Chapter 15 Short Drama Preview
To conceal his presence, Yu You wore a black outfit specifically for nighttime activities. He was very adept at this kind of sneaky thievery. He turned on the recording button on his portable terminal, held his breath, and crept closer to the bushes.
The crew members were talking louder and louder when suddenly someone threw a prop sword at his location.
"I think I heard a mouse moving in those bushes over there?"
"How could that be? This is a professional film and television studio. Where would a rat come from? Is your sword broken? Go get a new one from the prop basket."
"Sigh, the swords the production team provided are of such poor quality, they're like they're made of paper."
"What kind of high-quality props do you expect us to buy? Let's just make do with what we have."
Yu You's heart was in her throat; she wished she could stay flat on the ground. Only after the two people had walked a little further away did she dare to carefully part the bushes in front of her.
With technology so advanced now, he finds it hard to imagine that there are still film crews with such rudimentary filming locations.
The main building behind the extras looked like a dilapidated temple, an old object from the last century that had been abandoned for hundreds of years. He suspected that even two beams could be taken off and sold as cultural relics.
The few dry pillars at the bottom were crooked and twisted, the ground was still covered with yellow dust that hadn't been cleaned up, and even the floor tiles were broken into pieces.
Is this what the set of a short drama series that was hyped up on StarNet with an investment of tens of millions looks like?
Yu You almost burst out laughing.
If he hadn't sneaked over here without alerting anyone, he wouldn't have been able to capture such a wonderful video.
...Fang Zhuo stood in front of the standing night-light binoculars. From this downward angle, he could just see the other person's two wriggling long legs comically sticking out of the bushes.
He complained to Jiang Yu with a blank expression, "He's quite smart. He found the right place himself, saving us the trouble of sending someone out to guide him."
The two stood on the highest observation platform on Star 45, having left the actual filming location long before the stealth spaceship approached.
They watched as the spaceship stopped at the docking point, observed the short, thin man in black studying the map for a while, and then witnessed him sneaking off towards the pre-made fake film set without hesitation.
Jiang Yu was now filled with awe for her boss's uncanny ability to predict the future.
Yesterday, when General Manager Fang instructed him word by word on how to set up a fake film set on Star 45, Jiang Yu was filled with big question marks.
He couldn't understand why they would go to such lengths to set up a separate venue and provide a fake script, having the local 45-star mobile personnel perform a fake show all day long. It wasn't until someone sneaked in tonight that he finally understood Mr. Fang's intentions.
"Mr. Fang, how did you guess that someone would come to secretly film our film crew?"
“It’s very simple.” Fang Zhuo was still watching the man’s every move when she turned to glance at Jiang Yu. Seeing the admiration and respect in the other woman’s eyes, she ruthlessly shattered that illusion.
"Put yourself in their shoes. If I were on the other side, I would also send someone over to gather information."
Jiang Yu: "..." He seemed to hear the sound of bubbles bursting.
High-end business battles often employ the simplest methods, and tricks like secretly taking photos are nothing special.
Fang Zhuo remembered that when their company went to submit bids, their competitors deliberately caused traffic jams, cut off the power to the elevators, and locked the fire doors in the stairwells. In comparison, Ruan Zihan's creativity was obviously not rich enough.
Fang Zhuo coldly looked down at the black figure lying in the bushes. He didn't mind teaching Ruan Zihan a lesson and showing him what truly seamless creativity was.
He activated the strobe mode on the lookout tower, at an angle perfectly positioned so that the crew of the fake movie crew could see the faint signal. The female lead, receiving the signal, immediately began her actions.
"Mr. Zhang Kaigang, how do you think my performance was?"
Upon seeing the veiled actress call out the director's name, Yu You couldn't help but widen her eyes and immediately shifted the camera to the monitor—
A young, bald man emerged from behind the monitor and, quite naturally, clapped at the female protagonist, echoing her words.
His name is Zhang Kaigang, and he's just a director with the same name, no doubt about the backlash he'll face with such a low-level publicity stunt...
Yu You let out a soft chuckle, gaining a clearer understanding of the amateurish nature of this film crew.
The bald man stepped forward and tucked the female lead's bright green dress in, shouting:
"Tong Qinglu, I've told you to be careful not to give yourself away. Your collar doesn't even match. How are we going to Photoshop the pattern on in post-production? Our crew has been making all sorts of promises. We have to make it look exactly like the stills in post-production."
"And this sword of yours, you must always keep it facing the camera, understand?"
The bald man turned the sword hilt around. The entire prop sword was as thin as cardboard, as if it could bend in the wind. Only the front was painted with ancient characters similar to those in the movie stills. If you turned it to the side even slightly, it would be exposed.
The so-called intangible cultural heritage velvet flower she wore on her head was just a piece of green paper, and the effect was entirely due to post-production efforts.
As for the prop sword that the extras initially threw by the bushes, it was crudely made, basically just a thin, black wooden stick, taking cost-saving to the extreme.
Fish has seen poor film crews before, but this is the first time she has ever seen one this poor.
...Other productions rely on the mutual success of actors and directors, but this short drama relies entirely on the post-production team working themselves to the bone.
Since the props and costumes are all special effects, and the building sites are quite different from those in the stills, the scenery and background must also be a large-scale fabrication and photoshopped image.
Yu You thought he had made sufficient preparations, but he was still taken aback when he saw the huge LED display screen.
The script supervisor skillfully adjusted the screen to a landscape background of a waterfall flowing backwards. The female lead, wearing a veil and a straw hat, stood in front of the LED panel, letting the blower blow her hair backwards.
After this shot ended, the script supervisor switched the scene on the screen to a rushing red maple forest.
The actress sat on a bench, holding a whip in her hand, and pretended to ride a horse, saving the production crew tens of dollars in the cost of an electric rocking chair.
Yu You was stunned by the scene before him; he couldn't have imagined that a drama could be filmed like this even if he had a hundred brains.
Using green screens for scene replacement is already very cost-effective, but they still managed to use their imagination to save money on post-production editing of large scenes by using LED panels worth several thousand yuan.
The cost was at least tens of millions, and he would believe it even if you said it was only 100,000 yuan.
I bet all that meager budget went to bribing the post-production team. If he could invest in making a movie with that kind of money, he could be a big boss.
The crew didn't finish filming until after 1 a.m. After they left, Yu You secretly sneaked into the set and carefully filmed all the cardboard fans and plastic headdresses and earrings in the prop basket.
When the video was transmitted to the main casino, Ruan Zihan and Chi Yingying happened to be at the same poker table.
He exhaled a heavy puff of smoke and said sarcastically, "Our handsome and dashing Brother Fang is already broke? He didn't last long either. I thought he would be a little smarter, but I didn't expect him to be just like those other idiots. He squandered all his money in less than two weeks."
Chi Yingying touched the cards with a displeased expression. Recalling what happened last time, her fingers paused slightly.
"That little bit of funding was probably used to bribe music critics, so there wasn't any money left to make TV series."
The video, which lasted for more than half an hour, was played on a loop at the card table, and even the people playing cards with him couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"We can either wait until the short drama airs before releasing the video. Anyway, judging from the quality of their videos, it probably won't make much of a splash if they actually air."
Ruan Zihan was somewhat tempted by her suggestion.
The rough texture on the card pulled him back to reality. Thinking of the man's cold eyes in the secretly filmed video in the banquet hall, Ruan Zihan felt an inexplicable unease.
Having been outmaneuvered by Fang Zhuo several times, he knew how cunning this opponent was, and dared not be careless.
If the other side really does use all their budget for special effects, and really manages to make this poorly made film look amazing in post-production, wouldn't that give them another lifeline?
"No, have the studio edit this video and release it as soon as possible tomorrow. I won't feel at ease if this person lives another day."
At noon, a five-minute edited video was uploaded to StarNet by paparazzi. In an instant, hundreds of accounts on five or six platforms forwarded it, and the media matrix immediately sent the video to the top of the trending topics list on each platform.
[This year's entertainment industry has another source of laughter; Brother Fang really knows how to provide laughs. I was laughing so hard at my desk that snot bubbles were coming out of my nose.]
[Hahahaha, do I need to repeat that exaggerated tone again? "Exhibitions by master embroiderers in museums," "Various velvet flowers worth hundreds of thousands," "A sword handcrafted by a million-follower YouTuber"—if you dare to exaggerate again, I'll smash your mouths in; they're all just big pieces of paper.]
[You're wrong, it's not just cardboard, there are also plastic pieces, hahaha]
[That's so creative! I almost couldn't believe my eyes when they brought out that LED screen. If you can't afford to replace hundreds of scenes with green screens in post-production, can you please stop making TV dramas? You guys are really reaping the benefits of cheap electronics.]
[…Please stop hindering this beautiful lady's career development! Our Tong Gang is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and now she's being thrown into this terrible drama. Please, beautiful lady, terminate your contract with Juyu Entertainment as soon as possible…]
[...I'm like a clown, fooled by the stills!]
[Tongtong seems to have gained a little weight. The female lead in this video is wearing a veil, but her eyes don't look quite like Tongtong's. Is this really the set of a Juyu short drama, or is it a short video blogger's imitation?]
Didn't you see it says 45 stars at the bottom of the computer recording? Are you blind?
What else could this be but the filming location of the Great Ancestor's grandmother? Wow, so Giant Entertainment built another filming location on the 45th Star Line? Your Giant Entertainment's imagination is truly boundless. [Your Tong Jie got fat because the company gave her hormones, huh? Go and complain!^^]
[Go home, Brother Fang, go home. The entertainment industry is really not for you. The audience's eyes are discerning. You can't make a good drama just by relying on marketing.]
[Fang Zhuo, get out of Xingyu Entertainment!! Marketing dogs, don't come to Xingyu Entertainment and stir up trouble!]
[Don't roll away yet. If we make a low-budget comedy satirizing entertainment, I think some people will still buy it. I've been watching it on repeat all day. This video is so creative it's almost addictive.]
Brother Fang, please switch tracks! There's really no one competing with you in the comedy track.
[Could it be said that the most humorous one is the fake Zhang Kaigang? The climax of this video is the part where the bald man appears. Teacher Zhang should probably start gathering evidence to sue for defamation; malicious name clashes are truly disgusting.]
This public opinion fermented for four whole days, with the hot search remaining high on every platform, and forums filled with various mocking posts about Giant Entertainment's short dramas.
If negative traffic counts as traffic, then this drama is undoubtedly the most discussed web drama in the past two years, generating a huge wave of buzz even before it aired.
The comments section was almost unanimously filled with ridicule. Passersby were all waiting for the short drama to air, even knowing it was a pile of crap, they still wanted to see just how bad it was.
The battle at the top of Tianwang Mountain was certainly exciting, but it was even more laughable and inferior than the terrible battle at the foot of Tianwang Mountain.
During this time, no one came to 45 stars to secretly inquire, and no one in the crew paid attention to the online turmoil. All the staff were focused on filming efficiently.
Several trending topics appeared simultaneously on the StarNet for five consecutive days until the afternoon of the fifth day, when Giant Entertainment's official account finally released a rough-cut trailer of about twenty seconds.
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will be available for purchase! Thank you everyone for your support! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
[Kiss][Kiss] Also, I'd like to recommend my upcoming novel, "Playing a Popular Supporting Role Through a Saintly Filter."
He only wanted to get beaten up and injured to build up his ultimate skill bar, but unexpectedly he became everyone's white moonlight!
Male protagonist Dihua style~
[Kiss][Kiss] and "The game has arrived, but I've become an NPC"
A Cthulhu game has descended upon the world, and an ordinary tour guide has become a game NPC!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
