Chapter 30

After Guo Jingze left, Lee Jung-hui, who had just returned, didn't have time to rest because Ahn Byung-ki called him to TUBE Entertainment.

Since the contract was a performance-based one, and the box office of "The Curse" was related to the matter he had just discussed with Guo Jingze, Lee Jung-hui had no reason to slack off. However, Kim Tae-hee was clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

Rushing over, he found not only Ahn Byung-ki in the production room, but also Ko Jak-dong. Seeing him appear, Ko Jak-dong first greeted him with a smile, "Congratulations to our little genius for graduating with a Ph.D.!"

On the other side, Ahn Byung-ki sighed, "I really believe now that some people's brains are indeed smarter than the average person's!"

"It's just being good at studying!" Lee Jung-hui himself took it very lightly. Intelligence and emotional intelligence should be consistent; otherwise, it would be like Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory," who has extremely high IQ but extremely low EQ. If it weren't for the dramatic effect, his life would probably be just as tragic.

"How about it?" After the pleasantries, Lee Jung-hui looked at Ahn Byung-ki, "When will this be finished, and how is the film's promotional plan arranged?"

Ko Jak-dong and Ahn Byung-ki exchanged a smile, "He looks more like the producer of this movie, or rather, he seems more concerned about this movie than I am..." After a brief pause, he asked Ahn Byung-ki, "Why do you think that is?"

Ahn Byung-ki laughed but didn't answer. Instead, he pulled Lee Jung-hui to sit down and then played the completed post-production part while saying, "Take a look first..."

Lee Jung-hui and Ahn Byung-ki already had a good rapport, so he didn't hesitate and watched quietly. However, not long after it started, he saw a problem. He paused it and pointed to Hwang Jung-eum's suddenly opened eyes, saying, "Here, the scene where we sewed the eyes was incredibly realistic and shocking, but this part where they open is too fake!"

When Ko Jak-dong also leaned in, he explained, "The special effects are too poor. The black lines are clearly floating on the surface and lack the realism of being embedded in the flesh. This will discount the initial effect..."

Ahn Byung-ki nodded and turned to look at Ko Jak-dong, who also agreed. Therefore, Lee Jung-hui continued, "Also, if the lines had a tearing sensation or a slow-motion visual of them snapping, and then added some blood splattering, it would be even more perfect. Of course, at the moment they snap, which is also when the eyes open, there should be a shocking sound effect to match..."

Ahn Byung-ki laughed, patted his shoulder, and praised, "It seems you really learned a lot this time!" On the side, Ko Jak-dong was smiling bitterly, "This means we'll have to spend more money again!"

"This is the most important scene at the beginning. Even if it costs more, you can make it back!" Lee Jung-hui gave him a disdainful look and then pressed play again.

Next, there were many issues with the special effects in several scenes. For example, in the village where the mysterious deaths occurred, the blood flowing everywhere was also very fake and overdone. The entire screen was almost filled with blood, which was unnecessary and would instead weaken the shock and eeriness of the scene.

Besides the special effects, there was the music. The main issue with the music was its monotony. For instance, in the opening scene in the morgue, there was only the simplest thunder and rain sounds.

Remember, for a horror film, besides the lighting and cinematography that deliberately create an eerie and frightening atmosphere, the music is also a very important element.

The creaking of doors, the thudding of footsteps, the slight, sharp friction of pulling a drawer, and the almost omnipresent, untraceable eerie wind sounds, when well-integrated at the beginning, can best render the eerie and terrifying atmosphere of the entire scene.

And this was just the beginning. Throughout the entire film, all the scary and eerie scenes had the problem of monotonous music. Actually, many of these were not difficult, such as the ringing of a telephone, the sound of swimming in a pool, the breathing in an empty room, and so on. These are all means that can be utilized, and even a slight variation can make a big difference.

Finally, there was the editing. The version that had been cut was somewhat obscure, the parts that should have been fast were not fast, and the parts that should have been slow were not slow. For example, the scenes of Hui-jin and Sun-ae interacting at school were secondary and could have been shown in quick flashes, but the scene where Hwang Jung-eum, the main character played by Eun-ju, appeared was deliberately shot as a long shot to pique curiosity and create anticipation, but it was cut into several quick flashes.

Also, the eerie events in the village and the scene where Hui-jin's father drowned were eerie and required more shots to render, but they were casually glossed over during editing, completely missing the point...

It had already been over three hours, and it was dark outside. Lee Jung-hui finally finished watching the edited version.

Before coming, he had sat on a plane for over ten hours and chatted with Guo Jingze for more than an hour. At this point, he was really tired, his eyes half-closed, but he was still talking, "In short, I have to say something a bit impolite, but the work you did this time is not that good!"

This time, it was Ahn Byung-ki's turn to smile bitterly, while Ko Jak-dong smiled, "Thank goodness we called you!"

"Director Ko, don't just say it with your mouth!" Lee Jung-hui gave him an annoyed look, "There's no coffee or snacks here, and it's also time to eat, isn't it?"

Actually, what he was more concerned about was that he had raised so many suggestions, and Ahn Byung-ki and others had acknowledged them, but the demonic entertainment in his head had no reaction at all. He had wasted half a day.

Perhaps, he could only hope for a surprise at the box office!

Of course, the current Ko Jak-dong was very generous. After he proactively made the request, he immediately waved his hand and led them straight to a restaurant.

TUBE Entertainment was on Chungmuro 3-gil, where there were no shortage of places to eat. After going downstairs, they followed Ko Jak-dong a few steps and entered a restaurant. The owner greeted Ko Jak-dong familiarly, indicating that this was a place he often visited.

"Today, you're the guest of honor, what do you want to eat?" In the private room, Ko Jak-dong handed the menu directly to Lee Jung-hui, who declined and passed it to Ahn Byung-ki, smiling, "I just want meat, of course, it has to be cooked..."

This made everyone laugh, and then he looked at Ko Jak-dong seriously, "Now the film is almost edited, but I haven't heard any news about the promotion..."

Ko Jak-dong took the menu from Ahn Byung-ki, handed it to Kim Tae-hee next to Lee Jung-hui, and then continued, "You know we're a small company, which means we can't have a large promotional budget. And there are still two months before the release..."

Lee Jung-hui understood. Only the big studios could carry out continuous and extensive promotional campaigns, starting from the project's inception, hyping up the casting, plot, and other aspects. But small companies, due to financial constraints, often could only do limited promotion in the month or even shorter period before the release.

After that, it would depend on the quality of the film. If the film was good, it would naturally generate positive word-of-mouth and media coverage. If it was bad, it would quickly fade away, and a poor box office was inevitable.

"Oh," Lee Jung-hui frowned and asked, "Can you tell me your specific plan?"

Ko Jak-dong didn't hesitate, nodded, and answered, "Actually, there's nothing too special. There will be a small premiere, a media and audience screening, interviews with the main actors in magazines, radio, and TV, and posters in theaters. As for TV ads, that's not something we can afford..."

"What about the internet?" After he finished speaking, Lee Jung-hui looked at him with a frown. Ko Jak-dong nodded, "We'll also have some articles posted online..."

Just a few articles! Lee Jung-hui smiled helplessly, it seemed they didn't take this aspect seriously. No wonder, the internet in Korea was still in its early stages, and people hadn't yet discovered its huge influence.

On the other side, Ahn Byung-ki seemed to sense something from Lee Jung-hui's expression and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?" This immediately perked up Ko Jak-dong, who looked at him with bright eyes.

Lee Jung-hui found it a bit amusing, as if he were a savior. Perhaps, his performance today was a bit too dazzling.

"Have you thought about posting a video or an article and then starting a topic..." Seeing that even Kim Tae-hee looked puzzled, Lee Jung-hui had to explain in detail, "For example, I post a picture of a boy standing on the ground looking at the blue sky, and in the sky, behind the white clouds, a corner of a shiny golden object with mysterious patterns is revealed. Wouldn't you be curious about what that golden object is, and then start guessing?"

When the photo is rare and eerie, and the corner of the golden object is sufficiently mysterious and beautiful, more people will pay attention, guess, and have their own theories. In the end, it will create a sensation...

Ko Jak-dong suddenly slapped his thigh, "Right, that means many people will know..." He paused and then quickly turned to look at Lee Jung-hui, frowning slightly, "But our movie doesn't have anything that strange and unusual, does it?"

Lee Jung-hui laughed, "Does a horror movie lack strange and unusual things?" After a brief pause, he took a bite of a chicken leg and continued, "For example, the scene where Eun-ju, as a child, watches Hui-jin's father drown. If edited cleverly, it can make the entire scene very eerie. Then, the scene where the accident happens in the village, when the eerie Eun-ju looks at the equally eerie and bloody scene, isn't that a highlight?"

At this point, Kim Tae-hee pinched him. She had seen that scene, but he was still munching on the chicken leg.

Lee Jung-hui grinned at her and continued, "With the highlights, we start to find some internet trolls to spread these highlights, and then word of mouth will spread, making more people aware. Finally, when they know these highlights are from our movie, wouldn't they be interested in going to the cinema to see what really happened?"

"I definitely want to see it!" Ko Jak-dong immediately affirmed Lee Jung-hui's idea and then looked at him with a smile, "Tell me more. By the way, this shouldn't cost too much, right?"

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end