For the next period of time, Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong did not meet again. They each adjusted their states at home according to Director Mu's requirements, all for the official start of filming of "City of Dawn" on March 16.
Since the story is set in a near-future apocalyptic wasteland, most of the filming of "Dawn City" will be done in a green screen studio, and all "exterior scenes" will be presented in the form of real close-ups and virtual long-range shots. Therefore, many simulated outdoor scenes need to be built in the green screen studio, and every detail must be realistic.
At the same time, in order not to affect the actors' control of the emotional scenes, Director Mu plans to shoot completely according to the progress of the story line. Therefore, the built scenes may need to span the entire shooting cycle, and the venue expenses are burning every day.
"So, I hope everyone can devote themselves to the filming in the best condition. It is best not to leave the group during the whole process. I can change your scenes at any time and you can be on the scene at any time." Director Mu still spoke directly, "The filming task will be very hard, the pace is fast, and the requirements are high. Be prepared for a long-term battle."
On the day of the opening ceremony, the first scene shot, according to the timeline of the story, was a clip where the little gray wolf stood in the Dawn City Lord's Guard and silently looked at the leader's back.
Although this plot will eventually be edited into a flashback clip and interspersed in the main storyline, the shot is very short, but four cameras were used directly when filming, two of which were close-ups, so the control of Jiang Dao's facial expressions and emotions was very demanding.
Director Mu patted Jiang Dao on the shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous. I don't believe in getting the first take right in one take. Just relax and act. If you can't get it right in one take, do it a few more times until you can grasp the emotional state of the little gray wolf at that moment."
Jiang Dao nodded and followed Qi Peng into the shooting location.
Although he said he didn't care about the first shot, Director Mu still had all the actors in place before filming began. He adjusted a series of factors such as the scenery and lighting before starting filming. The entire crew was a little nervous and checked every detail to ensure that there would be no accidents.
Everything is ready, Director Mu signals to start the machine.
The little gray wolf was wearing an inconspicuous slave outfit and kneeling in the corner scrubbing the floor.
The leader of the city lord's guard walked past him while talking to someone and slowly walked to the other end of the corridor.
As the footsteps faded away, the little gray wolf stood up slightly, half turned his head, and secretly looked at the leader's back, with a suppressed admiration and desire in his eyes...
It’s a very simple scene, and the shooting process took less than a minute.
The scene was silent, and no one spoke until the guard leader played by Qi Peng disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Director position.
Mu Zhixing carefully looked at the close-up images displayed on the monitor, checked the effects of all four camera positions, and finally a smile slowly spread across the corners of his mouth: "Not bad, it passed."
There was a burst of applause in the venue.
"Good job, you passed it on the first take!"
"Very good, very good, a good start!"
"Not bad, not bad, keep up the good work, everyone!"
The atmosphere on the set was filled with jubilation.
Jiang Dao subconsciously looked at Chu Yinlong and saw that he was looking at him with a smile and gave him a thumbs up.
His heart was burning with anger, Jiang Dao didn't dare to maintain eye contact and abruptly looked away.
The role of Little Gray Wolf is different from Jess, with too much inner drama. He finally found the feeling, and he couldn't fail so quickly - the reason why he could grasp Little Gray Wolf's state of mind so quickly was because he and Chu Yinlong hadn't seen each other for half a month. He could amplify the desire and hope in his heart and bring them into the filming.
If he went to talk to Chu Yinlong at this time, Jiang Dao was afraid that it would be difficult for him to act out the feeling of longing but not getting what he wanted next.
He just had to be patient and wait until this scene was finished before he went to find Chu Yinlong.
Jiang Dao pursed his lips, suppressed the restlessness in his heart, and ignored Chu Yinlong heartlessly.
Not far away, Chu Yinlong was a little depressed.
Although he could guess that Jiang Dao was probably ignoring him just to get into the role, but... this feeling was really too uncomfortable. He simply couldn't wait to film the stage where the two of them shared life and death and had a mutual understanding. He felt that if he continued filming these emotionally distant scenes... it would be bad for his heart.
The first shot was completed, which marked the beginning of the film.
Next, the actors and staff were divided into groups and went to other locations to shoot independent scenes. Chu Yinlong also temporarily went to cooperate with Group B to shoot some close-ups of hands and feet, etc. that had little impact on the plot.
As for Group A, where Jiang Dao was, all they had arranged for the first day were scenes about the city guards from Little Gray Wolf’s memories.
After the first shot, Jiang Dao gradually began to realize how outrageous Chu Yinlong’s words “Director Mu has high requirements for film images” were.
The steps are too big, try again; the angle of the arm swing is not beautiful, try again; the frequency of blinking is a bit slow, try again; all these details are achieved, but the emotions are not there, so try again...
However, except for Jiang Dao, who was working with Director Mu for the first time, the other cast and crew seemed to be accustomed to this rhythm of polishing over and over again, and had no complaints about Director Mu's arrangements. Even as long as Mu Zhixing frowned while looking at the monitor, the props and lighting staff would consciously begin to rearrange them and prepare to do it again.
By the time Group A finished filming all the scenes today, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening.
Jiang Dao packed up simply and was about to go back to the hotel when he was stopped by Director Mu.
Mu Zhixing lowered his voice and reminded him: "Tomorrow we will shoot the scene where you and Xiao Chu meet for the first time. You two should meet tonight and adjust your emotions. Don't fail to act like strangers and end up looking unsatisfied..."
Jiang Daowan didn't expect to receive such a suggestion and was stunned.
Director Mu added, "But you are not allowed to stay overnight. If you two come to the filming tomorrow with lusty looks on your faces, I will throw you two into the pool and leave you alone."
Jiangdao: ...
When I came out of the studio, the sky outside was already full of stars.
Group B's filming ended earlier, and the lights in the venue had been turned off.
Jiang Dao followed his assistant into the car and returned to the hotel where he was staying. As soon as he swiped his card to open the door, he was pulled into the room by the arm and pressed against the door for an eager and passionate kiss.
He asked his assistant to give Chu Yinlong a room card for this room so that Chu Yinlong could come over at any time.
Jiang Dao was not surprised by the "sudden attack" at this time - after all, they hadn't seen each other for two weeks, and he also wanted to get closer to Chu Yinlong. It can be imagined that Chu Yinlong should be in a similar mood.
The kiss ended, Jiang Dao panted rapidly: "You are such an ambush... If I hadn't recognized it quickly, I would have twisted you to the ground..."
Chu Yinlong hugged him tightly and laughed solemnly: "You can't beat me now."
Jiang Dao snorted, but this was the fact and he couldn't help but accept it.
Not wanting to waste time on unimportant things, Jiang Dao reached out and started to unbutton Chu Yinlong's belt. Chu Yinlong also cooperated and unbuttoned Jiang Dao's belt...
It's so simple and direct for adult men in love to get along with each other.
After finishing their business, they took a shower together.
Unexpectedly, just as Chu Yinlong helped Jiang Dao dry his hair, Jiang Dao ordered him to leave: "It's getting late, you should go back."
The emotion in Chu Yinlong's eyes suddenly dimmed.
After a moment of silence, he put down the hair dryer, lowered his head and held Jiang Dao's face, and whispered: "Xiaodao, we are lovers, not bedmates. We haven't seen each other for two weeks. Is the only thing you want to do with me to have sex?"
Jiang Dao looked up, his eyes full of confusion: "Then...what else can we do?"
They are on the crew now, and it's so late. They can't just watch a movie or have a midnight snack after finishing... After all, they still have to shoot tomorrow, and it's not good to rest too late.
Looking at Jiang Dao's expression, Chu Yinlong felt heavy in his heart.
He barely controlled his expression and raised his hand to gently rub Jiang Dao's soft hair.
Noticing that Chu Yinlong seemed to be in a bad mood, Jiang Dao immediately added: "It was Director Mu who reminded me not to spend the night with you. We are going to play strangers tomorrow, so we have to adjust our mood in advance. And it's almost twelve o'clock now, you should go back and rest."
Chu Yinlong curled his lips: "That's right."
After waiting for a while, seeing that Jiang Dao didn't speak anymore, he nodded: "Then I'll go back."
Then he turned around and was about to leave.
This time, Jiang Dao noticed Chu Yinlong's disappointment and reached out to grab Chu Yinlong's sleeve.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" He asked in a low voice, "Can you tell me? Explain it more clearly? I... This is my first time in love, and I don't know what to do."
Although he had read romance novels and knew that people in this world had different expectations of love than those outside of books, those were just stories after all, and they did not teach him how to fall in love with someone in this world. He could only grope his way forward and copy the pursuit of physical pleasure by the "lovers" in the world outside the book.
But the current results tell him that this approach does not seem to be correct.
Jiang Dao grabbed Chu Yinlong's sleeve and slowly tightened his fingers.
"Can you teach me?" He stood up and took two steps forward, approaching Chu Yinlong, "I... don't want to see you sad."
The next second, Chu Yinlong suddenly turned around, grabbed Jiang Dao into his arms and hugged him tightly.
After a long while, he kissed Jiang Dao's forehead, lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: "I'm not sad, I'm just scared... I'm scared that you are just... just..." to me
I couldn't finish my sentence.
He was unwilling to admit that possibility, but he could tell from Jiang Dao's eyes that Jiang Dao didn't actually rely much on him.
As a result, I became more and more worried about gains and losses, and wanted to grab something to confirm the other person's intentions.
Listening to Chu Yinlong's hesitation, Jiang Dao suddenly remembered what Zhou Wei had said: "Are you afraid... I'm just greedy for your body?"
Chu Yinlong lowered his eyes, feeling the warm body of the person in his arms, and finally admitted frankly: "...Yes."
Jiang Dao asked: "Why do you think so?"
After a long silence, Chu Yinlong said, "Because I can't see that you have any reluctance to leave me... Even if you have to live separately in order to get into the role, when you let me go, it seems that you didn't have any reluctance at all. We haven't seen each other for half a month, and it seems that... after we did it, you were already satisfied."
Jiang Dao said nothing.
Because he really thinks it's good this way, two people can understand each other, are defenseless to each other, and are very harmonious and able to get along well in bed, isn't this... satisfying enough?
Chu Yinlong gently rubbed Jiang Dao's hair with his cheek, speaking softly and tenderly, "But I'm not satisfied. I still want to talk to you, talk to you about what happened on the set today, and hold you to sleep, even if I don't do anything. I want to look at you as the last thing before going to bed every day, and see you as the first thing when I wake up every morning. Even if we have to live separately in order to get into the role, even if it's just for the night... I will be reluctant to leave."
Jiang Dao lowered his eyelashes, and after a while, he stammered, "I like what you said, too..."
He stepped back slightly and looked up at Chu Yinlong: "But we don't just have today... We can see each other tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We can be together for a long, long time. We're just separated for a short while. Why... do you feel reluctant?"
We can be together for a long, long time...
Thinking of this in his heart, Chu Yinlong's eyes were filled with emotions: "Do you think so?"
Jiang Dao did not evade: "Yes. We are so close, it's not a life-and-death separation."
Chu Yinlong suddenly smiled. He hugged Jiang Dao again and leaned his body slightly on the boy's shoulder. As if he was a little weak, he tried to seek some support from Jiang Dao.
Jiang Dao put his arm around Chu Yinlong's waist and whispered, "We can do the things you said every day after the filming is finished... I'll let you coax me to sleep and wake me up every day, okay?"
Chu Yinlong chuckled: "Okay. You promised it yourself."
After hugging quietly for a while, Chu Yinlong loosened his hands and stepped back slightly.
"Then, shall I chant some sutras for you to put you to sleep?" he asked in a low voice.
That's not a problem.
Jiang Dao nodded in agreement.
Until Jiang Dao fell asleep in the clear Buddhist chanting, Chu Yinlong got up, walked to the bedside, and gave the boy a gentle kiss on the lips.
After staring at Jiang Dao's sleeping face for a while, he murmured to himself: "...Why do you feel that only separation in life and death is worth it? I obviously don't want to leave you for a moment."
The sleeping Jiang Dao naturally would not answer.
After a long time, Chu Yinlong slowly exhaled, stood up, turned off the lights in the room, and pushed the door open quietly.
…
The next day, when he arrived at the set, Jiang Dao returned to his previous indifferent and distant mood.
The scene to be filmed today is that he accepts the arrangement of the city guard leader and prepares to artificially create a "hero saves the beauty" and encounter Xia Tian, the son of the rebel leader, in order to infiltrate the rebels.
Of course, what the city guards did secretly is not mentioned at the beginning of the movie, but the audience is kept in the dark, making people think that Little Gray Wolf was really rescued from a group of evil people by Xia Tian - Xia Tian’s first meeting with Little Gray Wolf is the real beginning of the movie, and the main perspective of the movie’s narrative is actually on Xia Tian’s side.
The rebel scouts led by Xia Tian encountered a squad of city guards in the ruins of a deserted city. They saw the team of city guards pulling a skinny boy out of a collapsed room in an extremely rough manner.
Perhaps he had experienced many fights before, the boy had wounds on his body, with dried blood mixed with a few strands of bright red. His whole face was pale and dirty, and his hair was stuck together by blood scabs, making him look inconspicuous.
——But this boy has a pair of overly beautiful eyes. When he was roughly pinned to the ground and his pants were torn off by several city guards, his eyes were still filled with fearlessness and determination. Even though he was outnumbered and unable to resist, he still tried his best to fight back, biting one of them's wrist tightly, and even when he was kicked suddenly in the abdomen, he did not let go.
When those eyes suddenly looked over, Xia Tian seemed to see a wolf that would rather die than surrender.
By the time they reacted, Xia Tian had already rushed forward in a frenzy and knocked to the ground those city guards who were trying to do evil.
The young man leaned against the ruined wall exhausted, trying to cover his body with torn pieces of cloth, biting his lips with a stubborn look on his face.
After injuring and driving away several city guards, Xia Tian returned to his original place, took off his coat and put it on the boy.
"Are you alone?" He looked at the collapsed ruins around him and asked softly, "Where are your family members?"
The young man replied nonchalantly: "Dead."
In the post-apocalyptic wasteland where war rages, orphans like him are not uncommon. Most of the resistance forces are orphans who have been rescued and recruited.
Xia Tian also thought about bringing him back to the resistance army and asked, "What's your name?"
The boy's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his eyes, which were clearly extremely delicate, looked at Xia Tian with a sharp gaze.
After examining him for a moment, he answered, "I don't have a name. Before... they all called me Little Gray Wolf."
"Little Gray Wolf..." Xia Tian murmured and smiled, "It suits you very well."
The little gray wolf remained silent.
Xia Tian tried, "Since you are the only one left, why don't you join us?"
The little wolf asked: "Can I eat enough?"
Xia Tian replied: "I will feed you until you are full."
Little Gray Wolf didn't hesitate: "Okay."
"Ok, this part is over." Director Mu announced loudly from the director's seat.
It took two full days to shoot this scene before it finally met Mu Zhixing's requirements. Just the very beginning scene where the little gray wolf was pulled out by the city guards and beaten was repeated no less than ten times - the movements had to be repeated if they were too light or too heavy, the staggering steps had to be repeated if they were not aesthetically pleasing, and even when he was pinned to the ground and his clothes were torn off, the shape of the fabric swinging had to be repeated if it did not look aesthetically pleasing.
If Jiang Dao hadn't seen that the four-month filming schedule was progressing steadily, he would have even doubted whether the film could be completed within the expected time.
…
After Little Gray Wolf successfully joined the rebels, it was naturally impossible for him to follow Xia Tian immediately. Therefore, in the following plot, there were not many rival scenes between Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong.
There are fewer scenes of rivalry, and outside the camera, the two people get along much more comfortably.
Without having to worry about their uncontrollable emotions during filming, they can stay together often, act together, chat, and spend time together like other couples.
Director Mu's scenes were not as thrilling as those designed by Chu Yinlong himself. Although it was a bit tiring to keep polishing them, overall, the filming went very smoothly.
Little Gray Wolf made rapid progress and performed excellently in the rebel training and daily combat. Finally one day, he got the opportunity to go to the rescue of Xia Tian's scout team.
This is a street fighting scene in the cramped ruins of a city.
Due to the narrow terrain and many obstructions to vision, the use of firearms is subject to certain restrictions. Therefore, this part of the fighting scenes is more in line with the definition of an action movie than the previous big battle scenes. There are many shots of climbing over walls, breaking windows, flying over eaves, jumping and sneaking.
Jiang Dao, hanging on a wire, jumped out of an abandoned window of a building, slid down by grabbing a rusty rainwater pipe on the wall, and after landing, he rolled to the side to avoid the incoming bullets, and quickly hid behind a collapsed low wall next to him.
This series of actions is a continuous long shot. If there is even a slight mistake, the whole set of actions will have to be repeated, such as now——
"The wire is too tight, the clothes are deformed." Director Mu stared at the monitor with a serious face, "Xiaodao, when you slide down the water pipe, move a little faster... This shot is a bit long now, and the rhythm is not tight enough."
Jiang Dao looked up at the scenery and suggested, "I can just let go and jump down from the top of the first floor."
Director Mu frowned: "The next step is to roll and dodge. Can you do it?"
Jiang Dao nodded: "Well, the height is more than three meters but less than four meters, no problem."
Director Mu thought about it for a moment and agreed to this plan: "Then you give it a try."
So Jiang Dao ran into the set building again, climbed all the way to the fourth floor, and asked the styling assistant waiting there to help him restore his look and start filming again.
After jumping off the building twice more, this shot was finally passed. Jiang Dao rubbed his ankle which was numb from the shock, took the mineral water from Chu Yinlong and drank some, then continued the next shooting without stopping.
After that, the little gray wolf sneaked into the center of the battle, blocked a sneak attack for Xia Tian, and then fought side by side.
The battle was fierce in the narrow dark alley.
Xia Tian and two other members of the scout team were blocked here and tried to break through the encirclement.
The little gray wolf broke through all the obstacles and came to find him. He happened to see a city guard sneaking up on Xia Tian from behind, with a dagger in his hand flashing coldly.
Without any hesitation, Little Gray Wolf raised his gun and shot the attacker dead, then cooperated with Xia Tian and others to tear a breakthrough in the encirclement of the city guards.
"The enemies outside have almost been dealt with," Little Gray Wolf said quickly in Xia Tian's ear, "Retreat to the east, it's cleaner there."
"Okay." Xia Tian retreated with his men without hesitation.
During the retreat, the group was intercepted and a chase in a dark alley began.
At the critical moment, the little gray wolf pushed Xia Tian away and blocked an attack for him. He was shot in the leg and blood gushed out.
"Little Gray Wolf!" Xia Tian hugged the man and took him into the shelter.
"I can't die here..." The little gray wolf turned pale in pain, but still gritted his teeth, "Brother... take me away!"
Xia Tian said nothing.
He deftly pulled out his dagger, cut open the trouser leg where Little Gray Wolf was shot, then pulled off a piece of cloth to make a simple tourniquet to help the boy treat the wound. He then carried the boy on his back and continued to break out. Finally, he successfully met up with the reinforcements with Little Gray Wolf and boarded the car back to the base.
"Not bad, it passed." Director Mu was obviously very satisfied with the last shot, and smiled for the first time. "Thank you for your hard work, we'll stop here today, and we'll move on to the indoor drama tomorrow."
Everyone on the set immediately applauded and cheered - shooting indoor scenes was much easier than shooting battlefield scenes. This period of battle shooting lasted for two weeks, and now they can finally take a break for a while.
Unexpectedly, not long after the filming entered the indoor drama stage, the crew finally encountered a big problem.
After Little Gray Wolf was injured while blocking a bullet for Xia Tian, Xia Tian had been taking extra care of him, and the atmosphere between the two young men gradually began to become ambiguous.
Finally, after personally changing the bandage on Little Gray Wolf's leg injury, Xia Tian was kissed by the boy and seduced into bed.
At this time, Jiangdao also faced a task that was almost impossible for him to complete.
"I'm sorry." He sat shirtless on the edge of the bed with his eyelashes drooping, "But I really...can't cry."
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