Chapter 497
Inside the film and television city, the filming site of "Dancing Fish".
Zhou Xiao, who was standing in the corner, seemed to have discovered something. He stood on tiptoe and waved his hand so slightly that it was invisible, signaling Deng Zian, who was half-squatting at the door with half of her head sticking out and looking around, to come over to him.
Deng Zian, who was peeking out from the doorway, quickly got the signal and scurried in towards Zhou Xiao, his body bent. Seeing him arrive safely, Zhou Xiao slid closer to the corner, barely making room for him.
"Teacher Zhou, thank you so much for saving my life!" Deng Zian was so touched that she stretched out her hand and put her palm, which had been rubbed warm, on her frozen nose, and thanked Zhou Xiao in a muffled voice.
Today marks the 20th and final day of filming for the "Dancing Fish" film crew at the film and television studio. Tomorrow afternoon, everyone will follow the main cast to Licheng, Fujian Province, the site of the intangible cultural heritage of fish lanterns, for filming.
Because the male lead, Su Ruoqing, didn't have many college scenes, and the locations and plot were not difficult, even the amount of money the sponsors contributed was enough to make one shudder, yet Director Fang still managed to cut back on unnecessary expenses. In other words, Team B, led by Zhou Xiao, was not even started at this stage.
Therefore, Deng Zian, the script supervisor of Group B, had been taking turns working with Chen Dian, the script supervisor of Group A, and he almost lost his sense of time.
If Zhou Xiao hadn't reminded her, she might have considered not coming during the day. However, she had forgotten that Director Fang might take advantage of the last day of filming at the studio to conduct a roll call of the crew, so her gratitude towards Zhou Xiao had reached its peak.
"Shh." Zhou Xiao was just helping out. Seeing the filming coming to a stalemate, she subconsciously put her index finger to her lips, signaling the other party to keep their voice down.
Because of the "cut" cry a while ago, the other staff members in the room subconsciously restrained their emotions. Everyone knew Director Fang's high demands and high standards, especially during filming, and they couldn't help but worry about being the one to be scolded.
Deng Zi'an nodded obediently, then tilted her head to see a rather youthful-looking actor squatting at the edge of the stage. A closer look revealed that the actor's eyes were dull as he stared down at the script, as if he had suffered a major blow.
"We've been filming for so many years..." Deng Zian really didn't like the frail-looking "college student" in the studio. Although she was just a script supervisor, she had already encountered this actor's scenes more than once.
However, after these few collaborations, she only felt that he was wasting everyone's time. If Director Fang hadn't seen that he really loved acting and had other roles to play, it wouldn't have been his turn to take on these few lines and scenes.
"Other functions?" Zhou Xiao was a little confused, his eyes falling on the actor who played Su Ruqing's college roommate.
"Let's temper everyone's spirit," Deng Zian said with a smile, but the words he said were very realistic. "During this period, Teacher Zhou, have you felt that filming has been very easy?"
Zhou Xiao understood what Deng Zian meant by "relaxed." After a moment's reflection, she slowly nodded. Based on her experience filming the stills for "Flower Walk," she knew that due to the high standards of film, every actor's dialogue was crystal clear, a completely different level from filming a TV series.
Because of the actors' high degree of cooperation and the smooth filming, it felt more like a high-quality TV series than a movie. In short, many people here started to slack off.
"So..." Zhou Xiao's gaze shifted to Director Fang, who was still looking at a stern face in front of him on the left. At this moment, he was folding his arms across his chest and looking seriously at the actor who was still a little confused in the field.
Ji Shao, who was filming opposite that actor, was currently sitting on a small stool provided by the production staff, wearing a thin coat, his head lowered, concentrating on reading the already-turned script. As for the other actors playing the roommates, they were somewhat uneasy because of the atmosphere, looking at their scripts, flipping through them without knowing what they were doing.
"We still have one day left," Deng Zian said with a smile, "If we still can't finish the filming, we can cancel all the plane and train tickets. Anyway, we can leave when the filming is finished~"
Other directors might have considered the ticket price, but Fang Xi, with her pockets full and a lot of investment and sponsorship, was truly willing and willing to spend the money. Deng Zi'an, who had been in Fang's production team many times, was well aware of this.
"You know Director Fang's personality, so why are you still late?" Zhou Xiao, who had come to his senses, couldn't help but ask with a smile.
"Hey, just this once, just this once," Deng Zian said, shyly rubbing the tip of her nose, which was still a little cold from the wind. To be honest, she had been a little slack. It was only when Zhou Xiao called her that she realized her problem.
"Okay, ten seconds to rest!"
Inside the studio, in this not-so-large space, Fang Xi, carrying a small stool, sat in front of the monitor, holding a walkie-talkie and speaking to the actors surrounded by a circle of camera equipment, "Reshoot, all departments, get ready!"
This scene had been repeated many times today, but this time Zhou Xiao's attention shifted to another unknown young actor in the scene. He had a small role and only one line, but he was always ready to start filming.
Thousands of extras flock to film studios every day. Often, what they desperately pursue is just this opportunity: a small, face-lifting role with a renowned director and a top-tier crew. Even if they don't know if it will be ruthlessly edited out later, the mere presence of this role means they'll be seen in the future.
Fang Xi needs a whetstone or two to temper the tempers of everyone on the crew. But she also hopes to do her best to support those who are striving for their own careers.
The filming started again with Fang Xi's call of "Second scene, third shot, fifth take." However, this time the filming was obviously more harmonious than the previous ones.
…
On the 21st day of filming, Ji Shaojin and his fans were waiting for the weekly episode of "Soda Diary" with such intensity that they were practically starving! But it was also this weekly wait that made many people look forward to the next week.
"Soda Diary" is Ji Shao's daily life updated by the studio to fans every Saturday. Because the crew gave the fans spots on the first day of filming, all subsequent filming is now kept confidential.
In order to alleviate fans' longing for Ji Shao and to create regular exposure for Ji Shao by Xincheng, under everyone's expectation, this program which records the daily life of "Su Ruoqing" in the crew of "Dancing Fish" began to have a group of loyal viewers.
Everyone watched it intently, especially last week when they saw Ji Shao's assistant picking blisters on his hands. However, "Soda Diary" has indeed attracted a number of fans with strong hands-on skills, some of whom have started learning to make fish lanterns by following Ji Shao's instructions in the pictures.
Today's diary was published a little late, but among the pictures of a group of "Su Ruoqing" making fish lanterns with their heads down, the combination of a bowl of dumplings and a bowl of glutinous rice balls became the center of the photo.
The crew of "Dancing Fish" was lucky enough not to rush to the filming site during the winter solstice this year due to the extended filming schedule at the film and television studio. Instead, they spent the holiday at the film and television studio with some ambiguous emotions.
However, Director Fang was very generous. Not only did he give everyone half a day off today, he also gave the staff and actors the best-tasting hand-wrapped glutinous rice balls and dumplings at the film and television studio.
"Here, sesame and peanut powder!" In the RV, Chen Shenju threw a bag of powder he had just received from the logistics department to Song Xiao, then he slowly sat down and opened his mobile phone to look at the comments under the studio's new blog post.
The photos in "Soda Diary" were all taken by Chen Shenju and Song Xiao during Ji Shao's rest time. Fang Xi did not stop them after knowing about it. As long as the content of the shooting was not leaked, she did not want to control everything.
"Tsk! Fortunately, Teacher Zhou let me combine them." Chen Shenju looked at the 50-50 split of the dumpling party and the glutinous rice ball party in the comment section, and immediately understood Zhou Xiao's mood in the morning when he knew that he only wanted to go to the logistics department to get the glutinous rice balls and had no choice but to stop him.
Because filming was still ongoing, Ji Shao's diet was strictly controlled. Therefore, for someone who already cared very much about food, eating dumplings or glutinous rice balls made no difference. The most important thing for Ji Shao at this moment was that even the grass fodder had to have some flavor.
On this year's Winter Solstice, Chen Shenju planned to make Ji Shao a bowl of tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) to soothe his stomach after a long diet of boiled vegetables. He'd forgotten that there's been a long-standing debate about dietary differences between the north and south. While the debate was meant as a joke, everyone wants to eat the same food as their favorite artist.
"Indeed," Song Xiao leaned over, looked at the page Chen Shenju was scrolling through, and nodded. The comments section was full of people sharing what they'd eaten tonight, but unlike last year, there weren't any arguments about whether dumplings or glutinous rice balls were more suitable for today.
"Brother Ji, Brother Ji," Chen Shenju raised his head and looked at Ji Shao, who was sitting alone on the sofa looking at his phone, and called out, "Stop browsing the comments section and come and have something hot."
Because celebrities are prone to making mistakes these days, Ji Shao has all of his social media accounts managed by his studio as a precaution. As for his current accounts, they are all sham accounts issued by the company to prevent any potential leaks.
However, this account is not for Ji Shao's personal use. Just like the accounts of other artists on other platforms, it will be randomly checked by the artist's agent every once in a while.
Although this seems to have many restrictions and more or less a lack of privacy, for the company, this is the fastest way for them to check whether the artist has any scandals.
Ji Shao, who was urged by his agent, took a last look at the pictures posted by fans in the comment section. After thinking for a moment, he decided that he should eat both dumplings and glutinous rice balls today!
…
Inside the villa room.
"Ah Xiao, today is the Winter Solstice. Have you eaten your tangyuan?" On the screen, Ms. Zheng and Zhou's father were holding a Sanhua semi-trailer, beaming at Zhou Xiao. However, Sanhua was a little tsundere and refused to be held so obediently, making its chubby appearance look particularly adorable.
Zhou Xiao fixed her phone in place, picked up a small bowl on the table in front of her, and showed it to her parents who were on a video call with her. "Here, I'm eating! This is from the crew, and this bowl is made of black sesame dumplings made by our director himself!"
It must be said that having Director Fang personally feed the children was always much more heartwarming than making the dumplings by yourself. Even more coincidentally, the people living in Director Fang's villa were all from the south, so a large pot of dumplings was more than enough.
Zheng Jinghua took a look and felt that the contents of her daughter's bowl were similar to the bagged glutinous rice balls bought at the supermarket. She sighed with some heartache, "We have always made plain glutinous rice balls at home. How about I send you some from home later?"
Zhou Xiao felt a lump in his throat when he thought of his homemade glutinous rice dumplings. Homemade ones were delicious, but eating a large bowl at a time was a bit unpleasant. Besides, dumplings were only eaten on the night of the winter solstice, which gave them such a sense of ritual.
Seeing her daughter shaking her head wildly on the other side of the screen, Ms. Zheng was also amused. Touching the warm and fluffy cat fur in her hand, she suddenly felt the little thing in her arms start to get restless again.
"Hey, hey, hey," Zhou's father, who was sitting nearby, saw the cat almost reaching for the bowl of sweet dumplings and quickly raised the bowl. Turning around, he said to Zhou with a somewhat negotiating tone, "Jinzhu, do you want to open a can of food for your sister today?"
"No!" "Don't!"
Almost in unison, Zhou Xiao and Ms. Zheng immediately responded to Zhou's father's sincere love for cats.
"Your dad is really something. Mimi is so fat. I saw him secretly feeding the cat strips last week." Zheng Jinghua said with some complaints, and glared at Zhou's father before she finished speaking.
"It's time for the little one to lose weight!" Zhou Xiao cheered for his mother across the screen. But Zhou's father had already covered the little one's ears, muttering something like, "Mi/Mi, don't listen, that's bad."
Watching his parents on the other side of the screen debating whether or not to open the can for Mimi, Zhou Xiao scooped up a plump glutinous rice ball and squinted his eyes happily watching all this. Although he didn't spend the holiday with his parents, this was enough.
…
A month later.
The red-tiled old house, the afterglow of the setting sun, when the golden sunset falls on the oyster shells on the wall of the old house, the grayish-white color of the wall is dyed by the gorgeous sunset glow, and you can vaguely feel that it has become softer and warmer silently in the light.
"Ding-ling-ling" the simple shell wind chimes hanging on the eaves rang leisurely in the evening breeze. Looking in the direction where the wind chimes were blown by the wind, a little child was sitting on a small bench in front of the main room, watching intently the old man in front of him who was skillfully splitting bamboo strips.
The camera pans around to reveal a large courtyard built of oyster shells, filled with bamboo strips and half-finished fish lantern frames. There's the "golden red fish," whose tail is just missing the finishing touch, the "white plate fish," whose whiteness hasn't yet been painted, and the fish lantern frames that look incredibly detailed.
When the wind chimes sounded, the dozens of fish lanterns placed in the courtyard also seemed to be fish in water, rustling happily in the courtyard. At this moment, captured by the camera, they were joyful and happy.
"Swish!" This is the subtle sound made by an old man sitting on a wooden chair as he uses his calloused fingertips to polish bamboo strips. At this moment, the calluses on his fingertips replace the polishing tool and become a powerful prop, which fascinates the child on the small stool.
Soon, a clear voice rang out, shattering the warm and cozy atmosphere. Everyone, young and old, turned to look in the direction of the camera and nodded in unison, signaling that the filming could continue.
"How do you feel?" Zhou Xiao, wearing a fisherman's hat, picked up the loudspeaker under the banyan tree and spoke to the old man and the young man who bowed their heads to her on the monitor. "Then let's start the real shooting!"
As soon as Zhou Xiao finished speaking, the originally relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense. Rehearsals were like this: before filming began, everyone was relaxed, but as soon as they heard the director announce the start of filming, a deep sense of anxiety immediately came over them.
The scene shot today is very simple. It is about little Su Ruoqing becoming interested in fish lanterns. It is also an important scene that leads to the subsequent plot.
On the set, Li Ling, with her tanned complexion, carried a gleaming black professional camera on her shoulders. The equipment, which seemed like a heavy burden to an outsider, was securely fixed to her shoulders.
No matter how many scenes she filmed, Li Ling dedicated herself to each one. This collaboration with Zhou Xiao was especially special, as she was able to capture stunning scenes with just a few simple words.
Li Ling always felt that she knew Zhou Xiao quite well. After exchanging contact information, and seeing the collection of works posted by the other party from time to time in the circle of friends, she subconsciously paid attention to Zhou Xiao.
But it wasn't until she stood on the set, following Zhou Xiao's instructions, that Li Ling finally understood why Director Fang had chosen her to direct Team B of "Dancing Fish." Glancing around at her colleagues, she refocused her attention on the actors before her, quietly awaiting Zhou Xiao's next command.
The sky gradually darkened, but the carefully adjusted lighting on the set still illuminated the courtyard as if it were sunset. Zhou Xiao, standing behind the monitor, had a sharp gaze. The lighting intensity, the camera position, the actors' interpretations, and the layout of the courtyard—these details intertwined like spider silk in her mind, until a perfect, anticipated shot was achieved.
Every shot has its meaning, and behind every shot is the result of days and nights of pre-setting and modification. There is almost no hesitation, because these have been rigorously discussed before.
Zhou Xiao picked up the intercom, squinted his eyes, watched the staff's rapid adjustments, and said slowly, "Everyone, take your positions!"
The next second, the set was like a precise clock, running in sync with the moment Zhou Xiaoqiao's voice fell. After seeing the actors on the set making the "OK" gesture, she raised her voice and said loudly through the intercom in her hand -
“Action!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
