Chapter 151: Filming
"Hello, Ms. Zhou, this is your room card." The hotel receptionist handed the card to Zhou Xiao and began checking the person behind her in. Zhou Xiao slipped the card into her pocket and walked leisurely towards the elevator, pulling her suitcase.
Two days ago, Zhou Xiao received a message from Song Xiao, asking if he was free in the next few days. He had a photo shoot in Chengdu that he could recommend to him.
The Chengdu Film and Music Festival was held in Chengdu, and many artists participated. Song Xiao introduced Di Jiangtong from Metro Music to Zhou Xiao. Zhou Xiao knew Di Jiangtong's cover songs, but he hadn't quite grasped her appearance.
After accepting the offer, Zhou Xiao later researched Di Jiangtong online and was surprised to discover she was also the champion of a singing program. Furthermore, the runner-up in the following season was Wang Quan, who had withdrawn from the Star 101 competition. Zhou Xiao felt somewhat melancholic about how small the world truly is.
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Song Xiao was a bit embarrassed when he first introduced Di Jiangtong to Zhou Xiao. Common sense dictated that a photographer with Zhou Xiao's skills would be highly sought after, even if not within the industry itself. Furthermore, he had witnessed Zhou Xiao's speed and communication skills on set, as well as the feedback from his agent after their previous two collaborations.
Introducing their own artists to Zhou Xiao was, from their perspective, a small advantage for New Town. Despite its size and wealth, New Town also had a deep network of costume and prop photographers.
However, many high-profile photographers share a common flaw: after initially developing a good working relationship with an artist, they tend to become lazy. This is why many fans frequently challenge artist studios, demanding that photographers who previously produced excellent images be replaced.
Zhou Xiao's sudden appearance not only satisfied fans' desire for a new photographer, but also sparked interest within the industry due to his consistent success in capturing Ji Shao and his consistent technique from the previous two shoots. While these motivated artists are actively competing internally, they also don't easily pass up opportunities that could enhance their own image.
Once Zhou Xiao agreed, Song Xiao immediately contacted Di Jiangtong's agent and urged them to quickly arrange accommodations for the photographer. Music was a relatively weak area at New Town, and if it weren't for his own concerns, Song Xiao wouldn't have taken the initiative to contact Zhou Xiao.
After arranging things here, he happily opened the memo and wrote down this for Ji Shao, who was "in Cao's camp but his heart was also in Cao's camp": Di Jiangtong - (chorus and harmony for future evening parties, to be added)
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For this shoot, Zhou Xiao had her agent inform her in advance of the dresses they'd prepared for the red carpet and the previously scheduled location. Although she was told the location was limited, Zhou Xiao felt, based on her experience, that wasn't a cause for concern. As for the agent's request for a unique look, Zhou Xiao felt that was also within her capabilities.
The next day at noon, she arrived at the shooting location early with her camera. As she entered the main door, she saw Di Jiangtong already sitting in the lobby, playing with her phone. She was accompanied by two assistants, all three of them sitting on the sofa, looking down at their phones.
"Teacher Di?" Zhou Xiao hugged his camera bag to his chest and greeted softly. One of the three assistants, wearing black glasses, looked up at the voice and saw the woman coming from the doorway with the camera bag. He tentatively called out, "Teacher Zhou?"
During the conversation, Zhou Xiao also learned the reason why they were staying there. An artist's photoshoot hadn't finished yet, and the group was waiting in the lobby for notification from the staff.
The group waited together for a while longer, which Zhou Xiao found quite amusing. It was her first time, in her rare experience, to see such a collaborative team. After greeting Zhou Xiao, Di Jiangtong and her assistant manager lowered their heads to play with their phones again. Their main theme was a Buddhist attitude, apathetic and unsociable.
This was easy for Zhou Xiao, but as time passed, she saw that it had been almost half an hour and the three people still had no reaction, so she couldn't help herself.
"By the way, does Teacher Di want to touch up her makeup?" Zhou Xiao looked at the other person's lipstick, which had been smudged a little due to drinking coffee, and took this opportunity to remind her.
The assistant who had just finished retouching Di Jiangtong's lipstick said, "Sister Ru, our scheduled time has come. Can we go now?"
The agent, known as Sister Ru, put down her phone and stood up slowly. "Let's go, little boy," she said, and took the lead, walking to the back.
Upon hearing this, Di Jiangtong stood up obediently, adjusted her skirt with the help of her assistant, and left backstage with her agent. However, the assistant still remembered Zhou Xiao, so she turned around and said to him, "Teacher Zhou, let's go!"
Zhou Xiao followed the two of them and began to understand why Di Jiangtong wasn't as popular in the entertainment industry. He debuted as a champion on a singing show and possessed excellent vocal skills. He frequently performed at various galas and collaborated with Metro Entertainment on numerous TV drama OSTs.
Now it seems that an active, even very strict agent is much better than an agent who is slacking off or doesn't care about anything. Of course, all this depends on the artist's own ideas.
The guests invited by "Chengdu Film and Music Festival" are basically talented actors and singers. After Zhou Xiao followed Di Jiangtong and his group into the filming location, he passed by the group of a female artist. It seemed that they had just arrived at the right time and caught up with the other party's performance.
But seeing that neither side exchanged greetings, Zhou Xiao was somewhat surprised. Isn't it said that the entertainment industry is all about superficiality? Why didn't these two even bother with the superficiality? Of course, this had nothing to do with the upcoming filming. Seeing that the other team acted as if they were used to it, Zhou Xiao shrugged and went to check out the filming location.
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"Teacher Di, look here!" Zhou Xiao raised her camera and filmed Di Jiangtong. During the shoot, she found him quite cooperative. She even asked him to come up with some poses, and he straightforwardly said he trusted her experience.
Zhou Xiao paused for a moment, looking at Di Jiangtong in her pink dress in the camera. Being an entertainer naturally meant she was good-looking. While her looks were somewhat ordinary in the entertainment industry, Zhou Xiao's photography skills had yielded some impressive results.
Just as Zhou Xiao was pondering, he heard a loud "bang" and a painting that had been hanging on the wall fell to the ground. The frame and the painting itself were directly split in half by the impact.
Everyone present seemed frightened. When the young assistant was picking up the broken photo frames and paintings and about to throw them into the corner, he was suddenly stopped by Zhou Xiao who was standing nearby.
Zhou Xiao looked at Di Jiangtong, who had become even more lively after this shock, and immediately formed a filming plan to adjust accordingly. After a moment's hesitation, she suggested to Di Jiangtong, "Teacher Di, this picture frame came to you by chance. How about using it as a prop for you?"
Di Jiangtong held a gourd-shaped bronze frame with European-style embossed patterns to her chest. After Zhou Xiao mentioned it, she immediately demonstrated her cooperation by picking it up from under the assistant's feet. This seemed to be the first time she had used a makeshift prop in a shoot, and she seemed curious and surprised.
The sleeves on Di Jiangtong's shoulders are described as puff sleeves, but they actually resemble pleated petals. Originally intended to flatter the arms, from a certain angle, they resemble pink azaleas in full bloom.
Zhou Xiao walked forward with the camera, pulled the puff sleeve of Di Jiangtong's arm out of the frame, and asked his assistant to bring a table to help fix the frame.
In the European-style hall, even during the day, the specially lit candles still crackled. A delicate white hand reached out from the bronze frame, its pink folds draped across it like delicate petals, imbuing it with a wild vitality. In harmony with the woman's features, a subtle calm and resilience quietly tinged her brow.
For this shoot, Zhou Xiao was able to complete the shoot just in time for their appointment because someone else had occupied their space for almost half an hour. Yes, their team only prepared one set of clothing for the shoot.
In the hall, Di Jiangtong, already wearing a scarf, came forward curiously to see the finished film. Zhou Xiao offered her half her body to watch. Since the team was fully managing the entire process, she felt relieved and could adjust the filming plan at any time on the spot.
As Di Jiangtong was leaning over to watch, the artist team for the next shoot came over to see what was going on. After learning that they had finished filming, the man apologized and hurried back to notify his own artists to come over.
"Teacher Zhou, it will cost a lot of money to compensate for this oil painting, right?" Rarely, before they parted, Di Jiangtong came over and took the initiative to talk to Zhou Xiao.
"No, the painting is printed." Zhou Xiao put the camera into the bag and raised an eyebrow at the picture frame placed in the corner. "Maybe that plastic picture frame is worth dozens of dollars~"
Seeing that the venue had been almost cleaned up, Zhou Xiao was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something, "Who should I send the picture package to?"
What surprised Zhou Xiao was that she had only wanted an email address. Di Jiangtong raised his hand, indicating that it would be fine to send it to him, and added her to the contact list. The assistant and agent beside her seemed to be accustomed to it and didn't say much.
After Zhou Xiao returned to the hotel, he set an alarm for dinner and then immersed himself in photo editing. Although the other party had calmly told him that he could send the photos the following evening (the red carpet for the Chengdu Film and Music Festival began at 4 p.m.), Zhou Xiao felt it was best to send them as soon as possible.
Anyone who's experienced the consequences of a studio releasing official photos after the red carpet and gala are over knows the consequences. Zhou Xiao believes fans' expectations shouldn't be wasted in vain. Even if it's too late, at least one image should be released first.
While Zhou Xiao was busy editing photos, NINE STAR's group variety show officially announced a new endorsement: ZiZi potato chips. Many people jokingly said that their group variety show should be renamed the "Golden Group Variety Show," and this attracted many sponsors for the subsequent large-scale group variety shows.
At ten o'clock the next morning, after watching NINE STAR's newly released MV "Four Seasons" with a refreshed mind, Zhou Xiao happily sent the edited photos to Di Jiangtong.
When Di Jiangtong messaged Zhou Xiao about his personal account, he was still working through the full MV and Reuters content with Qi Sisi and the others in the group chat. Although he knew they had an "anything goes" attitude, Zhou Xiao still earnestly inquired if there was anything they thought needed revision.
Di Jiangtong on the other end replied directly: I like it very much!
So, for the first time, Di Jiangtong's fans received official photos of their artist's look before the party ended, and even before the red carpet started!
——【Entertainment Forum】——[October 15th, noon]
【Topic】Guess who this is?
[Main Building] I don’t recognize the homepage anymore, my god! [Picture]
"What—1,236 people participated—0 people answered correctly"
1L
I'm dizzy, I can't recognize her! Who is this person? A new Xiaohua? I have a feeling!
21L
Ah! My jaw dropped. Which expert did this sister hire to sculpt her face?
51L
Surprisingly, no one got the answer right. I had a vague feeling it looked similar, but I didn't dare to recognize it...
87L
I went to his blog and read it. I can only say that this photographer is amazing. The face is the same in every photo.
124L
Why is no one praising her looks? Someone above said that the faces are all sculpted the same, which means that the person looks like this + the photographer took a good picture!
154L
Who is this Zhou Xiao? @Admin I want all the information about this photographer within one minute! (Boss tone)
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