Finally, Bai Luan and Clockwork Studio reached a collaboration.
Piers was still a bit dazed even after the contract was signed.
He couldn't figure it out, truly couldn't.
From the concepts, ideas, and scripts the other party presented, it was clear that the quality of the work they wanted to produce was extremely high.
In such a situation, the various film studios in Penacony would fight tooth and nail for the chance to collaborate.
And that wasn't the most outrageous part.
The most outrageous thing was... the other party not only brought the script and creative ideas needed for the production but also the most important thing: funding.
From beginning to end, Piers couldn't understand why Bai Luan sought out Clockwork Studio.
It wasn't that Clockwork Studio was useless, but rather that any other film studio could have done a better job than Clockwork Studio.
Honestly, Piers felt that Clockwork Studio's biggest role in this collaboration with Bai Luan was that the game couldn't start without it.
Besides that, Piers truly couldn't find any more fitting or appropriate adjectives.
However, the shock Bai Luan brought them was not the end, but the beginning.
After signing the contract, Bai Luan quickly immersed himself in the production.
Piers had never seen such a capable person, nor had he seen a client provide such detailed plans.
The requirements for each frame were so detailed it was as if he had already seen the finished product and was recounting it to them.
He could even produce drafts to illustrate his ideas.
Then, the most outrageous thing was that they discovered the art styles of "Clockie" and "tom and jerry" were extremely similar.
It made the creation process incredibly smooth.
But even so, the production process was not without its difficulties.
The main reason was Bai Luan's extremely high demands for picture quality, requiring every frame to be hand-drawn, and if the picture didn't achieve the desired effect, it would be immediately sent back to be redrawn.
Initially, the Animators had many opinions about this, but after Bai Luan personally took over and drew a segment whose quality completely overshadowed theirs, they fell silent.
Moreover, during the production process, they gradually discovered that this script was far from simple.
While humorous and witty, it also had depth, and different people would have different thoughts after watching it.
Despite having almost no dialogue, it could keep viewers engrossed.
The phrase "suitable for all ages" is easy to say but incredibly difficult to achieve.
At this point, they understood Bai Luan.
The extremely high demands were for the sake of creating an excellent work.
This gave all the Staff Member members at Clockwork Studio the feeling that they were creating another Clockie.
This feeling made the Animators work as if they were on steroids.
This atmosphere could actually be summarized in one sentence: they were so immersed in their artistic creation that they couldn't extricate themselves.
Everyone realized that they were creating a film that would almost certainly go down in the annals of Penacony's history.
They were not born in the era of the Watchmaker; looking back at history, they could only envy the Animators who created "Clockie" with the Watchmaker.
And now... they had their own Watchmaker and Clockie.
When an opportunity presented itself, they had to consider whether this was the only chance they would have in their lives.
So, for this work of art, they gave their all.
They put in every effort, striving for perfection, just so that when this film was presented to the audience, it would be in its most perfect form!
There would be no better opportunity than this moment!
One episode of tom and jerry is about seven or eight minutes long.
Playing at 24 frames per second, even with the technique of shooting on twos (one frame of animation shown twice), a mere seven or eight minutes would require over five thousand frames.
Drawing these five thousand-plus frames would take a very, very long time, at least much longer than those seven or eight minutes.
Under the circumstances of working like crazy, full of passion, Animators rested when tired, immediately resumed drawing after resting, and adopted various advanced technologies; after nearly a week of non-stop work, they finally produced one episode of tom and jerry.
The most formidable among them was Bai Luan.
Piers eventually thought Bai Luan was some kind of robot in human skin.
This person was terrifying; how could anyone draw so quickly and well, with such stable output?
His fundamental skills must be so solid he could go chop down trees, right?
And that wasn't the most outrageous thing; it was already outrageous enough to produce a "tom and jerry" episode, but he could also continuously churn out new ideas and concepts while resting and chatting.
Films like "Popeye the Sailor" and "Bugs Bunny," which he mentioned casually, all felt very worth making.
Besides these, he wasn't limited to his comfort zone and actively encouraged Clockwork Studio to step out of its comfort zone to create works more relevant to modern young people.
Things like 3D movies "Up," "WALL-E," "Kung Fu Panda"... and "cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners," "Uma Musume," which were produced and broadcast using more modern technology... What a film studio fears most is running out of ideas, failing to keep up with the times, being unable to make new high-quality works, and only being able to live off past glories year after year.
But after Bai Luan arrived... they couldn't finish it! They simply couldn't finish it all!
For the first time, production completely failed to keep up with creativity!
And this was Bai Luan doing it casually while maintaining high-intensity work.
Even under such circumstances, Bai Luan alone pushed 60% of the progress.
Their entire team, combined, only accounted for the remaining 40%.
And that wasn't the end; after the sample film was completed, Bai Luan expressed his new idea.
To use a symphony orchestra to score this short film.
A sym-pho-ny or-ches-tra!
Piers had never seen anyone use a symphony orchestra to score an animated short film in his life.
The effect was good, sure... but the cost also exploded, didn't it?
And if they continued to use the same configuration in the future... Piers just thought about what he could imagine, and it was already an astronomical figure; he didn't even dare to imagine the actual expenses.
The most outrageous thing was... Bai Luan brought Robin in, and through Robin's lead, brought in an orchestra.
He actually did it... The most outrageous thing is that he understood even this aspect.
For the first time, Piers gained a new understanding of the concept of a genius.
Previously, his understanding of Bai Luan's genius status was just a bland description in a profile.
Now, he had a more profound understanding of genius.
At this point, he even began to doubt if the other party was human.
Under such dedicated production, with everyone working like crazy and sparing no expense, the first episode of the "tom and jerry" short film was finally completed.
Before its official release, the short film had an internal screening, which was filled with laughter and joy.
After watching it, many people were wiping away tears.
This was simply a work of art... To be able to participate in the production of such a work once in this lifetime, and to leave one's name on the production credits, as an Animator, there would be no regrets in this life.
After the screening, Clockwork Studio held a celebration banquet.
They didn't even need to consider how to promote it; Bai Luan posting an update on the Yi Mu account was more effective than any promotion.
At the celebration banquet, Piers found Bai Luan, who had avoided the cheering crowd and found a quiet spot to himself, holding an unopened bottle of SoulGlad.
"Mr. Bai Luan, why aren't you celebrating with everyone?"
"Oh, I just wanted to rest a bit without spoiling everyone's fun, so I found a quiet place."
Bai Luan looked up at the sky of Penacony.
"This is really f*cking tiring, it turns out making animation is so difficult..."
Piers was a little surprised,
but also somewhat relieved.
Although Bai Luan's words suggested this was his first time making animation, and he had produced animation of this caliber on his first try, his performance was incredibly abnormal.
Even though his performance was abnormal, he still got tired, which at least proved—he was a human.
"Mr. Bai Luan, why isn't your name on the producer list?"
"Nonsense."
Bai Luan glanced at him, smiled, and said:
"Can't you see the first three words that popped up: 'Animator'?"
"You mean, you changed your signature to 'Animator'?"
"What? Is that not allowed? The Watchmaker, the author of Clockie, was also just a nickname, not his real name, right? Is it not okay for my nickname to be Animator?"
"But... what's the difference between that and not signing it at all?"
Bai Luan shook his head and whispered:
"That wasn't my work to begin with; it was the Animators' work."
Piers didn't hear clearly and asked:
"What?"
"Nothing."
Bai Luan deftly pried open the cap of the SoulGlad with his teeth, watching the bubbles surge and overflow from the bottle.
"Piers, a toast?"
He raised the SoulGlad in his hand, gesturing to Piers:
"To the Animators."
Piers was stunned for a moment, then raised his SoulGlad and clinked glasses with Bai Luan.
"To the Animators."
Anyway, it was finally over.
With this production experience, he wouldn't have to put so much effort into the next episode of tom and jerry.
Although he would still have to handle the symphony orchestra himself, it shouldn't be as tiring as it was now.
And for Edgerunners, he had basically finalized the script and art style, just waiting for them to start work.
He really found himself a job, but all this hard work was worth it; good times were coming soon.
Soon, he would be able to relive childhood classics in this world.
Just then, Bai Luan's phone vibrated, and he took it out.
Herta: Recently, a Staff Member discovered an interesting curio.
Herta: No one on the entire Space Station can unlock it.
Oh, there's such a curio?
Quite impressive.
Bai Luan chuckled and took a sip of SoulGlad.
Bai Luan: To pique Ms. Herta's interest, it must be something special.
Herta: I took a look, and it seems like you made it. Do you have any ideas?
Herta: [Image]
The image showed precisely the curio Bai Luan used to hide the Gold and Gears DLC.
Clatter.
The SoulGlad in Bai Luan's hand dropped to the ground, making a crisp sound as it shattered.
Piers was about to ask Bai Luan what was wrong when he saw Bai Luan with a look as if the sky had fallen.
"Gah! Don't you dare touch it!!!"
Which scoundrel gave me the instant burst ability?!!!