Haig Road, Zhou Mansion.

There are four people sitting in the living room, namely Zhou Hexuan, Ruan Lingyu, Luo Mingyou and Sun Yu.

Luo Mingyou didn't talk about business after meeting, but looked at the house and said, "Mr. Zhou, you bought this house well, but you didn't spend less money, right?" ”

"My father-in-law bought it." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

"Tsk, your father-in-law is really willing." Luo Mingyou stammered.

Luo Mingyou's sigh is normal, the houses in Shanghai are now only rented but not sold, and 90% of Shanghai's permanent residents need to rent a house. It's not that many people can't afford to buy a house, it's that the owner won't sell, and a good house can't even be rented.

Take Xu Zhimo and Lu Xun as examples, after the two of them came to Shanghai, they were both "top" houses. That is, to sublease to the original tenant, not only to pay rent, but also to pay others a lump sum of several hundred yuan for the rent.

Unless the owner is in dire need of money, or is bidding very highly, it is impossible to buy a house in Shanghai.

The property purchased by Zhang Mouzhi cost 80,000 oceans. Nowadays, the housing prices in Shanghai are still rising, and if they change hands, it is estimated that someone will be willing to take over 100,000 yuan.

Luo Mingyou said with a smile: "If I have spare money, I will either use it to open a company or use it to enjoy the mountains and rivers, and I will never buy a house and trap myself to death." ”

"Boss Luo, this is called game dust, and the two of them are really envious." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

"They say I'm a prodigal and invisible, hahaha," Luo Mingyou laughed, then took out the script of "The Goddess" and asked, "Mr. Zhou, how are you going to cooperate with this movie?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "I plan to make a sound movie. ”

"It's a bit of a problem, Lianhua Pictures lacks sound film equipment." Luo Mingyou is embarrassed.

Sun Yu suddenly interjected and suggested: "The sound equipment can be rented from the star or the friendly company, I heard that the sound film of the star company has been filmed." ”

"Singing Girl Red Peony" produced by Star Film Company is the first sound film in the history of Chinese film. The "wax method" is used, in which the sound is recorded on a record and the record is played at the same time as the movie is played.

This is the most primitive sound film, where only the characters can be heard, no other background sounds can be heard, and all scenes are silent.

Even if it is very simple, the production cost of "Singing Girl Red Peony" still costs 120,000 yuan, which can be called one of the best productions in today's Chinese film industry. Of course, because it was the first time to make a sound film, the film was made after 5 tests, and 20,000 or 30,000 yuan may have been wasted in the process of testing.

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "I want to make a real sound movie, not a film where you can only hear the dialogue of the characters." ”

"A real sound movie?" Sun Yu didn't understand.

Luo Mingyou is well-informed, he asked: "What Mr. Zhou said is the 'voice on the film' method?" ”

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "Not bad." ”

Sun Yu asked confusedly: "What is the 'voice on the film' method, I also came back from Hollywood, why haven't I heard of it?" ”

Luo Mingyou said with a smile: "The new gadget that has just been developed in the past two years is that when making a movie, the sound can be recorded on the film synchronously. Even in Hollywood, only Warner Bros. uses this technology. ”

"Machines are expensive, aren't they?" Sun Yu asked.

Zhou Hexuan said: "The machine is not expensive, but the film is very expensive, because the on-chip sound technology uses special film. However, because it is too expensive, although this technology is good, it is not easy to promote, and the American company Westden is reducing the price for promotion. ”

Ruan Lingyu, who had not spoken, suddenly said in surprise: "Mr. Zhou is also good at making movies?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "I sent a transoceanic telegram two months ago and asked my father-in-law to inquire about the situation of the sound film, so I know more clearly. Today, 95% of films in the U.S. are sound films, but only a few films are shot using the 'voice-on-film' method. In order to promote sound film, Xidian has reduced the price to double that of ordinary film, but still no company is willing to buy it. ”

Before the advent of digital video cameras, film was one of the most expensive consumables in film production. Sound film is twice as expensive as ordinary film, which is equivalent to increasing the cost of film production by two-thirds.

Even a young master like Luo Mingyou, who doesn't treat money as money, gasped when he heard the price. A movie that can be made with an investment of 100,000 yuan, if sound film is used, the production cost is likely to be as high as more than 150,000 yuan, or even higher.

"Well," Luo Mingyou said, "I think it's okay to make a sound film, but it's better to use the 'wax method', because the 'on-film sound method' is too expensive." ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Boss Luo, the star company has made China's first sound film, which will be released soon, and it will definitely be in the limelight." If we use the 'on-chip sound method' to produce, we can completely steal the limelight. It is even possible to ridicule the star company for making semi-sound films, which belong to outdated technology, and we are making real sound films. ”

When Luo Mingyou heard this, his eyes lit up instantly, and he liked to be in the limelight. Without thinking much about it, the young master clapped his hands and said, "Then shoot!" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "My father-in-law communicated with Xidian that since we were the first Chinese customer to order sound film, they were willing to sell it at a discount again, and the price was only 60% more expensive than ordinary film. I have already ordered 50,000 square feet of film, and it will arrive in Shanghai in half a month. ”

"You are really generous, 50,000 feet of film can be used sparingly, and you can make 3 movies." Luo Mingyou said with a smile.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Let's talk about cooperation again, the investment and profit are divided in half, but your cinema share must be reduced to the minimum." ”

"Yes." Luo Mingyou nodded and said.

Sun Yu took the initiative to ask: "Mr. Zhou, I want to be the director of this movie." ”

"I agree," Zhou Hexuan pointed at Ruan Lingyu and said, "Miss Ruan is the heroine of Neiding, and I believe she can do it." ”

Luo Mingyou smiled playfully: "Haha, of course you can, Mr. Zhou has the final say." ”

Ruan Lingyu heard the ridicule in Luo Mingyou's tone, and couldn't help blushing, lowering her head and not daring to say anything.

Sun Yu also said: "Mr. Zhou, since this is the first time to make a 'voice on the film' movie, I am afraid that some money will be wasted, after all, everyone has no experience. And in terms of language, should I use Chinese, Shanghainese or Cantonese? ”

"Of course, it is in Chinese, otherwise the northern audience will not understand." Zhou Hexuan said without thinking.

Sun Yu spread his hands: "That's difficult, there are very few actors who can speak Chinese, and even fewer can speak standards." ”

Ruan Lingyu raised her hand embarrassedly and said, "I don't speak Chinese very well. ”

Sound film has just been invented, and post-dubbing cannot be completed at all, because film and recording magnets are one. Zhou Hexuan suggested: "You can ask someone who speaks Chinese well to synchronize the dubbing during filming, and the recording equipment is not aimed at the actors." ”

"That's a lot of difficulty." Sun Yu was speechless.

"There are challenges to make progress," Zhou Hexuan said to Luo Mingyou with a smile, "By the way, Boss Luo, your theater also needs to replace the audio playback equipment." plus shipping and installation fees, a theater will cost three or four thousand yuan. ”

"What?" Luo Mingyou jumped up in shock, he found that he had been pitted. For dozens of cinemas under his control, it costs 200,000 yuan to replace the sound playback equipment.

This is also the most difficult part of the promotion of sound films......

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "If Boss Luo has difficulties, I can invest in the theater." Sound movies are the trend of the times, 95% of movies in the United States are sound films, and if you don't update your equipment, you will be outdated. ”

Although Lianhua Pictures may lose money when making movies, investing in cinemas is a sure profit.

"I'll think again." Luo Mingyou had difficulty making a decision.