Youku promotes 'micro-film' market

World-acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (left) works on the set of Education for All. Photo provided to China Daily

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Some of these young directors have not only earned fame online but also made it to the big screen. The best example is Old Boys, a nostalgic take on the shared memories of China's post-1980 generation. The short film unexpectedly became a cultural phenomenon in 2009 with more than 80 million people having watched it online, bringing huge fame to its creators Xiao Yang and Wang Taili, who later became known as the Chopstick Brothers.

In June, the second of the Old Boys series and its first full-length feature film, Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon, will be shown in cinemas nationwide. Amounting to a dramatic retelling of the two creators' own experiences, the movie is about two middle-aged Chinese men pursuing their dreams in New York.

The movie also represents one of Youku's big dreams come true: to have produced the first of its Internet movies - with the subject, director and audience all originally from the Internet - and also to have promoted and distributed it through Internet.

"Old Boys is the first attempt by the film industry to join hands with the Internet in the era of big data," says Youku's CEO Wei Ming. "From creation to promotion, the movie makes full use of the support of big data."

For example, Wei adds, after the movie's first trailer was watched 1 million times online, his team analyzed all relevant information, including the viewers' comments. Their emotional responses and their suggestions will be taken into consideration in the movie's final edit.

By establishing a "young director film fund" of 300 million yuan ($48.20 million), says Lu Fanxi, chief manager of Youku Original, in the next five years Youku will work with 10 young directors who are expected to produce 30 works.

Lu says they will then help these "Internet-born" directors to break into regular movie and TV markets.

"In the next five to 10 years, the Internet will change everything. Just like how many other industries have been 'Internetized', the movie industry will also work more closely with the Internet," Wei says.

"The future film market is on the Internet."