Chapter 213
In the afternoon, Zhou Xiao sat on the sofa in her hotel room, examining the finished photos in a folder. She'd been living a fulfilling life lately. Besides her daily morning jog, she'd also relaxed after editing by visiting the crew.
Speaking of photo editing, after Chen Lin learned Zhou Xiao planned to stay at the film and television city for a while, she considered introducing her to an artist for location photography. But when she learned Zhou Xiao was photographing Chen Si and Li Zhouye, she quickly urged her to pay more attention and even kindly sent her a screenshot.
Chen Lin is a makeup artist with extensive experience in the industry. It can be said that she has worked with not only the older generation of big-name artists but also all the current and most popular artists. What she sent to Zhou Xiao was exactly the photo editing requirements from Li Zhouye that she had gathered during their previous collaboration.
Zhou Xiao didn't notice at first, but after seeing the densely packed requirements in the screenshot, he fell silent. The requirement for retouching an artist's skin, while still maintaining its natural texture, is actually quite normal, given that many people these days strive for a "natural look." But then he randomly looked down and saw that it even had strict requirements for the number of upper and lower lashes per eye. Yes, the requirements were different for each eye!
After taking a look, Zhou Xiao closed the long list of screenshots. Although she was grateful for the special instructions sent to her by Chen Lin, if the finished film had to follow these dozen requirements, wouldn't they all be the same?
Zhou Xiao would search online before filming. The posts under Li Zhouye Studio’s blog were mostly filled with protests from fans, with the latest demand being for the team to fire the stylist and photographer.
The revisions outlined in the comments section's poster essentially align with the requirements in this screenshot. Of course, she's not completely dismissing any requests that could positively impact the final film, and Zhou Xiao will also implement them to see the results.
The review didn't take long. After packaging the finished film, Zhou Xiao sent it directly to her two agents. While waiting for a reply, she opened her phone and checked Ji Shao's recent chat.
The 20th was just a few days away, but the fan club hadn't been active. Instead, fans were enjoying themselves with a fan club event called "Fan 101." This was because Ji Shao was going abroad for a month, and the fan club had organized it specifically to strengthen fan loyalty.
When Zhou Xiao opened the super topic, she saw someone actively campaigning for a certain fan. The voting app was sponsored by Digital, and as the fan club president and programmer, she was among the top nine.
Clicking on the link reveals @Flipped, 悸然心动·纪韶, in the C position, leading by a landslide, followed by influential fans and other fan sites. The fans' seemingly playful voting truly reflects their favorite fans and fan sites.
While browsing, Shen Zhi on the other end sent a message before Qin Wan.
Agent Shen Zhi: I am very satisfied with the photos. Thank you, photographer Zhou. We hope to work together again next time. [grin]
Huh? Zhou Xiao was still wondering if the other party would criticize him for not giving Li Zhouye a perfectly symmetrical face, but he didn't expect them to accept it without even complaining. So, was this intelligence wrong?
Of course not! Time goes back to ten minutes ago. When Shen Zhi received the email from Zhou Xiao, he just logged into his mailbox and opened the photo.
There were both singles and pairs in the group. Although the singles were few in number, they were a bright spot in Shen Zhi's eyes. The black Tang suit embroidered with bamboo leaves was full of ancient charm. Li Zhouye looked exceptionally handsome against the backdrop of the bamboo forest! His eyebrows were thick and dark, his eyes were as sharp as bamboo blades, and his slightly square face looked very upright.
As for the couple photos, they complement each other. Chen Si is beautiful, and this beauty is reflected in the core of the characters in the photos. The interaction between her and Li Zhouye elevates the quality of the photos to a higher level. However, this level, in Shen Zhi's view, has reached its ceiling.
If Shen Zhi hadn't known that Zhou Xiao had never been on set during filming, he would have assumed she had actually been watching. This set of neo-Chinese-style stills perfectly blended with the film's emotional core. After browsing through them, he was already thinking about how to market them.
At this moment, Shen Zhi completely forgot about his artist's request for photo editing. Although the artist's opinion was the most important, it seemed less important in front of this set of photos! Thinking of this, he exited the chat screen with other photographers and quickly edited a short message to send to Zhou Xiao. As for the exited interface, it was showing -
[Draft] Teacher Chen, I think the jawline can be made more angular.
After talking with Zhou Xiao, he went back to Chen Si's agent to sort through the photos. The wait for Qin Wan's response actually took longer than it would have taken for the two of them to sort through the photos together. After Shen Zhi finished, he raised his phone screen to his artist, who was reading a script in the back.
Li Zhouye, wrapped in a small blanket, looked up at his agent's urging. When he saw the photo, he was a little surprised. "Hey, this movie came out so soon? It's shot quite well."
Shen Zhi put the phone away with satisfaction. "I'll send this photo to the director later. You can continue reading the script here."
…
"Teacher Zhou! You are still in the film and television city, right?" Qin Wan asked Zhou Xiao anxiously on the other end of the phone.
Zhou Xiao, who was being questioned, was completely bewildered. Why did Qin Wan call her only now after two days? Was there something wrong with the filming that needed reshooting? She replied, somewhat puzzled, "Yes, I'm still at the film studio."
The short film crew was shooting quite quickly. Zhou Xiao had already been reminded by a photography director she knew on set that they might be preparing for the stills shoot in the next couple of days. So, aside from her regular field trips, she'd been hanging out with the crew, following the trending topics, and even got to try her hand at a movie camera, while her director turned a blind eye.
"Heavy!" This was Zhou Xiao's first reaction as he picked up the camera. Although he was used to both the system's lightweight camera and regular cameras, he couldn't judge a machine by its appearance; weight was a major issue that couldn't be ignored.
Thanks to Zhou Xiao's unwavering daily fitness routine, after a period of adaptation, his camerawork became so smooth and effective that the unsuspecting director mistakenly thought the photographer had finally gotten the hang of it. The images he captured on the monitor were both stable and beautiful.
"Director Fang was very satisfied with the photos you took. She asked me to ask if you'd be interested in showing them to the crew they're currently filming!" Qin Wan's tone gradually calmed down from excitement. She continued, "This is a rare opportunity. Director Fang felt that your photos had the flavor of her films. I think if you have time, you should go and take a look!"
Fang Xi is one of China's leading directors. Her films are delicate and full of chivalrous spirit. Her TV series have won numerous awards, a fact that is clearly due to her screenwriting skills. This is what Zhou Xiao found on Wikipedia after agreeing to meet Qin Wan.
Turning his gaze to the noisy crowd ahead, he saw a large number of extras in this scene. Although he knew it was a short play, Zhou Xiao had already noticed some people secretly adding their own scenes while watching from the side. However, he didn't know whether the director behind the monitor didn't see it or didn't care.
Zhou Xiao was more inclined to believe that the director didn't care. Because he didn't care, the extras who were very good at reading people's expressions were competing to show off. For example, there was an extra dressed as a maid in the scene. She guessed that the character she gave them might be a little maid who was in love with the male lead?
If Zhou Xiao had seen this scene on the first day, he might have thought the director was incompetent. But after watching it for a few days, Zhou Xiao felt that he had some understanding. This is a short play, and the audience is addicted to short video platforms, where information flows quickly.
The extras' little tricks would be a rip-off or a scene-stealer in a normal production, but for a skit where fun is paramount, they might even be a welcome bonus. This is naturally because audiences are more tolerant, and given the low cost of regular extras, perhaps this is also tacitly approved by the director.
…
Ji Shao's solo album was set to be released as scheduled on the early morning of the 20th. However, Huayao only informed fans of this news two hours in advance. Everyone in the group chat was furious upon hearing the news.
【Happy and auspicious】
Qi Sisi (Sisi): I'm not saying this, is Huayao seriously ill? This is the first time I've seen a singer tell his fans two hours in advance before releasing an album!
Li Mo (Little Tail): Is it too late to buy Blueberry Music Blue Coins now? Even though it's airdropped, the data is so ugly and not good [angry]
Dong Xiaoyu (crackling rain): It’s ok that there was no preheating, but they told the fans just before the release date. How afraid are they that more people will hear my son’s songs?
Zhu Jian (Using Softness to Overcome Hardness): The Blue Coins fan club usually stockpiles some, but that's not the point...
Digital privately chatted with Huayao's contact and asked why the company did this, saying that fans would have no time to organize sales... Then the contact said that the reason for choosing to airdrop was Xiao Shao's request. He hoped that we would buy on demand and just listen to his songs.
Qi Sisi/Li Mo/Dong Xiaoyu: Ahhhhh, I'm sliding down to my knees! Shaozi, you're really serious! I'm crying! @笑一笑十年少年笑, wake up quickly, wait until the song is over before going back to sleep!
…
Zhou Xiao was naturally awake at this moment. After seeing the preview on Chen Shenju's WeChat Moments, she immediately opened the Blueberry Music app to buy Blue Coins. When Zhou Xiao finished her purchase and returned to the messaging app, she saw a series of replies tagged her.
Zhou Xiao, standing in front of the screen, couldn't help but smile. He simply replied, "I'm here," and then opened a blog. As soon as the homepage updated, dozens of new posts would pop up. The already lively super topic was now even more festive than usual. Presumably, the fan club had already informed everyone about the album's release.
When things get busy, time flies. While fans were discussing what the new songs in Ji Shao's new album would be like, the person at the center of the topic quietly came online.
There was a celebrity dynamic in the super topic, and when someone noticed Ji Shao's green online icon, before they had time to tell others, a blog post by Ji Shao appeared in the super topic, in the form of a video.
@NINE STAR-纪韶V: My new song is coming out soon, and I'm so grateful to all my fans for their love! Since forming the group, I've been a little nervous, worried I won't be able to do better, but I'll keep working hard! I caught the Aurora yesterday, and I wanted to share my happiness with everyone!
[video]
The video shows Ji Shao sitting on the ground, playing and singing a new song. Behind him is a vibrant, colorful aurora. As the last note of his guitar falls, the aurora completely drifts off the screen. In the video, Ji Shao looks up at the camera, offering a faint smile. The screen then fades to black and resumes.
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