Chapter 378 Career Line
"Are you really coming?" Zhou Xiao put away her smile and asked seriously. She was very sure that Zhang Hongyu had no such intention when they chatted yesterday.
"What's wrong? I'm such a capable person, and you won't accept me, Teacher Zhou?" Zhang Hongyu almost couldn't keep the smile on his face. Because he was in front of Zhou Xiao, he didn't feel guilty about bragging at all.
He coughed once on the other end of the line, then calmed down and said to Zhou Xiao seriously, "Master, please save a place for me! After my contract with Huayao ends, I'll join you!"
Sensing the change in Zhang Hongyu's tone, and realizing he was serious about this, Zhou Xiao pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay."
On the other end, Zhang Hongyu, who had planned to bring his own assistant, sat up straight with excitement when he heard Zhou Xiao's "OK" on the phone. Although he had already assumed Zhou Xiao wouldn't refuse, hearing his agreement immediately filled him with excitement.
At Huayao headquarters, Zhang Hongyu was scheduled to take the official SHINE STAR concert photos today. While the members were waiting for the photoshoot, they noticed a smug-looking Zhang Hongyu.
Especially during the filming process, many people felt that Zhang Hongyu today was like Popeye the Sailor eating canned spinach, full of energy. It was a qualitative difference from his previous state, which was a bit surprising.
This isn't to say Zhang Hongyu was always slacking off, but rather that the difference between now and then is so significant that it's immediately apparent. The members of the boy band were particularly struck by this, especially after repeated "NGs" during filming, none of them felt the effects of the other's sarcasm.
It wasn't until later, when Zhang Hongyu posted a sentimental post on his WeChat Moments, that everyone understood what had happened. It turned out he'd found a new job ahead of time and was working under Zhou Xiao. Of course, that's all for later.
However, the members who had been subjected to Zhang Hongyu's teasing in the past were finding it difficult to adapt to it now. He was usually quite down-to-earth and would even guide them through the intricacies of the industry during breaks. Therefore, many people regarded Zhang Hongyu as a special "senior," and it was common for the members to get along well with him.
"What's wrong with Teacher Zhang today?" one member muttered quietly during the break. Someone nearby soon overheard them and came over to ask, "Why is he being so nice to us today? Did he take some medicine?"
But before he could get a reply, he was hit hard on the head with a rolled-up newspaper. When he looked up, he was nearly frightened out of his wits. It was none other than his manager, Wang Fu, with a disgruntled expression and a fierce, ferocious face.
Wang Fu's face was stern, and the members, whose average age was under 20, looked at him as if they were seeing the headmaster. After realizing that he was the one who hit the man, the members who had originally wanted to argue with him immediately retreated.
"Fortunately, it doesn't hurt that much," the member who was beaten thought, and didn't dare to say anything more. The others were like him, shrinking their necks and behaving like quails.
While Mao Sifeng primarily handles business matters for NINE STAR, Wang Fu is a multi-faceted agent. This is due to the generally younger age of trainees after numerous auditions. It's also related to his eagerness to take charge and achieve results after being drafted out of nowhere.
When SHINE STAR was supposed to wink at Zhou Xiao on stage, it was Wang Fu who forced the members to do it under his influence. This had its pros and cons. Although they are still ridiculed to this day, the negative news was the fastest way to increase their popularity.
Judging from the discussion after the film screening, SHINE STAR's popularity in the circle really began to increase thanks to this method.
"Focus on filming and don't gossip!" Wang Fu's tone was stern but his voice was low. Because they were in the studio, loud voices would echo. Although he was strict with the members, he would occasionally be considerate of their emotions in front of others.
Looking at a group of children nodding their heads desperately like little chicks, Wang Fu's gaze passed over them and then shifted to Zhang Hongyu who was looking down at the photo at this time.
His eyes softened slightly, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face involuntarily. In his heart, he secretly praised Lin Qianxia's ability to do things.
Wang Fu saw Zhang Hongyu's current form as a result of his effort to persuade Lin Qianxia to retain her as SHINE STAR's exclusive photographer. While this young man might be a bit materialistic, his skills were all that mattered!
Even though Zhang Hongyu is often criticized by Nine Star fans, he is, after all, a professional photographer and a self-motivated individual. He's still being criticized because most of the time, it's simply because the members' requests don't align with the fan and public aesthetics. Wang Fu is naturally well aware of this.
As for SHINE STAR fans? After learning that the photographer they used was from their senior group, they were completely doting on them. They're still able to post so many comparisons and criticisms on a daily basis, all because of this connection.
Wang Fu was very satisfied, but he didn't realize that ideals and reality often run counter to each other. Lin Qianxia had so much on her plate, how could she possibly care about Zhang Hongyu's contract renewal so quickly? Besides, it was NINE STAR that ended their contract with Zhang Hongyu, so it was obvious which was more important.
Thus, a beautiful misunderstanding was born.
…
The next day, in Beijing Science and Technology Park.
When Zhou Xiao arrived at the Particle Building, she saw Xue Xi waiting at the door with his back to her. She looked down at the time. It was more than ten minutes earlier than the time she had agreed with the Particle staff, and Xue Xi was even earlier than her.
Because it was commuting time, the park was quite busy. Xue Xi had his back to Zhou Xiao, never expecting the footsteps behind him to be the person he was waiting for.
"Good morning," Zhou Xiao said, walking up behind Xue Xi and greeting her. But when she turned around, with dark circles under her eyes, he was a little amused. "I remember I was hiring a photography assistant, not our national treasure, the giant panda?"
"I'm so sorry, I was a little too excited." Xue Xi blushed and scratched his head, "But don't worry, Teacher Zhou, I will definitely not affect the next filming!"
Pulling all night was a common occurrence for Xue Xi. After a busy day at work, everything suddenly came to a halt. Even though he mentally knew he had to rest well, he still couldn't get used to a normal schedule.
When Xue Xi arrived at the Particle Building, he was actually still immersed in gratitude. He had never expected that after such a brave attempt, he would actually get this opportunity.
Just as Xue Xi was about to say something, a serious-looking woman in glasses and a uniform walked out of the Particle Technology Building. After looking at the two of them and thinking for a moment, she turned to Zhou Xiao and asked, "Excuse me, are you Teacher Zhou Xiao?"
Because Zhou Xiao said last night that she would bring an assistant, when the woman saw the camera bag Zhou Xiao was carrying, she subconsciously thought she was an assistant. After all, such things are usually carried by assistants.
But once he reached the two of them, he could easily tell who was taking the photo today. Zhou Xiao naturally exuded a powerful confidence that no one could ignore.
Zhou Xiao nodded, and after hearing the other party say "Please follow me," she called out to Xue Xi behind her to quickly follow. Her eyes naturally fell on the interior decoration of the Particle Building.
This building is the office of LiZhi in Beijing. The entrance is filled with high-tech decoration. The high-ceiling design and white marble throughout make the entire lobby appear spacious and grand, giving it a very high-end look.
Zhou Xiao, with a small tail, followed the other party through the layers of authority and arrived at the studio on the third floor. Perhaps because Particle's own promotional videos were all produced in-house, this studio was also extremely large. Especially the basic design elements such as the shadowless wall were extremely large.
Even Zhou Xiao thought this environment was pretty good, let alone Xue Xi. Within the small studio space of XZC, aside from the occasional outdoor shoot funded by the brand itself, the only things they encountered were a small studio, a backdrop, and the peeling paint on the rooftop.
If this were a piece of gossip and posted on a forum, it would probably be laughed at by netizens for a long time. But often, gossip that is so outrageous that no one can imagine may actually be the truth.
Although she worked at a leading women's magazine, Xue Xi still looked at the various facilities in the studio with curiosity, just like Granny Liu. When she saw the latest equipment (actually, the latest one had been released for half a year), her eyes almost popped out.
The studio door was completely opened, and there were already quite a few people inside, all busy at work. When they heard the door open, they just looked up and took a look before returning to their own work.
Looking at the large green screen in the background, Zhou Xiao looked at the woman beside her in confusion. She knew that technical means would be used in post-production, but this green screen was comparable to the backstage of a large-scale fantasy drama crew. Wasn't it a bit too much?
Or was the real-life shooting changed to green screen shooting?
Su Zanyue pushed the frame upwards, and seeing Zhou Xiao's puzzled expression, she quickly explained to her, "This location was originally planned to be filmed overseas, but..." As she said this, the expression on her face looked as if she had eaten a fly.
"After our colleagues conducted an on-site inspection, they discovered that the environment there was incredibly dirty," Su Zanyue said with a grim expression. "The streets were littered with homeless people and thieves, as well as people who prided themselves on being 'free' to the point of being unhygienic... That was pretty much it. So, we decided to use post-production for all the filming of this part."
The cost of post-production synthesis is more expensive and labor-intensive than real-scene shooting, but as a top domestic technology company, Particle can afford this.
If the shooting scene setting and post-production publicity plan were not determined around the overseas scene, there would be no need to do post-production specifically for this purpose.
Looking at the other person's expression, Zhou Xiao suspected there might be something even more explosive that she hadn't yet revealed. So, she gave him a sympathetic look, said she understood, and headed straight for the filming location.
When Zhou Xiao reached the green screen, she finally understood what the small objects she had just seen were. Those fixed objects were obviously going to be used for post-production compositing. She looked at the venue, pondered for a moment, and then beckoned Xue Xi over.
…
The scene was bustling with activity, and with the help of an extra person, Zhou Xiao could clearly feel the pace had increased significantly. Although it took quite a while to teach Xue Xi how to set up the lighting he wanted, that time could be shortened in the future.
Zhou Xiao observed Xue Xi's performance as she followed his instructions to move the props. She seemed a bit awkward with some props, but was very fluent with common ones. Zhou Xiao speculated that this might be related to her previous work experience.
In fact, this is closely related to the simple shooting style of "XZC". Xue Xi was exposed to ordinary equipment, so naturally he was only familiar with them.
While the two were busy with the props, the extras were already gathering for the shoot. Because the original filming location was overseas, most of the extras this time were foreigners.
As for why there are still a small number of Chinese people, it's not that they can't afford foreign extras, but rather that Chinese people are truly famous for their love of traveling abroad. If a famous foreign tourist attraction has no Chinese people at all, then you have to consider whether it is a fake.
Although... Zhou Xiao silently looked at the huge green screen behind him, and still silently gave a thumbs up to the rigor of the particle side.
The two protagonists that Zhou Xiao is going to shoot this time are both amateurs. During the shooting process, the two will start a dreamy exotic love affair with the new Particle mobile phone as the clue.
The plot was quite old-fashioned, essentially a common trope used in domestic mobile phone commercials. However, Zhou Xiao was in charge of the beautiful, blockbuster filming this time, and the creative elements of the commercial had already been shot.
When the extras are in place, the two costumed protagonists also appear on stage, waiting to start a performance against a green screen. The torn script will also tell its story under the lens of the camera operator.
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