Chapter 28 Onboarding
Ling Wei's process of joining Yaojiang TV was very uneventful.
There was no grand welcoming ceremony or complicated pre-job training. After the HR department completed the formalities, she was led directly to a large studio area with a sign that read "City Pursuit".
This variety show was once Yaojiang TV's flagship program, pioneering the domestic outdoor competitive reality show genre. Its premiere ratings exceeded 3%, and at its peak, it even achieved a record-breaking 5%.
During its broadcast, the talk of the town was filled with discussions about the game segments and celebrity performances. The show's classic slogans and gestures became wildly popular on campuses, and its popularity was no less than that of the first generation of phenomenal variety shows that later sparked a nationwide viewing frenzy.
However, more than a decade later, the original lineup of regular guests has long since dispersed, and the program format has been repeatedly borrowed by later entrants.
In particular, Xinghu TV, which is located next door, has launched a similar program called "City Challenge King" with great momentum, thanks to its strong resources of young idols.
They were able to easily gather popular celebrities and quickly seize the market with the most talked-about young faces, overwhelming "City Chase Order".
The air seemed to be filled with a sense of powerlessness, like a hero growing old.
She was assigned to the program as a Follow PD, mainly responsible for the camera narrative of one of the regular guests and the execution of some segments.
In the noisy and chaotic temporary office area, in a corner piled with equipment boxes and tangled with various cables, she met Zhou Han, the program's director.
When Ling Wei first saw Zhou Han, she almost couldn't recognize him.
The unshaven, middle-aged man in front of her, wearing a wrinkled printed T-shirt, baggy shorts and flip-flops, exuding an aura of "I'm so decadent, don't mess with me," was indeed the "domestic variety show narrative revolutionary" she remembered from her university days. He was hailed as a textbook case in her "Television Program Morphology" class, and the professor would always speak of him with shining eyes and endless praise.
Zhou Han was staring at the monitor screen, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, the cigarette between his fingers almost burning.
Noticing someone approaching, he lazily lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Ling Wei, his voice hoarse from staying up all night:
"The new Follow PD? Ling Wei?"
"Yes, Director Zhou, hello." Ling Wei nodded.
"From the Directing Department of Beijing University?" he asked again, his tone flat.
"yes."
Zhou Han then looked at her properly, nodded, and without further pleasantries, picked up a crumpled folder and handed it to her: "I've seen your resume. The cinematography and aesthetics in several of your student works are excellent. That's why I recruited you from that batch of newcomers."
He succinctly assigned the task: "Have you read the script for this episode? You'll be working with Teacher Shen, Shen Yicheng. Here's his information, his biography for this episode, and the schedule. Go familiarize yourself with it first. This afternoon, you'll be shooting on location, mainly responsible for capturing his individual shots and storylines. Give me the first draft of the editing ideas by Friday."
After saying that, without waiting for Ling Wei's response, he waved his hand and returned his attention to the monitor.
Ling Wei: "......"
That familiar commanding tone.
The system chuckled: "Weiwei, the way he bosses you around is like you're bossing me around."
As Ling Wei was looking for a place to work through her tasks, a slightly younger-looking man approached her.
"Ling Wei, right? I'm Zhang Tao, the assistant director."
He glanced at Zhou Han, who was engrossed in the monitor again, smiled helplessly, and lowered his voice, "Director Zhou has been under a lot of pressure lately and hasn't been talking much."
His gaze then fell on the materials in her hand. "Shall I show you around first?"
Ling Wei nodded. This senior's demeanor was a stark contrast to the hands-off manager from before.
She couldn't help but cast another resentful glance at Zhou Han, which Zhang Tao happened to catch.
He smiled knowingly, then explained in a low voice with a hint of helplessness, "Don't mind him, he wasn't targeting you. It's just that the station... just had a meeting and said that if the ratings don't go up this episode, the entire program's budget will be cut. Director Zhou... is taking the fall right now."
Ling Wei understood and whispered, "I understand, thank you, Brother Tao."
The afternoon's outdoor filming took place at a large outdoor theme park.
Ling Wei soon met the celebrity she needed to film, Shen Yicheng.
Shen Yicheng is in his early forties. He was a very popular actor in his youth. Although he has passed his peak of popularity, he still maintains a good physique and refined temperament.
He was very polite to Ling Wei, the new Follow PD, even showing a bit of seniority towards junior: "Director Ling, thank you for your hard work. It's sunny today, drink more water. If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."
Ling Wei thanked her and began to work.
She carefully observed Shen Yicheng's performance in the game, while also paying attention to the edited clips of him from previous episodes.
Soon, she noticed something strongly out of place.
The production team seems to be using the same visual template they use for young idols to treat Shen Yicheng.
During the shoot, the photographer habitually used excessive soft lighting and a wide aperture, and in post-production, a heavy skin-smoothing and whitening filter was added to him in an attempt to erase the fine lines around his eyes and the natural signs of aging on his face.
The result is that Shen Yicheng in the picture has skin so smooth that it looks like a mannequin, losing its original texture. Despite his mature and steady temperament, he is packaged in a way that is neither fish nor fowl.
It seems fake and lacks any memorable elements.
During a break in the game while touching up her makeup, Ling Wei picked up a walkie-talkie, adjusted the communication channel with the cameraman, and calmly issued an instruction: "Cameraman, when you shoot a close-up of Teacher Shen later, please stop down the aperture a little to maintain the depth of field."
"Lighting technician, could you increase the side-backlighting a bit more to outline the skin's contours? Reduce the front lighting a little; we want to preserve the natural texture of Ms. Shen's skin, including any fine lines."
She then looked at Shen Yicheng, her tone suggestive: "Teacher Shen, when you express your views in the reasoning section later, could you slow down your speech a little and make your eyes more determined? Let's try to highlight your composure and experience."
Shen Yicheng was slightly taken aback, then a look of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he nodded in agreement.
The rough cut of the footage from that day had an immediate and noticeable effect.
Without excessive beautification, Shen Yicheng's face under the lens has clear contrast of light and shadow and natural texture.
His gaze was steady, and his speech exuded a masculine charm refined by time, radiating a captivating allure that belongs to a handsome older man.
When the rough cut footage was delivered to Zhou Han, he was frowning as he looked at several different editing sequences.
He casually clicked on the section that Ling Wei was in charge of, fast-forwarded through it for a few minutes, and his furrowed brows relaxed a little.
"Hmm." He exhaled a smoke ring without looking up, his voice muffled by the smoke. "Following this approach, let's show it to the other regular cast members as well, and create a unique set of camera language and editing rhythm based on their individual characteristics."
He then glanced at Ling Wei and added a deadline: "I need to see a usable solution before the PDs of each shooting team meet tomorrow."
Ling Wei: "..."
Do they really think of her as a smart speaker? Or are they just being a ruthless exploiter?
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