EFB Chapter 67 The Undercurrents of Dawn
Chapter 67 The Undercurrents of Dawn
Kim Tae-yeon?
This answer was completely unexpected.
He had assumed that the place Yoona needed to go to two days a week was either a hospital or the home of a relative who needed long-term care, but he never expected it to be Tae-yeon's home.
But before he could ask anything, Lin Xiaolu continued, her voice low, "To be precise, it means going to Taeyeon unnie's house every week to sit, have a meal, and chat. It's not a big deal, but for her, it's the most important thing right now besides Sulli."
Seeing her mood getting lower and lower, Jiang Yan didn't press her for more information. Instead, he casually waved his hand and said, "Alright, I know what to do. Don't think about it anymore. Get some rest. Goodnight."
Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the closed bedroom door for a long while before softly saying "Goodnight." She then drifted back to her spot on the sofa, curled up on the checkered blanket, and closed her eyes.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, Jiang Yan arrived at SM on time.
People were already walking around in the corridor. Several sound engineers were chatting at the entrance of the tea room with coffee in their hands. When they saw Jiang Yan coming over, they all nodded and greeted him.
Within a week of joining the company, his name had already spread throughout the production department. He was Kenzie's protégé, one of the producers of Tiffany's solo album, and twenty years old.
These labels, when stacked together, are enough to earn him a sense of respect that comes early in this seniority-based industry.
Jiang Yan pushed open the door to Recording Studio No. 1; Kenzie hadn't arrived yet.
He first retrieved the project files, then put on his monitoring headphones to prepare for today's work.
Tiffany's album has only one non-single track left, and it is expected to be fully recorded this afternoon.
After finishing all that, he took out his laptop and began working on the framework for a market analysis report.
His fingers landed on the keyboard, the light from the screen reflected in his pupils, and the title was quickly typed out.
[Risk Assessment and Market Prospect Analysis of the "Real" Project - Production Department, Jiang Yan]
The cursor blinked at the end of the title. Jiang Yan leaned back in his chair, his mind racing through the words Lin Yoona had said last night.
Director Lee Jung-seop will resign at the end of April, and the core photography team will follow suit.
New director Lee Sarang, lacking experience in feature films, transformed a serious crime film into a commercial film that relied on explicit content to grab attention.
The film ultimately attracted 470,000 viewers, but suffered a loss of over 20 billion Korean won.
Jiang Yanxian drew a mind map in his notebook.
Although he had never worked for a large company in his previous life, he had dealt with clients quite a bit when he was an independent musician. He still had the basic skills of how to write proposals, how to list data, and how to quantify risks into numbers that the other party could understand.
He quickly broke down the core framework of the market analysis report into four modules.
The first module is subject risk assessment.
The box office data for large-scale crime films in the South Korean film market over the past three years should include specific figures for each item, such as average number of viewers, box office per theater, and break-even point.
He remembered the number that Lim Yoona mentioned, less than one million people, but he needed to find the data source himself to verify it.
You can find this information in the Film Council's public database, as well as in the annual box office reports from industry media such as Film 2.0 and Cine21.
The second module is the stability assessment of the directing team.
Director Lee Jung-sub's resume, the box office and critical reception of his previous works, and his history of collaboration with investors are all publicly available information.
As for his conflict with CJ Pictures, it cannot be written directly into the report, but it can be vaguely stated as "rumors of creative differences between the director and the investors." In the eyes of someone like Lee Soo-man, these few words are enough to make him wary.
The third module is the assessment of an artist's commercial value impact.
The production department may not have access to data such as the brands Sulli endorsed, the amount of her GG contracts over the past three years, and her contribution to the fan economy, but the marketing department certainly has a record of it.
Jiang Yan added a note to the marketing department section, remembering that An Zhenghuan had some old acquaintances in the marketing department, and could ask him to help introduce them later.
The fourth module is the alternative.
A good risk report cannot simply say that something is wrong; it must also explain how it can be done.
Jiang Yan was still hesitant about whether to write it down, since Lin Yoona hadn't given any information on this matter. But after thinking about it, he still wrote a few lines under "Alternative Solution".
It is recommended that the film and television department postpone signing formal performance contracts with artists until the director team is finalized, and instead sign conditional agreements. It is also recommended that the company reassess the project's classification and positioning.
With his thoughts clear, Jiang Yan began filling the PPT with content.
The only sounds in the recording studio were the faint tapping of keyboards and the faint static of the monitor speakers in standby mode. Each subheading on the screen was a detailed dissection of Director Kim's project.
He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice when Lin Xiaolu floated over from the sofa and perched next to his shoulder.
Lin Xiaolu tilted her head and looked at the screen. "Your title is too direct. It starts with a risk assessment. If Chief Kim sees this, he'll be furious."
"It was originally meant for him, so I was afraid he wouldn't understand if I wrote it too subtly," Jiang Yan thought to himself, without stopping his hands.
"Hmm, you're right. But you can even make PPTs? I thought you only knew how to use MIDI."
"Making a PPT is the same as composing music. It's about organizing a bunch of scattered things into a persuasive structure, except one uses sound and the other uses charts."
Time passed slowly as the two talked.
At 8:40, Kenzie pushed open the door and came in, holding a mug in her hand. She looked slightly surprised when she saw Jiang Yan already sitting at his workstation.
"So early again? Don't you need to sleep or do you live at the company?"
"Good morning, teacher." Jiang Yan closed his notebook, stood up and bowed slightly. "You went to bed early last night, so come early today to tidy up yesterday's work."
"Hmm." Kenzie sat down next to him, picked up her mug, took a sip of coffee, and suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, Jiang Yan, do you know anyone in the film and television department at the company?"
Jiang Yan's fingers paused slightly on the mixing console, then returned to normal. He turned to meet Kenzie's probing gaze: "Why did you ask that, teacher?"
Kenzie's gaze lingered on Jiang Yan's face for a moment before she said, "When I arrived this morning, I ran into Director Kim from the film and television department in the elevator. He asked me if I knew who Jiang Yan, the new guy in the production department, was. I said he's my apprentice. Why?"
"and then?"
"Then he didn't say anything, he just walked out of the elevator with a dark face."
Kenzie put down her mug and tapped her fingers lightly on the mixing console. "How did you get involved with the people in the film and television department? You've only been with the company for a few days; you shouldn't have any connection with them at all."
Jiang Yan was silent for a moment, then briefly recounted Cui Xueli's situation.
From my childhood in the orphanage to our chance encounter in the elevator last week, and then to the backstory of the drama "Real".
After listening, Kenzie didn't speak immediately. After a while, she put down her mug and said, "Jiang Yan, people with strong empathy are the most vulnerable in this industry because you not only have to bear your own pressure, but you also unconsciously take on the burdens for others."
Jiang Yan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Kenzie raised her hand to stop him.
"I'm not trying to advise you to stay out of Choi Sulli's business, but you need to be mentally prepared. Chief Kim won't let this go easily. He'll only do this out of respect for me, and he'll find ways to sabotage you behind the scenes. He'll scrutinize every piece of work and every report you submit with a magnifying glass."
Jiang Yan nodded. "Teacher, I understand."
"Good that you understand." Kenzie picked up her mug and took another sip, then, as if remembering something, she took a folder out of her bag and handed it to him. "By the way, this is a list of projects that Lee Soo-man asked me to compile last week. It's a list of projects that the company plans to release over the next six months."
"Take a look at EXO's follow-up album, Red Velvet's mini-album, Taeyeon's second mini-album, and several new artists' debut projects. Focus on the EXO and Red Velvet parts; you're most likely to be involved in those two projects."
Jiang Yan took the folder and opened the first page.
The production schedule for EXO's upcoming album is meticulously detailed with timelines, from song selection to recording to mixing to mastering, with each step precise to a specific date. His gaze lingered on the song selection deadline for a long time.
Yoona once said that EXO's follow-up title track "Lotto" should still be in the music library.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yan looked up and asked, "Teacher, for EXO's upcoming album, will the tracks be selected from the company's music library, or will they accept submissions from outside?"
Kenzie raised an eyebrow: "Companies usually use existing demos from their song library plus a few external submissions. However, for a group like EXO, the chances of external submissions being selected are very low. So, what are your thoughts?"
"I just wanted to know more." Jiang Yan closed the folder. "Thank you, teacher."