Chapter 294: A Beat Faster
After changing into costumes, Director Gao Zhiyuan arrived. He inspected the preparations on set and then called Hu Xiaoxiao over. "Xiaoxiao, this is Mr. Yu Cong, the crew's martial arts instructor. Mr. Yu Cong choreographed all the fights for 'Cheng Zhaofeng.' Let's discuss how the fights will be performed."
"Hello, Teacher Yu." Hu Xiaoxiao stretched out his hand and said friendly.
Hu Xiaoxiao had heard of Yu Cong, a renowned martial arts instructor in the film industry. Having begun training at a young age, he possessed not only a profound martial arts foundation but also a unique style of choreography. His choreography leaned towards a realistic style, emphasizing authenticity and practicality, making it one of the most popular martial arts styles currently in use.
Yu Cong was a lean, middle-aged man with single eyelids, and he looked at people with a certain scrutiny. He sized up Hu Xiaoxiao and said, "I only design action scenes for male martial artists. You, a woman, can't do that. I advise you to give up as soon as possible."
"Teacher Yu hasn't seen my martial arts scenes, so how can you be sure that I can't do it?" Hu Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand and asked back.
Gao Zhiyuan, who was standing next to him, also said, "Xiaoxiao's martial arts scenes are famous for being beautiful and entertaining. Yu Cong, don't underestimate her."
Yu Cong sneered, "It's just fancy moves, good looking but useless. My martial arts style is based on realism and emphasizes real skills. I'm afraid she'll cry and quit after just a few scenes. If she wants to quit, do it now and don't waste everyone's time."
Hu Xiaoxiao was unconvinced and said, "Since my debut, no martial arts instructor has ever said that my martial arts scenes are bad. Teacher Yu made a conclusion without even watching it. I think it's you who's not good enough, right?"
Yu Cong was so angry at Hu Xiaoxiao's words that he laughed. Well, since he's so eager to die, don't blame him for being rude. He turned to Gao Zhiyuan and said, "I told you in advance that the martial arts moves I designed are all very difficult. Don't give up halfway through filming. Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back."
Gao Zhiyuan asked him curiously, "Didn't the crew invite you here because they were attracted by your past martial arts skills? And we required martial arts skills for the female lead, wasn't it so we could film the difficult moves you designed? What's there to regret?"
Hu Xiaoxiao stood aside and vaguely heard something unusual.
However, she is not afraid of anyone as long as she is filming seriously.
"Now that we've agreed, let's get started."
This scene depicts Cheng Zhaofeng returning to the Cheng family and taking over the Cheng family business. His good management skills have made the business flourish, which has attracted the attention of some. The Miao family's business has repeatedly provoked trouble, and Cheng Zhaofeng has fought back several times, making the situation increasingly tense.
All the major trading houses immediately held a meeting to discuss the matter and determine their respective business scopes. This meeting was actually a meeting to fight for territory.
Since it was a dispute over territory, verbal arguments alone would not work. In the end, the two sides failed to reach an agreement and started fighting.
The first person to take action was Miao Haibin, the rival of Cheng's business, played by Wan Jiapeng.
"Miao Haibin, enraged, attacked Cheng Zhaofeng with a sneak attack." Yu Cong demonstrated and explained the martial arts techniques he had designed to the actors present. "He threw the tea bowl at Cheng Zhaofeng, who had her back to him. Cheng Zhaofeng dodged it by turning her head. Then he kicked the eight-immortal table and threw it at her. Cheng Zhaofeng—"
Yu Cong explained what Hu Xiaoxiao was going to do. "You need to press down the Eight Immortals Table with one palm. When Miao Haibin jumps onto the table and attacks you, you need to grab the edge of the table with both hands, then pass under the table and get behind Miao Haibin to counterattack..."
Hu Xiaoxiao listened carefully, and after understanding it, he rehearsed it in his mind.
This move was not easy to do, but she did not think it was a problem.
After a few people rehearsed it once and felt that there was no problem, they started performing.
"OK, everyone, get ready, take your positions, action!" As Gao Zhiyuan said start, everyone immediately got into the state.
Miao Haibin suddenly stood up and shouted, "When will it be a woman's turn to call the shots in Focheng?"
After saying that, he threw the tea bowl in his hand at Cheng Zhaofeng, who was talking to other merchants with his back to him.
Cheng Zhaofeng heard the sound of the wind and turned his head to avoid the tea bowl.
"Cut!" Yu Cong called for a stop and said to Hu Xiaoxiao, "You dodged too quickly. It looked like you knew it beforehand. You had to wait until the tea bowl was halfway through and about to hit the back of your head before you dodged. The other camera was focused on Cheng Zhaofeng. We wanted to capture the moment when Cheng Zhaofeng dodged and the tea bowl flew in front of her, capturing the tea bowl and her face in the same frame."
If you wait until the tea bowl is almost hitting you before dodging, you could easily hit your head if you're not careful. Gao Zhiyuan frowned, "I originally shot this shot pretty well..."
Yu Cong said firmly: "Just take care of the filming, and follow my instructions for the movements!"
"Director Gao." Hu Xiaoxiao said, "No problem, I can try again."
"Then you better be careful." Gao Zhiyuan said.
Yu Cong sneered, "They say women are no good. If it were a male star, how could they be so fussy?"
"Action!" After Gao Zhiyuan set up the camera, he shouted to start.
"In Focheng, when will it be a woman's turn to call the shots!" Miao Haibin smashed the tea bowl behind Cheng Zhaofeng's head.
Hu Xiaoxiao secretly calculated the distance, and reacted a little slower than before. Then she turned her head and dodged, and the tea bowl flew out from in front of her face with the sound of wind.
"Cut!" Gao Zhiyuan clapped his hands and said, "Excellent, this one passed!"
The effect is indeed much better than before and more thrilling.
The next scene was of Miao Haibin, who, seeing that his sneak attack failed, kicked up the Eight Immortals Table and threw it towards Cheng Zhaofeng.
Cheng Zhaofeng stretched out a palm and pressed it on the table, skillfully releasing the force and pressing the Eight Immortals Table to the ground.
The four legs of the Eight Immortals Table were tied with transparent silk threads. When Yu Haibin kicked it up, the operators pulled up the Eight Immortals Table together, rolled it in the air, and smashed it towards Cheng Zhaofeng.
Hu Xiaoxiao had to face the flying Eight Immortals Table head-on. If he made a mistake in this operation, it would really fall on him, and he would lose half his life even if he didn't die.
Even if most actors have calculated the distance and know the table will not land in the same shot as the table tumbling through the air, they'd be terrified of making a mistake. However, Hu Xiaoxiao, skilled and courageous, faced the table being dragged from the air by the silk thread with a single palm, then released the force, bringing it down steadily to the ground.
One pass.
Gao Zhiyuan was very excited about the filming. So far, everything was going smoothly, and he quickly started the next one.
Miao Haibin, played by Wan Jiapeng, jumped onto the eight-immortals table and kicked it. Hu Xiaoxiao grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and flexibly slipped under the table on his back.
This movement is very demanding on arm strength, and the body must pass straight up and over from under the table to be visually appealing.
Hu Xiaoxiao did it very smoothly. Just as he passed by and was about to let go, Miao Haibin, who was standing on the table, suddenly moved a beat faster, much faster than in the previous rehearsal, and stepped hard on Hu Xiaoxiao's fingers that were holding the edge of the table.
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