Chapter 446 Filming Begins (10,000-word update!)
“Ma Zhiyuan’s work for the past week has been canceled.”
Li Zhibai opened a bottle of whiskey and ordered takeout braised food, happily starting a three-person sharing session at Ziyuan Bridge.
It was called a sharing session, but in reality, it was just Li Zhibai telling Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang all the information he had collected.
He had never been so eager to inquire about gossip before. Everyone who received his call could sense his schadenfreude in his tentative, probing questions.
"Zhou Ping'an is trying to put out fires everywhere, but several brands he endorses are already terminating their contracts with Ma Zhiyuan." Li Zhibai laughed heartily, "Several collaborations that were under negotiation have also fallen through."
Yan Liang said, "Zhou Ping'an is going to give me several resources that originally belonged to him."
Li Zhibai immediately said, "You absolutely must not accept this. This guy is a real scoundrel. If he gives you Ma Zhiyuan's resources at this time, Ma Zhiyuan's crazy fans will chase after you and curse you to the heavens."
Yan Liang nodded, "I think so too. Taking over Ma Zhiyuan's resources at this time would make it seem like I'm robbing him."
Lu Yanhe: "The main thing is that you don't lack these things at all right now, so why did you take over Ma Zhiyuan's and plant such a time bomb for yourself? Zhou Ping'an really isn't thinking straight. He only thinks about keeping everything in his own bowl and doesn't care about messing around and making a mess of the food all over the floor."
Li Zhibai: "If he were clear-headed, he wouldn't have done so many bad things."
"But isn't Ma Zhiyuan going to respond either?"
“How can I respond? What can I say?” Li Zhibai said. “If I were him, I wouldn’t even have the face to show my face in public right now.”
"But things always need to be resolved, and he can't stay silent about this issue forever."
Yan Liang said, "I guess we'll have to wait until this storm passes. Zhou Ping'an has been nowhere to be seen these past two days. He's probably busy dealing with this matter. Before responding, he'll definitely need to reach an agreement with Xu Qinyin and her company to coordinate their statements."
"I'm curious, after something like this, will Ma Zhiyuan's fans still like him?"
“There will definitely be people who stop being fans, but there will definitely be people who don’t mind and will continue to like him,” Lu Yanhe said. “If you’re hoping that this will completely destroy him, then you shouldn’t even think about it.”
Li Zhibai sighed regretfully.
In the entertainment industry, the two people Li Zhibai dislikes the most are Ma Zhiyuan and Meng Li.
If one day the two of them retire from the entertainment industry, Li Zhibai will definitely celebrate with champagne.
Yan Liang asked, "Since Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin haven't responded, this matter may just gradually cool down and fade away."
Li Zhibai said, "Then I really want to tag Ma Zhiyuan directly on Weibo and make him take responsibility like a man."
Lu Yanhe: "Don't do that. This isn't just about Ma Zhiyuan; it involves other people too. If things get too big, it won't be good for them either."
Li Zhibai: "I know, otherwise I would have posted on Weibo the very first day I heard the news."
-
Just as Yan Liang said, Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin never responded to the matter or showed up, so the heat of the matter gradually faded away.
To be honest, this isn't anything groundbreaking. To unrelated people, it's just a somewhat sensational piece of gossip.
Ironically, this incident created an opening for a female lead in Liu Bige's new film, which in turn attracted more attention from talent agencies and actresses.
Liu Bige and Longyan Film Industry held a small, private interview.
Li Zhibai was also there, mainly to let him act with them and see their chemistry.
Only five people received interview invitations, including Wang Jing, who was recommended by Lu Yanhe.
All five of them had a scene with Li Zhi, and then they chatted with everyone.
No results were announced on the spot.
After the actors left, Huang Tai asked Liu Bige and Li Zhibai for their opinions.
Liu Bige didn't speak first, but looked at Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai was also very direct, saying, "When I was acting, the character I felt most connected to was Wang Jing. She was crazy enough, and I was startled when she yelled at me."
Everyone else laughed.
Mrs. Huang smiled and said, "Wang Jing's acting is quite good."
Another person mentioned, "Actually, Ji Miao is also very good. She even won the Fei Hong Award for Best Supporting Actress, and her acting skills are excellent."
"Ji Miao is indeed good, but her chemistry with Zhi Bai isn't that strong." Some people said, "Although our movie is mainly a comedy, the relationship between the two characters is still related to love. Without chemistry, the audience won't be moved at the end of the movie."
Mrs. Huang asked, "Why is there no chemistry between them? Can't this be adjusted in post-production?"
Liu Bige said, "It's not impossible to create that feeling with some shooting angles and guidance, but the kind of CP chemistry that can spark from the start is definitely more touching to the audience. Ji Miao is actually a bit arrogant. When she auditioned with Li Zhibai, she gave people the feeling that she was more than capable of playing this role. She is too proud."
Li Zhibai said, "Of the five people I auditioned, I felt that Ji Miao was the worst. But maybe she has the confidence, after all, she won the Fei Hong Award."
Of the five, Ji Miao is the only one who has won a mainstream award.
Mrs. Wong smiled and said, "Our movie revolves around you as the central character. If she holds that kind of mindset, then she'll only be disappointed."
She asked Liu Bige, "You haven't given your opinion yet?"
“I think Wang Jing and Sun Ruoyao are both very good,” Liu Bige said. “Wang Jing’s strength lies in her overall feeling, which is very similar to the character in the script. Her acting skills are excellent in terms of explosiveness and all aspects, and she plays the role with a lot of spirit. Sun Ruoyao’s advantage is that she is very beautiful. She is stunningly beautiful but not in an aggressive way. It is rare to see actresses with such a face. I imagine that if she played this role with Zhibai, the scene would actually be more beautiful.”
“Sun Ruoyao has only acted in one drama before, right? She played a role in a period drama.” Huang Tai looked at the information in front of her and pondered for a moment. “In comparison, Wang Jing is more reassuring. She has also worked with you before.”
“She’s a reliable actress,” Liu Bige nodded. “It’s up to you to decide.”
Originally, Li Zhibai felt that Wang Jing gave him the best impression.
But after hearing what Liu Bige said, he thought about the effect of him appearing on screen with Sun Ruoyao, and it was indeed more cinematic than standing with Wang Jing.
It's not that Wang Jing is less pretty than Sun Ruoyao. Rather, for this role and this subject matter, Sun Ruoyao's performance would create a stronger contrast in image and personality, similar to the contrast between a goddess and a quirky woman. This would be more effective and more likely to elicit unexpected laughter from the audience.
Mrs. Wong said, "We are actually very clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the two actresses."
After she said that, no one else spoke up.
Mrs. Wong said, "How about we film a test clip? We'll see which one turns out better, and then we'll use that one."
"That's fine too." Liu Bige nodded.
-
After Li Zhibai returned, he told Lu Yanhe about the audition.
"Sun Ruoyao?" Lu Yanhe didn't expect Sun Ruoyao to suddenly appear out of nowhere; he didn't even recognize this actress.
Lu Yanhe looked up Sun Ruoyao's information online, especially some clips of her previous acting roles.
Just as they said, Sun Ruoyao does have a bright and dignified appearance. Although she is very young and does not yet have the feel of a "strong woman", she has some of the charm of Hong Kong film actresses that Lu Yanhe remembers.
Li Zhibai said, "Compared to her, Wang Jing is indeed a bit less attractive, so the contrast effect isn't as great."
Li Zhibai, like many others, doesn't have much of an understanding of acting. He was supposed to graduate this year, but due to too many missed classes and insufficient credits, he had to postpone his studies.
Li Zhibai didn't really understand much of the theoretical knowledge he learned at school.
But he has a natural talent for acting. Li Zhibai also has his own insights into what constitutes good acting. This is what distinguishes a good actor from an ordinary one—a difference in aesthetics. Li Zhibai himself hasn't acted much, and his experience is relatively short, but he can already clearly distinguish between Wang Jing and Sun Ruoyao, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in a film or a role.
Many actors simply lack this ability to discern – which also means they lack the ability to distinguish between a good script and a good production team.
“Shooting a test clip is actually a safer approach.” Lu Yanhe agrees with this point. “This way, we can see most directly who is more suitable.”
Li Zhibai said, "I heard from Liu Bige that Wang Jing was recommended by you."
"It was my recommendation. When I heard her talk about it, I felt that Wang Jing was actually very suitable. But if there is a more suitable candidate, of course we will find the more suitable person to play the role," Lu Yanhe said. "Everything is to make this movie better."
"From what I can tell, Mrs. Huang doesn't seem to want to use Wang Jing, although she hasn't expressed it that way and has kept her intentions very hidden."
"Maybe. Back when she filmed 'Late Spring' with Liu Bige, Longyan Film Studio definitely wanted to sign Wang Jing, but Wang Jing ultimately signed her contract with Aurora Video. Mrs. Huang probably had some issues with Wang Jing because of this. But these issues are nothing. Once Wang Jing becomes famous, Mrs. Huang will probably forget about them."
Li Zhibai: "No wonder."
Why didn't Wang Jing sign with Longyan Film Industry back then?
“It’s definitely because Aurora Video offered better conditions,” Lu Yanhe said. “She played a very important role in ‘Squid Game.’ This wasn’t arranged by me; Aurora Video gave her the role. If Wang Jing had signed with Longyan Film and Television, Longyan might not have been able to provide her with good resources.”
Li Zhi nodded a hundred times.
Yan Liang said, "I remember you said before that you wanted to cast Wang Jing in another drama, right?"
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Yes, I wrote a script for Sister Yuqian called 'Telephone.' It's a story about two timelines and two female protagonists connected by a telephone. I think Wang Jing is the most suitable actress to play the role of the young girl."
Yan Liang nodded.
Li Zhibai said, "Didn't we all say you were under a lot of work pressure? How come you still have so many projects to push forward?"
“That was a script that was written before, and I’m no longer involved,” Lu Yanhe said. “I won’t be deeply involved in this movie either. I’ll just put my name on the producer and screenwriter list, and the two female leads will be cast. Next, Sister Ziyan will go and negotiate with various film companies to see which one is willing to do it.”
Li Zhibai: "That's more like it."
"How's the preparation for your TV series adaptation of 'Nineteen Years of Crime Records' going?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Li Zhibai said, "I found Bingyuan Video to develop this with me, and the first draft of the script is out. I just received the first funding from Bingyuan Video and set up the production team. However, the official start of filming will definitely be at the end of this year or next year. I still have to film Liu Bige's movie first."
"Hmm." Lu Yanhe nodded. "The movie version of this story was terrible. You should learn from their mistakes."
"Don't worry, I won't hire a tyrant to act in this show with me," Li Zhibai said.
Yan Liang pursed his lips and said, "You two are both starting to work as producers now, which really puts a lot of pressure on me. It's too much."
Lu Yanhe said, "Our story started by chance. If the right opportunity comes in the future, you can do the same."
Lu Yanhe actually hopes that everyone can participate more deeply in this industry, rather than just as actors.
Being merely an actor is indeed too passive. But if they have the ability to manage a project on their own, then when no suitable projects come their way, they can do projects they truly want to do, instead of passively waiting.
Li Zhibai's phone suddenly rang.
He received a phone call and came back saying, "A show I acted in suddenly got a surprise release tonight. They asked me to share the trailer and do some promotion."
What play?
“Washe,” Li Zhibai said.
At that moment, Lu Yanhe's phone rang.
Su Xiao posted a message in the "Young Days" group chat, saying that her starring drama "Washe" would be broadcast tonight, and asked everyone to help forward her Weibo post to help promote it.
This drama stars Li Zhibai and Su Xiao and is broadcast on Bingyuan Video.
Lu Yanhe: "This drama was filmed at the end of the year before last, right? It's amazing that it's been delayed for so long before it airs."
Li Zhibai said, "It is said that the later stages took a long time to complete because it is a fantasy-themed love story."
"That must have been a huge investment, right? How did they suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
“We don’t know why, we don’t know either,” Li Zhibai said. “Several times we were about to set a release date, but then it was suddenly canceled.”
Li Zhibai has indeed not had any dramas airing for quite some time.
The last drama she starred in was "The Legend of the White Jade," which aired last spring and was a hit fantasy drama.
A year has passed, and Li Zhibai finally has a new drama airing.
Lu Yanhe forwarded the release date announcement from the production team, and also forwarded the trailer.
The TV series "Washe" was originally filmed with a total of 20 episodes, but now that it's airing, only 18 episodes remain.
Because of the presence of Li Zhibai, a top-tier celebrity, the news attracted considerable attention as soon as it was released.
Su Xiao has gradually gained popularity and a group of loyal fans in recent years because of the variety show "The Days of Youth".
Icefield Video is releasing "Washe" as its flagship drama for June.
However, after the first episode of "Wa She" was released, it was ridiculed by Li Zhibai's haters because it had no ad clips and became a trending topic.
“This show was a surprise addition, so it’s normal that there were no commercials. It’s unreasonable for them to use this to mock you,” Lu Yanhe said.
The three of them stayed with Li Zhibai in the house to watch the premiere.
Lu Yanhe saw the trending topic online and complained on behalf of Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai said, "Ignore these comments that are just for the sake of criticizing."
The current phenomenon in fan circles is indeed strange.
They compare everything, even how many commercials are shown when someone stars in a movie.
Comparing an artist's ability to attract advertisers... the more ads a show has, the more popular it is and the more favored it is by advertisers.
The ad placement rate for the first episode is essentially a measure of advertisers' approval of the main character.
"Washe" is entirely a one-man show by Li Zhibai – he's the only big star in this show.
The fact that there were no ad-supported ads naturally attracted ridicule from haters.
Blocking out these distracting voices and watching the first episode carefully, Lu Yanhe said, "This drama is quite romantic, much better than I expected."
In this drama, Lee Ji-baek finally refrained from playing an exaggerated character who was either loud and boisterous or somewhat neurotic. Instead, he portrayed a bookstore owner with a mysterious past—he could take others on a journey through dream worlds, but he also faced constant attacks from unknown creatures.
Su Xiao plays an ordinary girl who is accidentally attacked by an unknown creature. She unexpectedly enters the dreams of other people with the character played by Li Zhibai. In the dream, she helps people resolve their fears, worries and pains, and at the same time, she fights against the attack of the unknown creature.
In the first episode, there weren't many special effects. Only a few scenes of unknown creatures appearing and a few scenes of Li Zhibai using superpowers in other people's dreams had special effects.
The effect is also amazing, not the kind of cheap special effects.
After the first episode aired, "Washe" sparked a lot of discussion online.
It was mainly Li Zhibai's fans who promoted the show, and Bingyuan Video also bought several trending topics to attract more viewers.
Li Zhibai himself read it and was satisfied.
In fact, since his debut, almost all of the dramas he has acted in have a large proportion of romantic scenes.
This is also related to how he is positioned in the market.
Female viewers want to see him in romantic scenes so they can relate to him.
His recently completed film, "Moonlight Symphony," and his upcoming film about Liu Bige both share this theme.
However, although Li Zhibai's dramas all feature a significant amount of romance, the themes vary. From fantasy dramas to urban fantasy and comedies, Li Zhibai remains within his comfort zone, striving to challenge himself with different character types and genres.
This kind of attempt will prevent the audience from quickly becoming tired of him.
Just like the mysterious shop owner he plays in "Washe" this time, in reality he is a taciturn, well-mannered, and older-than-his-age young man, but in his dreams, he is a completely different person, brave and resolute. This contrast in the role not only brings great novelty to his fans, but also receives high praise from the media.
Many people believe that media evaluations of celebrities are basically just a matter of being paid to do so.
In reality, many media outlets, while doing their jobs for money, are simply ordinary viewers. Their attitudes towards celebrities are influenced by the celebrities' own performances and the impact their work has on them.
Why is Chen Ziliang being criticized so much?
Because his acting was poor; not only was his acting poor, but it also made people unable to see his sincerity in acting.
Is Li Zhibai really that good at acting? Is he exceptionally talented? Of course not. But he plays roles that he can control and that he's comfortable with. Moreover, he seeks something different in every role he plays, avoiding repetition and bringing a lot of freshness to his performance.
This is the most basic thing for an actor. Compared to his peers, his attitude is exceptionally dedicated.
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"Washe" became a dark horse that emerged in June, and it was rare for a drama series to appear in the market with a relatively high level of discussion and a large number of viewers.
However, like Li Zhibai's previous dramas, this series primarily targets a female audience. This is a good thing, but it limits Li Zhibai's ability to broaden his acting range and go further in his career.
Of course, in any case, Li Zhibai has at least produced another hit drama.
After zero pre-roll ads in the first episode, the second episode immediately introduced six pre-roll ads, four at the beginning and two during the episode, effectively silencing the previous attacks from the critics.
Besides the popularity of "Washe" in the TV series market, in the film market, the youth romance film "You Ten Years Ago and Me Ten Years Later," starring Ji Miao, only grossed 21 million yuan in its opening weekend despite high pre-release hype, far below industry expectations. The box office plummeted in the second week, with daily box office takings of just over 2 million yuan. It is estimated that the final box office will be difficult to exceed 50 million yuan, which is quite disappointing.
Conversely, Cheng Shiyan's action comedy "33 Days" performed steadily, grossing 540 million yuan in its first week and projected to surpass 1 billion yuan in total. This has given industry insiders even more confidence in his upcoming film "Beetle Project 2," scheduled for release next Chinese New Year. Cheng Shiyan's box office appeal remains undiminished.
Aside from these two Chinese-language films, other Chinese-language films received little attention in June. Their box office performance was mostly mediocre, with no dark horses emerging. Conversely, the American animated film *Wendy the Stray Dog*, with zero domestic promotion, raked in a staggering 600 million yuan at the box office, drawing considerable attention.
The performance of these films also influenced the films to be released later.
The film "Lost in Thailand," starring Jia Long and written by Lu Yanhe, is scheduled to be released on Thursday, July 12.
The film "Flowers on the Stars," written by Yu Jiang and starring Lang Xia, is scheduled to be released on August 14th, the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day).
"Rouge," directed by Wang Zhong, starring Chen Bige and Huang Kairen, and written by Lu Yanhe, is scheduled to be released during the Mid-Autumn Festival in September.
In addition, several other major films have also been scheduled for release.
The summer movie season, a major box office period, is the largest in China outside of the Spring Festival season, and it also lasts the longest in the country.
The crew of Lu Yanhe's "Love Letter" has officially set up camp in Jiangzhi as the summer movie season is about to begin.
Lu Yanhe went there after finishing his last exam.
Summer has arrived.
When Lu Yanhe got off the plane, he felt a wave of heat hitting him.
Even though there was a connecting bridge in the middle, the heat was still intense between the air-conditioned airport and the aircraft cabin.
Luo Yuzhong and Zhao Yuheng had already gone through the entire filming schedule and reviewed the work plans of each department, so that the basic framework for filming would be in place by the time Lu Yanhe arrived.
A production team needs a veteran director like Luo Yuzhong to oversee things, otherwise the crew won't dare to slack off.
Otherwise, others might see Lu Yanhe as a new director and might be tempted to deceive him.
At this time, Jiangzhi has entered its most beautiful season of the year.
The sun shines brightly, and the whole city is bathed in golden sunlight or green shade, just like the kind of small town summer often seen in cartoons, where people hold an ice pop, lie on a cool mat with a fan or air conditioning, and slowly enjoy the coolness in the sweltering heat.
The news that "Love Letter" was being filmed in Jiangzhi has already been known to many people.
After all, during the days that Lu Yanhe was away, several groups of people from the "Love Letter" crew had come to scout locations and build sets, making quite a commotion, so it was impossible for them not to be noticed.
There aren't many scenes to shoot in the summer.
This also allows Lu Yanhe to familiarize himself with the situation.
The scenes in the summer are mostly about her younger days, so Chen Bige doesn't need to appear.
However, Lu Yanhe did not expect that Chen Bige would still come.
She said that since she hadn't taken on any other roles and didn't have any other work for the time being, she could come and take a look, and also to see who was playing the girl from her high school days.
"Also, you've officially announced that I'm the female lead in this movie. If I don't show up in Jiangzhi, aren't you afraid that the media reporters will make some bad speculations?" Chen Bige said with a smile. "If that's the case, then your mysterious female lead might have to be exposed."
Lu Yanhe hadn't expected Chen Bige to consider so much.
The number of people who came to Jiangzhi because of this play is quite large.
Many fans also came just to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars.
The crew of "Love Letter" booked two guesthouses in Jiangzhi for the crew to stay in.
This bag costs a lot, but it makes the crew management easier and prevents others from disturbing the crew's rest.
-
Zhang Ruozhi has not yet started her holiday.
Lu Yanhe and the others did not urge them.
They plan to shoot other scenes first, including some establishing shots.
Because this was Lu Yanhe's first time directing, he genuinely didn't know what to do. He hadn't previously observed carefully what a director's role was in a film.
Giving actors acting instructions is definitely only a small part of the process.
Fortunately, they had allocated ample time to sit down with people from various departments to discuss shooting plans, storyboards, and conduct test shoots.
The test scenes were all performed by Lu Yanhe himself.
In particular, the most crucial scenes in this film almost all take place in the library.
The film was shot at Jiangzhi High School, where Zhang Ruozhi studied.
With He Yunlan's coordination and the participation of students from her own school, the school readily agreed.
Fortunately, high school libraries are generally not used much.
Especially in this day and age, very few students go to the library anymore.
He found a perfect room on the second floor of the library to film the scene in "Love Letter" where Kawai Itsuki and Kawai Itsuki are in the library.
Lu Yanhe stood in front of the window and had the photographer take a test shot of him.
Liu Bige was also there.
After the photographer took one shot, before Lu Yanhe had even seen it, Liu Bige said it wouldn't work.
"This shot is too much like something out of an idol drama." Liu Bige took over the camera himself and filmed the scene.
Because it was just a test shoot, no camera movement track was laid out, and no lighting design was done.
However, Liu Bige directly constructed a camera movement in a short period of time.
To capture the figure peeking through the gap behind the bookshelf, simulate a person's perspective, with slight movements, probing, and even a hint of cautious shyness, and then slowly push the camera out.
Liu Bige carried the camera on his shoulder.
He slowly walked out from behind the bookshelf, stood in front of Lu Yanhe, and faced the sunlight streaming in from the window.
Lu Yanhe's figure was shrouded in a layer of light.
"The camera must not be too straightforward; it must have its own language," Liu Bige told the cinematographer. "Especially for the film 'Love Letter,' you have to think about what kind of story it is and what this scene is about. It's not just directors and actors who need to read the script; even those who do technical work need to study the script and thoroughly understand how a scene should be filmed. Your technical skills can speak for themselves; don't just do routine work."
The photographer is young, named Wu Zhou, and was a member of Liu Bige's photography team when he shot "Late Spring." This time, Wu Zhou is also one of the photography teams personally brought by Liu Bige.
Lu Yanhe watched the replay with them.
Without post-production or lighting adjustments, Liu Bige's shot is only about twenty seconds long. However, as he said, without any dialogue or narration, he was able to convey the emotions the shot wanted to express through such a change in camera angle.
The feeling of having a crush, being cautious, and secretly observing.
Liu Bige then said to Lu Yanhe, "My judgment should be correct, right? Is this the kind of shooting effect you wanted?"
Lu Yanhe nodded, "Yes, that's exactly how I wanted to film this scene. From my perspective and her perspective, we're shooting from each other's angles, creating a kind of camera relationship where we're secretly observing each other."
-
At noon, Lu Yanhe ate lunch with everyone at the school cafeteria.
The principal specially arranged for the staff canteen to prepare a meal for them as a way of welcoming them.
"Oh my, you're so welcome to film here!" The principal's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yanhe. "I really hope that one of our senior students this year can become your junior."
Lu Yanhe: "It will definitely happen."
He said to the principal.
Principal: "Alas, our school's teaching staff is not as strong as other places, and the children are also having a hard time. We hope that your filming of this movie here will bring us some good luck."
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
After lunch, Lu Yanhe needed to use the restroom, but all the restrooms were full, so he had to go to the nearby restrooms to find another one.
At the corner of the corridor, two men were standing there smoking, unaware that Lu Yanhe was coming from behind.
"When Lu Yanhe is the director and makes a movie, Liu Bige is his cinematographer, Luo Yuzhong helps him with department management, and Chen Bige is the lead actor. Haha, there's no one else like him."
"What's wrong?"
"I just feel that this world is sometimes really unfair."
"Unfair?"
“Everyone starts from a different point. We want to be directors, so we start from the bottom and work hard for more than ten years without seeing any opportunities. But when a star like Lu Yanhe wants to be a director, everyone helps him. I know he is very talented and a genius. He can succeed at anything. But I can’t help it. I’m just jealous of him.”
"You'd better adjust your mindset quickly. If you keep thinking like this, you'll only feel worse and worse."
“I’m just venting to you. I tried writing a script before and asked a producer to look at it. Do you know how long he looked at it? He only looked at it for five minutes, and then he told me that the script was terrible, as bad as shit, and that I had no talent for storytelling. I really wanted to smear shit in his face.”
“You can submit your script to some youth film festival venture capital projects since you have a script.”
"Heh, do you really believe those were selected through open auditions? They're all people with complicated connections behind the scenes. Someone like me, with no background whatsoever, wouldn't even bother to open the script if they saw my name."
"You're being far too pessimistic."
"You don't believe me? Heh, you're so naive."
...
Lu Yanhe felt a pang of pity; he couldn't bear to see the "few opportunities" for those who wanted to start from scratch. At the same time, he was also annoyed by this cynical and envious attitude.
He didn't really care about being talked about behind his back, but the way these words implied that the outside world was full of people with connections and that ordinary people had no chance of getting ahead made Lu Yanhe want to stand up and ask: Is it because people don't have connections that they don't choose your script, or is your script just not good enough?
Having been in the entertainment industry for so long, Lu Yanhe certainly knows that many people are truly talented but unappreciated. However, whether it's the venture capital fund of the Youth Film Festival or other platforms or projects, they are still supporting people by discovering their talents.
Every year, new young directors still emerge. There are so many people in the entertainment industry with resources and abilities. When choosing projects, they never look at who has a bigger background or connections, but rather at the script itself.
He was like that, Chen Bige was like that, and Shang Yongzhou was like that too.
The better a person is, the more they will discard all distractions and only look at what truly matters.
He doesn't believe that the venture capital fund for the youth film festival is selected by people with connections.
Lu Yanhe also received a request to be a judge for this project, but he declined because he was too busy. However, many actors and directors in the industry have received invitations to be judges, and they are seriously reading and selecting scripts. When they see a good script, they are even moved by it and will do everything in their power to support the director in turning the script into a movie.
-
But Lu Yanhe did not stand up to refute him.
He simply walked away silently.
Before leaving, he glanced at the two people who were talking; they were both from the photography crew.
The one who was cynical and jealous was the older Bao Wenliang, and the younger one was Wu Zhou.
Lu Yanhe did not stand up to refute for two reasons: first, it was unnecessary; second, in front of cynical and jealous people, anything he said would be "easy for him to say when he was not in the same boat," and "of course, whatever you say makes sense once you've succeeded."
-
When Lu Yanhe was an actor, he rarely needed to interact with every staff member in every department.
Communication with the photography team usually involves discussing camera movement with the director of photography to help the actor find the right shot during the performance. Of course, with Liu Bige, there's no need to find the camera. Liu Bige doesn't even want you to know where the camera is; he prefers to capture the actors in their most authentic and natural state.
Now Lu Yanhe needs to have in-depth communication with people from various departments, because each department has to listen to him about how to do things and to what extent.
The advantage of director Lu Yanhe's "Love Letter" lies in the fact that he has a very clear idea of what kind of original film he wants to make, so he can give very clear instructions.
At the same time, he also specifically found someone who could draw storyboards to help him draw the shooting storyboards for the script.
Having complete storyboards before filming is a huge advantage for any department. Each department will clearly understand what kind of shot they need to shoot and how they need to do it.
This test shoot is actually a period of adjustment and collaboration between them.
Liu Bige had already clearly explained the cinematography requirements to the filming crew; the rest was simply a matter of execution. Liu Bige said that if he had time, he would personally come to the set to supervise several key scenes in the script; if not, he would hand them over to the two cinematographers, both of whom were technically competent.
Lu Yanhe agreed.
The cinematographer is extremely important for a film.
Generally speaking, photography teams are usually big names in the industry who lead their own teams to complete the project.
Bao Wenliang and Wu Zhou were both part of Liu Bige's photography team when he was filming "Late Spring". They had worked together on one film and were relatively familiar with each other.
However, Lu Yanhe felt uneasy after hearing Bao Wenliang's words at noon, but he couldn't show it.
However, Liu Bige could not stay in the "Love Letter" crew indefinitely to help Lu Yanhe personally direct the filming.
He also has his own movie to prepare for in the second half of the year.
He's already very generous to take on the role of director of photography and to lend him Bao Wenliang and Wu Zhou.
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Lu Yanhe spent three days filming with the crew, gradually becoming familiar with how to be a director and getting to know people in various departments better.
Before the school holidays, the film crew started shooting some scenes.
For example, footage of students going to school.
There are many beautiful scenes of students going to and from school during high school.
Lu Yanhe and his photography team waited outside Jiangzhi Middle School for several days and captured satisfactory shots. If they thought the shots might be used in a movie, they would have to find the people in the shots and ask them for permission to appear on screen.
If they don't agree to appear on camera, this shot can't be used.
The college entrance examination has ended, and currently only first-year and second-year students are enrolled at Jiangzhi Middle School.
Lu Yanhe would bring his photography team to the vicinity of the school every day during school hours to film some scenes. This excited the students. Many students would look at the camera curiously, while others would turn their heads away shyly to avoid the camera.
After the final exams for the first and second year of high school were over, the formal filming began.
(End of this chapter)
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