| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 傳播學院碩士在職專班 === 103 === This thesis attempts to construct a theory and practice behind the production of trendy drama through the perspective of producers. As such, the thesis amasses senior producers’ experiences of producing trendy dramas, including their four-stage experiences from pre-production, production, post-production, to distribution and promotion. I try to contour how producers pick “the right people” and make “the right decisions”, which can serve as a future reference for newcomers and workers in the audiovisual industry. Furthermore, I also study the visions and worries that trendy drama producers share in common, and it is my wish that this understanding can shed light on future policy making by decision makers in broadcasting and television government agencies.
I use semi-structured interview approach in interviewing 17 important trendy drama producers. All these producers have experiences in either starting their own studios or production companies; in addition, they all make progress step by step in their professions, be it writing scripts, involving in entertainment shows, acting, or other audiovisual professions.
In my research, I find that trendy drama producers involve deeply in all four stages of production, which includes pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution and promotion. Particularly, producers put the most effort and their labor during the pre-production stage, as the outcome of this stage determines the overall success of trendy dramas. During productions, we see producers always seeking to balance director’s styles, performance of actors, and practicality of scripts; it is their job to settle disputes between different people to reach consensus. Yet, this reveals a dilemma producers face: directors should be given as much freedom in their creation, but they cannot be unrestrained because it can lead to paying careless attention to details and focus solely on speed, or it can cause the production cost to skyrocket.
As soon as producers produce their signature works and establish their own personal brands, more production job opportunities follow. Producers become producers in other projects, are invited to jointly invest with television companies, or are invited to collaborate with television channels in China, audiovisual companies, and new media. Producers and the trendy dramas they produce become valuable investment options that attract capital. However, staying up to audience’s expectations and maintaining ratings prove to be difficult. Nothing can do more harm to their brands than plagiarizing works from abroad or from themselves.
Lastly, it is worthy to mention that government subsidies are now big contributors to producers’ budget in making trendy dramas. When subsidies cannot grow due to dramas’ plunging rating, China enters the fray, luring these trendy drama producers with an aim in mind to import Taiwanese production model in trendy dramas. While producers can sell their products to Chinese audience rather easily thanks to shining brands they own, they often struggle to decide whether to stay in Taiwan or seek better pay in China.
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