"President Lin, the eldest President Lin said that since the filming costs are not high, then we won't be adding any more investment..."
The next day, Lin Xiaoxiao woke up in her 500-square-meter apartment to this news, which was like a bolt from the blue. Her brother wasn't investing, so wouldn't he have to use the little money in her account to make this terrible drama?
She needs to plan carefully and not be too wasteful. Having lived a frugal life before, she always needs to save some money, not to mention she hasn't even properly enjoyed her new life yet.
In this way, the company only needs to hire a receptionist for now, and the finances can be outsourced. The directing team is essential; all the necessary personnel must be present.
After thinking it over, Lin Xiaoxiao decided to save the money for hiring a big-name director and do it herself. After all, she was making a bad movie. What if she actually found people according to the list given by Secretary Zhao and the movie was brought back to life?
We also need to be frugal with actors. If we look for people from schools, we might easily find a "dark horse," so we should look for them from ordinary people.
After making her plans, Lin Xiaoxiao hurriedly met with the newly hired screenwriter. After all, the sooner she started work and finished, the more money she could save.
"A tragic ending sweet romance drama?!" What kind of niche literary genre is this?!
He Yue, a newly hired screenwriter who can only write short stories, feels her mind is in chaos. BE (tragedy), sweet romance drama—are these new terms? Why is it that she understands them individually, but when put together, she just feels dizzy?
Hearing the questioning tone in the other party's voice, Lin Xiaoxiao felt very smug. This niche subject matter was indeed considered a trap by everyone.
"A modern drama with a total of sixteen episodes, which includes amnesia, car accidents, terminal illness, resurrection, body doubles, and revenge."
He Yue's hands were shaking as she typed, "Do you want them all?"
After receiving a positive reply, He Yue felt like running away. How could the main characters still be "sweet" if so much plot was crammed into a sweet romance drama that needed to be simplified?
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at He Yue with satisfaction, thinking that the other party must be speechless at her outrageous client, and that the script would be full of resentment, which would bring the show one step closer to flopping.
"It is expected to be operational in a week."
Before He Yue could even process what was happening, another bolt from the blue struck, leaving her completely bewildered and unsure how she even managed to leave the office.
Lin Xiaoxiao was also very busy this week. First, she interviewed many beautiful women and handsome men online, but when she met them in person, she found that their appearances were very different from what she saw online. Several times she wanted to grit her teeth and give up, but in the end she still refused.
This show is bad enough; there's no need to intensify the criticism. Otherwise, viewers might question her aesthetic sense and start criticizing the actors instead of the show. Otherwise, all her efforts would be in vain. She needs to ensure that viewers accurately focus on the show itself as the director.
Lin Xiaoxiao spent the entire week traveling between several cities known for their beautiful women, and finally managed to gather the male and female leads and important supporting actors before filming began.
After the camera started rolling, Lin Xiaoxiao was certain that it was fortunate they had cast ordinary people. The affected acting and the cheesy lines were so bad that she felt like she could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the screen with her toes.
The difference was so obvious that other staff members on site could also see it, including screenwriter He Yue, who was constantly making adjustments on site.
Looking at the actor's handsome face, He Yue realized that one second the two were exchanging shameful lines, and the next they were locked in a tense standoff, slapping each other across the face. On set, He Yue had only one thought: to die. She had just begun to explore screenwriting as a hobby, and this script had slammed it shut. It seemed it was time to prepare her resume and return to her professional field.
Lin Xiaoxiao basically didn't need any reshoots on set; she always nailed it in one take. This caused the other staff members on set to go from offering gentle advice at the beginning to eventually letting their minds go blank.
A reshoot is out of the question. Although these extras aren't very good at acting, they didn't change a single line and their movements were strictly in accordance with the script. It's just that they were a bit stiff and affected.
The script was a melodramatic masterpiece that Lin Xiaoxiao had confirmed the night before filming began. As long as the actors followed the script, she could accept it no matter how terrible their acting was. Mainly, the only thing Lin Xiaoxiao could understand on set was the script and lines; things like camera language were completely outside her consideration.
Not to mention the daily location fees for filming, which cost a lot of money. Although some luxury villas and office buildings don't cost money, screenwriters often write things like encountering danger in Iceland, having conflicts in the Aegean Sea in Greece, encountering sharks in Hawaii, and making up in Bali, etc.
Of course, screenwriter He Yue herself was also in a difficult position. When the first draft of the script came out, Lin Xiaoxiao herself said that the male and female leads should not have their love affair in a small space, and the scope should be broadened.
Lin Xiaoxiao only realized the scale of the project after filming began, looking at the endless stream of bills. It was a bit alarming, though; the cheapest option was a boat trip in Wuzhen where both of them fell into the water. It must be said, at this point, Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't yet learned about the green screen compositing technique used in filming.
After three months of intensive filming, the shoot has finally come to an end.
Lin Xiaoxiao barely had time to catch her breath before she had to participate in the post-production editing. She didn't have to do it all herself, but she was really worried that the editor would give her a big surprise.
But after seeing the original footage, Lin Xiaoxiao realized she had been overthinking it. The original footage was full of handsome men and beautiful women with great scenery. It had already been edited into more than ten episodes, but she had only focused on the scenery and hadn't paid any attention to the plot. She had even completely ignored the actors.
The scenery is so beautiful. Last time I went there, I was busy filming. With so many people in the crew working so hard, I felt too embarrassed to sneak out and have fun. So, even though I've been to so many countries, I still don't feel like I'm traveling at all.
The post-production staff, watching Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes glued to the screen, were both nervous and excited. After all, what production crew would take their post-production staff with them to film overseas? They, the post-production staff, felt almost embarrassed if their workload was light. Because of this, the post-production staff took turns handling all the purchasing for the entire crew. They even had a group chat besides Lin Xiaoxiao's, where they happily posted all sorts of beautiful photos every day.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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