Video Editor

Chapter 2611 A gentleman's revenge lasts from morning till night.

Now that its cars have gone into mass production, Suning is not only having its marketing department set up sales channels, but also preparing to settle old scores.

As the saying goes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, but Suning has never considered himself a gentleman.

If I keep enduring this, I might really become a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Next, Suning called Manager Sun from the marketing department into his office again and assigned him a new task: "Manager Sun, make a promotional video. It needs to capture the grandeur of the super factory, and make sure people remember the words 'Tianchao Auto' after watching it. It's not a report for the leaders, but for ordinary consumers. Make them feel that they'd be missing out if they didn't buy a Tianchao Auto in their lifetime after watching it."

Manager Sun asked, "President Su, what's the budget?"

Suning said, "We won't skimp on what needs to be spent, and we won't overspend what doesn't need to be spent. The visuals and music must be top-notch, but we won't do anything fancy or superficial. We don't need to hire celebrities or spokespeople; our factories and production lines are the biggest stars."

"clear."

……

Next, the marketing department invited several advertising companies to submit their proposals, and finally selected a team that specializes in corporate image videos.

This team had experience shooting promotional videos for several large state-owned factories before, but this was their first time shooting a car production line.

The film crew carried the most advanced broadcast-grade camera in China at the time into the Shunyi factory and spent more than half a month in the factory area.

I spent the whole day filming the robots in the welding workshop. In order to capture a close-up of the flying sparks, the cameraman carried the equipment and squatted next to the production line. Sparks flew onto his sleeves and burned several small holes.

Similarly, the camera assistant spent a long time filming the automatic spraying robot in the painting workshop, kneeling on the ground to provide lighting, his knees becoming red and swollen from kneeling.

Every step of the final assembly line was filmed in close-up, from tightening a single bolt to the entire vehicle rolling off the line; not a single shot was missed.

Finally, a drone was brought in and hovered over the factory area for nearly an hour, capturing the entire Shunyi Gigafactory in its entirety.

From the air, rows of factory buildings are neatly laid out on the ground, and the parking lots are densely packed with mass-produced cars that have just rolled off the production line. The scene itself exudes a sense of industrial power.

After the promotional video was edited, Manager Sun personally delivered the finished product to Suning's office for review.

Su Ning watched the tape from beginning to end, then rewound it and watched it again. After leaning back in his chair and thinking for a moment, he said, "The visuals are fine. The voiceover needs to be changed."

Manager Sun was taken aback for a moment. "President Su, the voice-over was recorded by a professional announcer. The pronunciation was clear and the voice-over was quite impressive. Many corporate promotional videos use this style of voice-over."

Suning said, "It's not a matter of grandeur. The voiceover sounds too much like a news feature, too formal, making people want to change the channel. What I want is not for the audience to feel like they are watching the news, but for them to feel restless, their hearts to race, and to want to rush to the dealership for a test drive. We need to change the voiceover and the music too."

Manager Sun asked, "What music should we change to?"

Suning said a name that surprised everyone present: "Use 'Lanling King Entering the Battle Song'."

"What song?" a young planner from the marketing department asked her colleague in a low voice.

My colleague shook his head, looking equally bewildered.

The people present looked at each other, none of them having heard of this name.

Suning did not blame them.

This piece of music is an ancient melody from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. It was originally lost in China, but was later introduced to Japan from the Tang Dynasty and preserved there. It was not until 1992 that it was reintroduced to China through a Sino-Japanese cultural exchange project.

There was some discussion about it in the domestic music scene at the time, but ordinary people had never heard of it.

Of course, what Suning presented was not a pirated copy contaminated by the Japanese, but rather the authentic original version of "Lanling King Enters the Battle Song" from the "Peaceful Years" series.

Suning briefly explained the background of the piece to the team, and then said, "The grandeur of this piece is a perfect match for the visuals of our factory. You'll understand once you listen to it."

……

Xiao Zhao, the jack-of-all-trades assistant, was assigned to find a recording studio.

Since Suning transferred Zhuangzhuang to headquarters as his personal assistant, Xiao Zhao has stopped complaining and has instead willingly continued to be Suning's workhorse.

Xiao Zhao quickly contacted several of the best recording studios in Beijing and finally settled on a long-established studio that had recorded many film scores for CCTV.

The sound engineer's surname is Bai. He has been in the industry for over ten years and has a wealth of experience.

When Xiao Zhao took the sheet music over, Master Bai looked at it over and over again several times. He put down the sheet music, took off his headphones, and had a complicated expression.

"Assistant Zhao, I can't take this job," Master Bai said.

Xiao Zhao asked, "Why? Is the equipment faulty?"

Master Bai said, “It’s not a problem with the equipment. I understand the score; it’s an ancient piece. The combination of instruments used in it is very special… pipa, jiegu, bili, cymbals. You can count the number of musicians in Beijing who can play all of these on one hand. The pipa is relatively easy to find; you can find experienced pipa players in Beijing. But the jiegu and bili, to be honest, those who can play them are all senior musicians. Some have already retired and no longer take on gigs, and some are simply unreachable. Even if you could gather everyone together, this piece is too obscure; you couldn’t master it in less than a few weeks of practice. Can your promotional video schedule wait that long?”

……

Xiao Zhao was also stumped after hearing this, and immediately reported back to Su Ning: "President Su, the recording studio said they can't accept the role. Master Bai said the instruments for this piece are too uncommon—pipa, jiegu, bili, cymbals—there aren't many musicians in Beijing who can gather all of them. It would take several weeks to practice on the spot, and we can't afford to wait that long. Should we change to another piece?"

Suning said, "No change. This is the one."

"But……"

Next, Suning took Zhuangzhuang to a recording studio, along with several AI robots dressed in casual clothes.

Master Bai was adjusting the equipment in the recording studio. When he saw these people walk in, he didn't take it seriously at all, assuming that the boss had brought a few entourage members to check out the venue.

Xiao Zhao said to Master Bai, "Master Bai, we've found the musicians, we can start recording now."

Master Bai glanced at the AI ​​robots, then at Xiao Zhao, his expression clearly disbelieving: "Just these few? Assistant Zhao, to be honest, this piece can't be recorded by just any few people. Last time a film crew came to record the soundtrack for a period drama, they hired an experienced musician from a folk music ensemble, and they spent three days just getting them to work together. These few..."

Xiao Zhao didn't explain much, he just said, "Master Bai, let them give it a try."

"..." Master Bai, his face full of disdain, didn't say anything more, wanting to see how these amateurs would embarrass themselves.

AI robots entered the recording studio and each picked up a musical instrument.

One picked up a pipa, one sat down in front of a jie drum, one picked up a bili (a type of reed pipe), and one held a cymbal in his hand.

Master Bai was in the control room wearing monitoring headphones, his fingers on the faders of the mixing console, his expression still one of doubt.

When the first note came out, Master Bai almost dropped his coffee cup.

The rhythm of the jiegu drum came from behind the soundproof glass of the recording studio. The drumbeats were dense and precise, each one hitting the exact center of the beat, without the slightest deviation.

Then the sound of the pipa came in, and the tremolo and strumming were done in one go, the notes were as clean as if they were cut with a knife, without a single noise.

The sound of the bili followed the pipa, its desolate and soaring melody like a knife cleaving through the air, its timbre carrying a chilling aura of an ancient battlefield.

The cymbals slammed down on the heavy beat, vibrating the air in the entire recording studio. The volume indicator in Master Bai's monitoring headphones jumped straight to its peak.

Master Bai stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, still holding the cup of coffee in his hand, completely forgetting to put it down.

He's been recording for over a decade, and he's seen all sorts of performers...

Professional troupes, folk masters, and masters invited from abroad—never before has it been like today.

These people sat down, picked up their instruments, and without any communication, rehearsal, or practice, they began to play.

And you can get it right the first time.

The duration, intensity, and emotion of every note are all on the same wavelength, as if they have been playing together for decades.

After the performance ended, the recording studio fell silent.

Master Bai was still sitting there, wearing headphones, without moving.

Xiao Zhao knocked on the glass of the control room.

Master Bai finally snapped out of his daze, put his coffee cup on the table, stood up, and asked, "Where did you find these people? I've been recording for over ten years, and I've never seen musicians with such perfect chemistry. Where did your boss find these gems?"

Xiao Zhao glanced at Zhuang Zhuang, who suppressed a laugh and remained silent.

Xiao Zhao cleared his throat and said, "Master Bai, please don't ask about that, it's a trade secret. Just tell me if it can be used or not."

Master Bai said, "It works! Let me tell you, just that one take, and we can get the finished product right away, without even needing to do much mixing. This song is perfect for your promotional video."

After the promotional video was re-edited and dubbed, Xiao Zhao was the first to see the finished product, and his doubts immediately vanished.

……

The next step is to decide on the distribution channels.

Manager Sun brought over several plans, including advertising slots during prime time on CCTV, joint broadcasts on local TV stations in major cities, and full-page advertisements in major newspapers nationwide.

Suning reviewed all the proposed plans and then added an option at the bottom of the list.

"The big screen in Times Square, New York," Suning said. "We'll put the promotional video on Times Square."

Manager Sun thought he had misheard: "Times Square? Mr. Su, advertising in Times Square is charged by the minute. One minute's price is enough to air an ad on CCTV during prime time for several months. Moreover, the main audience there is international business people and tourists. For a domestic brand like us, is it worthwhile to advertise there?"

Suning said, "Whether it's cost-effective or not isn't calculated like that. Let me ask you, if our promotional video were played in Times Square, would the domestic media report on it?"

Manager Sun thought for a moment and said, "Definitely. Putting Chinese companies' ads in Times Square would be huge news."

Suning said, "That's right. The advertising fee buys screens in New York, but the real audience isn't in New York, it's in China. What we want is that visual... a Chinese car production line broadcast on the giant screen in Times Square, watched by pedestrians in the world's most bustling commercial center. That visual itself is more persuasive than any advertising slogan. Those people in China who have been questioning us can analyze why we're not doing well, point by point, on television, but how do they explain a Chinese car brand putting on a promotional video in Times Square?"

After listening, Manager Sun put the proposal away. "Understood, President Su. I'll contact them right away."

Suning had its marketing department find an international intermediary company, through which they contacted the operator of the large screen in Times Square, New York.

The availability of large screens is very limited, especially during peak afternoon hours, and reservations usually need to be made several months in advance.

However, after the agency coordinated, there happened to be a gap in mid-January when an advertising slot for a European luxury brand was temporarily canceled.

Suning had Xiao Zhao sign the contract directly, and the broadcast time was set during the peak traffic hours in the afternoon local time, for a continuous week.

Before the promotional video was delivered, the agency even made an international call to confirm.

The other party spoke to Xiao Zhao in fluent English over the phone: "Mr. Zhao, let me confirm with you again. The audience of Times Square is mainly international business people and tourists. Is your promotional video in Chinese or English? If it is purely in Chinese, the dissemination effect may be reduced. We suggest adding English subtitles at least."

Xiao Zhao covered the microphone and said to Zhuang Zhuang next to him, "The foreigners suggested that we add English subtitles, saying that the effect of pure Chinese is not good."

Zhuangzhuang said, "Our promotional video didn't have many lines to begin with, just one line at the end. We can just add an English version."

Xiao Zhao said over the phone, "Our promotional video mainly consists of music and visuals, with very little dialogue. We'll make the end credits bilingual (Chinese and English). Don't worry."

……

On the second week of January 1997, Times Square in New York was just like any other day.

Huge billboards change neon colors on the exterior walls of buildings, Coca-Cola's red logo flashes on street corners, and Broadway show posters are more vibrant than the last.

Tourists snapped photos in the direction of Broadway, local office workers in thick coats walked across the square toward the subway station, a hot dog vendor spread a spoonful of mustard on a bun, and a Black drummer on the street beat a plastic bucket to create rhythm; the whole street was noisy and vibrant. Suddenly, the entire screen went dark for a moment.

All the commercials that were playing on a loop disappeared at the same time, and the screen turned black.

Many people in the square subconsciously looked up...

The screens in Times Square rarely go black out simultaneously; they usually switch seamlessly from one advertisement to another.

This situation, where the entire screen goes completely black, could be due to either a device malfunction or the arrival of something unusual.

Then, the drums sounded.

The prelude to "Prince Lanling Enters the Battle" poured out from the sound arrays on both sides of the large screen.

The rhythm of the Jie drum is dense and heavy, not the kind of gentle background music rhythm, but like a war drum beating on one's chest, making one's heart beat faster with each beat.

People walking in the square began to slow down.

Some people stopped, some held their coffee cups in mid-air and forgot to put them down, and some stopped halfway through taking out change from their pockets to buy hot dogs.

Soon, the image appeared on the big screen.

The first shot is an aerial view of Beijing from above the clouds. A drone slowly flies over the golden glazed tile roofs of the Forbidden City under the blue sky, and the sunlight shines on the glazed tiles, reflecting a golden light.

The scene then cuts to Shunyi...

There was nothing on the flat land yet, only the winter sun shining on the bare yellow earth, and a few bulldozers were quietly parked at the edge of the picture.

The music then shifts to a calmer, deeper section, with the pipa's tremolo playing softly as the visuals begin to accelerate...

The pile driver drove down the first pile, the steel beams were hoisted into place one by one, and the exterior wall panels of the factory were assembled piece by piece.

The entire construction process was condensed into a few dozen seconds. A modern super factory grew from nothing to something, from zero to complete, at a speed visible to the naked eye on that empty land.

In Times Square, all pedestrians at the intersection stopped in their tracks.

Someone took a camera out of their pocket, and someone tugged at their companion's sleeve to make him look up.

The hot dog vendor, holding a half-squeezed mustard sauce, was so engrossed in watching the hot dogs sizzle and drip oil on the grill that he didn't even bother to flip them.

The music reached its climax.

The melodies of the pipa and bili intertwined, the rhythm of the jiegu was like a torrential downpour, and the cymbals exploded on every heavy beat.

At the same time, the camera cut to an aerial shot taken by a drone...

Looking down into the welding workshop from the roof vents, the robotic arms of industrial robots move in unison, and the welding torches burst into blue and white light the moment they touch the metal. Dozens of robots are working at the same time, and the whole scene looks like a dense meteor shower.

In the painting workshop, the painting robot rotates and spreads the paint evenly on the car body. The paint mist forms a very thin layer of colored halo under the lights.

On the final assembly line, the chassis and body are automatically joined together at the assembly station, dozens of bolts are tightened at the same time, and torque data jumps line by line on the display screen.

The close-up shot zooms in on the logo on each robot and the four characters on the side panel of the stamping machine: "Celestial Empire".

Sunlight streamed down from the skylights on the factory roof, illuminating the entire production line as brightly as day.

The black body of the Azure Dragon One moved slowly on the conveyor belt, its paint reflecting the overhead lights like a flowing mirror.

A low gasp of surprise rippled through the square.

A tourist carrying a camera asked his companion in heavily accented English, "Which company is this? Japanese? German?"

His companion, still staring at the screen, shook his head. "I don't know, but look at those robots, they're truly amazing."

The music grew faster and faster, the pipa's tremolos were as rapid as a sudden rain, the drumbeats of the jiegu were like a thousand horses galloping in, and the sound of cymbals striking each other reverberated in the air.

The images converge simultaneously at the ends of the three assembly lines...

The Azure Dragon One, Vermilion Bird One, and White Tiger One—three models rolled off three different production lines simultaneously.

The close-up shots sweep across the Azure Dragon's sleek sedan front grille and sharp headlights on both sides, the Vermilion Bird's dynamic SUV body lines and silver-gray metallic paint, and the White Tiger's rugged off-road vehicle bumper and roof-mounted spotlight bracket.

Three cars were parked side by side in the factory's showroom, their paint shimmering under the lights, like three fierce beasts poised to pounce.

The music stopped abruptly at its climax.

The image freezes.

A line of Chinese characters slowly appeared on the screen: "Celestial Empire - Made in China".

Then comes the line in English: "Made in China. Built to Last."

The entire Times Square was silent for about two or three seconds.

For those two or three seconds, all you could hear was the ceaseless sound of traffic and wind from the distant streets of New York.

Then, some people started clapping.

It wasn't polite, perfunctory applause, but an instinctive, enthusiastic clapping that came from being deeply moved.

Among those applauding were fashionable men and women, office workers carrying briefcases, and backpackers with travel bags.

A young Black man next to me whistled at the big screen and shouted, "That's China? Damn!"

……

The news reached China faster than anyone expected.

Eyewitnesses at Times Square posted on overseas online forums, detailing the reactions in the square during those three minutes.

International students reposted the story on BBS, with headlines getting increasingly exaggerated...

Times Square is flooded with images of Chinese cars.

New Yorkers applauded after watching a Chinese car promotional video.

Someone took a few photos of the large screen with a film camera, and after they were developed, they were bought by a domestic newspaper for a high price.

By the time the official news reports came out, the balance of public opinion had completely shifted.

CCTV dedicated a short news segment to this event during its evening news, accompanied by footage of the Baihu Yi (White Tiger One) rolling off the production line on the Times Square screen. The narrator said, "A promotional video for my country's Tianchao Shangguo Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was recently broadcast in Times Square, New York, showcasing the modern production lines and independently developed models of my country's private automobile enterprises, attracting widespread attention from local residents and tourists from various countries."

Although the short message was less than a minute long, it was broadcast right next to the headlines of international news.

Several mainstream newspapers reported in more detail.

The Economic Daily published a commentary titled "Looking at Made in China from Times Square," which stated: "When a picture of a Chinese private car company's production line appears in the world's most bustling commercial center, and when pedestrians on the streets of New York spontaneously applaud cars made in China, what does this mean? It means that the Chinese auto industry no longer needs to rely on other people's technology, and that Chinese brands have the ability to stand on the world stage and be tested."

This article was reprinted in full by many local newspapers.

The experts and public intellectuals who are usually active in the media were surprisingly slow to react this time.

It's not that they don't want to respond, but that they can't find a way to respond.

You can question the origin of a private car company's production line on domestic TV programs, and use various theoretical analyses to prove that it is impossible for it to succeed.

But when the Times Square screen showed footage of the factory's internal production process...

When every robot is emblazoned with the symbol of the Celestial Empire...

When the footage of three mass-produced cars rolling off the production line was met with applause and cheers from pedestrians in the world's busiest commercial center...

All the doubts turned into a feeling of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

They used to say that Chinese automakers were afraid to let people see their factories, but now footage of those factories is being broadcast to the world from Times Square in New York.

Previously, people said that China's automobile production lines were outdated equipment, but now the scene of robots working simultaneously in the welding workshop has been described by foreign media as "an industrial symphony from China".

Previously, they analyzed point by point why Tianchao Auto was a scam, but now Tianchao Auto doesn't need to refute it itself; the pedestrians in Times Square who stopped and looked up for three minutes have already refuted it for them.

Those so-called experts and public intellectuals quickly became pariahs, and most of them slunk away and went into hiding.

An associate professor who insisted that the origin of China's automobile production line was questionable was eventually cornered by an unscrupulous media reporter who was full of excitement.

"Professor Zhao, what are your thoughts after watching the promotional video for Tianchao Auto in Times Square?"

"Hmph! Footage can be edited."

"Have you personally inspected the Shunyi factory of China Automotive?"

Why would I endorse such a fraudulent company?

"Professor Zhao, you are still slandering Tianchao Auto as a fraudulent company. Aren't you afraid that Tianchao Auto's legal department will sue you?"

"I..." Professor Zhao immediately fell silent in panic.

The reporter immediately included the entire conversation in the report.

When it was published in the newspaper, the same page above it featured a color photo of pedestrians in Times Square looking up at a promotional video for Chinese cars.

Putting that sentence and that photo together, the effect is practically a ready-made joke.

Seeing that Professor Zhao had been turned into a pariah by the media, those commentators who had previously published numerous articles in newspapers predicting the downfall of China panicked.

As a result, this group of scoundrels, who always considered themselves to be able to bend and stretch, successively published correction statements in their respective newspapers.

The corrections are very short and vaguely worded, roughly meaning "Some of the previous comments on Chinese automobiles were based on incomplete information, and are now being clarified."

Zhuangzhuang, however, went through all the newspapers one by one, cut out each correction statement with small scissors, and put them in a special folder.

Next to each clipping, Zhuangzhuang pasted a small note with the newspaper name, date, and edition number neatly written in pen.

Suning called out to Zhuangzhuang: "Zhuangzhuang."

"Mr. Su, what's the matter?"

Su Ning pointed to the folder: "Don't put this in the cabinet, put it in the company archives. When we build the company history museum, these things should be displayed in a separate case."

Zhuangzhuang paused for a moment, then laughed: "President Su, don't you think this is making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"This is not making a mountain out of a molehill. This is history and corporate culture."

...(End of this chapter)