Starting from a Fake University
Chapter 557 - 337: Director of Sci-fi Drama, Su Yangfan (subscription required)_1

Chapter 557: Chapter 337: Director of Sci-fi Drama, Su Yangfan (subscription required)_1

Ding Yue learned from Zhu Youzhao, the director of his film and television college at Mist City Arts and Science University, that among the students with strong directing skills in the Film and Television College, Tang Yuanhua was one.

Besides him, there was also Shen Ling, the student who came along today.

In addition, two students who did not come, Meng Hao and Sun Kaiding, have also participated in the main leading team responsible for directing and producing "A Bite of Xia Country".

In particular, Meng Hao, stood out among the students for his unique and non-conformist approach to work!

While Tang Yuanhua represented those with a solid foundation and a good knack for putting his learning into practice.

In students from his film and television college like Tang Yuanhua, Ding Yue believed their directing capabilities would only grow stronger with continuous learning and practical operation.

In the future, as long as there were good scripts, they should have enough capability to take control and direct.

That’s why Ding Yue had just encouraged Tang Yuanhua, asking him to keep learning and striving. Perhaps there may come a day when Ding Yue could invest in a TV drama for him, giving him a chance to showcase his talents.

Most of the scripts for domestic dramas on Earth were adapted from novels, something with which Ding Yue was intimately familiar.

Now that he has Big White, the smart robot, if its features were perfected, Ding Yue might be able to directly provide the core elements of the storyline, character creation, and other aspects of the novel, letting Big White write out the novel according to his ideas.

Of course, this was just a thought in Ding Yue’s mind.

If he ever needed it, he might write a novel, similar to how he composed those three songs like Director Zhou, that could successfully be adapted into a drama.

While Ding Yue may be busy most of the time, he occasionally did have some leisure time.

About half an hour later, no one came over to greet Ding Yue and his group from Mist City Arts and Science University sitting there. After all, many of the guests attending the NTS Gala were not acquainted with Ding Yue.

The directors, actors, celebrities, and scriptwriters were all engaged in lively conversations.

During this time, only one staff member came over and informed Ding Yue of a few things.

As the live broadcast of the NTS Gala was drawing nearer, many of the directors, screenwriters, and actors who were nominated for the NTS Gold Award were instructed to head to the broadcasting hall.

Many audiences across the nation were sitting in front of their televisions or on video websites, ready to watch the NTS Gala tonight.

Back at Mist City Arts and Science University.

Knowing that Principal Ding led Director Zhu and two students from the Film and Television College to Yancheng to attend the NTS Gala, most of the teachers and students of the university stayed in front of their computers and TVs tonight, ready to watch the live broadcast of the NTS Gala.

Of course, many students hoped that the hugely popular food documentary "A Bite of Xia Country", produced by the Film and Television College of Mist City Arts and Science University, would win the NTS Documentary Gold Award!

On Twitter’s trending list tonight, the preparations had already started.

As soon as the NTS Gala began its live broadcast and awards were given out one after another, it would quickly become trending.

After all, the number of netizens in Xia Country who paid attention to the NTS Gala was far from small. Moreover, this year the NTS Gala had so many big-name directors and celebrities.

On the official forum of Mist City Arts and Science University, a student initiated a guessing game, wagering whether their school’s "A Bite of Xia Country" could win the NTS Documentary Gold Award.

Clearly, for such a guess, the majority of students cast a vote for "yes".

"I’m so excited! If ’A Bite of Xia Country’ wins the NTS Documentary Gold Award later, and Principal Ding stands on the award stage to accept the award, it would really boost our reputation at the Mist City Arts and Science University, right?"

"Don’t get too excited too early, we’re not sure whether it can win the award yet."

"Right, several documentaries are nominated after all, and those are works by NTS and well-known documentary directors."

"We should have confidence in our school’s work!"

"I’m looking forward to the moment when Principal Ding stands on the award stage."

Only the students of Mist City Arts and Science University talked a little more about their school’s documentary "A Bite of Xia Country".

Online, most netizens were more concerned about which TV drama would win this year’s NTS Gold Award for best TV drama, who would be the best male and female actors of the NTS Gold Awards, and who would win the best supporting actor or actress in the NTS Gold Awards.

And who would be the recipients of the NTS Best Director Gold Award and Best Screenwriter Gold Award this year?

In fact, Ding Yue wanted to know the winners of these awards tonight as well and then assess the caliber of these NTS Gold Award-winning TV dramas or director and screenwriters in this parallel universe of Xia Country.

In the lounge, Ding Yue took out his phone and looked at the nominations for this year’s NTS Gala TV drama.

1. "Western Era"

2. "Entrepreneurial Tide"

3. "Transdimensional Contact"

4. "Gorgeous"

5. "1939"

There were a total of five dramas. The first one told the story of Xia Country’s western development era, and the second one was an entrepreneurial drama set in the past.

The third one caught Ding Yue’s attention because he recognized the title.

"Transdimensional Contact", if Ding Yue’s memory served him right, was the name of a pretty decent sci-fi film from his original Earth.

To his surprise, there was also a drama of the same name in this parallel universe of Xia Country, except that this was a "TV drama".

"It’s actually a sci-fi TV drama?"

Ding Yue casually looked up "Transdimensional Contact" and was taken aback to find that it was indeed a sci-fi TV drama.

TV Drama: "Transdimensional Contact"

Director: Su Yangfan

Genre: Science Fiction

Date: April 2020

Number of Episodes: 18

Rating: 8.8

Overall, this TV show seems to be quite good, with only 18 episodes meaning it’s pretty compact.

With a rating of 8.8, Ding Yue knew from his prior understanding of domestic sci-fi series in the Parallel World, good ones usually have over 8 points, outstanding ones over 8.5 and ones over 9 points are particularly rare.

In fact, most domestic TV shows generally rank around the five or six point level.

This TV series, "Transdimensional Contact", was released in April last year, over a year ago. Bear in mind, the time when Ding Yue traveled to this Parallel World was during the summer vacation of 2020.

In other words, "Transdimensional Contact" had already been online before Ding Yue’s arrival.

The current date is November 5, 2021.

Ding Yue looked at the other two nominated TV series, "Gorgeous" and "1939". The former is about traditional culture and the latter is of the patriotic genre.

Frankly, if Ding Yue had to choose one out of these five series to win the NTS Gold Award, he would likely opt for Director Su Yangfan’s "Transdimensional Contact".

After all, having a sci-fi TV series produced with such a high rating in Xia Country is impressive in itself.

In the field of sci-fi, even many famous directors dare not delve into it and at most, would undertake sci-fi films.

However, at this year’s National Holiday Period, Director Ma Wenhai’s sci-fi film "Space Fortress", was indeed a flop.

Thinking of Director Ma Wenhai, out of curiosity, Ding Yue asked his secretary Wen Ruohan, "Ruohan, can you check if Director Ma is attending the NTS Gala tonight?"

A renowned director like Ma Wenhai might be attending such an event.

"Director Ma? Which Director Ma?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Ruohan was visibly puzzled.

"Which other Director Ma could there possibly be? I mean Ma Wenhai, the director of ’Space Fortress’, which was released during the National Holiday Period alongside us."

"Oh, sure, let me check."

Wen Ruohan took out her phone to look for the guest list of tonight’s NTS Gala. It should be available online.

As expected.

Wen Ruohan found the guest list on NTS’s official Twitter feed.

Wen Ruohan carefully looked through the list but didn’t spot Director Ma Wenhai’s name.

She checked again to make sure she hadn’t missed it but still, didn’t find it.

"Principal Ding, Director Ma Wenhai is not on the guest list for the NTS Gala." Wen Ruohan turned her head and reported to Principal Ding.

"I see."

Ding Yue was hoping to meet Director Ma Wenhai at NTS.

While Ding Yue and Wen Ruohan were talking, a man in his thirties or forties approached them from the lounge door.

"Is that...Director Su? Is he coming over?" Tang Yuanhua looked at the man walking towards them and murmured in astonishment.

Zhu Youzhao took a glance at the man and nodded lightly.

It was, indeed, Su Yangfan!

Correct!

The director of "Transdimensional Contact", Su Yangfan, was considered one of the more renowned directors in Xia Country due to his sci-fi series gaining immense popularity last year.

"Hello, you must be Principal Ding from Mist City Arts and Science University, right?" Su Yangfan greeted Ding Yue as he approached them.

Only then did Ding Yue raise his head and realize that Su Yangfan was standing in front of him.

Had he not just finished reading about "Transdimensional Contact", he probably wouldn’t recognize the middle-aged man standing before him.

But now, of course, Ding Yue did recognize him. He was the director of "Transdimensional Contact", Su Yangfan.

"Director Su?"

Ding Yue knitted his brows, then smiled and replied, "Hello."

"Principal Ding, I admire the animated film ’Super Combat Team’ produced by your school. It incorporates elements of sci-fi and I’ve watched it several times in the cinema."

Su Yangfan enthusiastically chatted with Ding Yue.

Ding Yue didn’t expect that after coming to NTS, except for Director Liu Mei of NTS or the staff, nobody had paid any attention to him. Most likely because his documentary nomination wasn’t impressive enough for the big shots. Plus, a lot of people probably didn’t recognize him.

However, Su Yangfan recognized Ding Yue instantly.

"Thank you."

Ding Yue replied with a smile, "Director Su, considering the nomination of ’Transdimensional Contact’ for the NTS Gold Award, I reckon there’s a strong chance at winning it!"

Commercial reciprocal complements are what Ding Yue does best.