Huayu: This director is so eager to improve.

Chapter 15 "Remaining Sins" OST

Xu Wei leaned back, relaxing her posture.

"I will have my team contact you as soon as possible regarding the distribution of 'Yu Zui'. I will also help you with the copyright redemption."

The deal was done. Qi Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I believe we will have a pleasant collaboration."

Xu Wei stood up with a smile, first shaking hands with Qi Yue, then turning to Guo Fan.

"If you want to thank someone, thank yourself for being so capable..."

When she held Guo Fan's hand, her fingertips seemed to brush lightly across his palm unintentionally, startling Guo Fan.

"Hey Guo, are you free tonight? I'd like to treat you to dinner. Just the two of us."

"Huh?" Guo Fan's smile froze instantly. "Tonight? My...our crew might have to..."

"Director Qi will take care of things on the set."

Xu Wei interrupted him with a smile, then looked at Qi Yue, "Right, Director Qi? You wouldn't even give Director Guo time for a meal, would you?"

"Of course, Brother Fan has been working hard lately and deserves a break. It's a rare opportunity for President Xu to treat us."

Guo Fan kicked Qi Yue under the table, but Qi Yue nimbly dodged it.

Xu Wei picked up her bag, stood up, leaving behind a captivating silhouette and a single sentence.

"Director Guo, remember to dress smartly."

She departed gracefully.

Guo Fan stood frozen in place, only regaining his senses after a long while, and looked at Qi Yue with a mournful face:

"Qi Yue! You betrayed me!"

Qi Yue patted his shoulder, suppressing a laugh:

"Brother Fan, think long-term. You're going deep behind enemy lines for our 'Yu Zui' project; it's a tough but glorious mission. But if you really don't want to, then I'll go instead."

Guo Fan hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Then I'll go."

A man's mouth!

......

With your brother Van, who could practically walk there and back with his arms around the wall, things progressed even more smoothly than they had imagined.

A few days later, Qi Yue received a call directly from the purchasing manager of iQiyi.

The final terms of the deal were even more favorable than they had anticipated: the platform would pay a minimum guarantee of five million to cover the redemption of the copyright, basic production improvements, and initial promotion.

At the same time, a revenue sharing ratio for subsequent transactions was agreed upon.

Basic revenue sharing: 40% of the net revenue from effective on-demand viewing goes to the production company. This was top-tier treatment for a completely new team in 2012.

Incentive jump point:

The number of views exceeded 5000 million in the first month, with the percentage exceeding that reaching 45%.

If it exceeds 1 million, the excess portion can reach 50%.

Derivative rights: 20% of subsequent revenue from GG, derivatives, etc.

Authorization period: Exclusive broadcast for three years, with priority for renewal upon expiration.

Promotional Resources: The platform promises to provide promotional resources no lower than those for B-level projects.

There is only one condition: the platform needs to see the complete first season of "Yu Zui" available for online review within two weeks.

The first season of Yu Zui only has twelve episodes, so two weeks is actually quite a lot of time.

But to be honest, Qi Yue's team only consists of the two of them. Some things can be outsourced, but some things they have to do themselves.

This makes time very tight.

The rented room has been transformed into an editing studio. The machines hum as they cool down, and light and shadow dance on the screen.

Qi Yue sat in front of the computer, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

Fingers move rapidly across the keyboard and tablet, reweaving fragmented footage from the shoot into a tight narrative flow.

Guo Fan was in charge of proofreading special effects and color grading on the side. Occasionally, he would look up at Qi Yue's work and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Qi Yue's editing style is so sophisticated and bold that it seems beyond his years, making him look nothing like a novice director.

On the screen, Xu Pingqiu lowered his voice in the police station conference room, the last syllable of the word "action" still lingering in his throat—

click!

The scene switched abruptly without warning.

The serious and oppressive atmosphere of the police station was brutally replaced by the dazzling neon lights in the nightclub's private rooms.

Yu Zui, with a smile that was three parts ingratiating and seven parts cunning, was leaning close to Fu Guosheng, holding a wine glass in his hand.

The stark contrast between extreme quiet and extreme noise is like a powerful punch, directly impacting the audience's senses.

"Damn, that transition..." Guo Fan gasped, "That was intense!"

Qi Yue didn't speak, but dragged the timeline to find another segment.

Lin Yujing drove alone through the night, the streetlights outside the car window forming a flowing ribbon of light.

The image shows a close-up of her profile inside the car, with her lips tightly pressed together and her gaze intense, accompanied by the deep sound of the engine.

suddenly--

Squeak—crunch—! Bang!!!

The ear-piercing screech of the brakes and the dull thud of the impact, a fraction of a second earlier, were faintly yet clearly superimposed on the engine sound!

Although the scene still showed Lin Yujing focused on driving, the two terrifying "pilot" sounds made people's hearts jump, instantly sensing that a terrible change had occurred in the unseen place ahead.

"Using your voice like that... that's quite something, Qi Yue." Guo Fan stroked his chin. "The audience might not be able to explain why, but they just feel heartbroken."

Qi Yue then paused briefly, rubbing his sore eyes:

"Today's audiences have increasingly limited patience, so we have to use the fastest knife and the most accurate hook to grab their attention and get them emotionally invested."

He spoke casually, but Guo Fan knew that these seemingly simple "quick cuts" and "sound tricks" were backed by a precise grasp of rhythm, psychology, and cinematic language, which was by no means easy.

It seems that Qi Yue has another, more advanced and efficient visual grammar in his mind.

"I'm convinced," Guo Fan said sincerely, leaning over the monitor to watch the re-edited clip.

"After your editing, the rhythm and tension of this film are completely different, like it's been given a breath of fresh air. It's just too exhausting, so take it easy, or you might collapse before the film is even released."

"It won't break." Qi Yue rubbed his aching temples and gulped down a large mouthful of strong coffee.

"Where's the music? Have you sent over the recommended OSTs from iQiyi?"

"Sent, they're all from their music library, free licenses." Guo Fan opened a folder containing more than a dozen music demos of different styles, some suspenseful, some heartwarming, and some exciting.

Qi Yue listened to the songs quickly, one after another, but his brows furrowed more and more.

"No," he shook his head, "too 'standard,' too 'like' other shows. We don't need a backdrop that's just been pasted on."

Guo Fan scratched his head: "What should we do then? Find someone to write it now? We don't have the money or the time."

Qi Yue didn't speak, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

Suddenly, he pulled over a blank sheet of musical notation and quickly wrote down a few lines of simplified musical notation and several key chord markings.

"What is this...?" Guo Fan leaned closer to take a look.

"The ending theme song, roughly its melody framework and emotional direction."

Qi Yue didn't even look up, his pen never stopping. "It should be simple, catchy, with a touch of fatalism, and the ending should ideally leave a lingering feeling, like the story isn't over."

Guo Fan watched as he skillfully sketched the melody lines, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Damn, Qi Yue, you have this skill too? You were hiding it all!"

"...Ahem, I've thought about it a little bit before when I was bored." Qi Yue brushed it off vaguely, quickly pushing a piece of paper covered with musical notes and hastily written lyrics to Guo Fan.

"The melody is roughly like this. Find a friend who knows how to arrange music, use the simplest guitar and bass with a little electronic sound as a base, and make a demo as soon as possible."

He thought for a moment, then wrote the song title at the very beginning of the draft.

The Light Chaser