Chapter 806: Waiting to make a fool of someone?
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
At night.
At Yan Tianfei's house.
A Bite of China's promo clip appeared on Yan Tianfei's computer screen all of a sudden. He did not watch this clip on the Internet. Rather, it was sent to him by the program team of A Bite of China. Although Old Yan had said that Zhang Ye could make all decisions on the show by himself, Zhang Ye couldn't just leave it at that. What the leader said was his business, but when it came down to it, Zhang Ye still preferred to get official instructions.
When the clip ended.
Yan Tianfei watched it again.
Not long after, he watched it for the third time and he occasionally frowned, at times feeling doubtful.
A middle-aged woman called out from the living room. It sounded like she was nagging him. "What are you doing, Old Yan? Why aren't you coming out for dinner?"
Yan Tianfei replied, "I'll come out in a while."
The door opened and his wife entered the room. "What are you watching?"
Yan Tianfei answered in an odd manner, "It's the promotional video of our documentary."
"The documentary that was made by Zhang Ye?" His wife asked, "Is it good?"
Yan Tianfei hesitated for a while, then said as he shook his head, "I'm not sure. Anyway, this documentary is quite different from what we've imagined. In the past, no one has actually shot a documentary this way before."
His wife remarked, "No matter how he films it, it's still a documentary. Don't tell me that he can make a documentary that is like a variety show?"
Upon hearing his wife saying that, Yan Tianfei couldn't help but sigh. "He can already produce such a good documentary on his first time directing it. Hai, with Little Zhang's directing abilities, it is indeed a pity that he came to our department. Those bunch of idiots at Central TV Department 1 have really wasted his talents!"
...
Central TV Department 1.
A lot of people left work late because of the Rise to the Dance press conference.
In the conference room, after some of them had finished discussing matters related to Rise to the Dance, the promotional video of A Bite of China coincidentally made its appearance on the Internet as well.
"Eh?"
"They've released the promo video?"
"Play it and let's have a look."
"Yeah, play it. I'm also interested to see what they have been busy shooting for the past two months."
They played the video and projected it onto the big screen in the conference room.
Some of them frowned. "Eh, this doesn't feel like a traditional way of shooting a documentary?"
Another person said in surprise, "When did Zhang Ye possess such a level of skill in editing and control of the imagery? Other than variety shows, he also knows how to make a documentary? Looking at the way it is presented, how can this person be a broadcasting graduate? It wouldn't be too far-fetched to claim that he is directing graduate instead! I-is this really his first time shooting a documentary?"
That's right.
Was this really his first time shooting a documentary?
Everyone had the same question on their minds.
The people present were also fellow professionals, so their judgment was naturally different from others. From just a few scenes, they could already see the standard of this director. Some of them even thought that if Rise to the Dance were given to Zhang Ye from the start, it might have been more suitable than getting Xu Yipeng and Chen Ye to handle it. Even if they knew that Xu Yipeng was capable, even if Xu Yipeng tried his best to prove this point at the press conference earlier, it could not change the judgment of some people regarding the difference in directing ability of Zhang Ye and Xu Yipeng. It was because Xu Yipeng's directing ability at variety shows was still unknown and uncertain. But Zhang Ye did not need to prove anything anymore, because everyone knew very well that Zhang Ye was the executive director of the top-rated show in viewership in the variety world.
However, Jiang Yuan shook his head and commented, "This is just playing to the gallery. The only differences from a traditional documentary are the usage of HD equipment and giving the subjects a closeup framing and doing more long takes."
"Yes, it is indeed as Director Jiang has said."
"No matter how beautiful the imagery is, this is still just a documentary."
"Even if he can film the cuisine and present it attractively on screen, it's still useless."
This was also the first time that they were seeing the true face of Zhang Ye's documentary. They had no choice but to admit that it was indeed different from what they had expected. However, even if it varied a lot from their expectations, from the day that Zhang Ye left Central TV Department 1 and transferred to Department 14, no one ever treated Zhang Ye as a competitor anymore. Zhang Ye has already gone to an obscure documentary channel with the lowest viewership ratings at Central TV. From that moment, Zhang Ye had already lost the right to compete with them. This applied all the same even though he was the best variety show director in the industry.
...
In the program team office of Rise to the Dance.
Everyone was curiously watching the promotional video of Department 14.
Xu Yipeng smiled and said, "It's nothing much."
After watching it, Chen Ye said, "I thought they could do something entirely new with the documentary, but even if the shooting techniques used are different, even if they use HD video cameras, it's still nothing but a documentary."
Previously, some of them were worried that Zhang Ye would spend a lot of money to invite some celebrities to lend their support by helping to create a style similar to a variety show. But now, they realized they had thought too much. Zhang Ye was truly shooting a documentary, and no matter how different this documentary looked from the others, a documentary was still a documentary. It wasn't something that was worthy of all that attention.
...
Meanwhile.
On the Internet, many netizens also watched the promotional video of A Bite of China.
"Wah, Zhang Ye's documentary is here!"
"Teacher Zhang has already disappeared for two months! I've almost forgotten about that esteemed person!"
"Zhang Ye is back?"
"Holy shit, he really went to make a documentary? I thought those were just rumors!"
"He really went and did it. There, isn't the new show that's almost out A Bite of China? The title is so weird. It doesn't sound too interesting."
"I think it's good and very beautifully shot as well!"
"The imagery is really clear. Was this shot on HD video cameras?"
"There's even someone who would use HD equipment to shoot a documentary? What a reckless waste of the equipment!"
"I guess it's OK. I don't know much about documentaries, so I can't tell the difference between what it's nice and what's not, because who would have the time to watch a documentary? But since this is a work by Zhang Ye, no matter how uninteresting it is, I will definitely still give it a watch. If it were filmed by other people, I wouldn't even take a look!"
"That's right. I'll definitely watch Zhang Ye's new show, but I'm not expecting much."
"I'm not going to watch it as I still prefer watching variety shows. Recently, I've been looking forward to Rise to the Dance. Sect Leader Huo will finally be making a rare appearance onscreen as a guest coach."
The facts had proven before that Zhang Ye's fan base was pretty massive. Even if he had disappeared for a full two months, even if no one usually paid any attention to documentaries, once the promotion for A Bite of China was released, everyone would still immediately discuss it eagerly. This was the influence of a B-list celebrity, not to mention that Zhang Ye was also not just an ordinary B-list celebrity. With his legendary feats, even the current first place of the B-list celebrity rankings could not compare with him!
Yao Jiancai helped to forward it.
Dong Shanshan Liked it on Weibo.
A portion of those currently popular contestants of The Voice who were groomed to fame by Zhang Ye also forwarded it in succession. If not for Zhang Ye falling out with Central TV Department 1, leading to many public figures having concerns about that, there would be definitely many more people giving their Likes.
Of course, Fan Wenli was not one of those who had any concerns. She did not seem to be bothered that she was currently working together with Central TV Department 1 and gave her well wishes as well: "Hope you can continue to create another glorious achievement."
The netizens actively commented.
"Eh, continue to create another glorious achievement? Teacher Fan is really humorous."
"That's right. This time he really won't be able to continue his legend any longer!"
"Teacher Zhang's glorious achievement was getting 2% of the nationwide viewership ratings. But Teacher Zhang only has a documentary as his trump card now, so how is he going to have any glorious achievements with that?"
"But Sister Fan is really terrific. Although she is currently working with Central TV Department 1, she did not forget to give her well wishes to Director Zhang. Here's a Like for you!"
"Teacher Fan is such a loyal friend! Unlike some of the contestants of The Voice. Even though Director Zhang was the one who groomed them, when they heard that Director Zhang and Central TV were stuck in a deadlock, they immediately pretended not to know him. What's with that!"
"We can't blame them. After all, Central TV Department 1 is in the favorable position."
"Director Zhang is really being forced to his limits!"
At this moment, the first promotional poster of A Bite of China was released!
When the netizens saw the poster, they started heaping praise on it and felt that it had an artistic feel. Then, when they noticed the words on the poster, they were stunned!
What's this?
Is this for real??
Besides the advertising slogan on the poster, there was a sentence in small black words—See you on December 10th at 8 PM.
"On the 10th? 8 PM?"
"I'm gonna faint! Why does it look kinda familiar?"
"Isn't that the fucking broadcast time of Rise to the Dance?"
"Dammit! A Bite of China is going to compete with Rise to the Dance! Zhang Ye is picking a fight with Central TV Department 1 again! Can someone tell me that this is not true?!"
"What? Director Zhang must have gone crazy!"
"Zhang Ye just returned to Beijing, right? He already stirring up trouble right after getting back?"
"This is definitely Zhang Ye's style! This is just like in the past. Does he intend to go on a face-smacking spree again? The title of Face-smacking Zhang is not for nothing!"
"Fuck, face smacking my ass. The broadcast is at the same time? Isn't he just sending himself to their doorsteps and letting them smack his face?!"
"Indeed, what is Director Zhang thinking?"
"How can a documentary possibly beat a variety show?!"
"Are we overthinking it? Maybe he does not have such an intention? Maybe it's just a coincidence?"
"How can there be such a coincidence?!"
Zhang Ye's fans were stunned!
The netizens observing the commotion were also stunned!
When this news got out, the topic immediately received a lot of attention and was constantly being spread!
...
Zhang Ye's cell phone started ringing.
It was the shocked voice of Hu Fei. "Little Zhang, what are you trying to do?"
Zhang Ye laughed and said: "I'm not trying to do anything."
Hu Fei wondered: "If you weren't trying to do anything, why would you want to broadcast the documentary at the same time slot as Rise to the Dance?"
Zhang Ye said amused: "Then what do you think I'm trying to do?"
Hu Fei replied: "How would I know what you are trying to do!"
Not long after, a call from Dong Shanshan arrived.
Dong Shanshan immediately asked when the call connected: "Old classmate, what is the meaning of all this?"
"I don't mean anything," Zhang Ye answered while laughing.
After a short silence, as though she had considered for a long while, Dong Shanshan said: "You better not tell me that you want to compete for a higher viewership rating than Rise to the Dance."
Zhang Ye did not answer directly. "What do you think?"
Dong Shanshan repeated: "How would I know what you're thinking? Don't tell me it's just a coincidence?"
Zhang Ye laughed heartily at that. "Yes, it's just a coincidence."
Dong Shanshan stated: "Both the date and time of the premiere are just a coincidence? Who would believe that!"
In any case, it didn't matter what was said anymore. The date was already set and that was something that no one could change!
The Internet had a field day.
Discussions were going on all across the industry!
Some were mocking Zhang Ye for being overconfident, some were gloating and waiting to see the fun. It seemed like the entire world was waiting for Zhang Ye and Central TV Documentary Channel to make a fool of themselves!