The "brain-opening" set after the extra-episode funding was in crisis
"Props! Why are there only three 'black vines' left today?" The director held up the script, surveying the sparse array of props on the set with a helpless smile. The props team leader scratched his head and handed over the bill. "It's unavoidable. Our budget just got cut by a third. We'll have to return seven of the ten sponge vines we ordered. We'll have to conserve the remaining ones; we'll rely on them for the next few scenes."
Seeing this, the actor who played "Su Nian" smiled and picked up a "black vine" and wrapped it around his arm: "How about this, when I act out being entangled by the vine, I can wrap this vine around twice, and it will look like two vines in the camera. Then ask the lighting teacher to make the shadows heavier to ensure that there are no flaws." "Chen Yan" next to him also came over, bent another vine and placed it on the stone: "For my scene of 'tripping over the vine', I'll use this one. The camera will only shoot the upper body, and no one will know there's only one vine below." The props team leader nodded repeatedly and quickly wrote it down in his little notebook, which temporarily solved the "black vine crisis."
Even more challenging was the "Red Sun Fire" special effect. The original plan was to use miniature LED lights and smoke cakes to create the burning effect, but when the smoke cake budget was cut, the props team had to find another solution. Finally, the stagehand came up with the idea: "Soak orange peels in water, put it in a small spray bottle, and spray it towards the camera. Have the lighting engineer shine a red light, and then coordinate with the actors waving red colored paper to create the illusion of dancing flames." During the first test take, Lin Ye's colored paper accidentally flew off and landed on Chen Xi's cloth bag. Both of them were so embarrassed they started laughing that their faces turned red. But the director made the final decision: "This is it! The flying paper shot was cut in post-production. The focus is on the 'firelight' feeling, and we'll rely on our acting skills!"
The most amazing thing is the transformation of the "evil stone." The originally customized two-meter-high foam stone was rejected because it was over budget, so the props team could only find an ordinary one-meter-high stone, paint it black, and stuff a few batteries and LED light beads into the cracks of the stone. During filming, the "evil wizard" was asked to stand behind the stone, with only the upper body exposed. A smoke machine was then used to spray a small amount of smoke around the stone. From the camera, the stone instantly "became taller", the LED light beads flashed, and it also had a "ferocious aura". The actor who played the "evil wizard" even stood on tiptoe to perform. After the filming, he rubbed his ankle and laughed: "In order to save money, my 'evil wizard' almost became a wizard standing on tiptoe. Fortunately, the camera didn't capture it."
Due to budget constraints, the wrap-up party was changed from the originally planned hotel dinner to a large pot dinner on the set. The crew borrowed a large iron pot from town, bought some vegetables and meat, and cooked a huge pot of stew. Everyone gathered around the pot, eating from disposable lunch boxes, and the atmosphere was more lively than expected. The director stood up, holding a plastic cup and saying, "Although the budget was tight, we relied on our imagination and chemistry to complete the film! When the film goes viral, I'll treat everyone to a delicious meal!"
"Su Nian" smiled and continued, "Actually, this is also good. Look at the 'Red Sun Fire' we made from orange peels, and the 'Evil Stone' made from ordinary stones. Maybe the audience will find it more realistic!" Everyone laughed. The iron pot was steaming, reflecting the satisfied faces - there were no expensive props or pomp, but there was the purest love and unity. This was perhaps more memorable than any scene built with a lot of money.
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