Chapter 112: The Master of Special Effects

What Xiao Ran wanted to ask was about “Old Cat” – the special effects in that film might not be anything special twenty years later, but in this era, they were absolutely outstanding, with highly realistic effects that weren’t created using animation. What intrigued Xiao Ran the most was the scene where cats and dogs fought brutally in that film; it was impossible to tell there were any special effects involved at all.
Unfortunately, “Old Cat” hadn’t been filmed yet, so Xiao Ran had to change the topic on the spot. Lan Naicai was momentarily stunned; he hadn’t expected Xiao Ran’s first question to be about this. Since it involved his proudest skill, he naturally had something to say: “Actually, creating special effects isn’t difficult – as long as you’re willing to put in the effort!”
Xiao Ran nodded. It indeed wasn’t very difficult at present, but in the future, professional skills would be necessary. Still, he believed that with Lan Naicai’s abilities, there was huge potential. He smiled at Lan Naicai and said, “Mr. Lan, you don’t have any film contracts right now, do you?”
“I still have one project with New Art City,” Lan Naicai replied, seemingly understanding but also a bit confused. “But I don’t even know when the shooting will start!”
“How about this? Phantom Studios will sign you. What do you think? As for New Art City, I’ll call them right away!” Xiao Ran handed him a contract and suggested he take a look, then picked up the phone to call Huang Baiming. “Old Huang, long time no see. I need your help with something. Does your company have a contract with someone named Lan Naicai? Give it to me, and I’ll compensate you with 500,000.”
Huang Baiming hesitated for a moment but quickly agreed. He had only worked with Lan Naicai last year and felt the director wasn’t suitable for New Art City’s style. Besides, it was just one contract, not very important either.
On the other hand, Lan Naicai was shocked. He found in the contract that Phantom Studios would pay him to work on the film, meaning he could still earn a salary even after filming – which was fantastic. He had heard of Phantom Studios’ hiring method before, but everyone in the industry knew that very few people got signed this way, and it was highly envied by everyone in the field.
Now that such a good opportunity had come his way, filled with joy, he was about to sign the contract. Seeing that he hadn’t read it carefully, Xiao Ran tapped the table lightly to wake him up and said, “Mr. Lan, read the contract carefully. I’m not signing you as a director; I’m signing you as a special effects expert.”
Lan Naicai was shocked and quickly reviewed the terms. Indeed, it wasn’t asking him to be a director but a special effects expert. He was confused for a moment – no film company had ever asked for someone in this way, as if he became the director, they would naturally handle the special effects themselves.
After thinking for a while, Lan Naicai smiled. This suited his wishes perfectly. He signed his name and handed the contract to Xiao Ran. “President Xiao, no problem. I love special effects!”
Xiao Ran nodded again. Without enthusiasm, it’s hard to persevere in anything. After thinking for a moment, he added, “From now on, focus your efforts on improving special effects skills to become the most professional in the field. Also, if you want, it’s best to bring a few apprentices as assistants to teach them.”

He originally wanted Lan Naicai to train more apprentices, but thinking of the Chinese tendency to hide their technologies, he realized this wasn’t something that could be solved in a short time. He thought perhaps foreigners would need to give them a lesson.
“President Xiao, there are over a dozen people saying they’re here for interviews. Should we meet with them?” An Yuxuan’s voice came through the phone. Xiao Ran immediately thought of Ran Wei and the others and quickly said, “Let them in, and bring General Manager Wei here too!”
Ran Wei and his group of over a dozen people came in all at once; the office could accommodate them. After meeting each of them, once Wei Dongling arrived, they officially began evaluating the results. For Xiao Ran, this wasn’t surprising at all, but for Wei Dongling, he felt these computer-generated effects might not be any worse than those in Star Wars.
Glancing at these young people with varied expressions, Xiao Ran smiled. He knew that from now on, he had the resources to develop computer graphics effects. It now depended on their abilities. In any case, Xiao Ran would invest the most funds in this area, aiming to perfect computer graphics effects before Hollywood.
Wei Dongling was responsible for signing contracts with each of them. In short, anyone who made breakthrough progress would receive a reward. Of course, the technology would still belong to Phantom.
However, Xiao Ran wasn’t overly optimistic. Everyone knew that Hong Kong wasn’t good at technology, especially high-tech fields. The mainland had plenty of conditions, but many things weren’t yet mature enough.
In Hollywood, specialized companies researched such technologies and handed them over to film companies once successful. Although this was similar to Xiao Ran’s current approach, he knew they might not be able to keep up, as Hollywood had an edge in terms of technical and talent reserves.
After handling all this, Xiao Ran sat proudly in his chair, gazing at the commercial buildings outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Phantom was now extremely powerful—having gathered talents in almost every field, even the most difficult ones in computer graphics. What more was there to worry about?
Xiao Ran didn’t need to worry about production matters at all. All he needed to do was decide whether to produce each film. Wei Dongling handled administrative tasks, and the results were satisfactory. Currently, Xiao Ran was in charge of production, distribution, marketing, and all other aspects related to the film industry.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t delegate these tasks, but he believed that with his experience, he could achieve better results and save time in building the company. The key, without a doubt, lay in the script. With his experience of watching thousands of films, it would definitely help him determine which films would be successful and which would fail.
Leaning his hands on the window, Xiao Ran felt regretful. He wished he had a balcony—a beautiful one, like in A Taste of Heaven. The feeling of looking down on everything below was unparalleled; he even considered it a privilege of ruling over everything.

Gazing at the view outside the window, a knock at the door reminded Xiao Ran that he had called the manager of the new department over for a discussion. Calling out “Come in,” he immediately saw someone enter the office. Xiao Ran turned around and said with a smile, “Sit!”

The manager of the audio-visual department was named Peng Ge, the marketing department manager was Bai Wenjing, and there was also an investment department manager named Tang Yan. Aside from Peng Ge, both Bai Wenjing and Tang Yan were young, energetic, and highly imaginative and creative.

In terms of the number of departments, Shadow was undoubtedly the largest among the three companies. However, this was not to increase administrative expenses but to establish the foundation for a massive film empire—a preliminary structure. Right now, he only regretted not having control over television stations and media to maximize overall effects.

Glancing at Peng Ge, Xiao Ran leaned back on his desk and said with a faint smile, “Peng Ge, as the manager of the audio-visual department, you might not fully understand what this department is supposed to do. Let me explain it to you in detail.”

“Your department must do everything possible to develop peripheral products for every film the company owns the rights to. Take ‘The God of Gamblers’ for example—you can create figurines of Tony Leung, as well as produce and sell playing cards and mahjong sets featuring elements from the film.” Thinking of Hollywood’s annual profits from peripheral products, Xiao Ran became extremely excited. “In short, any business opportunity that can be utilized must be seized.”

While Peng Ge was stunned, Xiao Ran continued, “But don’t rush things or produce too much. Always leave some room, otherwise people will see these products everywhere, and over time, they will grow tired of them. Outsource production to other companies—don’t rely on just one company to avoid creating competition.”

“Also, these products must be of high quality. Hire professionals to design them until you’re satisfied. As for sales, even if the company’s films are distributed to Mars, your sales network must extend there as well!” Xiao Ran gave Peng Ge a stern look. “Do you understand? Any questions?”

Peng Ge was somewhat confused by Xiao Ran’s torrent of words. While there were people in the film industry who tried to develop such products, none had ever succeeded! Without hesitation, he stood up immediately to object, “President, I think this isn’t a good idea. Jiahe has tried before, but no one succeeded, and they kept losing money!”

Xiao Ran nodded with a smile. He liked Peng Ge’s straightforward personality, as he found it easy to manage. Running his fingers gently over his beard, he said with a faint smile, “They lost money because their sales network didn’t cover all of Southeast Asia, and their films didn’t have enough influence. Staying confined to Hong Kong alone naturally meant no hope of success.”

“Given our current situation, doing this will definitely result in losses. But that’s okay. The market doesn’t form overnight—we need to cultivate it. As the company’s distribution capabilities grow stronger, sales of peripheral products will surely become profitable.” Xiao Ran’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked at Peng Ge. “Do you know how much Hollywood earns from movie peripheral products each year? Billions. I think now you understand what I mean!”

Peng Ge was stunned once again. Suddenly, he felt he could never become a boss like Xiao Ran, as he seemed to lack such vision—perhaps the entire film industry lacked it. Looking at Xiao Ran’s confident demeanor, Peng Ge had no doubt that Shadow could expand even further.

Of course, Xiao Ran hadn’t forgotten the issue of audio-visual products. He tapped the table thoughtfully, wondering if he had missed something crucial. Suddenly, it struck him—he had overlooked the mainland market.

A whole generation like him, born in the 1970s and 1980s, had grown up influenced by Hong Kong movies. Undoubtedly, his own experience proved just how significant this influence was. But what made such a generation unable to resist Hong Kong films?

Besides the inherent charm of Hong Kong movies, Xiao Ran believed it was also due to the massive smuggling activities carried out by numerous organizations like “Coastal Contribution” back then. Subsequent piracy further flooded the mainland market with Hong Kong films, indirectly influencing an entire generation.

Therefore, Xiao Ran felt it was essential to help Hong Kong movies cultivate a large audience on the mainland. Of course, making pirated copies also brought huge profits. With this in mind, Xiao Ran smirked and said, “Ah Peng, this is simple—take the videotapes and smuggle them to the mainland. But I want to tell you that the videotapes must be made extremely well, outsourced to the best company in Hong Kong. Go back first and bring me a plan.”

Peng Ge was stunned for a moment before nodding and leaving. After handling this matter, Xiao Ran called Bai Wenjing in for a discussion. Marketing involved aspects like film promotion. Warner’s marketing department had mobilized its entire media empire to promote “Harry Potter,” resulting in enormous box office earnings.

Marketing relied on strategy—subtle strategies that weren’t offensive. After outlining the general approach, Xiao Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief. These things were always crucial, absolutely cannot be ignored.

After waking up Tang Yan, the manager of the investment department, Xiao Ran stared at this foreigner. From Wei Dongling, he learned that Tang Yan loved Chinese culture very much and had learned quite a bit of Chinese from Wei Dongling in the United States, enough to speak passably.

According to Wei Dongling, Tang Yan was a clear case of untapped talent. Xiao Ran liked such people because once given sufficient benefits, they would work loyally for him. Xiao Ran carefully reviewed Tang Yan’s investment plan, which Wei Dongling had also researched. Both agreed that real estate prices had dropped to 30% of their peak—time for them to start rising.

“President Xiao, in a few days, the owner of a piece of land will decide to auction it to raise funds due to heavy losses in the stock market,” Tang Yan said, his eyes lively, making his thin face appear spirited. “This is a great opportunity!”

“When do you think land prices will recover?” Xiao Ran asked with a smile. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to invest in real estate, but he couldn’t determine when he would see returns. He didn’t want his liquid capital tied up: “One year? Two years? Or three?”

“This…” Tang Yan was momentarily at a loss for words. In fact, he had done some research, but the time period in question was much longer than he had imagined. “Based on various investigations, it will take about three years to restore land prices to their previous level!”
“Three years!” Xiao Ran pondered for a while. If that was the case, the costs involved might be too high. “In that case, I think we shouldn’t consider it. Three years is too long! It’s better to invest in stocks—pick a promising stock, buy it when prices are low due to market crashes, and sell it when its value rises to a certain level.”
Xiao Ran still had a little over a year left. During that time, he needed to earn $3 billion or more to sustain Phantom’s expansion. Otherwise, the company would truly come to a standstill. So, he had no reason to choose real estate, even though everyone knew how profitable it could be.
“Autumn’s Fairy Tale” was officially released while Xiao Ran was engaged in the stock market battle. He regretted not being able to witness the premiere, but he still sneaked in to watch it once.
*****
Recommendation: His latest joke-themed work, “The Man with a Thousand Faces” http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=40743