Chapter 17 017 Filming: Experience is the best teacher
Chapter Seventeen
"Thousand Mountains" is an ancient political intrigue film.
General Qin Chong returned from the border with the intention of retiring from the court, but he was innocently caught up in the struggle for the throne. After being implicated in the case of the stolen imperial seal, his family was imprisoned and his father died. Thus, Qin Chong embarked on a long road to seek justice.
The original novel, "Thousand Mountains," is a short novella with a simple story. It follows a typical pattern of the protagonist being wronged and seeking revenge. The reason it became so popular after its publication is because of the meticulous character portrayal and the almost chilling darkness hidden deep within the characters' hearts.
The evil of some characters is displayed too blatantly.
For example, Gu Yilou.
Before the audition, Lin Yuan had already read the original novel "Thousand Mountains" once. After accepting the role, he would flip through a few pages whenever he had free time. Lin Yuan remembered the contents of the original novel very well, and he could even recite all of Gu Yilou's lines.
Gu Yilou is a bad guy, and some of his wickedness is shown through the lines. The more Lin Yuan remembered, the closer he felt to the character, as if he was getting closer to that wickedness.
The filming location for "Thousand Mountains" was a film and television base in northern China. It included both studio scenes and location shooting. However, most of Lin Yuan's scenes were filmed at the film and television base. When Lin Yuan reported for duty at the agreed time, the crew had already finished filming the location shooting, and the two main actors, Li Mobei and Hua Lin, had already joined the crew.
No one paid any attention to Lin Yuan's arrival. Qin Panyun only told him to memorize the lines and film according to his own understanding.
Lin Yuan joined the crew group early on, but the group only sent out announcements and no one chatted. Apart from the director and a few staff members in charge of filming, Lin Yuan did not add anyone on WeChat.
He did greet Li Mobei and Hua Lin.
Li Mobei is not yet 40 years old and has a serious face that never smiles. Lin Yuan doesn't know what his personality is like in private, but when he watched him on set, Li Mobei's attitude was surprisingly serious.
When he's filming, he pays attention to every detail; his eyes and even wrinkles are expressive. When not filming, Li Mobei would twirl his fingers, pondering the character, and would occasionally exchange ideas with the screenwriter and director.
Hua Lin has a gentle face, but she started out as an action star. In recent years, martial arts and action movies have declined, so she has gradually turned to dramatic roles and has several representative works.
The attitude of the lead actor determines the atmosphere of the crew. Director Qin Panyun is the kind of person who is very persistent. Lin Yuan quickly realized that the crew of "Thousand Mountains" was strict, cautious, and everyone was in the mood to make a good movie.
In fact, period dramas have been struggling in recent years, with projects either failing to progress or becoming box office flops after release. The success of "Thousand Mountains" is entirely due to Qin Panyun's reputation over the years.
Even so, the production cost of "Thousand Mountains" was not high. Li Mobei and Hua Lin joined the crew at low pay. Of course, the two took the roles not because of personal connections, but because the script of "Thousand Mountains" was of excellent quality.
Qin Panyun's works have always been well-received, firstly because of his good pacing, and secondly because he always tries to tell a good story rather than getting lost in his own art. Therefore, although he has not had any blockbuster hits, his films are generally profitable, achieving a balance between commerce and art.
For young actors, participating in Qin Panyun's films is like having one foot in the movie industry.
...
Lin Yuan's first scene was on the afternoon of the second day. Before filming began, Lin Yuan was called over immediately for a makeup test.
"That must be the actor who plays Gu Yilou, right? He's so young." Li Mobei had just finished a shoot, and his agent was holding his clothes when he glanced in Lin Yuan's direction.
Li Mobei didn't speak, but his gaze also turned towards him.
"I don't know how good his acting is," the agent said. "He looks too young. I remember in the script, Gu Yilou wasn't much younger than Qin Zhong, and his personality doesn't seem to fit the character at all..."
“That’s the person Director Qin chose,” Li Mobei said, shutting up the agent. “We’ll know how they are after just one scene together.”
Before that, Li Mobei would not express any opinions about the actors in the same drama.
He doesn't usually pay much attention to online gossip, but he did glance at the casting information for "Thousand Mountains". He only knew that it was not easy for Director Qin to find the right people. In addition, Lin Yuan was an idol who had never acted before.
To be honest, Li Mobei was also unsure whether Lin Yuan could play the role well.
Lin Yuan and Hua Lin did not have any scenes together; most of his scenes in the entire film were with Li Mobei.
Li Mobei has been in the industry for over twenty years. In recent years, he has collaborated with many young actors. To be honest, most of the time, when acting with young actors who are not from professional acting backgrounds, Li Mobei only feels despair.
No matter what emotions he conveyed, he usually received no feedback; he felt like he was acting with a block of wood.
Of course, those with formal training aren't much better; at most, their lower limit is a bit higher, but their upper limit... well, let's not even mention it.
Ironically, these actors who act terribly love to show off, boasting about their amazing acting skills. With the help of their agencies and fans, they act like movie stars, constantly proclaiming themselves as overlooked gems of some award.
Li Mobei rubbed his forehead. He hadn't expected that Director Qin would find such a young actor for the role of Gu Yilou.
In the original novel "Thousand Mountains", Gu Yilou is a rather outstanding character.
If this character is not portrayed well, it will definitely affect the final quality of the movie.
While Li Mobei was pondering, Lin Yuan finished his makeup test. He was wearing a blue straight-cut robe, and his makeup was styled in a more ancient style, so in terms of appearance, he looked closer to Gu Yilou than before.
From a distance, Lin Yuan certainly looked like a handsome young man.
But... just because his appearance is similar doesn't mean he can play the role of Gu Yilou well.
The first scene the two filmed today was Gu Yilou's first appearance in the movie.
Qin Chong was wronged, so he entrusted his family to Gu Yilou. The Gu family was powerful and influential, and Gu Yilou was a righteous person, making him the best choice in Qin Chong's heart.
However, Qin Zhong was unaware that his choice of Gu Yilou had sealed his fate and brought him misfortune.
...
"Alright, alright, let's film." Qin Panyun patted Li Mobei on the shoulder, then patted Lin Yuan. "Is everything ready?"
Lin Yuan nodded.
Li Mobei glanced at Lin Yuan again, feeling that Lin Yuan's smile was... a little too sunny and bright.
Gu Yilou himself is quite gloomy.
"Filming begins!"
At Qin Panyun's command, all the actors took their positions, and Li Mobei, with no time to be distracted, instantly immersed himself in the role.
When the Qin family suffered misfortune, Qin Chong went to Gu Yilou for help.
At this point, Qin Zhong was disheartened. He didn't realize that even though he had decided to retire, he was still caught up in the court's infighting. His former colleagues had all left him, and even those who were willing to help were powerless to do so.
When he came to find Gu Yilou, he was already mentally prepared to be rejected.
However--
The person standing before Qin Chong was Gu Yilou, whose face was full of sincerity.
The other person looked at him with sincere eyes: "Brother Qin, you are the kindest person and once held great military power. How could you be so foolish as to get involved in the struggle for the throne?"
The moment Lin Yuan's voice rang out, Li Mobei's heart skipped a beat.
Lin Yuan's lines were much better than he had expected.
The pronunciation, the character's emotions, the slightly raised tone of voice... all tried their best to closely resemble Gu Yilou.
Before this scene, he and Lin Yuan had hardly interacted, only exchanging greetings when they met. But at this moment, he saw himself reflected in Lin Yuan's pupils, and the other party acted as if he were a close friend he had known for many years.
Gu Yilou was cheerful and generous. If Li Mobei were to describe him specifically, he felt that Gu Yilou at this moment... had the shadow of Qin Zhong.
As stated in the original work, Gu Yilou is a soulless shell; he has no self, and all his good qualities come from imitation.
At this moment, Lin Yuan had already given him a sense of imitation.
However, Qin Zhong was not a cunning person, and he did not notice.
Gu Yilou treated him as before, and Qin Chong was so moved that he could not speak.
Next, Qin Zhong told Gu Yilou everything about his current situation. He said, "Yilou, I don't know who I can trust in the entire capital. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have to ask myself what I have done all these years that everyone avoids me like this!"
Qin Zhong's tone was full of resentment and unwillingness. He did not notice that Gu Yilou, who was only an arm's length away from him, avoided his gaze at that moment.
In a mere instant, Gu Yilou's expression shifted to one of shared indignation: "Brother Qin, it's not like that at all!"
His expressions changed so quickly that only the camera managed to capture the subtle changes in his facial muscles. In that instant, the word "incongruous" popped into everyone's mind.
Li Mobei, who acted opposite him, felt it even more deeply.
He had forgotten Lin Yuan's background as an idol and his lack of prior acting experience, as well as his own anxieties before filming began; all he felt was utter shock.
Gu Yilou is a character that feels very out of place.
But it's not easy to express.
Unlike the original novel, the movie uses descriptions and Gu Yilou's behavior to show the character's changes, allowing readers to naturally anticipate the changes. The movie, however, is different. If it were to follow the original work, from the audience's perspective, Gu Yilou would be too abrupt. He would jump from a good person to the opposite of a good person in an instant, lacking the connecting parts in between.
Therefore, the screenwriter emphasized Gu Yilou's unusual behavior in the script.
Of course, it's a very subtle difference, not too abrupt.
At that moment, right under everyone's noses, Lin Yuan expressed what the script had presented.
Even though he was facing Li Mobei.
From an outsider's perspective, Lin Yuan didn't seem to be suppressed when acting opposite Li Mobei.
Furthermore—because Qin Zhong is a positive character, at least in the current storyline, Li Mobei doesn't need to show the complex side of Qin Zhong's personality, so Li Mobei is portraying a one-dimensional Qin Zhong.
Lin Yuan's portrayal of Gu Yilou is fake, merely a facade.
In the initial exchanges, Gu Yilou had a slight advantage.
Gu Yilou accepted the task of looking after Qin Chong's family. After receiving Qin Chong's thanks, he gave Qin Chong a deep look.
This scene is a close-up.
The camera focused on Gu Yilou's eyes, but couldn't capture the depths of his heart. All that could be seen was pure blackness, like a black hole.
Qin Panyun did not call a halt, so Lin Yuan kept looking at the camera.
Generally speaking, long shots in movies, especially those involving eye contact, require the director to make adjustments repeatedly. But at this moment, Qin Panyun said nothing, yet her eyes in the shot were utterly empty.
When Qin Panyun yelled "Cut!", Li Mobei suddenly turned around and stared at the director.
The director spread his hands and gave him a smug smile.
Li Mobei gave a thumbs up.
Old ginger is spicier.
A note from the author:
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The game will be available for purchase the day after tomorrow. There will be three chapters released on the day it becomes a paid feature. Mwah! [cheering][cheering][cheering]
This piece is a bit slow-paced, but I'm gradually getting into the swing of things. Keep going, keep going, keep going!
Proud! [Lop-eared rabbit head][Lop-eared rabbit head][Lop-eared rabbit head]
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