Ye Ning: The derivatives market is not yet sound and needs to cultivate consumers of genuine derivatives

Ye Ning, CEO of Huayi Brothers Pictures, said frankly that the derivatives market is not yet sound. The issues of concern to the industry should not simply focus on a few toys, but should be built around the IP image and support the overall operating model of the enterprise and industrial system.

Over the past decade or so, with the rapid development of China's film industry and the continuous improvement of the consumption power of film audiences, the film industry urgently needs to seek new breakthroughs and new economic growth points. The reporter found that at the just-concluded 6th Beijing International Film Festival, film derivatives have become high-frequency terms in the major forums of the film festival's "China Film Derivatives Industry Summit Forum" and "Film Risk Assessment and Risk Control and Control". Film derivatives have become a common focus and consumer investment hotspot for movie audiences and film investors.

How to guide the healthy and orderly development of China's film derivative industry and seek an effective operation model suitable for the characteristics of China's film market; How to improve and improve China's film industry chain and guide the comprehensive upgrading of China's film industry has become a topic that must be faced by China's film industry.

Derivatives are operating models that are not equal to corporate publicity

products. In recent years, as the box office of China's movies has hit record highs, China has become the world's second largest film market after North America. However, while excited by this prosperity, we should be soberly aware that the structure of China's film market is not yet complete, and the market composition is relatively simple. More than 80% of film revenue depends on box office, while the mature Hollywood market only accounts for about 30%, and the remaining 70% of the revenue comes from the film derivative industry. In contrast, at the film industry level, there is a big gap between my country and the international film market. Therefore, vigorously developing the film derivative industry is of great significance to the development of my country's cultural industry. Wang Ning, Vice Mayor of Beijing, pointed out at the beginning of the "China Film Derivatives Industry Summit Forum" meeting that there is an obvious gap between China and the international derivatives markets.

Compared with Hollywood's mature derivatives market development, domestic film derivatives are still in their infancy. Many people still have certain limitations in their understanding of them and believe that they are just as simple as a few toys. In fact, movie derivatives refer to products developed based on the characters, scenes, props, etc. in movies, including image authorizations, toys, clothing, accessories, movie audio-visual products, games, books, daily necessities and even theme parks.

According to overseas media data, the box office revenue of the movie "Star Wars" for all six songs was nearly US$4.5 billion, and the revenue from derivatives exceeded US$20 billion. Taking "Transformers" as an example, DMG Yinji Media Company owns a series of rights such as the development, derivatives, and licensing of "Transformers". The first real-life entertainment project "Transformers Rebirth on Earth" costs about 460 million yuan and will be opened in China in 2017. The attraction will also be equipped with various entertainment surrounding shops, restaurants and other stores to meet the needs of fans.

Derivatives Development Company praised Li Xuemin, CEO of the Group, further clarified the definition of derivatives in the special forum on "Film Risk Assessment and Risk Control and Control": There are three levels under the segment of derivatives segmentation. The first is to promote promotional products, and promote promotional products. The core purpose of promotional products is to make the film "new" in the process of marketing and sales. The core meaning of "recruiting new" is to bring customers in with the lowest cost and the best results. The film company spends money on promotional materials, so its production costs and delivery will not be high. The second is gifts, which are given to heavyweight fans. They have high-end commemorative significance and have a strong sense of setting. Each product has a different meaning and cannot confuse value. The third is consumer goods. Consumer goods are commodities, and their essence is for sales. This part of the products is sold through the own channels of more consumer companies. Disney can collect the excellent parts and put them in Shanghai stores for sale.

Ye Ning, CEO of Huayi Brothers Pictures, said frankly that the derivatives market is not yet sound. The issues of concern to the industry should not simply focus on a few toys, but should be built around the IP image and support the overall operating model of the enterprise and industrial system.

Early brand development is more important than the need for systematic training and training of production talents

. Today, the film derivative industry has become the focus of attention and capital gathering from all parties. However, Ye Ning believes that not all films are suitable for derivative production. Only some films with very rich artistic images are suitable for making films. In addition, if the film story has scene-based characteristics, it can create a theme park to inspire the cultural image represented by a product, so that it can operate for a long time.

Li Wanting, managing director of the Southeast Asia region of Warner Bros. Consumer Products Department, agrees with this view. Not every movie can be developed for derivative products. Warner launches 20 movies around the world every year and only selects two or three movies for product authorization. The preliminary workload for product authorization is very large, including the preparation of some design guidelines. Comparing successful film authorizations, such as the newly established "Rowling's Wizarding World", which includes Harry Potter and Fantastic Animals, we realize that this work is not for a movie, but for long-term brand building, so movies that are developed for derivatives need to have very large product potential.

Xie Dongjun, general manager of Zeke Group in China, which is engaged in the development and sales of film derivatives, believes that film derivatives are the perfect combination of film culture and commodities. Designers must fully consider the culture of each film work and pass on film culture through the carrier of commodities. Derivative products are different from mass products. We need a period of time to understand the film and the culture behind the film, so the product development cycle is long, at least six months. At present, domestic film makers do not leave enough development cycle and space for design companies, which makes it impossible to develop good products even if there is good IP in China because there is no time to settle. In terms of production technology, China is a large manufacturing country, and many products can be copied, but the really good products lie in the early development. If a good concept is developed, many factories will not be able to copy our concept.

Mark Caplan, president of Sony Pictures Consumer Products, said,"We got involved in derivatives 18 to 24 months earlier than movies. We found that it takes a long process to make all the products we produce successful, and the earlier the design and developer comes into contact with us, the higher the probability of success."

Jiang Defu, general manager of the marketing branch of China Film Co., Ltd., said that based on feedback from directly operated stores and consumers, although many products are placed on the shelves, consumers do not like them. Therefore, not all IPs are suitable for China audiences, and not all IPs are needed when introducing overseas IPs. Whether the IP we apply for is suitable for the needs of China audiences and China consumers, we will conduct more discussions and give them suggestions when cooperating with foreign companies in the future, so that they can have a direct and diversified understanding of the preferences of China audiences.

At the same time, many product designers nowadays do not really have the ability to design derivatives. Some designers design derivative products after learning art or learning some graphic design. In Jiang Defu's view, this is misplaced. In contrast, most of the designers of domestic companies that are doing well are specialized in derivative product design because this is a separate discipline. During a visit to Hollywood, Jiang Defu found that the derivative designs of major Hollywood companies are very rigorous and have clear directions, and the products are designed to give the audience the desire to buy. This is what China lacks. At present, the China Film Derivatives Industry Research Institute jointly established by China Film Corporation and Beijing Film Academy provides talent support and academic support for the development of the film derivatives industry from the perspective of integration of industry, academia and research.

Strengthen copyright protection of movie derivatives and cultivate legitimate derivative consumers.

In 2015,"Monster Hunt" became the Chinese box office champion. The image of the cute demon "Huba" in the film is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but its derivatives have been criticized. Jiang Zhiqiang, the film's producer and president of Anle Pictures Co., Ltd., lamented that "Monster Hunt" was considered to have failed to protect intellectual property rights well. At that time, I saw thousands of pirated products online, but I felt that the imagination of piracy was really amazing, and many of them were done very beautifully. Since relevant domestic companies have the ability to copy products, they also have the ability to develop products. The problem is that they should focus on genuine products.

In Xie Dongjun's view, the six major Hollywood film companies in the United States have very complete copyright authorization materials, but the companies currently in contact with in China do not have such a complete system. This will lead to piracy of the products produced by many manufacturers once they are put on the market, making it impossible for consumers to distinguish between authentic and pirated copies. Formal operations have created many large overseas brands. In the future, derivative products must be developed well and large brands must be established. Only then can brands ensure the sustainable development of derivative products.

Jiang Defu said frankly that China Film Corporation has made many achievements in film copyright protection, but derivative copyright protection has just begun. There will be no piracy when going to specialty stores. What is displayed on the roadside and farmers 'markets may be piracy. This is the direction of future governance. In the future, China Film Corporation will not only unite domestic film dealers, but will also seek authorization from more overseas companies. If we do not have authorization, we will not have the right to manage fake products when we see them selling. Today, with the rapid advancement of the derivatives industry, the China Film Derivatives Copyright Protection Association will immediately follow suit, and we are fully prepared.

The price of genuine derivative products must be much higher than that of pirated products, because there are IP licensing fees involved. In Ye Ning's view, price is not a problem. The problem is how we should cultivate the market and consumer groups, teach them to learn to distinguish, and let them recognize genuine products. Therefore, in the future, relevant training institutions should be established to train front-line sales personnel so that front-line sales personnel can have an understanding of derivative products, and through them to convey the authentic derivative culture. For consumer groups, we should develop more life experience The museum combines derivative products with film culture well, allowing more people to walk in and experience what movie derivatives are.

Ye Ning believes that the future direction is that with the increasing authorizations of our own IP and Hollywood IP, when the market is large enough, many production companies will invest corresponding resources into all aspects of the product. Once the industry is large enough to support the entire system, China has no shortage of creativity or talents. China will form its own series of industrial logic, which will make people very surprised.

Jiang Defu said that China Film set up a franchise company for film derivatives last year. At present, China Film has signed film derivatives cooperation agreements with Warner, Paramount and other major Hollywood companies in the United States and some film companies in Japan, and has reasonable authorization for the development and sales of film derivatives. Through learning from foreign advanced companies, combining their successful experience, we will take fewer detours and commercialize and socialize derivative industries earlier, so that consumers can buy their satisfactory products instead of pirated products at the first time. At the same time, a complete industrial chain will be formed in all links of product R & D design, IP copyright and use authorization. In his opinion, it is not difficult to obtain authorization at present, but it is a very difficult link to really do a good job in product development and research. Therefore, it takes a lot of effort to cultivate internal skills in China. First of all, we have to figure out how to do it ourselves so as not to delay the development of the market after obtaining authorization.

Editor: yvonne