Learning From Low BudgetsWord文档下载推荐.docx

Learning From Low BudgetsWord文档下载推荐.docx

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OrganizersofChina’supcomingfilmfestivalsarefinallygivingrecognitiontothelittleguys―lowbudgetfilms―toencourageagenerationofyoung,talenteddirectors.

SeveralnomineeswereannouncedonSeptember10tocompetefortheSmall-andMedium-BudgetFilmPrizeoftheannualGoldenRoosterandHundredFlowersFilmFestival,whichwillkickoffonOctober19.

TheSmall-andMedium-BudgetFilmPrizewasestablishedthisyeartoawardanyrecentproductionwithaninvestmentlessthan8millionyuan（$1.25million）.Itwasintroducedtorecognizeanumberofsmall-andmedium-budgetfilmsthatachievedbetterthanexpectedboxofficeperformancesandreceivedcriticalacclaimthissummer.

ThePianoinaFactory,a6-milllion-yuan2010productionthatwasalmostcancelledduetolackoffunds,managedtomakeittobigscreensnationwidethissummer.Ithassincewonapplausefromaudiencesandaseriesofawardsaroundtheworldforitsdarkhumorandrealisticdepictionofthelivesoflaid-offworkersinoneofChina’sformersteelcapitals.

MostChinesefilmsaresmall-andmedium-budgetproductionsinaglobalsense.EvenHero,the2002productionbyfamousChinesedirectorZhangYimouwhichwasseenasa“megapicture”atthattime,hadaninvestmentof240millionyuan（about$30millionthen）.

China’soverallboxofficeearningsexceeded10billionyuan（$1.56billion）lastyear,increasingfromlessthan1billionyuan（$156million）in2000.Butasusual,80percentofthetotalwenttoblockbustersand20percenttosmall-andmedium-budgetproductions.Nearlyhalfoflastyear’sproductionsfailedtobeshowninmajorurbancinemasbecauseoftheirdimprofitprospectsandthescarcityofcinemas.Only260ofthe530featurefilmsproducedinChinalastyearwereshownatcinemas.

“Chinaproduces250to300low-budgetfilmsannually,inadditionto40commercialmegaproductionsand50artfilms,”saidZhangHongsen,DeputyDirectoroftheFilm

BureauundertheStateAdministrationofRadio,FilmandTelevision.

Abreakthrough

“Althoughblockbustersattractmoreattention,theyalsotakelongertomake,whichleavesmall-andmedium-budgetproductionsenoughroomtosurvive,”saidYuDong,PresidentofNYSE-listedBonaFilmGroup.

JustCallMeNobody,amedium-budgetcomedyproducedbyBona,wasadarkhorseduringtheSpringFestivalholidaylastFebruary.Withatotalboxofficeof160millionyuan（$25million）,itboastedahigherreturnoninvestmentcomparedwithSacrifice,ablockbusteralsoshownduringtheholiday.

SacrificewasdirectedbyrenownedfilmdirectorChenKaige,alsoknownforPekingopera-centeredepicFarewellMyConcubine.

HanSanping,ChairmanoftheChinaFilmGroup（CFG）,advisedapyramidstructureofinvestmentsformoviecompaniestoavoidfinancialrisks.

“Blockbustersarethemostcompetitiveproductsinthemovieindustry,”saidHan.“Butamoviecompanyshouldhavevariedinvestmentsfromseveralhundredmillionyuantoseveralmillionyuan,soastohaveahealthycashflowandgrowstronger.”

Comparingwithstar-studdedblockbusters,somedistinctandcreativelow-budgetfilmsoftenwinhigheracclaimiftheygetshownincinemas.However,theproblemiswhetheroperatorsofprofit-seekingcinemascanenvisionthatpopularityandrecognizetheirbox-officepotential.

ThePianoinaFactory,anawardwinneratthe23rdTokyoInternationalFilmFestival,cost6millionyuan（$937,500）.Althoughitalsowonseveralawardsinthe14thShanghaiInternationalFilmFestivalandthe14thHuabiaoFilmAwardsofChina,theatersinsomefirsttiercitiesbeganpullingitfromscreensalmostimmediatelyafteritspremiere.ButsometheatersinBeijingpersisted,andsawitsboxofficereboundin25days,despitethepresenceofsummerblockbustersTransformers3:

DarkoftheMoonandHarryPotterandtheDeathlyHallows:

Part2.

InThePianoinaFactory,theheromakesalivingperformingatfuneralsorweddingswithhisamateurbandafterbeinglaidoff.Afterlosinghisjob,hesoonloseshiswife,whofilesfordivorce.Towincustodyofhisdaughter,wholovesplayingthepiano,andwithnomoneytobuyherone,heforgesasteelpiano.

Thestoryissetintheearly1990swhenmanystate-ownedenterpriseswentbankruptandmillionsofworkerslosttheirjobsandlivedhardlives,andthereforehasresonancewithChineseaudiences.

Manyviewerssaidtheywenttoseethemoviewithlowexpectations,butweresurprisedbythestoryandthewayitwastold,andconsidereditthebestlow-budgetmovietheyhadseenthisyear.

“Nosupermarketwillselljustoneshampoobrand,andlikewisetheatersshouldfigureoutaproperproportionforfilmsofvariousgenres,”saidDingJunjie,ViceDirectoroftheAcademicBoardoftheCommunicationUniversityofChina.“ThetrueprosperityofChina’smovieindustrywillrelyonwhetherChinahasanestablishedgroupofprofessionalsforsmall-andmedium-budgetproductions.”

Whatinvestorsvalue

ThePianoinaFactorysetanexampleforChinesemoviemakerstomakegoodfilmswithsmallbudgets.

ZhangXianliang,awriterwhofoundedtheChinaWestFilmintheNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,pointedoutonlyafewofthe100classicmoviesofthe20thcenturychosenbyAmericansaremegaproductions.

“Thefutureoflow-budgetfilmsispromisingbecauselow-budgetproductionsusuallyhavehigherreturnsoninvestments,althoughtheycannotmatchblockbustersinboxoffice,”saidZhang.

Twolow-budgetmoviesdirectedbyChinesedirectorXieJin（1923-2008）in1980s,HerdsmanandHibiscusTown,wereboxofficesuccessestoo.Herdsman,a1982productionadaptedfromZhang’snovelonlycost1millionyuan（$150,000）;

HibiscusTown,madein1986,cost4millionyuan（$620,000）.Thelatter,withtheaverageticketpriceatlessthanoneyuan（$0.15）atthattime,yieldedmorethan100millionyuan（$15million）attheboxoffice.

“ThetwomoviesaddressedcontemporaryChineseissues,depictedthe‘culturalrevolution,’andreflectedcommonethicsandaestheticsofonegeneration,whichiswhytheyresonatedwithmillionsofaudiencemembers,”saidZhang.“Whatevertheinvestment,wehavetoproducefilmsthatarebothvisuallypleasantandemotionallystriking.”

CrazyStone,releasedin2006,isanotherexampleofsuccessforChineselow-budgetfilms.Producedwithlessthan3millionyuan（$460,000）,thefilmearned30millionyuan（$4.61million）.

“Likeacarpenterabouttomakeachairoradesk,adirectorshouldexactlydecidewhatkindoffilmheisgoingtomakebeforehestartsshootingit,”saidNingHao,directorofCrazyStone.“MyconcernduringtheCrazyStoneproductionwashowtomakemy‘chair’ascomfortableandenjoyableaspossiblefortheaudience.”

BehindthesuccessofCrazyStonewas

aninvestorwhohadaneyeforgoodscreenplaysandgifteddirectors.

AtafilminvestmentfairinMarch2005,NingandhisfilmscriptarousedtheinterestsofHongKongsuperstarAndyLau.Lauhashisownstudioforfilminvestment,productionanddistribution.HedecidedtoinvestandadvisedNingtolocalizethestory.Asaresult,NingchoseChongqing.

“Investorsneedtobefarsightedand

havetherightmindsetwhentheydecidetoinvestinafilm,”saidWuJun,GeneralManageroftheGuangzhouBranchofGFFundManagementCo.Ltd.“NooneknowswhetheraninvestmentwillbeprofitableatthebeginningandIthinkLauisquiteawareofit.Evenifhewon’treaphugefromtheinvestment,it’sgoodtosupportapromisingdirectortogrow.”

Butthat’snottosayLaudidn’tcareabouttheprofitabilityofhisinvestment.“ThemostvaluablepartofNingishispersistenceincarryingouthisideasdespitedifficulties,inadditiontohisinnatesenseofhumorandartisticgift,”saidWu.

Severalyearsago,CFGlaunchedaninvestmentprogramtosupportproductionofyoungfilmdirectors.

“Returnsfrominvestmentswerenotencouraging,butthesituationhasimprovedafterNingHao,andLuChuan,directorofCityofLifeandDeath,andotherestablishedyoungdirectorswereincludedtocourtmoreconfidencefrominvestorsandproducersintheprogram,”saidaCFGmanagerZhaoZuohai.“Oneproblemthatstillplaguesusishowtogetbox-officerecognitionforyoungdirectors’worksandthereforeyieldreturnsforproducers,”saidZhao.

Marketingefforts

“Equalimportanceshouldbepaidtomarketing,thefinishingtouchtoensurebox-officesuccessforamovie,”saidWangDayong,PresidentofCashFlowerCultureCommunicationCo.Ltd.,themarketingagentofThePianoinaFactory.“Welargelyattributethemovie’simprovedboxofficeperformanceseveralweekslatertoeffectiveword-of-mouthmarketing.”

Unlikeblockbusters,low-budgetfilmscannotsecurecontractsofmosttheatersnationwide.That’swhyCrazyStoneselectedsomecinemasinBeijingandShanghai,expectingtheeffectsofword-of-mouthmarketing―highacclaimfromtheaudiencesattractedmorecuriousviewerstothetheaters.

It’salsoimportanttofindanidealscreeningtimeandavoidcompetingforviewerswithblockbusters,saidseniorfilmdistributorGaoJun.

TheGoldenRoosterAwards

EstablishedbytheChinaFilmAssociationinMay1981,theGoldenRoosterAwardsareChina’smostprestigiousfilmawards,theequivalenttotheAcademyAwards.Awardwinnersarechosenbyajuryofactors,directorsandcritics.Theawardsconsistof19prizesforfilms,actors,directorsandotherprofessionals.Specialandhonoraryawardsarealsogiven.

Originally,GoldenRoosterswereonlyavailabletomainlandnomineesofChina,buttheawardsopeneduptheactingcategori