Positioning the international market,"Seeking Dragons and Winning Treasures" and exploring new marketing models

The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation."Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" will not only allow the descendants of the dragon to see the real dragon on the big screen, but will also spread the spirit of China's dragon overseas. rdquo; On February 18, the first fantasy blockbuster co-produced by China and Australia,"Seeking the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure", held a launching ceremony on the official website in Beijing. Li Baoping, vice president of the film producer Hengdian Group, said at the launching ceremony. It is reported that "Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" spent 200 million yuan and was sponsored by Sam McGee, who is well known to audiences for films such as "Jurassic Park" and "Piano Lesson". Neil starred, while the Chinese actors included Wang Ji and Chen Xiaochun. The film will be available in major domestic theaters on March 11.

100 million yuan to build China Dragon

The dragon is a symbol of China culture, implying tolerance, openness, integrity, majesty and sanctity. But foreigners 'understanding of dragons is different from ours. They believe that dragons can hurt people and are representatives of evil. rdquo; The film's chief producer Liu Zhijiang told reporters that in order to change the international image of China's dragon, Hengdian Group decided to spare no effort to create a film with international production standards and showcase China's dragon culture, export China's dragon culture to all parts of the world, so that global audiences can know and understand China's dragon.

In order to achieve this goal, Liu Zhijiang and his team have gone through many twists and turns. ldquo; The script was conceived in Australia. In order to let them design the image of a dragon that conforms to the minds of China, I specially borrowed a thick stack of graphic books about dragons from the design director to let them understand that dragons in China have the nose of a lion, the horns of a deer, the body of a snake, and the scales of a fish. The dragon in China must be majestic, solemn, and kind. It took several months before the final design draft reached our satisfaction.& rdquo;

After the design of the image of China's dragon was finalized, Liu Zhijiang invited RSP Company, the world's top special effects team that had participated in the production of special effects scenes for "The Lord of the Rings","Harry Potter" series and "Wolverine", to produce special effects for the film. ldquo; This is a blockbuster with fantasy colors. Special effects are a guarantee of the production level of the film. The design and completion of this China dragon alone cost nearly 100 million yuan." rdquo; In addition to the magnificent special effects scenes, the sound effects of "Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" are also extraordinary." ldquo; At that time, they told me that the sound effects of this film were made with 258 sound tracks. I still didn't believe it and thought the translation was wrong. It wasn't until the test strip that I really realized its shocking sound effect. I hope the audience will also have the opportunity to experience it in the theater.& rdquo;

When the reporter asked whether the differences in Chinese and Western dragon cultures would affect foreign audiences 'acceptance of China's dragon, Liu Zhijiang explained: In fact, audiences around the world have the same understanding of beauty. There was once a foreigner who sighed after seeing the China dragon we designed: So your dragon is so beautiful! lsquo; In addition, the China dragon symbolizes the mysterious and ancient China culture, which can satisfy the curiosity and yearning of foreign audiences for China culture. ldquo; According to Liu Zhijiang, in addition to showing China dragons and China culture, the film also explains integrity, tolerance, openness, and mutual understanding and communication between the two generations from the perspective of human nature. rdquo; These are all connected around the world, and we invited foreigners to tell this China story just to make it easier for everyone to accept it. To make an international film, we must seek common ground while reserving differences so that it is easier for everyone to understand and accept our culture.

China-Australia co-production is positioned in the international market

At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, the film company participated in the exhibition with some materials from "Seeking the Dragon and Striving for the Treasure", which aroused great interest from many international film dealers. At the American Film Market Fair at the end of the year, some American film dealers expressed their willingness to pay a large sum of money to buy out the American copyright of "Seeking the Dragon and Striving for the Treasure" and will invest another US$4 million to convert it into a 3D version for screening in the United States. At the Sydney China Film Festival held in Australia earlier this year,"Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" attracted much attention as a model of cooperation between the two parties.& ldquo; Currently, more than a dozen countries in Europe and Asia have signed up with us to purchase the screening rights of films, and more than a dozen countries have purchased the screening rights in Africa together." rdquo; According to Liu Zhijiang, there are already 50 to 60 countries and regions that are interested in purchasing or have signed up to purchase the copyright of "Seeking Dragon and Striving Treasure".

The bumper harvest in overseas markets is due to Hengdian Group's market positioning in the film and television business. ldquo; Since the establishment of Hengdian's film and television company, its goal has been to face the international market and create large-scale films with international standards. Therefore, our operating projects are mainly co-produced films, and we must fully cooperate with top foreign teams. rdquo;

As the first true Sino-foreign joint venture film company in China, China Film Corporation. Warner. Hengdian is one of the shareholders of Hengdian Company. From "Crazy Stone","The Warlords" to "Crazy Racing", Hengdian is one of the major investors.& ldquo; However, we lacked experience at that time and did not make a comprehensive layout on the cooperation model. We only owned copyright from China for most films, which also allowed us to learn some lessons. For example, the 2007 "Veil" was very well served in China, but the response in China was mediocre. Our return will naturally be affected. rdquo;

To this end, Hengdian Film and Television Production Co., Ltd. and Australia adopted a more mature cooperation model in the "Seeking Dragon and Seizing Treasures" project. First, a third-party guarantee company will intervene in the event of an accident in the film and take over the project. Secondly, two companies jointly manage funds and supervise various investment companies and production companies. In addition, Liu Zhijiang also entrusted two international distribution companies to be responsible for the overseas distribution of "Seeking Dragon and Seizing Treasure". ldquo; Many co-productions are divided into methods such that film companies in different countries get copyrights in different regions. Our cooperation this time is jointly owned by international copyrights, and the proceeds are shared according to their respective investment ratios, and it is a permanent copyright. We truly share blessings and woes together.

During this cooperation with Australia, Liu Zhijiang was also deeply touched by Australia's industry norms and spirit of integrity: as long as it is the content signed in the contract, the other party will implement it meticulously. And their industry regulations are very strict. For example, the crew wants to hire a editing assistant to do the job of an editing editor. In Australia, this editing assistant must pass the qualification certification and have the qualifications of an editing editor. This industry norm is very worth learning from.& rdquo; Liu Zhijiang also emphasized that fairness, fairness and transparency are the most important principles for cooperation with foreign countries and even within the entire industry. rdquo;

Australia also attaches great importance to this cooperation, and the Australian government has specially subsidized more than US$7 million for this project. It is reported that former Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd once said that when "Searching for the Dragon" premiered in Australia, he would personally attend and support the film.

Join hands with CCB to develop a new marketing model

On January 25 this year, Hengdian Group and China Construction Bank Corporation signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Hangzhou. According to the contract, China Construction Bank Corporation listed Hengdian Group as an important customer, granted a large amount of financing credit of 10 billion yuan, and gave priority to providing various financial services and support. As a strategic partner, Hengdian Group promises to give priority to selecting one of the preferred cooperative banks for the banking business. At the end of 2009, China Construction Bank Zhejiang Branch had granted a credit of 6 billion yuan to Hengdian Group.

The injection of large amounts of capital has injected strong impetus into Hengdian Group's business development, especially the development of the film and television industry. ldquo; In addition to credit and loan cooperation, we have also carried out new cooperation with the construction industry in the operation of the "Searching for Dragons and Seizing Treasures" project. rdquo; According to Liu Zhijiang, since the image of China's dragon and CCB's dragon card have a very perfect match, Hengdian will also promote CCB's dragon card when promoting the film. China Construction Bank uses the LED screens of the national business department to broadcast the trailer of "Seeking the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" 24 hours a day, and attaches a promotional poster of "Seeking the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" when sending statements to customers. ldquo; Cooperation does not necessarily require financial investment. The key is the resource support provided by the other party. rdquo;。Since the cooperation between China Post and "Panda Story", the cooperation between China Construction Bank and "Seeking Dragon and Seizing Treasure" has once again opened up a new area of cross-border cooperation in the film and television industry.

In addition, the film company of "Seeking Dragon and Seizing Treasure" also cooperated in all aspects with Zhejiang Newspaper Group and Hangzhou Cultural and Broadcasting Group. It is reported that these two local cultural media groups in Zhejiang not only provide publicity financial support for "Searching for Dragons and Seizing Treasures", but also use their own media platform advantages to carry out indiscriminate publicity for it. All of its newspapers, radio, television, digital TV portals, building LCD video networks, taxi LCD network, and outdoor LED city screens in key areas will broadcast all-round movie promotional videos and publish relevant reports to create a strong publicity offensive. Radio media will broadcast movie promotion during the morning and evening peak; online media will open a special page to showcase the essence of the movie, report on activities, and broadcast highlights of the video; Hangzhou's high-end fashion magazine "Fashion Weekend" will open a special page to support movie promotion and review the movie as soon as possible after it is released……

In addition to strategic cooperation,"Searching for Dragons and Seizing Treasures" has also placed hard advertisements on more than 140 provincial and municipal TV stations across the country. Among them, CCTV's 6 premiere column and CCTV's 10 "Tenth Screening Room" will feature the film. Report. In addition, Hengdian Film and Television also carried out a stormy publicity campaign in evening newspapers in various cities across the country, major well-known online media, subway TVs, cinema posters and LED screens. ldquo; We have just reached a cooperation with Hangmei Media. The other party will use all of its on-board TVs and airport screens to broadcast relevant information about "Seeking the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure". rdquo;

Dahengdian's big move

In the next few years, we will invest 5 billion to 6 billion yuan in the development of Hengdian's film and television industry. After obtaining a large credit line from CCB of China, Xu Yong 'an, chairman and president of Hengdian Group Holdings Co., Ltd., said.

Xu Yong 'an's ambition was not empty. In early 2009, Hengdian established his own theater company, Zhejiang Hengdian Cinema Line. At the end of 2009, Zhejiang Hengdian Film and Television Production Co., Ltd. officially announced that the film "Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure", the TV series "Autumn Frost" and "Blood on the Qiantang River" produced by the company would be filmed in Hengdian. This marks the transformation and upgrading of Hengdian Group's film and television industry, which has extended from providing shooting services for film and television bases to the production of film and television products. At present, Zhejiang Hengdian Cinema Line has more than 50 theaters, ranking among the top ten in the country at the box office. Hengdian Pictures 'first international blockbuster film,"Seeking the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure", is also about to make a big hit.

Our film industry has three major advantages.& rdquo; Liu Zhijiang analyzed to reporters, first of all, we have the advantage of Hengdian Film and Television Base, which can greatly reduce our production costs." rdquo; It is reported that all exterior scenes of "Searching for the Dragon and Seizing the Treasure" were filmed at Hengdian Film and Television Base, and the crew also built a dragon palace specially for the film. ldquo; The second advantage is our theater advantage. Our own theaters will naturally be more powerful when screening our own films." rdquo; In response, the reporter learned from Xu Tianfu, general manager of Zhejiang Hengdian Cinema Line, that all cinemas affiliated to Hengdian Cinema Line will fully cooperate with the "Searching for Dragons and Seizing Treasures" promotional campaign in theater promotion and will provide strong support in film scheduling. In addition, visitors who hold China Construction Bank Dragon Cards to spend in theaters owned by Hengdian Theater Line will receive a half-price discount. ldquo; Some theaters under Zhejiang Times and Hangzhou Xingguang Theater Lines will also follow suit. Qian Dajun, the former's general manager, made it clear that he will fully support the release of the film. rdquo; Liu Zhijiang added that the third and most important point is that we have a strong group background behind us, which is a very strong backing for our development of the film and television industry. rdquo; Hengdian Group is a large private enterprise among the top 50 private enterprises in China with independent innovation competitiveness. In 2010, Hengdian Group's total annual output value was approximately 30 billion yuan, but the proportion of film and television accounted for less than 3%. We plan to reach about 10% in the future. R.D.; Liu Zhijiang said.

Internationalization and large-scale production will be the main direction of Hengdian's selection of film projects. In Liu Zhijiang's view, internationalization is the future development trend of Chinese films, which is determined by the economic and cultural radiation of China. His next project is a war film about World War II.& ldquo; It is also an international production. We hired the special effects team of "War of the Pacific". I want to let films with the theme of the War of Resistance also go abroad." rdquo; It is reported that this film will be launched in the first half of this year.

In terms of terminal construction, according to Xu Tianfu, Hengdian Theater Line plans to add 40-50 new theaters in 2011, bringing the total number of screens to about 800.