Ji Yan, far away in N City, was naturally unaware of the changes that had occurred in the Ji family because of his phone call, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
After hanging up the phone, Ji Yan wanted to send a WeChat message to Xie Mingxuan and the others, but unfortunately the signal was too poor, and he couldn't connect to WeChat or browse Weibo.
Ji Yan's large-screen phone became a brick.
Fortunately, they could still make phone calls and send text messages, so Ji Yan and his friends could only communicate through text messages.
"Teacher Ji, who is now living a traditional life, should cultivate your character and stop thinking about going online all the time."
Good luck with the filming!
In fact, on his very first night on set, Ji Yan experienced the ruthlessness of nature – he was woken up by mosquitoes in the middle of the night. He had closed the windows and doors before going to bed and even used mosquito coils to fumigate the area, but the mosquitoes still got in and left a large welt right under his nose.
I finally managed to fall asleep, but when I woke up the next morning, the mosquito bites seemed even bigger.
Ji Yan: "..."
He Qing, who shared a room with him, was sleeping soundly.
He Qing is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. After graduating from university, he has been working in various film crews. Several of his classmates have become famous through filming ancient and modern dramas, but He Qing still has little fame. The second male lead in "Young Love Poems" is the most important role he has ever taken on. He got the role himself, not through a company recommendation.
“The opportunities are actually more equal in the films directed by big directors. I might not have gotten the role in other productions.” This is what He Qing later told Ji Yan.
Although he's not famous enough, He Qing is quite satisfied with his current situation. Some of his classmates have become very famous, some have gone behind the scenes shortly after graduation, and some have become online celebrities selling counterfeit goods. Their fates are completely different.
While formal training may sound prestigious, it doesn't guarantee fame for everyone; the competition in the entertainment industry is simply too brutal.
...
When Zhu Shuguang saw Ji Yan, he was shocked by the large lump on his eyelid. Ji Yan had to appear in the first scene of the day, and given his condition, it would be a problem for him to even be on camera.
The crew quickly treated Ji Yan. Fortunately, Ji Yan had the medicine that Ye Ying had prepared for him. After a while, the swelling subsided a bit, and the makeup artist applied powder to his face to improve his appearance. Filming then officially began.
"Youthful Love Poems" is a story about Gu Shan, starting from his childhood. However, the crew filmed the adult Gu Shan's story first. The young actor who played the young Gu Shan had just started his summer vacation and still had homework to do.
The initial scenes were a bit simpler, mainly focusing on the adult Gu Shan not being in a hurry to find work or make money, but having his mind full of stories related to observing the stars.
Gu Shan helped out at the village chief's house in the evening. When it was time, he would move a stool to the gate of the yard and sit there attentively observing the stars.
Ji Yan needs to portray Gu Shan's obsession.
Zhu Shuguang wasn't really sure how well Ji Yan had prepared the script. His confidence in Ji Yan came from that audition—no matter what, the fact that Ji Yan could act out a few pages of scenes in the script to that extent showed that he was willing to put in the hard work for acting.
He's talented and hardworking. Even if his understanding of the script is flawed, he can be gradually improved. How could he be inferior to Li Xiang?
...
Once dressed in costume, Ji Yan instantly transformed from an urban youth into a simple mountain village boy. The moment the camera focused on him, even his smile seemed to carry a sense of honesty and simplicity. In fact, apart from having a more handsome face than the average mountain village boy, Gu Shan was an ordinary person.
During the day, Gu Shan lived an ordinary life. Apart from looking at various astronomical charts during his rest time, he was just an ordinary person. But at night, facing the vast sky and countless stars, his eyes sparkled with infinite brilliance.
Zhu Shuguang looked at Ji Yan with a serious expression: "Have you memorized all your lines?"
Zhu Shuguang's basic requirement for actors is that they must memorize all the lines for the scenes to be filmed the next day. The budget for "Young Love Poems" was limited, and Zhu Shuguang was willing to spend money to shoot a few more beautiful shots, but he couldn't let the actors use their money to make repeated takes. He would get angry if he saw that.
Ji Yan nodded: "I've memorized it."
Filming officially began.
This scene mainly showcases Gu Shan's personality to the audience—in the eyes of outsiders, Gu Shan is a withdrawn, silent, and introverted person who is not good at talking or communicating with others.
But on the rugged mountain path, he would suddenly speed up and run freely, or he would suddenly slow down, unwilling to disturb the butterflies resting on the flowers.
The camera focused on Ji Yan at this moment. The crew and actors of "Youthful Love Poems" all looked at him curiously, wanting to see how he would perform this scene.
For them, Ji Yan's casting as Gu Shan was undoubtedly due to the halo of his nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Chang Kong Awards. He was not formally trained in acting and his main profession was being an idol—in this industry, idols are usually associated with bad acting skills.
In short, regardless of whether Ji Yan had been nominated for the Chang Kong Award or not, and regardless of whether he was actually selected by Zhu Shuguang after an audition, everyone present was more eager to witness his true acting skills.
It was still daytime. Gu Shan sat on the steps in front of his house, silently fiddling with the pebbles on the ground. His expression was extremely calm, and watching him gave people a strong sense of peace.
Just like a quiet mountain stream, the pace of life suddenly slows down.
Zhu Shuguang remained silent and did not call for a stop; the filming continued as before.
Some people couldn't stand Gu Shan's laziness and urged him to find him some serious work to do. Gu Shan didn't get angry when others said this; he just smiled. When they asked him for help, he would go.
The rest of the crew cautiously observed Zhu Shuguang's expression.
While the rest of the crew may not know, at least in this scene, Ji Yan has likely met the director's requirements.
This performance looks simple, and it seems that it doesn't require any special acting skills to film in one take. However, art films like "Young Love Poems" are different from dramas with more compact plots. The shots and voices are richer, and the requirements for details are higher.
Zhu Shuguang also pursues natural acting skills. He dislikes exaggerated performances and cannot tolerate exaggerated expressions on camera.
Ji Yan sat down on the steps very naturally.
At least—from the moment filming began, he was Gu Shan himself. His original idol aura completely disappeared at that moment, and he was completely immersed in the role of Gu Shan.
It's hard to describe in words, but it's clear that Ji Yan put a lot of effort into the character of Gu Shan.
—And that's not all.
Before collaborating, photographer Su Pan had researched Ji Yan's background and watched the film "I, Nameless". He had a feeling that Ji Yan was the kind of actor who was born with charisma.
His portrayal of He Tang didn't feel abrupt, and the same was true for his portrayal of Gu Shan. He didn't seem to need much guidance, yet he was able to bring out the true nature of the characters.
Of course, in terms of details, Ji Yan is still green and far less mature than experienced actors, but he has a lot of potential for development.
Su Pan has worked on far too many film crews and acted with far too many actors, so he has a good eye for talent.
...
After filming for a while, Zhu Shuguang called for a stop.
He called Ji Yan over and gestured with his fingers: "Don't look too tense, or it won't look good in the photos."
He found a mirror from somewhere, which Ji Yan suspected he had taken from a nearby villager's house. The back of the mirror was printed with large clusters of peony flowers: "You have a bad habit when you're filming, your brows furrow when you tense up. You can't keep doing that."
Ji Yan took a careful look at himself, and then took another look.
Zhu Shuguang glanced at him: "...Do you think you're pretty good-looking?"
Ji Yan: "..."
He suspected the director could read minds.
The filming had to be restarted, and Zhu Shuguang didn't call for a stop even after shooting the last few shots.
"That's good." He nodded and said, "The plot is still relatively simple now, but there will be more interaction between the characters later on."
Currently, only Ji Yan and He Qing, the main actors, have joined the cast of "Young Love Poems". The female lead, You Kesi, has not yet joined the cast. Although her character has many interactions with Gu Shan, she does not appear throughout the entire film and her screen time is not long. On the contrary, He Qing, who plays Gu Shan's friend, has a full-length role until the end of the film.
"I know."
Ji Yan had no scenes to film in the afternoon, so Zhu Shuguang told him to go back and rest. The crew of "Young Love Poems" had a lot of night scenes, especially since the stars looked bright and beautiful in this season, and the whole crew was rushing to meet the deadline.
Zhu Shuguang didn't mention how long he would stay up, but Xu Zhou had secretly inquired and found out that, according to Zhu Shuguang's usual habits, staying up all night was no problem. Zhu Shuguang himself would stay up all night, and when there was a heavy filming schedule, he could even work day and night for several days in a row.
Ji Yan quickly went to take a nap, but after sleeping for more than two hours he couldn't fall asleep again, so he lay there dozing off while chewing on the snacks Ye Ying had brought him.
It's so boring not being able to use my phone!!!
Fortunately, Ye Ying prepared a tablet and an e-reader for him, so Ji Yan could watch videos and read books to pass the time.
However, Fang Yu would still send Ji Yan text messages from time to time. Lu Wei and Xie Mingxuan sent fewer messages, which were basically about what they did and ate that day. They even spent a huge sum of money (50 cents) to send Ji Yan pictures.
Ji Yan quietly posted a picture of the crew's lunchbox at noon.
Fang Yu went even further and posted pictures of them eating hot pot, seafood, and lobster.
Ji Yan: "...Where is Sister Ying?"
As a teammate, he has a duty to save his teammates who are heading down a path of self-destruction and to bring them back from the wrong path.
Fang Yu: "...It's just an online image."
Ji Yan: "Hehe."
The boxed lunches for the crew of "Young Love Poems" were indeed very ordinary, because the crew ordered them from the county town. There were no restaurants in the nearby towns that could feed the crew of several hundred people. By the time the boxed lunches were brought back from the county town, they were already not very tasty.
Instant noodles have become a staple food for the crew of "Youthful Love Poems". They can't get enough rice, but they can have as many instant noodles as they want. He Qing even brought a bag of snail rice noodles. After he cooked the snail rice noodles that day, Ji Yan was so overwhelmed by the smell that he questioned his existence.
Then, he succumbed.
Thanks to the efforts of the fast food processing plant, Ji Yan no longer has to eat dry boxed lunches and can now enjoy a life where he can cook instant noodles and add sausage.
"I'm actually such an easily satisfied person," Ji Yan remarked. "It'll be several more months."
"Do you want me to send you some Lao Gan Ma chili sauce with pickled vegetables?" Fang Yu asked.
“No, these supermarkets in town have them.” Ji Yan sighed. “My life isn’t that miserable.”
Ye Ying gave him several books about acting in her e-reader, which Ji Yan could use to study during this time.
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