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Chapter 20: The Beginning of a Legend, the Fate of Blood
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Advance Screening.
Of course, this can also be understood as the weekly broadcast of Pucci's previous life.
This broadcasting method is similar to that of weekly broadcasts. It involves airing the show on TV or online channels before the entire story is fully filmed, gradually completing the remaining scenes while broadcasting the earlier ones.
Overall, this approach has very obvious pros and cons.
The advantage is that the work is aired before it's fully completed, allowing viewers' feedback to reach the production team in real-time. Whether it's overwhelming praise or criticism, the team has time to prepare or make changes.
The former case speaks for itself; if the original script is terrible, making changes can sometimes turn the script into a masterpiece.
The latter case is even better. Capital always seeks profit. A good work means more profit for the investors, whether through selling more episodes to TV stations or increasing the show's airtime to boost merchandise sales.
This can lead to more episodes being produced, even if it means extending the story unnecessarily to maximize profit.
The downside? As mentioned earlier, the production team can adjust the work based on viewer feedback. This often means that the writers themselves might not know how to continue the story. Preparing in advance for filming becomes impossible.
This is why most weekly shows, despite starting with abundant funding, visibly suffer from budget constraints as they progress, with recap episodes unable to save them from declining quality. There simply isn't enough time or money.
These pros and cons apply to traditional weekly shows. For full-dive productions, the pros and cons shift to different aspects.
So...
"Huh?... What? What!? WHAT!?"
Upon hearing Jolyne Cujoh say that she had signed a contract for an advance screening, Ryoko Kakyoin lost her composure and shook Jolyne frantically.
"Jolyne, what are you doing!?" Ryoko yelled, shaking Jolyne, "Don't you know another term for an advance screening!!?"
Of course, I know. Why else would I choose this method and secretly sign the contract without telling you all? If I wasn't sure it would lose money, would I have signed it?
Though thinking this, Jolyne Cujoh held back her laughter and pulled Ryoko's hands away, explaining seriously, "You can't just look at the surface, Ryoko. As a new studio without famous directors or actors, how else can we sell our work and attract viewers without an advance screening?"
"Well..." Ryoko hesitated. She couldn't answer Jolyne's barrage of questions. Without fame, most people wouldn't watch a production by unknown newcomers.
"Negative publicity is still publicity," Jolyne added.
"Even so, you didn't have to submit 'Phantom Blood' to a bad film festival..."
Ryoko Kakyoin felt utterly defeated.
Exactly, a bad film festival!
As mentioned, since most full-dive productions can't ensure stable performance from actors' subconscious minds, and given the limited turnover time for weekly shows, any issue with the actors' subconscious can derail the entire script without enough time for the team to fix it, forcing them to air the flawed episodes.
Over time, this consistent production of bad films has led to weekly shows becoming synonymous with poor quality in viewers' minds. This view is shared by production teams as well. No sane team would choose the weekly format unless they lacked confidence in the project and wanted to recoup costs quickly.
Weekly shows managed to thrive before the rise of full-dive filming despite their obvious flaws because waiting for an entire series to be completed before airing posed financial risks for investors and content gaps for TV stations. They couldn't just endlessly rerun the same show while waiting for new ones to finish production.
The same logic applies to full-dive filming. There's always a market for everything. Some people even enjoy watching bad films. Weekly shows can still sell despite their reputation and there are websites dedicated to showcasing the latest bad films.
Convinced her plan was flawless, Jolyne patted Ryoko's shoulder and reassured her, "Ryoko, you need to have confidence in our work. Placing our well-made production among a slew of bad films will make it stand out even more."
No way! Among so many bad films, who would notice their "bad film" without losing their mind?
This is why Jolyne wasn't worried that her strategy would actually boost "Phantom Blood's" reputation.
"Trust me, Ryoko. This will work out just fine."
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"Today we won't be playing games. Let's all watch the newly released 'Phantom Blood.'"
"..."
"..."
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