Ma Zhongjun, Chairman of Ciwen Media: Online literature adaptation needs to be de-foamed

To choose online literature worthy of film and television adaptation, we must first have a de-bubble movement, and the adaptors must be sober. As for originality, of course, we must pay attention to it, but in such an era where quick success and instant benefit are eager, how many people can quietly study life in depth and incubate their own works without external interference? There are very few such people, and a large number of them are paid, entrusted to write, write based on skills, not with heart. This is two different things. So I think it is necessary to walk on two legs. Generally speaking, we have to find works that are written with heart.

"Otaku culture, secondary dimension, online sense, interaction..." It's hard to imagine that so many new Internet words can pop up from the mouth of a person who will enter the 60s in July this year. His name is Ma Zhongjun, chairman of Ciwen Media Group. Ma always started as a screenwriter. The drama "Hot Flow Outside the House" created in the 1970s is known as the pioneer of experimental drama in China. Movie scripts such as "Red Skirts Popular on the Street" and "Beach" can also be regarded as cutting-edge masterpieces of that era. In the 1990s, Ma Zhongjun was involved in film and television drama production. Ciwen was one of the first private film and television companies in China to be awarded a TV drama production and operation license. In 2015, Ciwen, who was the first to deploy online dramas among film and television companies, brought China's first TV series "Hua Qian Gu" with more than 20 billion online clicks. From a traditional craftsman in the film and television industry to the chairman of a listed company, Ma Zhongjun has always been on the front line of fashion in the film and television industry. Nowadays, the Internet is changing the ecology of the film and television industry, and the collision between capital and film and television has brought new propositions. Against this background, the reporter interviewed Ma Zhongjun exclusively, bringing him thoughts and voices on the industry.

Company annual report Satellite TV arrears Common online dramas Open up multi-channel revenue

Reporter: The company's 2015 annual report achieved a net profit attributable to the parent company of 199 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 63.99%. What are the main reasons for achieving a net profit of nearly 200 million yuan?

Ma Zhongjun: The first thing is team efforts. Three years ago, the company proposed to transform into a younger and Internet-oriented approach, and march into high-tech and new fields. This has a certain relationship with these. The foundation laid by the transformation over the years was initially realized in 2015. In addition, in the transformation to the Internet, dramas linked by Internet and Taiwan, and content with particularly obvious Internet genes have won the welcome of young groups and Internet habitual users. This not only brings income from TV broadcasts, but also opens up other channels. Income, including income from movie and game interactions, Internet, and sub-licensing, brings relatively large imagination space for the future.

Reporter: The announcement made when borrowing Hexin shares showed that Ciwen Media promised to achieve net profit attributable to the parent company in the consolidated statement of no less than 250 million yuan, 310 million yuan and 330 million yuan from 2016 to 2018, which means that 2016 and 2017 The net profit will maintain a year-on-year growth of more than 20%. How to achieve such a goal?

Ma Zhongjun: The first is to seek income diversification, not only from TV stations and the Internet, but also from games. Income diversification will bring richness. Secondly, we have reserved a lot of IPs, and these IPs will continue to work hard from 2016 to 2018. These are within the controllable range, so there should be no need to worry about performance realization.

Reporter: The popularity of the film and television industry will inevitably bring fierce competition and increase production costs. This industry is accompanied by the risk of censorship of works. The company's total operating income in 2015 was 856 million yuan, and its inventory was 609 million yuan. The inventory ratio was still relatively high. Does this mean that many of the company's film and television works cannot be broadcast after completion of production? Is this one of the greater market risks faced by companies in the film and television industry?

Ma Zhongjun: The film and television industry has its own production rules. Works produced at the beginning of the year will not be licensed until the end of the year. The way we recognize revenue is we have to get a license and sell it. Because of its seasonality, there will be a large amount of inventory at the end of each year, and new films will be released. It may not be easy to say that it will be scheduled to be broadcast in March, April, or even August and September of the following year, when it becomes inventory. Moreover, TV dramas nowadays basically pay after the broadcast, and the inventory will be large. It's just that the inventory is changing, and new inventory is replacing the old one.

Reporter: During the 2015 annual report period, the net cash flow from the company's operating activities was-96.7301 million yuan, and the net profit was 202 million yuan. The company stated that the main reason for the difference was the large amount of the company's accounts receivable. Industry insiders once revealed that the return rate of domestic dramas is less than 50%. In 2014, the famous Hairun Film and Television was disclosed that it had owed as much as 420 million yuan over the years. How do you view the long return cycle of the film and television industry and the risks contained therein?

Ma Zhongjun: Satellite TV defaulting is a common phenomenon. This is an objective reality. Therefore, companies are also constantly shifting, and the proportion of Internet revenue will become higher and higher. The company's revenue has continued to increase in the past two years, and accounts receivable will increase in a relatively proportional manner. However, there is also a problem in the transition to the Internet. Currently, video is not profitable in Internet revenue. Therefore, I have always mentioned that the company's revenue is diversified, its revenue must be developed towards B2C, and it supports the fee-paying member model. This is a virtuous cycle. We have been discussing this with the Internet, and the company is also making preparations in this regard.

Early interaction of popular online dramas is the most important means of making dramas in this era.

Reporter: You are an expert in making film and television dramas. The company is regarded as the first target of online dramas in the capital market. The Internet has changed the format of film and television dramas, but the aesthetic taste of online generation changes rapidly. What kind of online drama do you think meets the needs of online generation? What are the characteristics of online dramas?

Ma Zhongjun: It is difficult to sum up the needs of online generation. Market segmentation is our first basic judgment. With the market segmentation, all types of online students 'works will have their own markets, such as otaku culture, secondary yuan, and otaku culture are relatively general. In fact, they can also be divided into "male otaku" and "female otaku", with different tastes. The Internet student group has an infinite and vast space. Nowadays,"pan-entertainment" is often mentioned. In fact, this word "pan-entertainment" is very harmful. In the future, we will move towards market segments. If you want to succeed, you must find a certain taste. crowd. Second, there is also a common phenomenon among online generations, that is,"young people tend to". Middle-aged and elderly people will definitely not eat dramas they like. In addition, there are two words,"Internet sense". What does "Internet sense" mean? It's hard to explain clearly in two words, but I can smell it. Some old writers make things that are mature, but have no "online feel". The skills required for craft work are all the same. For thousands of years, there have been such standards, such as the specificity of characters, personalities, emotions, language, and relationships between characters. In addition, I think there is another standard that is "present", that is, what the present needs, the feeling that specific groups need,"present + crowd feeling" is "network feeling".

Reporter: "Internet sense", this is an interesting word. The company has produced a large number of online dramas, including hits such as "Flower Thousand Bones". How does the company find this "online feel" and integrate it into its works during the creative process?

Ma Zhongjun: As mentioned earlier, online generation needs to be subdivided. For example, among the "otaku" group, a certain category can also be subdivided that likes to read fan wen.(Note: It is common on the Internet, where characters in a certain or even some original works are placed in a new environment, and the author's own ideas are added to show the author's different concepts of the original work.) They talked very deeply in this regard. Some words were only understood by reading these novels, and they smiled with each other. That is because some symbols are common symbols and no one else can get involved in them. The company produces a large number of online dramas, but in fact our current works cannot reach this depth, while comics have reached this level and animations are close to it. If you adapt a representative work, they will pay attention and interact with you. If you have IP culture, then you will release signals around the novel group, communicate with them, and get their demands. The creator will analyze the connection between the demands and the film and television works that will appear, find the connection points to expand, and find a certain kind You want to express what they also want, connect firmly, constantly convey what they need, get feedback, and slowly expand the group.

Reporter: Is this kind of film and television drama creation that interacts with IP fans a characteristic of the Internet era?

Ma Zhongjun: In this era, the most important means of making drama is early interaction, and it is also the most important preparation for making drama today, otherwise you will definitely lose. Being able to interact is more important than anything else. Get each other's needs through interaction, get what we want to convey, and find resonance points. In the past, making dramas was always done in a busy manner, writing scripts with directors. That ancient way needs to be changed. The company is cultivating a large number of young creative groups to do things in new ways. This is what we do, and we are still at the forefront in this regard. Creation must make full use of the simplicity of information transmission on the Internet, quickly convey demands, receive the needs of fan groups, and generate the best resonance. In the Internet age, everyone can become a writer, and the development of camera equipment allows everyone to shoot film and television works. Therefore, when making cultural products today, we must pay special attention to interaction. This is the experience we analyzed and summarized.

Reporter: In 2015, the company's work "Flower Thousand Bones" was called phenomenal and became the first TV series in China with more than 20 billion Internet clicks. The outside world is looking forward to more "flowers and bones". As for 2016, can you introduce the company's works you are optimistic about? Why?

Ma Zhongjun: In 2016, I think there will be three films that will attract attention."Old Nine Gates" was written by Bai Yicong, the "Internet Brother". In 2015, four of the top five online dramas were related to him. His sense of online dramas is first-class. Secondly, there is the TV series version of "To Youth", which director Yang Wenjun spent five and a half months shooting. If "Old Nine Gates" is a male-oriented work, then "To Youth" focuses on women, with youth and love as the theme. It is a completely different youth inspirational drama from the movie "To Youth". The third is "Left Ear", which is also a youth film. The original author Rao Xueman personally acted as the chief screenwriter for the first time and directed by Chen Huiling. I think that both the beauty of the image and the explosive power of the story are not inferior to the movie. With these three particularly powerful works, it would be enough if we could "kill each other" during the summer vacation this year. I am full of expectations and nervous.

Internet IP, Internet IP and originality both require the pursuit of careful works.

Reporter: Many online dramas now come from adaptations of popular online novels, but some online dramas also show relatively single themes and homogeneous content. Capital's pursuit of IP has made some IP production profit-seeking and imitation. The outside world is worried about whether original content can continue. Will the company consider developing original content independently?

Ma Zhongjun: I have read a lot of online literature. It has bottlenecks and limitations, and the literary quality is uneven. Internet works must be interactive. Their innate advantage is that they understand user psychology, and their disadvantage is that they are particularly flattering. This is a double-edged sword. Interaction will make people see that a certain type of subject matter is liked, and it will produce homogenization and mouth water. For example, I think that certain works directed by men will definitely have a bubble in the future, which is to imitate the upgrade of games and fight monsters. A considerable part of online literature is of this kind. It can satisfy male fantasies and imagine yourself as the protagonist. It is just as enjoyable as it is in games. The one with a bigger problem among women's works is the "Silly White Sweet" series, the story of the overbearing president, and the career story is basically of this type. Of course, there are treasures in the vast ocean of online literature. If you find such an IP, it will be valuable. Only those with character personality, character setting characteristics, and characters with internal emotions can be regarded as IP with quality to transform. Therefore, to choose online literature worthy of film and television adaptation, we must first have a de-bubble movement, and the adaptors must be sober. As for originality, of course, we must pay attention to it, but in such an era where quick success and instant benefit are eager, how many people can quietly study life in depth and incubate their own works without external interference? There are very few such people, and a large number of them are paid, entrusted to write, write based on skills, not with heart. This is two different things. So I think it is necessary to walk on two legs. Generally speaking, we have to find works that are written with heart.

Reporter: Internet literature is highly productive. You are a national-level screenwriter. You have created many good works before the Internet was popular. Now you can produce popular online dramas. How did you choose the Internet IP?

Ma Zhongjun: Select according to the ancient standards of craftsmanship, whether there is literary value, whether there are characters, particularly interesting character relationships, whether there are particularly good characters 'destinies, emotions, and stories, whether there are particularly good themes and feelings, especially good language, this principle should be followed for thousands of years. If these elements are available, then it is a good IP. There are too many companies in the film and television industry now, and it cannot be ruled out that some people blindly believe in online text rankings when choosing an Internet IP, especially when profit-driven. Therefore, the ability to identify is important, and the ability to incubate IP is also important.

The future of online movies is no less than the advertising revenue of video websites.

Reporter: The company mentioned that in 2016, online movies have become a new hot spot in the pan-entertainment industry, and their market share has increased rapidly. What are the characteristics of big online movies? What does the company think in this regard?

Ma Zhongjun: I will vigorously explore the fee-based business. Whether it is online dramas or online movies, they are all B2C trends. This is a must for online video. The company has been making this layout relatively early. With in-depth research and development in this area, we hope to make something that everyone likes in big online movies. In the future, the revenue of big online movies should be no less than the advertising revenue of video websites. Even this in-depth excavation will be no less than the box office revenue of movies. I am so optimistic.

Reporter: According to the current trend, big online movies may soon be produced in large quantities like online dramas. However, not long ago, there was a voice in a certain screenwriter forum that some screenwriters are not optimistic that big online movies will produce good works. You are a senior screenwriter and have a "sense of the Internet". What do you think of this question?

Ma Zhongjun: From an industry perspective, I think big online movies will become a big industry. When the revenue of big online movies reaches 10 to 20 million yuan, can you still say that no good works will be produced? In the past, in the United States, category B films that were not available in theaters were sold on DVDs. I remember that there was a 20th century Fox work that cost about US$50,000, a very small cost, but later the box office was surprisingly high. I think that in the future, big online movies will produce many excellent screenwriters and directors. The important reason why we do this is to cultivate such people. Big online movies are very valuable and have a broad market.

Editor: Nancy