Chapter 42: District 3D Cannot Lose Jerusalem
Beijing North, Changping, the new campus of the Central Academy of Drama.
The huge campus is empty, occasionally a small van full of renovation workers passes by the campus road, leaving a roar of the engine, and then it returns to silence again.
"The environment of your Central Academy of Drama is good, much better than our Beijing Film Academy." Zhang Ruoyun looked at the brand new campus, and recalled the shabby and small appearance of his own school, and couldn't help sighing.
"The new campus must look comfortable." Meng Bai on the side didn't think there was anything special. He looked at the tree pit dug on the side of the road but nothing was there, and said: "Next time I will take you to see our old campus, so that you can feel what is called an old and shabby small house in the city center."
"I've made a note of it. I heard that there are many delicious places around your Central Academy of Drama. I will come to you when the time comes. Don't deny it." Zhang Ruoyun said,
"Don't worry, after the filming is finished, I promise to arrange it clearly for you." Meng Bai waved his hand with an expression of "you still don't believe me".
After filming together for more than a month and seeing each other almost every day, Meng Bai and Zhang Ruoyun have become familiar with each other.
In Meng Bai's opinion, although this buddy seemed a little arrogant when he first met, and made people feel that he had a bit of the meaning of a "young master", in fact, he was quite easy-going and could be regarded as a friend.
In Zhang Ruoyun's opinion, Meng Bai, a "producer" who is younger than himself, has a bit of the meaning of "hot outside and cold inside". On the surface, he looks easy-going and doesn't care about anything, but in fact, it is only after more contact that you can occasionally feel the deep calmness under the casual appearance.
However, this is quite suitable for his temperament, and he is considered a good friend after understanding him.
They chatted for a while facing the empty campus until they heard the crew members calling them, and then they turned back and walked towards the dormitory building behind them.
They came here today not to sigh about the new campus of the Central Academy of Drama, but to shoot the plot of the new unit.
School, orphanage, and mental hospital are collectively known as the "Top 3" scenes of horror stories.
Schools, in particular, have always been the "main battlefield" for the prevalence of various urban legends. Like the classic thirteen steps, the blinking statue, the piano playing in the middle of the night, the abandoned dormitory, the transformed mass grave... they have provided a constant source of inspiration for countless creators.
Horror stories cannot lose schools, just like the 3D area cannot lose Jerusalem.
"Soul Ferry" is naturally no exception. The unit "Red Dressed Senior Sister" is a classic campus story, and it is also the only unit in the entire first season that occupies two episodes, which shows its importance.
"By the way, do you know the scene to be filmed today?" Meng Bai suddenly asked.
"I know, isn't it just women's clothing." Zhang Ruoyun said indifferently.
In the plot, the roommate of the heroine "Wang Xiaoya" fell into a coma because of playing a psychic game, and she pulled the hero "Xia Dongqing" to see what was going on. In order to enter the girls' dormitory without leaving any traces, "Xia Dongqing" changed into women's clothing at the instigation of "Wang Xiaoya" and mixed in.
Meng Bai thought Zhang Ruoyun would be a little embarrassed about this scene, but he didn't think he was bothered at all and looked calm.
Zhang Ruoyun knew what Meng Bai was thinking as soon as he saw the strange look in his eyes, and hurriedly explained: "Men dressed as women and women dressed as men are common imitation exercises in our classes, and everyone is used to it. There are also animals, lunatics, and perverts, which are what we have to practice."
Meng Bai knew this. When he went to the acting department to find his ex-girlfriend, he often saw those freshmen practicing in the practice room with their teeth bared and claws, and crazy.
In this regard, he always sighed every time he saw it, fortunately he didn't study acting.
Compared with the quietness of other places on campus, the girls' dormitory building is very lively today.
The crew members coming and going are busy moving props and setting up the scene, and because the newly built dormitory building looks too new, they have to find a way to make some places look old.
The hall of the dormitory building is also noisy at this time, and a dozen girls with outstanding looks are gathering in twos and threes. They were curiously watching the crew's preparations, whispering and laughing from time to time.
These girls are basically all students of the Central Academy of Drama, and were tricked by Meng Bai to be extras.
The reason for choosing them is very simple, they are cheap. As long as they are taken care of by transportation and meals, and each of them is given a small red envelope after the filming, that's it.
Although it is almost "voluntary work", these girls are quite happy. After all, they usually only take classes and practice in school, and it is rare to have the opportunity to come out and see how a real crew shoots.
Don't worry about whether there are shots or not, just treat it as a real-life experience, and it's free, everyone is having fun.
If you don't mention that they are college students, their mental state is really reassuring.
Of course, there are also people who are not from the Central Academy of Drama. For example, the girl who plays the "senior sister in red" is named Cai Wenjing. She is from Beijing Film Academy and is also Zhang Ruoyun's junior sister.
Of course, she got this role and it has nothing to do with Zhang Ruoyun, but was recommended by director Wu Bai.
When Meng Bai and Wu Bai met for the first time, he mentioned a micro-film he had shot called "Washing Cars". In that short film, the actor of the male lead is Zhang Yi, and the female lead is this Cai Wenjing.
Meng Bai met her once when she came to the crew. She is a very literary girl.
Unfortunately, because of the role, the makeup artist painted her face blue, and matched it with a blood-red long skirt. Not to mention at night, even if you look at it suddenly during the day, it still makes people feel a little nervous.
"How about this look?" Wu Bai asked on the side.
Meng Bai glanced at Cai Wenjing, who looked like Avatar, and nodded, saying, "It's pretty good, very atmospheric."
After that, he took a step back and said, "By the way, I have to look at the post-production visual effects in the next few days, so I won't come here for now. If there is anything on the crew, you can deal with it first."
Although he is the original author, the horror effect from the text to the picture has really been enhanced.
Thinking that this plot is basically a night scene, Meng Bai now feels cold for Li Qin and the other girls who are going to play opposite roles.
However, what he said was not entirely an excuse. He really had to follow the progress of the post-production visual effects in the next few days.
Many viewers often think that the understanding of film and television special effects is the kind of scenes such as left and right waves and gods fighting in fantasy or science fiction films.
But in fact, special effects, such a post-production method, is also widely used in many ordinary urban dramas and daily dramas.
For example, scratching the green screen and wiping the wire are the most common special effects methods. In addition, when many movies and TV series involve large-scale scenes such as concerts, large-scale events, and busy streets, most of the characters in the panoramic pictures are also generated by special effects.
Even in some rural dramas of the era, in order to present the atmosphere of the environment, the crew will plant some plants or crops in advance, but they are found to have died during filming. It is too late to replant them, so post-production special effects are needed to wipe out the dead plants and replace them with some thriving and lush materials.
The post-production party that Meng Bai contacted is a film and television special effects studio called OVE (Orange Visual Effect). The boss of the studio, Ding Lai, used to work at Weta Digital in New Zealand. He resigned last year and returned to China to create his own special effects studio.
How to say it, like the "Pendulum" crew, it is a grass-roots team.
There is no way, Meng Bai also wants to find special effects big companies such as More VFX or Tiangong Yicai. But on the one hand, the prices of these big companies are really too high; on the other hand, they are not very willing to take small orders like "Pendulum".
In comparison, a small studio like Orange Vision seems very friendly to the people. Even small orders for 20 to 30 special effects pictures like "Pendulum" are accepted.
With the special effects in place, post-editing work is gradually being put on the agenda. Although the filming at Wubai has not yet ended, the units that have been filmed previously can start rough cutting in advance.
Filming, editing, and post-production visual effects, all three lines are operating simultaneously.
At the end of November, the early winter season in northern Beijing, the "Soul Ferry" project has entered the final sprint stage.
In the new April, I'm asking for a new wave of votes from all the big guys!
(End of this chapter)
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