Chapter 450: Shanhai Animation Studio

Chapter 450: Shanhai Animation Studio

This episode of Happy Camp took about five hours to record, and by the time it wrapped up, it was nearly seven in the evening. Mango TV was scheduled to record the next episode immediately after; many of their shows were recorded back-to-back in pairs, with only a single hour in between for rest and a change of audience.

Meng Fan did not leave right away after recording. Instead, he was cheered on by the audience for autographs, leading him to set up a makeshift "signing session" right at the studio entrance. Regardless of whether the departing crowd had brought copies of Meng Fan's single-volume manga or not, he signed one for everyone and threw in a custom cartoon caricature.

Meng Fan's signing speed this time was remarkably fast. Since the audience had already seen plenty of him just moments ago, there was no need for him to clumsily linger; people essentially walked past and received their autographs faster than going through security, ensuring he wouldn't cause any delays for the upcoming Happy Camp recording.

Xiao Xiaoxue felt this trip had been more than worth it, far more so than any previous time. It wasn't just because she walked away with an autograph and a cartoon caricature in the end, but also because this episode was far more spectacular than any recording she had ever watched before. Although the athletes didn't contribute much comedy, the athletic grace they displayed was phenomenal, and she had learned quite a lot.

Most crucial of all, of course, was that Meng Fan's face was genuinely striking to look at; no matter how one looked at him, he was beautiful, flawless from all three hundred and sixty-one degrees, with great temperament, a fantastic build, and a smile that sent the little deer in one's heart crashing wildly into the walls.

"Heavens, how do you think someone so wonderful can exist in this world!"

"That is something probably only heaven truly knows!"

"You know what? What I like most isn't his looks or his strength, but his smile! I always feel like the next second after looking at his smile, I'm just going to melt!"

"Don't speak, my heart melted long ago! I am a walking corpse right now! Aw!"

"Stop it! I hate tickles, haha!"

Xiao Xiaoxue and her best friend left the Mango Building. They didn't hail a cab, choosing instead to stroll along while playing around, chatting and marveling. Every now and then, they would pull out the autographs for a glance, or hold up the cartoon caricatures with foolish grins next to their faces to ask if it looked super identical, before snapping pictures to post on their Moments, Weibo, and campus forums to enjoy everyone's envy, jealousy, and hatred. They walked all the way to the Xiangya Campus of Central South University like this, not feeling a single bit of fatigue despite the dozen or so kilometers!

"There's still another episode to record back-to-back, so I won't see you out. I usually live in the imperial capital, so I'll call you when there's a chance next time, and you can take me to visit your training base. I've always been thinking of finding an opportunity to go there!"

Teacher He only stopped his steps after escorting Meng Fan and the others all the way to the entrance of the Mango Building. Remembering the matter of Meng Fan inviting songs for the anime yesterday, he spoke to Meng Fan again: "If there's anything you need help with on the anime side, just say the word. I might not have much else, but I can certainly help gather some people for you."

Meng Fan nodded: "Mm, great, I definitely won't stand on ceremony."

After finishing the Happy Camp recording, Meng Fan and his teammates did not depart. They still had to participate in the recording of Day Day Up, another flagship show of Mango TV. Since they were already here and had come with the purpose of promoting the sport of judo, it was impossible to record just one show; Day Day Up was certainly a must. Furthermore, in terms of combining education with entertainment, Day Day Up was clearly more professional.

The show Day Day Up had originally premiered on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a talk show themed around civic virtues and etiquette. While Happy Camp focused primarily on entertainment stars, Day Day Up centered on non-entertainment figures from all walks of life, allowing the audience to understand the stories behind various professions through guest interviews and studio performances.

Although this show had undergone several changes to its hosting lineup, broadcasting hours, and content formats, and its viewership ratings had been steadily declining, it remained an irreplaceable program.

Many people felt that the show occupied the vast platform resources of Mango TV yet underperformed in ratings and should be canceled. However, many others believed it should continue to exist; there were far too many shows interviewing entertainment celebrities, and it was rare to have an interview program centered on ordinary people that could guide the audience to understand many familiar yet unfamiliar industries.

Of course, ratings were indeed a major issue, which was why the program had revised its content multiple times, inviting celebrity guests with increasing frequency, and the content had gradually become "entertaining," to the point where for a long time it appeared neither fish nor fowl to many viewers. Yet, there was simply no choice; they still had to fight for ratings. The production team had always been advancing and compromising between ratings and core content, searching for that most appropriate balance point.

In addition, some said that both the hosting group and the creative team possessed the capability to produce works with higher ratings, but were constrained by the underlying color of this show and the rules of satellite TV. For instance, the online variety show Mars Intelligence Agency, which most people believed was born out of Day Day Up and shared the identical hosting lineup and core creative team, performed exceptionally well in ratings.

From a personal emotional standpoint, Meng Fan held a very favorable impression of this show because it was the first program to invite a batch of voice actors, pushing them in front of the public eye and letting more people know about the existence of this industry as well as the stories behind it, which also brought more work opportunities and greater income to this group of voice actors.

It was worth mentioning that the voice actor series launched by Day Day Up ranked among the episodes with the highest ratings and the highest praise, and they even made a "return appearance" during the tenth anniversary of Day Day Up.

The process of recording Day Day Up was much faster than Happy Camp, and from Meng Fan's perception, the pacing of the entire recording process was also better. Of course, the content and format of the recording were much simpler, and the flow of time seemed to accelerate as they wrapped things up quickly while eating, drinking, and chatting.

The interviews on Day Day Up went deeper, showcasing more of the judo athletes' daily training routines, everyday lives, and interesting anecdotes before and after competitions to the audience.

During this recording, Meng Fan remained the person with the highest screen time, but he was not the primary subject of the interview. After all, most people already knew about the things that happened to him, and for the things they didn't know, Meng Fan generally wouldn't make them public anyway.

Wang Han handled the depth of the interview beautifully, and combined with Da Zhangwei's chatterbox-style banter, it was also full of wit and humor. The recording process was exceedingly pleasant; awkward moments were inevitable, but awkward laughter was much less frequent.

Furthermore, Meng Fan disguised himself as a "guest host." It was truly because he differed greatly from the other athletes: first, he hadn't practiced this since childhood, and second, his daily training and everyday life were far removed from those of regular athletes. Consequently, he was highly curious about the daily routines of the other athletes, cooperating with the host to dig things up. One dig brought up a whole sackful, which was incredibly effective and unearthed a side of these athletes that was unfamiliar to the audience—singularly cute and exceptionally endearing.

Once Day Day Up finished recording as well, Meng Fan and the others agreed at the airport to meet in the imperial capital in a few days, and then parted ways to return home. Not just Meng Fan, but the itineraries of these champion members after the Olympics were all packed to the brim. Ten years of bitter training went unnoticed, but a single victorious battle made them known to the world; fame was acquired at the Olympics, and fortune naturally followed. They deserved it, and they deserved even more.

Speaking of which, apart from high-profile athletes, it was no small feat for other athletes to earn money, even for Olympic champions, particularly those in relatively niche sports. Therefore, taking advantage of the Olympic influence during this period, they needed to earn as much as they quickly could; at other times, it was truly difficult for them to make money.

To give an example, an Olympic champion in a niche event like trampolining absolutely made less than one-tenth of what a second- or third-line actor made, or even less.

Things were considered better now; in the past, there were always people online saying that athletes should focus on competing well to contribute to the country and shouldn't constantly think about finding gimmicks to make money.

To hell with that; money wasn't a bad thing, and earning money was hardly a bad deed!

Meng Fan naturally wanted to earn money too, except that his family background was wealthy enough that the money he made didn't need to support his family, allowing him to do the things he wanted to do, such as investing in the anime industry, or—ha, completing squandering missions!

The advertising endorsement fees for China's Glory were paid in full in a single lump sum after the contract was signed. After deducting the portion required for taxes, Meng Fan currently had no intention of directly taking this money out to squander—even if he spent it, it wouldn't be enough to complete the mission, and making partial progress was meaningless. A portion of it was taken out by Meng Fan to invest in the Shanhai Animation Studio formed with Master Kun and others—the name was chosen by Master Kun and the group, and Meng Fan thought it sounded quite nice.

Upon returning to Hangzhou, Meng Fan went straight to the Damei Studio area with Zhang Zhouwei, because Shanhai Animation Studio was also located within this cultural and creative park, quite close to Damei Studio.

The core creative team of Shanhai Studio consisted of five people, among whom two had graduated from the China Academy of Art, counting as Meng Fan's senior brothers, one was from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, one had studied animation production in Japan, and another had entered the field halfway, originally having studied—accounting!

The five-person team had been established for three years, with each member handling specific divisions and collaborations. Previously, the five of them would take on jobs as a group and then temporarily recruit members; despite being a temporary team, they were famous in the industry for their speed in turning out work.

Master Kun had known this team for a very long time—mhm, through gaming. This time, he had spent a fortune to hand over Spirit Underground to them, with the sole requirement being for them to slow down. Yet no matter how much they slowed down, the first season was still finished in half a year. As for the quality, one could tell from Meng Fan's willingness to invest.

Of course, Meng Fan's willingness to invest stemmed from another reason, which was that after making contact, his intuition and vision told him that this team truly possessed potential!

With these five people as the core, after receiving a large influx of capital, the team quickly expanded to over twenty people. The backgrounds and strengths of the members were not bad at all, and they had already set their sights on several major artists.

If it were before, the five-person team wouldn't have been able to handle major artists. Setting aside the funding issue, just the matter of seniority alone would be daunting enough that they definitely couldn't keep them under control. But this time was different; there was no one Meng Fan couldn't keep under control, no matter the method of control.

After Shanhai Animation Studio was established, Master Kun moved directly from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Originally, he intended to rent a house, but after searching high and low, he truly couldn't find one to his liking. When he finally managed to find a suitable one, the other party unexpectedly changed their mind at the last minute and refused to rent, saying they wanted to sell it instead, so Master Kun bought it at an even higher price.

It was right next to Huanglong, making commuting to and from the studio extremely convenient, and along the way, he could even go to the Peak Martial Arts Gym to train his slight frame.

When Meng Fan arrived, Master Kun and the five-person team were all present. He was not an autocratic person; the matter of approaching those famous singers to invite songs had been discussed with them beforehand. It was just that he hadn't specified how many people he would look for. This time, after sitting down and discussing the details, Master Kun and the five-person team were all left caught between tears and laughter.

It was definitely worth it, and exceedingly so, it was just that the budget for post-production had to be freaking increased again!

(End of chapter)