hand, we will not give up our own internal incubation. At the same time, we have also purchased and hoarded a large number of powerful IP, and will cooperate with some other companies that have hoarded a large number of IP. development.

Indeed, nowadays everyone is frantically hoarding IP and showing off this hoarding. But I often joke internally that we should not be "purchasing managers" of IP, or simply "investment managers". What we need to do is to be a product manager of SIP in the true sense of the word. The concept of this product manager is to have the core capabilities of in-depth IP operations and multi-channel three-dimensional development.

Having an IP source in itself does not explain anything. How to make it blossom and successfully graft it through various channels is the king way.

Reporter: Nowadays, both film and television companies and game companies are trying to create a "pan-entertainment" format that spans the entire industry chain. How do you evaluate the "pan-entertainment" format? What ideas does Huace have when building an entertainment group?

Zhao Yifang: For Huace, our goal is to become the first operating platform for Chinese entertainment content. Based on the structure of this mothership, we will carry the all-round entertainment content section with one hand and open up all-media channels in the Internet era with the other.

The concept of "pan-entertainment" you mentioned, like many popular concepts, is essentially the inevitable result of the Internet era. The distinctive feature of the Internet era is that users pay the bill directly, and the number of fans, that is, traffic, is the king. These two points determine that various originally independent forms of entertainment-such as traditional TV series, movies, games, etc., between them The "power" is open up, and fans move seamlessly.

At the same time, your target audience is no longer restricted by any channel, which will inevitably lead to the scrambling integration of content and channels, as well as the opening up of the entire industry chain. Whether it is the so-called "pan-entertainment" or "film and television entertainment + Internet", I think that strong content is the core of responding to changes without change.

Reporter: China's film market is currently the second largest market in the world after North America. Overseas markets have gradually become new targets for various film companies. What arrangements has Huace made in overseas investment and cooperation?

Zhao Yifang: We currently have a lot of advanced and in-depth cooperation with South Korea. Moreover, I think that compared with Hollywood, South Korea and China's cultural and entertainment industries have more similarities and complementarities.

We have long carried out a comprehensive strategic cooperation with South Korea's CJ Group, Asia's largest entertainment company. The previous cooperation in filming and producing "Return to Twenty" and "Break Up Contract" have had good box office reviews. The third co-production film "Ping An Island" was also released soon. In addition, Huace is also the second largest shareholder of South Korean film industry giant N.E.W. Co., Ltd., and a series of super IPs cooperation between the two parties will come to the market in the future.

Huace has been cooperating with its European and American counterparts for a long time. There are many successful precedents, whether it is the co-production of dramas or the introduction of program models. Recently, we have also been in close contact with Hollywood companies, and relevant strategic cooperation is being implemented.

Editor: vian