Chapter 22

The process of animation production is very complex and progresses slowly, completely different from the shooting of live-action films and TV series.

In live-action films and TV series, once a project is launched, the entire team works together, day and night, to complete the project in a few months with a burst of effort.

But animation projects are not like that.

This is a process that spans two to three years, or even four to five years, akin to car manufacturing, where the production process is meticulously detailed to every minor step, with each step interconnected. Each person is responsible for one or several steps, and once their part is done, their involvement in the project ends. To see the final product, they have to wait for several years.

Live-action films and TV series are more artistic, while animation is more industrial.

Zhang Tan is now facing such an issue. After the scriptwriting is completed, his task in "Under Tianyu Mountain" is basically over.

After the scriptwriting phase, the next step is the drawing and production process, which has nothing to do with him.

Zhang Tan would like to participate in the entire process and understand the complete workflow of an animation production, but the process is too long. Even if "Under Tianyu Mountain" is a seasonal release, the first episode won't be available online until the end of the year, which is still more than half a year away.

Luo Ming, as the chief editor, still needs to follow up on the next phase and deal with various temporary changes with the director. He needs to stay with the team.

As an assistant screenwriter, Zhang Tan has nothing to do.

With his workload lightened, Zhang Tan focused on managing his public account. Over the next period, he released five movie analysis videos under the name "Zhang Tan's Marvels."

Thanks to the recommendation from the Xilixi website and the consistently high quality of the videos, Zhang Tan's followers increased from 80,000 to 120,000, making him a somewhat popular small UP main.

However, no advertisers had approached him yet.

Someone else did, though.

A real estate agency called Zhang Tan, asking if he was interested in selling Xiaohongma Academy.

Upon receiving the call, Zhang Tan's first thought was not whether he wanted to sell, but how the caller knew his phone number.

"Where did you get my phone number from?"

"Sir, you registered an account on the XXX real estate agency website."

"I didn't fill in my phone number, did I?"

"Yes, you might have forgotten."

Zhang Tan was unsure, so he didn't dwell on the issue. He chatted with the caller to get a general idea of the market, neither agreeing nor refusing to sell.

After hanging up, he felt something was off. He opened his real estate agency account, which clearly did not have his phone number filled in. The caller had lied, and he didn't know how they got his phone number, let alone how they knew he wanted to sell the property.

Personal information is really not protected at all.

He got up to boil water and make tea, opened the office window to let in some fresh air. The spider plant he was growing had just been watered, with lush green leaves and new buds sprouting, full of vitality. The cactus was the easiest to take care of, needing no attention, with a "keep away" demeanor.

Recently, Luo Ming spent little time in the office, often taking his computer to stay with the director and other project members. Zhang Tan followed for a few days, observing and learning.

One day, just before quitting time, Luo Ming returned on time and saw that Zhang Tan was still there. He said, "Are you free? Let's have dinner together tonight."

Zhang Tan had planned to go to "Xinfukoufu" again for dinner, so he nodded and said, "Sure."

"Do you like seafood?"

"I do."

"Great, let's have seafood. I know a place with excellent food. Let's take my car."

"I drove here today."

Luo Ming was taken aback, knowing that Zhang Tan usually took the subway to work and assuming he was short on money, being a recent college graduate.

They arrived at the restaurant, ordered their food, and halfway through the meal, Luo Ming said, "Now that the 'Under Tianyu Mountain' project is on track and the script is polished, your workload will decrease."

Zhang Tan nodded and said, "Suddenly having free time is indeed a bit hard to get used to. I need to participate more in projects to gain experience."

Luo Ming said, "I heard the company is starting a new project. Are you interested?"

Zhang Tan finished his mouthful, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said firmly, "Of course, I'm interested."

"The company is adapting a manga into an animation. They will soon be selecting people internally to rewrite the script, and the leadership intends to entrust it to new talent as a form of training. If you're interested, I can recommend you to sign up tomorrow."

Zhang Tan understood immediately that experienced and established screenwriters were not interested in such manga adaptation projects, making it suitable for new talent.

For him now, it was indeed very suitable, so he didn't hesitate and said, "I want to try."

"Try it, then. Your abilities are sufficient. I'll recommend you as soon as we start work tomorrow. There shouldn't be a problem, but you need to be prepared for competition. There will definitely be others signing up, and the final selection will depend on individual capabilities."

Luo Ming understood the upper management's intention to use this small project to identify new screenwriting talent and see who stands out.

Zhang Tan refilled Luo Ming's juice and said, "As long as there's a chance, I'm not afraid of competition."

Luo Ming said, "The manga to be adapted is called 'The Lantern Igniter.' Have you heard of it?"

Zhang Tan said, "I've heard of it, but I haven't read it."

"Study it well."

After dinner, they parted ways.

On his way home, Zhang Tan drove through Xichang'an Street, which was bustling with people. There were casually dressed men and women, as well as formally dressed office workers who had just finished work.

The bright lights and lively atmosphere, with handsome men and beautiful women, made people reluctant to go home.

Zhang Tan drove slowly and noticed a familiar figure on the side of the road, a woman carrying a small stool in one hand and a cloth bag in the other.

He had seen this figure at the entrance of Xiaohongma Academy a few days ago, the aunt of Xiaobai.

However, he wasn't sure if it was her, as he could only see her back and not her face. That day, he had only seen the back of Xiaobai's aunt.

For so many days, he had never met Xiaobai's uncle or aunt. Whenever he came to pick her up, it was already late at night, and he was already asleep.

He watched the woman, who he suspected was Xiaobai's aunt, as she stopped in front of a jewelry store, placed the stool on the ground, and started soliciting customers to shine their shoes.

Someone from the jewelry store came out and spoke to her, and she moved to a different spot, away from the entrance.

He parked his car in the parking lot and walked through the alleys. Under the streetlights, adults and children were sitting and chatting, with cats and dogs running around their feet.

Someone saw Zhang Tan and greeted him, "Young Master Zhang is back."

Zhang Tan smiled and responded, "Just call me Zhang Tan."

As he greeted people and left, he heard them discussing him, saying how much he had changed and whether it was really him...