It’s almost April.
The temperature began to rise, and Gu Xue finally no longer needed to wear that thick scarf when going out. Although her sister Gu Rou was quite worried and had told her to keep warm, Gu Xue wore the scarf several times and felt that it was no longer necessary.
After spending a winter.
Gu Xue’s cold resistance has become very high.
Now she only wears two things when going out, basically wearing a sweater or a coat.
And feel good.
Take the tram to the studio.
Most people had already gone to work. Gu Xue said hello to everyone she met, then walked into her office and drew a picture of thanks.
Although I lied… No, I asked Sato Ei to share some of the work of drawing thank you pictures, but the number of people raising funds is still increasing, and there are still many days left in a month, and Gu Xue has not finished drawing enough.
The other thing is the express mail.
She also took it apart during this time.
Most of the works sent in by people are actually pretty good, and even if they are bad, they are not much different.
Among them, there was an express message that surprised Gu Xue the most.
Four common large notebooks were sent, all four of them filled with pictures.
From the beginning of what looked like a child’s doodles to the final appearance, the four notebooks clearly record the growth process of this unknown friend.
It’s full of hard work and struggle.
This was also the first person chosen by Gu Xue.
As for the others, she planned to look at them later and choose.
Because Chisa Mihara knocked on the door and told her that the person in charge of the animation peripheral manufacturer who wanted to invest in animation production was waiting for her in the conference room.
Gu Xue must deal with urgent matters first.
Follow Miss Mihara to the door of the conference room.
Gu Xue was about to open the door and go in, but Miss Mihara held her back.
Chisa Mihara helped Gu Xue adjust the collar of her sweater, then opened the door and walked in first.
Gu Xue arrived soon after.
In the conference room.
The person who was waiting was a male. He looked young, probably in his early thirties. Before anyone came in, he was a little reserved. He put his hands on his knees and straightened his waist.
After seeing Gu Xue come in, his eyes lit up, he immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Gu Xue.
“Hello!” The voice was very loud.
“…Hello, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Gu Xue was so frightened that her shoulders shrank, but she quickly calmed down. She bent down slightly, politely returned the greeting, then pulled out her chair and sat down.
After she sat down, the man opposite slowly sat down.
Very humble.
It’s even a bit too humble, as an investor in an animation project.
“This is my business card.” After Gu Xue sat down, the man remembered something. He suddenly opened the skirt of his suit, reached into the inner pocket of the suit, took out a business card, and handed it to Gu Xue cautiously. In front of the snow.
Gu Xue took it with both hands and said awkwardly: “Sorry, the studio has just been established. I don’t have these things. Let’s get down to business, um…”
Gu Xue looked down at the business card and continued.
“Mr. Osawa Ryo from small company.”
“good.”
When Osawa Ryo, who was sitting opposite Gu Xue, heard that he was going to get down to business, his expression immediately straightened up and he said: “I heard that your studio’s crowdfunding for the theatrical animation has reached nearly 800,000 U.S. dollars. I’m here first. Congratulations to you, and then there is the issue of animation production. Let me put it bluntly, we at Small want to participate in the production. We will carefully calculate the specific production budget. The investment ratio will be about 40%, and what we want is ” The permanent right to use the copyright of surrounding images of “Little Witch Academia”.”
Gu Xue didn’t have much reaction, just nodded, and then asked expressionlessly: “A one-shot deal?”
Osawa Ryodao: “Of course it’s not exclusive… You can also license it to other manufacturers in the future, but you need to tell us verbally, and we won’t be stuck with general authorizations. It’s just that in the field of figure peripherals, you need our consent to authorize. “
“…That’s pretty much it.”
Gu Xue curled her lips and said softly.
To be honest, if you make an animation, as long as it is not an original animation and the copyright does not belong to the animation company, the profit will not be very high, because original animation can make money through intellectual property licensing in the long term. As for BDs and the like, no matter how good they are, most of the revenue goes to the producers of the discs and publishers, and the animation producers don’t get much revenue at all.
Unless the animation production company can become the investor with the highest proportion of investment, the income will be considerable.
But this is quite difficult, let alone being original. Originality is actually like a gambler’s stud, full of uncertainties.
And Gu Xue worked hard to obtain the copyright from her old employer, set up a studio with great pains, and now has to struggle to produce a theatrical animation. If the other party asks for the copyright of all surrounding images, she will definitely not would agree.
Because several investors who came to negotiate before had made such requests.
Misawa asked Gu Xue, but Gu Xue simply asked him to refuse. If so, she would rather fund it alone.
Fan pens, coasters, keychains, postcards, etc… these can all be used to collect copyright fees, okay!
I finally got the copyright, confirmed my popularity through overseas broadcasts, and gained a lot of attention from the audience. Seeing that there seemed to be some business opportunities, you, the capital, wanted to come and gain my advantage. Don’t even think about it!
The above are Gu Xue’s true thoughts.
“Our company doesn’t have that big ambition for exclusive use rights.”
Opposite Ryo Osawa seemed to have noticed Gu Xue’s thoughts, and said with a wry smile: “We respect you animation producers. The founder of our company is actually an animation lover, and the reason why our company made such a request is just to It’s just to avoid competition. After all, the market for figures is not small at all, but it’s actually not very big at all… The competition is quite fierce.”
What he said is true. The situation here is similar to that on Earth. There are so-called three companies in the field. Three large companies in this field occupy a large share of the market. A small factory like Small may have to work as an agent for the three major factories, and its life is miserable. It is understandable that it wants to strive for exclusivity in the field of figures to increase its competitiveness.
“Then we have a chance to cooperate.” Gu Xue smiled softly, “But… I want to ask a question, your small company, to be honest, we have investigated it, it seems that the quality of the products is not ideal, and the revenue is also a little The problem is, you still need to invest in animation production at this time…”
Osawa smiled awkwardly: “We have already hired a new prototype master, and the process has also been improved… As for the investment money, you don’t need to worry, we can still afford it. And the reason why we invested in “Little Witch” Academy” because you have taken a fancy to the potential overseas market of “Little Witch Academia”… Many manufacturers have actually seen this, and many manufacturers must have negotiated with you during this time, right?”
Gu Xue hesitated for a moment and nodded, “Yes, but the conditions are quite harsh.”
“Of course, because everyone wants to make money, and you are a newly established studio with no relevant experience. Most of the production funds come from crowdfunding…”
Osawa Ryo smiled, paused for a while, and then continued: “But we are different from small. Don’t worry about this. Let me be honest with you. Our investment this time was not done with the goal of making money at all. We Mainly because we want to prove ourselves. After all, as you said, the quality of our previous products was indeed not ideal. Now if we want to change the minds of our customers, we need a new IP that is popular to launch the product.”
“As for IP, it is too difficult to plan it yourself, and it is full of uncertainty. Small studios like us cannot get involved in other popular or foreseeable animated works. As for your studio’s “Little Witch Academia”, The response in the overseas market has been enthusiastic, and the response in the domestic market has also been good, and there happens to be no major manufacturers involved, so it just meets our requirements.”
Hearing this, Gu Xue was silent for a moment and said uncertainly: “Open the market with high-quality products?”
“Yeah.” Osawa Liang smiled.
“good idea.”
Gu Xue also understood what they wanted to do, nodded, and continued: “However… there are many giants in the overseas figurine toy market. You still think too simply. Instead of thinking about this aspect, consider launching a new series……”
Gu Xue thought of what she had seen and heard on Earth, and subconsciously wanted to give Osawa Ryo some advice, but mid-sentence, she suddenly stopped talking.
We are not related to him, so there is no need to say more.
Moreover, Gu Xue looked at Osawa Liang…
Osawa Ryo, who was sitting opposite Gu Xue, noticed that Gu Xue was looking at him and felt inexplicably panicked. Moreover, being watched, he also had an inexplicable thought, that is…
It seems like our company is going to die.
