During the two days of rest, Fang Yang accompanied Zhou Xin to explore every inch of the deep valley and truly appreciate the wonders of nature!

Zhou Xin's camera memory was full again, filled with laughter. The crew members tacitly refrained from disturbing her, and even Ni Suqiong wisely went with others, not wanting to be subjected to PDA all day long!

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to officially start filming again. The shots of the Thousand-Foot Valley were still focused on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. After a period of desperate escape, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling encountered the owner of the Longevity Formula, Fu Junzhuo, a female assassin from Goryeo. At first, the two sides used each other, but during the escape, they developed a sincere mother-son relationship. The Thousand-Foot Valley was filmed during this process.

The filming of the Thousand-Foot Valley scene is important because it was during this time that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling learned the Longevity Technique, laying the foundation for their future struggle for supremacy.

After working together, Zhu Qi and Zhou Yi were able to film almost all the simpler scenes in one take. The scene in the Thousand-Foot Valley was relatively simple, with fewer actors and less complex scenery, so filming was naturally quick.

Qianzhang Yougu, as a local tourist destination, still lacks national recognition. Yin Youdao, the manager of the tourist area, is a big fat man with a smile that resembles Maitreya Buddha. He does things in a manner befitting a businessman. He not only makes things easy for the film crew, but after observing the film crew for a period of time, he greatly admires Fang Yang's directing skills. After applying to higher authorities, he sponsors the film crew with two million yuan, with the condition that the entrance to Qianzhang Yougu be filmed in the movie and that he be credited as a sponsor at the end of the movie.

Director Fang Yang was still a newcomer to the production team and was almost distrusted in the industry, so he naturally couldn't attract corporate sponsorships. As a result, the production team had been established for more than a month and the list of sponsors was still blank. Now that they were able to collect two million yuan in sponsorship fees, it was naturally an unexpected surprise. With Fang Yang's approval, Zhuge Jianming signed a sponsorship contract with Yin Youdao. As the production team's first sponsorship contract, Qianzhang Yougu became famous throughout the country and became the first choice for location shooting of period dramas, attracting tourists from all over the country. Yin Youdao also rose to prominence as a result, but that's another story.

Ten days later, the crew moved to Dafosi Temple to continue filming. In the following days, Zhou Xin and others appeared one after another. With the increase in the number of actors, the difficulty of controlling the camera also increased accordingly, and the filming progress slowed down. Even with Fang Yang's memory of watching the finished film in his previous life, he was unable to film it quickly. After all, the actors' acting skills were also a factor.

Fortunately, Fang Yang remained calm and patiently guided the lead actors to follow the scenes from their memories. As long as the lead actors were obedient and had a knack for it, even the most difficult scenes could be completed. This was also why Fang Yang insisted on rigorously selecting actors with good acting skills when casting.

Huang Xiaoping, who was assisting from the side, was already full of admiration. Putting aside the perfectly timed shots, just the way Fang Yang trained the lead actors showed that Fang Yang's directing skills were far superior to his own. Moreover, his overall guidance ability was absolutely top-notch. Even someone as proud as Huang Xiaoping felt that his own directing skills had also improved significantly in just over twenty days!

As more actors joined the cast and the number of actors appearing in the same shot increased, the filming difficulty also increased. This made it exponentially more difficult for Fang Yang to control the shots. At this point, Fang Yang was glad that he had started with shots of two or three people and gradually increased the number. Although the difficulty had increased, he had gotten used to it and could handle most situations as long as the actors were not too bad.

As time went by, autumn was approaching in Jiangnan. The crew continued to film in scenic spots such as Chuanyan Nineteen Peaks and Wozhou Lake. After a month and a half, the filming progress was nearly halfway done. To be honest, most TV series are now filmed in major film and television cities, and very few are filmed in the wild. Why? The actors' fees account for 70% of the total cost of the production team. Where would they find the funds to film in the wild? Doesn't it cost money?

For example, the filming costs for "Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty" accounted for 40% of the total budget, which is unique in the current TV drama industry in China. Huang Xiaoping was shocked when he saw the scenes that looked like a blockbuster. If this effect could not attract the audience's attention, then it would be a real disaster!

During the lunch break, Huang Xiaoping looked at Fang Yang, who was leisurely lying on a recliner, and said, "President Fang, in another month, our drama will be finished filming, right? I estimate that once this drama is released, it will definitely dominate the top spot in the same time slot!"

Fang Yang calculated the time, "It should be able to wrap up filming around New Year's Day. I plan to let our company's special effects department practice. I don't expect it to be comparable to foreign blockbusters, but it will at least be much more sophisticated than the cheap special effects currently available in China."

Huang Xiaoping exclaimed, "I never imagined that filming in the wild would produce such good results. This time, it's truly an eye-opener. It's just that the money is going to burn through too fast. If there were one or two big-name actors in the show, it would probably cost more than 100 million yuan."

Fang Yang curled his lips, "Big-name actors have their advantages. They bring their own audience, but if their acting skills are not up to par, they can be box office poison. So, the reason why a classic becomes a classic is because of the actors' acting skills, the appeal of the plot, and a combination of factors such as music, scenery, and special effects. Therefore, the success of a drama is never something that can be achieved by one or two star actors."

Huang Xiaoping remained silent for a long time. "You have a better eye for things. When we were making dramas, we were completely at the mercy of the big-name actors. Often, when these actors were reciting their lines, they would just read them half-heartedly and still take most of the budget. It was frustrating to think about. But without the star power of these big-name actors, we were afraid that no one would watch the show. So we were stuck in a vicious cycle. These people's appetites grew bigger and bigger, their market value increased, and the dramas they produced became less and less profitable. That's why TV stations have been importing foreign dramas in recent years. Because the cost is much lower, and there's no risk of the production failing."

Fang Yang smiled upon hearing this and patted Huang Xiaoping on the shoulder. "A country ultimately needs its own unique characteristics. No matter how good foreign TV dramas are, they are still imports. Times are changing, and countries are developing. If we adopt a 'take-it-all' approach, then the country will be culturally enslaved by others. Throughout China's five thousand years of history, it has always been our culture that has enslaved others. When have we ever been enslaved by others? Don't worry, there are always people bearing the burden, and the country will not stand idly by!"