Chapter 58: Ten Military Postings
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Yanzhou’s military turned a deaf ear to all the questions and debates online. They did not concern themselves with the buzz. All they wanted to do was show off their military might to spur on more citizens of Yanzhou to enlist, instead of coming up with other methods.
When the recruitment video was released on the internet and went viral, it brought about a sense of patriotism. Duan Qianji’s husband, Hong Lou, also received a commendation during one of the meetings.
Just as people needed clothes, a video required accompanying music. Yanzhou’s publicity film could not match up with Rongzhou’s military recruitment video might in terms of the equipment and scale shown, but the other continent’s recruitment videos were not as memorable, and this was largely due to their inferior soundtrack.
This was the reason companies spent large sums of money to produce custom-made music for their movies, games, and advertisements. The returns were way greater, far more than the average person could imagine.
Yanzhou’s military had shown itself in a different light, and Silver Wing Media had benefited from it too.
On the other continents, protectionist measures and censorship were put in place with regard to film, music and other entertainment. Stringent measures were in place to protect the interests of their own continent’s entertainment industry. However, the measures only affected commercial items. Yanzhou’s recruitment video did not fall under this category. There were no obstacles preventing it from being viewed by anyone.
Silver Wing Media also took the opportunity announce themselves globally. If not for that short four-minute soundtrack in the recruitment video, the series by the virtual idol Polar Light would not have spread so quickly.
The soundtrack spurred on many people from other continents to search for information regarding Polar Light and the "Period of Destruction" series.
Gaining publicity for his work, and at the same time advertising for his wife, Hong Lou was very pleased. This was a win-win situation.
Even Leizhou’s own ‘God of War’ had an increased amount of discussions and attention. Zaro’s agent and the rest of Wireless Media grabbed the opportunity and promoted the film with added effort. They even managed to deny "King of Snipers" the award for "Best Movie Soundtrack," and they watched as "King of Snipers" kept dropping points down to a measly eight.
Before the premieres of the two movies, most people were certain that "King of Snipers" would run away with quite a number of awards at Leizhou’s biggest movie awards event. However, when "King of Snipers" and "God of War" were simultaneously screened, many people feared that "King of Snipers" would lose the "Best Movie Soundtrack" award.
Everyone knew that a "crappy film" like "God of War" had no way of winning any awards. It was unlikely that Yanzhou’s Film Association would give the movie any awards, as they felt it was beneath them. However, if they were to award "Best Movie Soundtrack" to "King of Snipers," it would certainly cause an uproar. Many people could tell that Yanzhou’s Film Association would instead hand over the award to a different movie, hence avoiding the head-to-head clash of soundtracks.
The investors behind "King of Snipers" were raging. After all, the soundtrack was one of the top priorities. They had put in a considerable sum to hire a celebrated band to produce their soundtrack. Yet it had all gone to waste, as their plans for the award were wrecked by that imbecile Zaro.
Some investors had also hired a bunch of professionals to stir and discredit Zaro and his team in the media. However, Zaro hit back with a public interview.
"Yes. We may be smelly dogshit. But even a pile of dogshit has its merits. Putting in so much effort on a comprehensive effort to discredit Wireless Media is a despicable means. Rather, that effort could have been put to a self-reflection of your flaws and faults and finding out where you went wrong. Just being arrogant everyday and you expect to be the undisputed best?"
For all those that criticized "God of War" and said that the ones who enjoyed "God of War" were handicapped, Zaro shredded them. "Just watching and criticizing a movie makes you feel all superior? If you're that capable, why not join the military and embark on a trip to search for new resources?"
Zaro was not afraid of any criticism. No matter how vicious the comments were, he paid no heed. This "crappy film" he had starred in had a soundtrack that had denied the other side an award. Although not being able to compete in terms of box office sales, ratings, or awards, denying them the "Best Movie Soundtrack" award was satisfactory and made him happy. It was a heroic deed. He deserved a raise!
Zaro’s agent was equally ecstatic. Not just because they had managed to deny the award but because the film had broken even and made a profit of more than 60 million! Purely profits!
The revenue might be a small matter in other companies in the film industry, but given Zaro’s tendency to splash out cash to make a crappy movie, the target every time was to break even. This time around, after deducting the expenses, promotion fees, and salaries, they had profited more than 60 million! This was a tremendous improvement. Once in awhile, Zaro’s agent wondered if it would have been even better had they managed to secure the rights to "Mission." Although he would quickly forget about it and shift it to the back of his mind.
In Yanzhou.
Fang Zhao paid no mind to the happenings in the global entertainment circle, instead leading his team to work. Even if Duan Qianji had not said anything, he had already decided to complete production for the fourth movement before Memorial Day so the entire team could have a long and relaxing Memorial holiday.
Since the rights to the third movement already belonged to Yanzhou’s recruitment video, for the masses, they could only listen to the third movement by viewing the video online. Television stations, studios, advertising companies, etc. were not authorized to play it. Doing so would be an infringement and the offending party would have to go to court.
The rights of the third movement had been sold to the Yanzhou military for its use in their recruitment video. Yet Silver Wing Media did not receive a single cent, because Duan Qianji knew that, no matter how much the military offered, it would not even come close to what Zaro was willing to pay. Instead, she used the rights of the song to exchange for other benefits. Some were for the benefit of the entire Silver Wing Media and some were specifically just for Fang Zhao.
Fang Zhao was giving Pang Pusong some vocal coaching when he was summoned by Duan Qianji to the top floor office.
"I have two issues I wish to speak to you about." Instead of having her assistants inform Fang Zhao, she chose to speak with Fang Zhao personally, as it was important.
"The first matter. Yanzhou Millitary’s recruitment video’s global circulation brought a lot of attention to the third movement." Duan Qianji opened a projection and showed Fang Zhao a screenshot of an online discussion.
Now that the third movement had garnered much reputation, more people realized that they did not understand the lyrics of a portion of the song.
"Does anyone know what it is? What language is it?"
"Preliminary investigations have shown that it is some sort of ancient language. Possibly from an era before the end of days. We need someone to shed light on the matter."
"Anyone online who has studied linguistics? Please explain!"
…
What Duan Qianji showed Fang Zhao was an online discussion where people from every continent discussed the lyrics, and it was even picked up by the media.
Many people who studied music knew that songs were mostly expressed in a few globally fashionable languages. Just that, when the languages mixed and got complicated, it was harder to understand the meaning of the song. Thus, not many people would actually try to decipher the meanings behind the many languages.
Still, no matter how many languages were used, there still existed music that was beyond the control of languages—using an unknown language to convey the song. To put it bluntly, it was self-created musical language.
This sort of language on its own had no significance. Normally, it would just be for the sake of complementing the melody. Alternatively, it could be some sort of ancient language that had died out. No matter the reason, it would not be able to clearly express much. But it could convey the feelings that the artist had in mind.
Whatever the reason, when nobody could figure it out, the remaining option was to ask the composer himself. This was the question on the minds of internet users of every continent.
Previously, Duan Qianji had not paid much attention. She had felt that with regards to Fang Zhao’s composition, lyrics were secondary. The composition was what attracted people. Therefore, she did not find any issue with the lyrics and hence paid no heed. It was only after the lyrics generated much buzz on the internet that it caught her attention.
"The company plans to keep this matter under tight wraps to deal with the matter. Therefore, whatever the meaning of the third movement, please do not divulge any information. For the time being, do not give an explanation online regarding the lyrics of the third movement," Duan Quanji emphasized in a serious tone.
"Don’t worry about it." Fang Zhao laughed as he continued, "Even I do not know what it means."
‘...’ Duan Qianji thought to herself, Is he messing with me?!
"I heard it before and felt that it suited this part, so I decided to use it. As for the meaning, I can’t help you there," Fang Zhao said.
After the end of days, many dialects and languages went extinct. When Fang Zhao had been composing the score, he remembered the words and sounds he'd heard during the all-out war. Some were farewells to family and friends, and others were the roars of battle cries. The people they came from no longer existed. Fang Zhao did not know what they meant, but when he was composing, the words came to him as he was writing the score. Thus, during recording, he then instructed Pang Pusong on how to sing them.
Duan Qianji just stared at Fang Zhao, seemingly finding it hard to speak.
She had no way of understanding what went through the mind of a talented and eccentric artist.
Perhaps only such a person could produce such astonishing music.
"Cough… That's settled, then. Now for the second matter." Duan Qianji scrutinized the expressions on Fang Zhao’s face as she said, "'Mission' belonged to Silver Wing Media and the rights were given to Yanzhou Military’s publicity division; we did not charge them a single cent."
Although the matter of entrusting the rights of the third movement to the military had already been discussed with Fang Zhao and he had given his approval, Duan Qianji still felt the need to explain the situation clearly to Fang Zhao. From the looks of it, Fang Zhao was still young and might not have thought things through and instead held back his misgivings. Duan Qianji did not want such a promising talent to the company harboring any doubts.
"Of course, it was not entirely free, in a sense. We managed to obtained quite a bit of privileges, some that cannot be bought." Duan Qianji watched Fang Zhao’s expression and behavior closely as she spoke. Yet from the start, Fang Zhao had projected an image of cool and calm, as if the two were just engaged in idle gossip.
Duan Quanji had been overthinking things. Fang Zhao was not really fazed by this matter. He had already given his approval. All he had wanted was for the few compositions of his to see the light of day. Profit-wise, it was just not as great as the previous installments.
Also, Fang Zhao believed that, as a business person, Duan Quanji knew best how to receive the most profit. Thus, he was not worried about losing out. Duan Quanji would also not have any shortage of cash, and receiving privileges, as she'd mentioned, could not be bought easily.
"There are some things that I am not liable to tell you, but I can tell you this." Duan Quanji chuckled. "Other than privileges, I took the opportunity to obtain ten positions for you. Military positions."
In the New Era, there were some things that were unavoidable. Military conscription was one. There were different types of soldiers, different divisions, and different vocations. Some would be assigned to a certain squadron and sent to a remote planet to mine for resources, whereas other positions might require doing simple administrative work in a city without the need for active duty.
Duan Qianji saw that this had piqued Fang Zhao’s interest and continued, "I have checked up on the Polar Light production team. The others completed their military service during their time at university. Fang Zhao, only you have not completed the mandatory service. When you decide to enlist, you can select a posting they have given—pick one that has rather light duties and even lets you stay in Qi’an. During that one year of military service, you can continue to compose your music without many disturbances. Of these types of postings, I have obtained ten!"
This was her preferential treatment toward Fang Zhao and a chance to do him a favour.