Chapter 407 MAGA, make animation great again
Half past eight in the morning.
In the spacious and bright office building, all employees are already sitting at their workstations.
Although the computers were on, no one present was interested in working. From time to time, they would raise their heads and stretch their necks to look at the door.
The "Souyin Animation" logo at the entrance of the company has been removed, but a new logo has not yet been put up.
After a change of dynasty, old ministers always feel uneasy when facing new bosses.
It’s the uneasiness of the unknown.
Even though they are already employees of the new company, their uneasiness has not eased.
Because the boss has changed, will the original working methods change, will the salary and benefits system change, and will their positions change.
Everything is still unknown.
In the agony of waiting, the time came to half past nine.
The glass door of the company was pushed open, and a young man walked in surrounded by a group of people.
Everyone perked up and looked at each other.
Liu Yuanyuan, who was sitting in the corner, his eyes lit up at first, wow, this man is so handsome.
Huh? Why does this person look so familiar?
Liu Yuanyuan suddenly remembered, isn't this Sister Mingyue's boyfriend?
Liu Yuanyuan looked confused as he watched the handsome guy walk in.
Several project directors and producers from the original Suoyin company followed the new boss and introduced the situation to him diligently.
After a while, several people carried something covered with a red curtain into the company and gently placed it against the wall.
Everyone gathered around the boss and came to everyone. After some discussion, he handed the microphone to the new boss.
There was a burst of sound from the speakers that had just been installed around, followed by an unfamiliar voice.
"Hello everyone." Qin Shaoyan held up the microphone and said with a smile, "I am the legendary new boss."
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Qin Shaoyan."
"You can tell from my name that I'm not good at words." Qin Shaoyan looked at the silent crowd and said with a smile, "Actually, I planned to take a look and leave today, but they all said that as the new boss, I should tell everyone A few words.”
"I don't know what to say, so I'll just say a few words."
"You may have heard of my name, and some of you may not know me."
Some employees of the animation company showed surprised expressions and looked at the new boss in a daze.
For those who often surf the Internet or follow games, the name Qin Shaoyan is indeed familiar.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know me, but I think you all should have used the products I designed." Qin Shaoyan raised his finger, "I am the boss of Qvod.com and the founder of Campus Network."
"I designed a small game in 2003, which set a record for the best-selling game the following year. The game was called "Plants vs. Zombies."
Everyone showed a look of realization, and the atmosphere at the scene became relaxed.
It is easier for familiar people to close the distance. Although they have never met Qin Shaoyan before, it is a little better to be a stranger who knows nothing than a well-known person.
"Now that everyone is an employee of the new company, you can relax a little. After all, our company will not be as tight as Suoyin Company. I can't do such a hard job that makes everyone work overtime for several days in a row."
Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this. Suoyin Company's approach was indeed a bit too anthropomorphic.
Qin Shaoyan continued to say in a relaxed tone, "At least I will prepare sleeping bags for everyone instead of letting everyone sleep on the table."
“From this point of view, the welfare package of the new company is better than that of Soyin Company.”
"Of course, just a sleeping bag still seems a bit harsh as a boss, so I decided to add some free snacks and drinks, which would be better for working meals."
"If the company's conditions improve, there will be free shuttle buses and the like."
The employees showed expressions of surprise and expectation. I didn't know who took the lead in applauding, and soon there was a round of applause.
They have never enjoyed this kind of treatment. If they can pay wages and bonuses on time, they are considered a conscientious company.
As soon as the new boss arrived, he described the wonderful benefits of the new company to everyone, which made everyone unable to suppress their inner longings and fantasize about the beautiful working life in the future.
Qin Shaoyan looked at the cheering employees with a smile on his face, picked up the microphone and continued.
"Whether the company's benefits can be better implemented is actually not only my business, but also depends on everyone's joint efforts."
"The better the efficiency, the better the company's welfare benefits will be."
"I have heard a saying that mutual achievement is achieved. The company provides a good working environment for everyone, so that everyone can create better benefits for the company."
"I also hope that the company and everyone can achieve mutual success and work together to make the company a good job, and everyone can make money by the way."
Qin Shaoyan glanced at everyone's reactions and suddenly his expression became serious.
"I know that everyone joins the animation industry not just to make money, but because they have feelings for animation itself and join this industry with great enthusiasm."
"Many people have been hit by the cruel reality, the sluggish market conditions, and the evil-minded boss, but I believe that more people are still full of love for animation."
"During the recruitment a few days ago, you did not choose to go to the game company, but still stayed here. I believe the enthusiasm in your hearts is still there."
"Actually, I also have feelings for animation itself. Otherwise, why would I choose to invest in an animation company? Opening a game company can make more than ten times or even dozens of times more than an animation company."
"But after thinking about it for a long time, I still chose the animation company." Qin Shaoyan said affectionately, "I grew up watching domestic animations. It was a beautiful childhood memory."
"The word animation is probably not quite accurate." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "Strictly speaking, it should be called an art film."
"In the field of cartoon animation, China is also a pioneer in the world industry, which can be traced back to the 1920s."
There was silence at the scene, and everyone looked at Qin Shaoyan quietly.
Art film, such a distant, unfamiliar yet familiar word.
For a long time, cartoons were called "art films" in China, so the main or even almost the only animation production organization at that time was also called "art film studio".
And this "art film" and this "art film studio" have created the "Chinese School" of animation with a distinctive national style from content to form, which is unique in the world.
Chinese art films originated in Shanghai's small alleys in the 1920s. Mr. Wan Laiming's four brothers established a small workshop called "Wan's Cartoon" and produced the first animated feature film "Tieshan Princess".
In 1947, the department responsible for art films at Northeast Film Studio was called the "Cartoon Section". In 1948, it was expanded to the "Cartoon Section" and in 1949 it was renamed the "Art Film Section." It was also the earliest name for art films.
In 1950, more than 20 members of the art film crew collectively fell into the newly established Shanghai Film Studio, which was later reorganized and expanded into the Shanghai Art Film Studio, which is the famous Shanghai Film Studio.
"When I was young, I could not only watch cartoons imported from the United States and Japan, but also many domestically produced art films, which were very beautiful and interesting." Qin Shaoyan began to count on his fingers, "Calabash Baby, Black Cat Sheriff, Book of Heaven" Strange story..."
"At that time, our Chinese art films included ink painting, paper cutting, origami, and puppets. They were like stars. China's art films were unique in the world and were frequent winners of international awards."
"But after the 1990s, why did our Chinese animation become no longer good? Now most animation companies have become tools for cheating and subsidy."
"I think the animation industry shouldn't be like this." Qin Shaoyan raised his voice, "The Chinese animation industry shouldn't be like this either."
"Even if the Chinese animation industry, which once stood at the top of the industry, is in decline, it should not be reduced to relying on inferior products to make money, or even lose face."
"Out of my love for the animation industry, I thought I should do something, so I established this company."
"I hope to leave some fire for the Chinese animation industry. Even if this fire is very small, I hope it can continue."
Qin Shaoyan said eloquently: "I hope that one day this fire will turn into a raging fire, and I hope that the Chinese animation industry will rise again."
"So I gave this company a new name to continue to inspire everyone."
"The name is MAGA!"
As he spoke, Qin Shaoyan opened the red curtain covering the LOGO, revealing the four letters of "MAGA".
"Make Animation Great Again!" Qin Shaoyan raised his hand, "Make animated films great again!"
The company suddenly burst into warm applause, and everyone's eyes fell on those four letters.
Liu Yuanyuan, who was huddled in the corner, clapped his hands desperately, feeling very emotional in his heart that this new boss was quite sentimental.
A company that loves animation, has money, and cares about its employees is simply a dream company.
Amid warm applause, the new boss waved with a smile and then led a group of senior executives into the conference room.
The conference room of the animation company is much smaller than that of the game company. After all, office buildings are expensive, unlike large villas in the suburbs.
More than a dozen people crowded together and looked carefully at Qin Shaoyan, who was sitting in the first place.
Qin Shaoyan changed his smile and said expressionlessly: "Animation companies must be prepared to live a hard life."
Several directors and producers at the animation company were shocked.
Sure enough, what the new boss said outside just now was actually trying to flatter the employees.
Otherwise, there would be so many good things.
They also get free snacks, drinks, and working meals. They have never enjoyed this kind of treatment since they started working.
"The animation company is an independent company, but I will not inject more funds into you in the future." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "You must learn to support yourself."
“First of all, we must change the previous shoddy cartoon subsidy model and pay more attention to quality.”
"I will set up an independent review committee to control animation project approval, budget and quality."
"If the quality is good, I will communicate with CCTV and sell the film to CCTV."
"Don't give up on local TV stations. In short, try to open up sources as much as possible, whether it's enough to cover film fees or national subsidies."
The directors lowered their heads and took notes, and began to curse, saying that after all, they were just cheating.
"In addition to self-made cartoons, the company also needs to develop new businesses." Qin Shaoyan emphasized, "Game-related CG, action, special effects, and animation-related outsourcing, whether from the United States, Japan, or even South Korea, are all Don’t give up and expand the company’s business scope as much as possible.”
"Qvod.com will also customize a batch of cartoons for you every year as a supplement to your business."
"Although we are a brother company, we cannot relax in terms of quality." Qin Shaoyan warned, "We must work hard to produce, and if the quality is good enough, the cost of purchasing the film will also increase."
"If you are capable enough, I will also recommend your videos to YouTube."
"At that time, you were making a lot of money!" Qin Shaoyan smiled, "Don't stick to the past, look to the future, you must shoulder the responsibility and make the company become a large international company."
"In addition, the company will set up an IP development department to be responsible for designing cartoon images and turning these cartoon images into classic IP through operations."
The directors were stunned. They could guess what IP was, but they didn't understand the operation.
Their previous job responsibility was to be responsible for the production and project progress of cartoons, and they had never done any such IP development.
"I will assign dedicated people to take charge of IP development and operation. You just need to cooperate." Qin Shaoyan said calmly.
Qin Shaoyan's strategy is to spread the influence of cartoon images through Internet hype, and then continue to maintain the popularity through animated short films and peripherals, and then monetize it when the time is right.
Not only should it be spread on the domestic Internet, but it should also be hyped on the foreign Internet.
We must make full use of the power of our Facebook shareholders to hype up and develop a number of classic IPs.
You have the right not to have it expire and become invalid. While you are still a shareholder of Facebook, you can collect more traffic from Facebook.
"The first image to be developed is the panda." Qin Shaoyan came up with a planning plan, "You can design several panda images according to my requirements. Here are their characters and backgrounds. You have to figure it out carefully."
"Project name, Kung Fu Panda."
"Kung Fu Panda targets foreign Internet users. This is our first step towards an international strategy, and it is also the company's most important project in the future. You must mobilize elite troops to complete it in the future."
That's right, Qin Shaoyan wants to snatch the IP of "Kung Fu Panda" back from Hollywood in the United States.
He can't watch foreigners ruining the image of pandas and using Chinese elements to make money. It's so shameless.
This kind of cultural appropriation is not uncommon. For example, South Korea continues to steal Chinese culture and then pass it off as its own.
Hollywood in the United States is not much better in this regard, and is even more naive.
Don’t think that it’s a good thing that they use Chinese elements. No one will cherish things that are not their own.
Pandas and Mulan are both part of Chinese culture, but they were developed by the United States, using stereotypes to make money from the Chinese market.
This is not only an economic issue, but more importantly, they are snatching the right to speak culturally.
Qin Shaoyan was very unhappy about this. He had to use his own things well.
So the first step is for Qin Shaoyan to use animation as a channel to export Chinese culture.
(End of chapter)