Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 16: Revealing the Director's Identity

Chapter 16: Revealing the Director’s Identity

This twenty-second trailer moved at a breakneck pace, glossing over specific costumes and props while containing no grand special effects scenes, yet it managed to convey the entire storyline.

The opening shot immediately cut to a close-up of the female lead’s son Xi Liling lying on a jade bed, his lips pale as a drop of crimson heart’s blood dripped onto his bloodless mouth. Sensing a familiar presence, his eyes snapped open and he cried out “Mother!”, though his confused gaze made it clear the spacious room was empty.

The scene then shifted to a thousand years earlier, showing the female lead Ling Che playing with her son in a garden, her face glowing with a contented smile as she wore only a simple jade hairpin. A massive boulder fell from the sky, the screen abruptly went black, and when she reappeared, she was dressed in coarse outer sect disciple robes standing on the stone steps before the sect entrance.

Ling Che stared blankly at her hands. Amidst the mocking laughter and shouts of other disciples, after a few seconds of flashbacks, those same hands were shown being brutally clamped by a bamboo curtain torture device, joints swollen and bruised.

Within mere dozens of seconds, audiences witnessed the protagonist transform from a beloved female cultivator into a fifteen-year-old cleaning disciple a millennium later, following the plot to see her now suffering humiliation and cold treatment.

The trailer ended on the female lead’s right foot stepping back into the academy after reuniting with her son, the voiceover delivered in a calm tone that carried the stillness before a storm:

“Lingling, Mother has returned…”

Unlike that extravagant, investment-flaunting promotional still, the entire trailer consisted almost entirely of close-up shots focusing on characters’ features, all featuring the protagonist’s relatively simple and elegant styling. Yet every detail was meticulously crafted, completely unlike the crude filming set previously exposed online.

The moment this trailer dropped, the public debate that had somewhat subsided over the past two days immediately reignited with greater intensity.

[??? Wait, I’m starting to think Mega-Entertainment might actually have something here]

[Not just something, but quite a lot… Those white satin embroidered ruyi-pattern shoes in the final scene are handmade by a master artisan. Apart from at the Ancient Blue Star Folk Museum, I’ve never seen gilded threadwork this refined]

[Though the editing only gave it two seconds of screen time, that jade hairpin on the female lead’s head is absolutely jewelry-grade in terms of quality.

And don’t anyone in the comments try to tell me it’s just post-production editing – I work in the industry, I know better than you whether pure editing could achieve this effect]

[…Here come the Mega-Entertainment stans again, can’t you change your tune? Can’t you see the issue with all these close-up shots? Any wide shot would instantly expose the flaws, that’s why they only show these brief, edited close-ups to save costs]

[Is no one discussing the plot? The setup of a beloved ancestor returning to the beginner’s village is so satisfying I’m absolutely obsessed, just turning off my brain and enjoying the ride]

[After arguing for nearly a week, I’m genuinely confused now…

The weird LED screen was real, but these shoes and hairpins look real too. Can someone tell me what this drama’s actual quality is like?]

[Any Mega-Entertainment employees want to step forward and share some insights? I really want to know if Brother Fang actually has some skills^^]
[One-glance special effects, I’m begging you all not to put your brains in your butts when watching the trailer. Mega-Entertainment’s post-production team probably went nearly blind editing it frame by frame.]

[The set footage only leaked five days ago, how are people in the comments still being so suspicious? Are we rewriting history already? Don’t get led astray by marketing trolls, okay? Okay?]

[Whispering here, at least the trailer looks decent and seems enjoyable]

[+1, if the final product maintains this quality, I’d probably watch it, at least until the female lead’s identity reveal arc]

[At least the mountain gate background flashing at the 14-second mark is clearly real scenery. The lighting perspective matches the characters perfectly. Mega-Entertainment must have some resources. I personally believe that so-called set footage was just hype.

As expected, this trailer sparked massive discussions across all platforms. Unlike the overwhelming mockery before, the comment sections were now filled with fiercer debates.

Some casual viewers found the Props quality surprisingly good, while others insisted everything was edited. Some professional content creators even livestreamed frame-by-frame analyses of post-production traces.

Within less than twenty-four hours of the trailer’s release, several analysis videos on long-form platforms had already garnered millions of views. Even the bullet comments were buzzing with back-and-forth discussions.

Fang Zhuo, who had masterminded this controversial trailer, had anticipated this outcome.

The heated arguments suited him perfectly – he actually hoped the controversy would grow even louder. The more people debated whether the Props were real or fake, the more interest would grow in the drama itself, essentially providing free promotion.

In the entertainment industry, controversy was never the real fear – being utterly ignored was.

The ideal scenario was having both sides evenly matched in their arguments. This would not only keep Ruan Zihan off guard but also maintain perpetual hype for their Short drama before its release.

The crew still had one more day before wrapping up filming. This trailer had been roughly edited by their in-house staff using available footage, deliberately avoiding any special effects and carefully sidestepping those breathtaking large-scale scenes.

Checking his list, Fang Zhuo needed to finalize the post-production company within the next two days.

Their Short drama had gained quite a “reputation” in post-production circles. Not only was public scrutiny particularly intense, but even within the special effects industry, everyone was quietly speculating about which company would ultimately land this project.

Just today alone, over a dozen small VFX companies had flooded his inbox with promotional emails, all offering suspiciously low prices and boasting teams of merely ten to twenty people.

He ignored all those emails and directly contacted FlowlineIC, widely recognized as the top-tier film-grade special effects company in the industry.

What attracted him to FlowlineIC wasn’t just their portfolio of successful commercial blockbusters, but more importantly their renowned expertise in handling fluid effects like water mist, smoke clouds, and explosions – perfectly suited for Xianxia genre requirements.

Checking his watch, there were still ten minutes left before his scheduled meeting with FlowlineIC’s business department.

Across from the conference room, the break area had already gathered about a dozen curious employees sipping coffee while casting conspicuously casual probing glances his way.

“Is that really Giant Entertainment’s CEO? So handsome… why doesn’t he debut as an actor himself…”
“What’s he doing here, staging a photo op for show? Or maybe he doesn’t know our company’s pricing? Judging from their behind-the-scenes footage, their total production cost can’t be more than a hundred thousand. They could just hire some college students to slap on some cheap VFX and call it a day.”

“Haven’t people been saying they used green screens for all their props in the early stages? Probably no other company dared take on the project after seeing the raw footage.”

“Online rumors say he’s broke but a marketing genius. Maybe if he sits here today, tomorrow influencers will start spreading that Giant Entertainment actually hired us for VFX.”

“Hey, I actually saw their stills and trailer. If anyone could achieve that quality purely through post-production, I’d call them daddy. Anyway, I don’t buy that the set was entirely green screens.”

“Really? Which account posted the trailer? Show me.”

Colin smiled wryly at his colleagues gossiping in the breakroom as a business department liaison clutching folders rushed past. Before entering the meeting room, he adjusted the glass to opaque mode.

“Director Fang, I’m Colin, head of FlowlineIC’s business group.”

“We have a player here. Could you please show us the original raw footage first? This will help us provide a preliminary quote based on the number of shots.”

Receiving a business negotiation invitation from Giant Entertainment was genuinely unexpected. The industry generally speculated they’d eventually choose a cost-effective small startup VFX company.

Opinions about this short drama varied widely. Two hours earlier, Colin had specifically organized his team to carefully review the trailer.

Their frame-by-frame analysis progressed increasingly slowly, until everyone reached the same conclusion: judging solely by the twenty seconds shown, the pre-production filming must have incurred massive costs. Whether it was headpieces, footwear, or every background element, none could have been achieved purely through post-production.

This was precisely why he personally came to receive Fang Zhuo today.

But guessing the other party wasn’t short on money was one thing – whether they could afford their company’s full-package post-production rates was another matter entirely.

FlowlineIC was renowned not only for top-tier technology but also for per-shot prices more expensive than gold.

As the rough cut of the short drama played on the large screen, the meeting room fell completely silent except for the video’s audio.

For over an hour, Colin even forgot to drink water, fully absorbed in watching the screen.

Even complete outsiders who never watched dramas could tell – the shooting quality and narrative pacing of this short drama were absurdly good. One could easily mistake it for a major commercial film backed by top-tier development companies.

Even without adding any visual effects, just based on the grand practical shooting locations alone, he felt certain this series would explode across StarNet.

When the playback ended, team members sat stunned for a long moment before erupting into frantic whispering.

Everyone had previously speculated about the raw footage’s refinement level, but nobody anticipated such extravagantly executed results.

Only when receiving the requirements list handed over by Fang Zhuo did Colin snap out of his daze. He quickly scanned through the list and offered a remarkably favorable quote:

“Director Fang, this project contains over a thousand VFX shots with approximately 180 minutes of runtime. For movie-grade visual effects as specified in your requirements, including editing, the total post-production quote would be eighty-six million.”
“The total production cycle is about one week, and we’ll need to wait approximately three more weeks for scheduling before officially starting production.”

Fang Zhuo frowned slightly.

With the advanced technology of the Star Federation, production time for completed films had been compressed to one-twentieth of what it would take on Earth, but this timeline still didn’t satisfy him.

His daily survival cost was ten million, and waiting for scheduling was both a waste of life and money.

Seeing the other party didn’t immediately agree, Colin smiled gently.

For small and medium enterprises just starting out, this total package price for post-production was indeed frighteningly high.

Having dealt with many founders of such small entertainment companies, Colin offered his sincere advice:

“If Director Fang has concerns about the budget, I can recommend Mimage FX. That company has been providing outsourcing services for us long-term, and their technical capabilities are quite reliable. Their quote would be less than one-fifth of ours.”

The other party’s fingers were loosely interlaced, clearly not having taken in his suggestion. Just as Colin began to feel puzzled, he heard Fang Zhuo speak:

“It’s not about the price, it’s about the time.”

Time? What’s wrong with the time?

Their company had over a thousand employees. Aside from being slightly more expensive, no client had ever complained about their efficiency before.

Even if he couldn’t afford it, there was no need to make such an excuse. The expressions of other team members gradually turned serious, everyone silently assuming this deal was about to fall through.

Fang Zhuo: “I’ll add twenty million as an expedited fee. I want the completed film within seventy-two hours.”

Colin was momentarily stunned, not expecting the other party to actually be criticizing the timeline. He explained: “Director Fang, we don’t just handle business orders from Mega-Entertainment alone.”

“Our technical staff are divided into three teams, and all three teams currently have other movies and TV dramas in production. This really isn’t about money…”

Hearing this response, Fang Zhuo knew it was indeed about money.

He continued raising his offer: “Sixty million.”

The business department team members in the conference room widened their eyes.

Colin was the first to stand up, shaking Fang Zhuo’s hand: “Very well, Director Fang. The total package price will be one hundred forty million six hundred thousand. We’ll deliver the initial version of the completed film to you within seventy-two hours after receiving the complete raw footage. The contract will be sent to your Light Brain shortly.”

A little bit witnessed everything: [Haven’t seen such an impressive face-changing act in a long time]

Fang Zhuo: [If you gave me enough money, I guarantee I could change faces faster than him]

A little bit seemed somewhat embarrassed: [Host, although I can’t directly give you cash, I have the authority to provide you with small loans. A little hint – after this repayment, your borrowing limit will increase]

Fang Zhuo coldly rejected A little bit’s offer: [Thanks but not really needed. Press T to unsubscribe from loan sharks]

The conference room door opened again, bumping into two employees who had been eavesdropping outside. The crowd gathered in the break room had only grown larger, and everyone witnessed the usually stern Colin unusually bowing and escorting Fang Zhuo out.

“Every time Team Leader Colin comes out of the conference room with that obsequious expression, I know we bottom-level worker bees are about to start overtime again.”

“What does that mean? Did our company really take on Mega-Entertainment’s short drama?”
“No way, that crappy show wants us to do post-production? Xiao Li, weren’t you just inside? What’s really going on?”

“Don’t ask me… So much money, so much money. There are so many rich people in this world, why can’t I be one of them? The rush fee alone is almost equal to the regular production cost…”

“??? Did I really get the hot gossip first? Damn, if only I could have half of either Director Fang’s money or his looks…”

On the evening of the signing day, Fang Zhuo had several entertainment industry gossip accounts release redacted versions of the contract.

The online discussion about the short drama’s quality was already heated on StarNet, and this ambiguous contract made the controversy even more mysterious.

Suddenly, related topics across all platforms exploded with fierce debates. In recent days, both sides had reached the point of making bets and swearing oaths against each other.

Neutral observers were all waiting for the official release date to prove the other side wrong, and this sentiment reached its peak when Giant Entertainment officially announced the broadcast time.

[Stop arguing everyone, Great-Grandmother will be released on Giant Short Drama APP tomorrow. Even if I’m nailed in my coffin, I’ll have my grandson burn it for me to watch]

[Support FlowlineIC and Teacher Zhang Kaigang in suing for defamation. With things having reached this point, they’re guaranteed to win any lawsuit]

[You said yourself they’d definitely win if they sued. Since neither side has sent legal letters, doesn’t that prove Mega-Entertainment is genuinely collaborating with them? At least the contract looks real – it’s identical to the template FlowlineIC uses with other film distribution companies]

[…Would you rather believe your FZ gege invested 300 million in a short drama, or believe that I’m Qin Shi Huang?]

[Fans of Mega-Entertainment don’t need to wait until they’re old – we can start selling them health supplements now. You might lose your intelligence, but I’ll gain my sales targets]

[It premieres at noon tomorrow, can we please calm down in the comments?]

Even before noon arrived, the hashtag #ShortDramaGreatGrandmotherPremiere firmly occupied the top spot on trending searches.

Not just web dramas – even New Year’s blockbuster movies hadn’t received this level of public attention.

And at 11:30 AM, at the critical moment when everyone was eagerly anticipating the short drama, Zhang Kaigang’s official account – which hadn’t been updated for over half a year – suddenly posted an update