Free Web NovelChapter 436: Chapter 244: This Is a New Track
Chen Jincheng hadn’t expected Tiao Yin to release a video clip editing feature this soon in this world.
In his previous world, this feature didn’t appear until after 2019.
It was so much earlier in this world.
Of course, he had no idea that it was his own strategy of creating "clip accounts" that had shown their value to countless influencers and MCNs. This, in turn, had caught Tiao Yin’s attention, inspiring them to launch the feature ahead of schedule.
Most people were probably familiar with this feature. Especially after the "Mid-form Video Plan" was introduced, it was impossible to avoid scrolling past these kinds of videos.
As times changed, people grew increasingly impatient. This feature perfectly catered to users’ demand for bite-sized content. Most people couldn’t be bothered to sit through a two-hour film anymore, yet they were willing to spend time watching a complete movie summary.
Moreover, these movie summaries cut out all the filler, extracting only the most essential and climactic parts. Yet, the plot remained coherent, compelling viewers to watch until the very end.
This also brought many classic films back into the spotlight, allowing a new generation of viewers to discover them. They would watch in awe, remarking on how well the previous generation had it—they were feasting on prime content.
For example, the standard for Qinggong nowadays was basically just the Dry Land Leaping technique.
As a result, many people born in the 2000s and 2010s assumed this was all there was to Qinggong. They were even too embarrassed to mention their culture’s art of Qinggong to foreign friends; Dry Land Leaping was just too humiliating.
But now, these video clip accounts showed them what true Qinggong was: Xiao Yuanshan’s sideways flight and the Erlang God’s graceful turn and glide through a bamboo forest.
The kids from the 2000s and 2010s were absolutely floored.
’So that’s the kind of high-quality content the 80s and 90s kids grew up on! Compared to that, the shows being filmed today are just a pile of shit.’
This was one of the reasons the video clip feature became so popular, establishing itself as a major pillar of Tiao Yin’s entertainment section.
Moreover, if leveraged properly, this section could produce accounts with massive followings. For example, an account called "Poison Tongue Movies" was nearing 60 million followers.
These accounts were also incredibly profitable. First, there were the fees for video ads, with different rates for 1-to-20-second and 21-to-60-second slots.
For instance, when Poison Tongue Movies surpassed 20 million followers, a single 20-second promotional ad for a new show or film was priced at 280,000 yuan. At 40 million followers, that price jumped to 700,000 yuan.
Second, there was ad revenue from Xigua Video. Xigua Video was another one of Bytedance’s products, though it wasn’t yet integrated with Tiao Yin. Once the video clip editing feature was out, the two would be linked. With the launch of the Mid-form Video Plan, clips played on Xigua Video could also generate income based on views—100 yuan for every 10,000 plays.
’I just don’t know if this world will have a Mid-form Video Plan, though.’
But that wasn’t important. The most crucial aspect of video clip editing was promotion. If he could build a few clip accounts with large followings, he could not only accept promotional ad deals and connect with other entertainment industry businesses but also have a powerful tool for promoting his own short-form dramas later on.
With that thought, Chen Jincheng immediately pulled out his laptop, opened his editing software, and tried to recall which types of edited videos had received the most likes and views in his previous life.
First, there was Poison Tongue Movies’ innovative style, which used a three-panel thumbnail. They also shifted from simple plot summaries to weaving life lessons into their commentary. Their early videos in this style consistently surpassed two million likes, with many even hitting three million.
’I don’t know which specific movies they covered, but I can copy the three-panel thumbnail style. As for weaving life lessons into the plot, I know that method inside and out. I can pick some films and try editing them that way myself.’
Another approach was the comedic commentary style, which presented a movie or TV show in a quirky way.
For example: "This guy’s name is Xiaoshuai, and he fell in love with Xiaomei..."
Although these videos were comedic, their humor was novel and completely different from any funny movie commentaries that had come before.
Many people had likely seen this type of edited video. It was an excellent path to follow; the top account in this niche had over 40 million followers.
Then there was the "classic vs. modern" comparison format.
This involved using exaggeration to compare films and TV shows of the past with those of the present.
Take Qinggong, for example. These videos would hyperbolically show how today’s Dry Land Leaping technique looked like a pile of shit, then bring out Xiao Yuanshan’s Qinggong and the Erlang God’s turn in the bamboo forest to completely outclass it.
Another comparison was old fight scenes versus new ones. Modern fight choreography was all slow motion, while the old fights were fluid and exhilarating. Pitting a clip from a *Huang Feihong* movie against a modern one was another example of a total blowout.
An even simpler method was to compare the Actors of today with those of the past. The leading men of yesteryear were so hot they’d make you wet, while today’s male leads just made you think, ’Hey, I could do that job too.’
This type of roast-comparison deeply resonated with most viewers, who would flood the comments and smash the like button.
This editing niche had also produced accounts with over 20 million followers.
If Second-Life Star could create a successful account in each of these three niches, it would basically dominate this entire section of the platform.
Never mind how much money they could earn from promotional ads; the accounts would be more than enough to promote their short-form dramas in the future.
With that, he found a movie and started a test edit. He began by clipping out the funny parts, then fast-forwarded through the film to pull out all the highlights. After arranging them in order, he moved on to the most troublesome part: the voice-over.
’There aren’t any of those specialized AI voices available yet.’
’However, my own voice isn’t bad. For this kind of comedic clip, the narration just needs to be a little exaggerated. The most important thing is making it coherent.’
